News release
What do you do when you’ve been called the “Hysterical Society” for a half-century? You grab the ball and run with it: The Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society is celebrating its 50th anniversary on March 7 with a gala at the Canyon Country Community Center called “SCVHS50: Live from Santa Clarita, It’s Saturday Night!” an homage to the NBC comedy sketch show also launched in 1975.
The event, scheduled 6-10 p.m., promises a nontraditional format, with an original SNL-style show written around the critical elements of dinner, awards and an auction, according to a news release from the hysterical … er, Historical Society.
The musical guest will be the popular cover band The Funslingers, and the host will be Ed Masterson. The event also includes a gourmet dinner, signature cocktails and more, the release said.
Guests will be invited to enjoy a trip down memory lane with trivia about local landmarks, reminisce about kooky news stories during Weekend Update, and join the eager kids cheering on the History Club.
Tickets (from $188.58) are available on the SCVHS website at www.scvhs.org and sponsorships are available by calling 661-254-1275. The Canyon Country Community Center is located at 18410 Sierra Highway.
The SCV Historical Society was founded to protect and preserve local history from being destroyed and forgotten; its first projects included saving the Southern Pacific train station in Saugus and moving it into Hart Park in 1980, and the designation of Mentryville and Pico No. 4 as California State Historical Landmarks.
The Society provided historical outreach programs and eventually moved seven more buildings into the park, as well as a steam locomotive donated by Gene Autry. The nonprofit developed curriculum for school tours, established an annual tour of the St. Francis Dam disaster site, and hosted various community events to build awareness of the cultural and historic resources in the area.
Today, the Saugus Train Station Museum has been completely restored to the 1917-1959 era, when it was the busiest, and is open for visitors on Saturdays from 1 to 4.
