California: The Tempest – Holtville
California: The Tempest
Holtville, Imperial County
Annual Carrot Festival in Holtville
Known as the Carrot Capital of the World, Holtville is one-square-mile and the population—82% Hispanic—is around 6,000.. This quaint agricultural town is about 10 miles north of the Mexican border. The 4-hour drive from Los Angeles takes you by the scenic Salton Sea. El Centro is the closest big town. Generations of farm families significantly shape the community. There’s a sweet little central park with lots of shade trees & an historic city hall. There’s a 7-11 and shops around the square, but Holtville isn’t quite thriving. They struggle to keep economically afloat; Imperial County has the 2nd highest unemployment rate in the state. Carrots, honeydew & watermelons, lettuce, broccoli, onions, alfalfa, corn and cotton are primary crops. Each February brings the annual Carrot Festival celebration and includes cook-offs, a fair and parade. Band is very popular at the high school. There are sports leagues & service clubs & fundraiser dinners galore where you drive up and get to-go meals to take home.
A Holtville Night’s Dream, 2007.
UPDATE: While our tour itinerary initially included the town of Holtville, circumstances demand that we bypass the Imperial Valley. Our friends in that community understand and we expect to do another residency there in the future.
Community Partners include:
Holtville Chamber of Commerce
Veteran’s float at the Carrot Festival in Holtville.
We first got to know Holtville while preparing for our 2007 Institute Summer Residency production, A Holtville Night’s Dream. Two local journalist-editors got us off to a great start learning about the town’s history and current civic efforts. We learned about The Winning of Barbara Worth and about Holtville’s Terrace Park Cemetery. A few generous women with longtime ties to their town and great stories to tell really made our residency possible. In playwright Alison Carey’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s most popular play magic happened in the desert rather than in the woods. Fairies became mirages. The play-within-the-play was performed by local crops (ie: Peter Quince = Watermelon) rather than mechanicals, and the culminating event of the play was the annual Carrot Festival rather than a royal wedding. Laurie Woolery directed the 62 cast members of A Holtville Night’s Dream which included 52 local residents onstage & one as backstage crew. Approximately 810 people attended the performances at Finley Elementary Auditorium and local vendors Holtville Threads sold items on the lobby lawn.
A Holtville Night’s Dream, 2007.
