Press Releases
Angels Appear on Cannery Row
MONTEREY, Calif. --Partially funded by the Monterey Cultural Arts Council, and graciously supported by local artists, the Cannery Row Foundation has debuted three life-size "angels" designed exclusively for Christmas on Cannery Row. This three-year project conceived by Cannery Row businesswoman Kalisa Moore, displays angels bearing the likeness of actual persons known for their lives, activity and contribution to the unique, historic industrial district of Cannery Row.
Inspired by the Erica Franke Angels used for years in Old Town Monterey, this edition, entitled "Saints and Martyrs Series", will depict various proprietors, residents, and entrepreneurs of the Cannery Row legends.
The three angels who will be displayed during the 2002 holiday season are: 1) Edward F.R.Ricketts, Marine Biologist, lifetime friend of John Steinbeck and counterpart for several of Steinbeck's well known characters such as "Doc" in the novel Cannery Row; 2) Jack Yee, local property owner who maintained the market that was opened by his father in 1918 and featured in the Steinbeck novels. Yee was directly responsible for the purchase and protection, some fifty years ago, of Pacific Biological Lab at 800 Cannery Row; and 3) Flora Wood, who though somewhat infamous as a 1930's Cannery Row madame, was also known for her open hearted and charitable nature. Steinbeck depicted her as Dora Flood in Cannery Row and as Fauna in Sweet Thursday.
The "Saints and Martyrs Series" will continue with the addition of four angels each year through Christmas 2004. John Steinbeck himself will eventually be featured among them. This years' angels were created by Jesse Corsaut, painter and sculptor; Eldon Dedini, noted New Yorker cartoonist; and Margie Edgren, local artist. The public is invited to view the initial three angels across the street from the Lab at the foot of Bruce Arris Way.
About Cannery Row
Cannery Row was made famous in John Steinbeck's classic novel depicting life in the "the sardine capital of the world." Today, Cannery Row is a beautiful waterfront playground where visitors from all over the world seek a California getaway as authentic as the coast itself. Cannery Row was named “One of the Seven Wonders of Monterey County” by the Monterey County Herald readers. Cannery Row remains a treasure of California's Central Coast, where a discovery awaits every type of visitor. For more information, visit the official Cannery Row website at www.canneryrow.com.