News From Britt Hill – April 2021

It’s been a while since I have shared the story of how Britt began. In case you’re not familiar with the history of the Peter Britt Gardens Music & Arts Festival, it all started with a dream in the summer of 1962.

Two friends—Sam McKinney and John Trudeau—had a dream of starting an outdoor music festival, and while scouting locations on the West Coast, Sam discovered a beautiful hillside overlooking the Rogue Valley in the historic mining town of Jacksonville, Oregon. He drove back to Portland and returned two days later with John in-tow to give the place a closer look and begin the conversations that led to the creation of what we now call the Britt Music & Arts Festival. On a sunny August morning, they tested the hillside acoustics by standing at both ends of the hill and talking to each other. To their amazement, they could hold a normal conversation without raising their voices. This hillside formed a natural amphitheater!

Soon after their discovery, they met longtime resident Judge Herbert K. Hanna, who sent them to meet Mayor “Curly” Graham. After some conversation, the two men revealed their plan to start a summer outdoor music festival, and how ideal the location on the Britt estate looked. Curly recommended they attend the city council meeting that evening. The council was very receptive to the concept and endorsed the idea. The process was off and running. On their way home, the two men bounced around ideas for a name and kept coming back to the seemingly mystical name of Peter Britt. Thus, the Peter Britt Gardens Music & Arts Festival was born.

The work got harder from there. With a goal to open the festival the following August, they only had a year to find a board of directors and form a non-profit organization, construct a stage, find orchestra musicians, and plan a music program. Not an easy task to accomplish within a year. The first board collapsed within months. But the community was committed and worked through the challenges. People stepped-up from the region and beyond, forming a new board and filling the roles needed: weed pullers, grass cutters, carpenters, and ticket sellers, to name a few.

With a lot of work and commitment, on Sunday, August 11th, 1963, the curtain was raised on the first concert of the first Britt season. Okay… there was no curtain. The stage had been built with plywood and tin coffee cans for stage lights. The audience sat on pillows and lawn chairs in the grass. It was a welcome beginning! A review in the Mail Tribune the next day admired the mix of contemporary music with more traditional classical fare and recommended that “the residents of the Rogue Valley support this endeavor.” Britt was a hit!

Since that summer day in 1963, Britt has grown in many ways, thanks to the continued support of the people of the Rogue Valley. Since then, the festival has expanded to present many musical styles and even comedy while continuing to honor the heart of our beloved festival, the Britt Festival Orchestra. Thank you for being a part of the Britt story and helping to create the best music venue in the region. Britt has had a rich and colorful past and will have an amazing future, limited only by our imaginations.

Featured image: Board members and volunteers finish work on the first stage in July 1963. Bert Pree, Britt’s first board president is seated in the wheelbarrow.