Harold Matzner Receives Key to City at Palm Springs 85th Anniversary Celebration
April 8th – Following the conclusion of the City’s “Cruising Through the Years” 85th Anniversary Classic Car Parade, Palm Springs Mayor Grace Garner presented Harold Matzner with a golden “Key to the City” at the Marilyn Monroe Statue in downtown Palm Springs. Thousands of enthusiastic residents attended the ceremony. Singer and parade Grand Marshall Nancy Sinatra, Frank’s daughter, and parade producer Keith McCormick also received Keys to the City at the event. The Keys are presented to individuals with a uniquely special connection to the City of Palm Springs – and are a rare occurrence.
“They’ve all been true champions of Palm Springs. They truly have helped to revitalize our downtown, bringing in the kind of tourism that we have today,” Mayor Grace Garner told KESQ. “I’m just so excited that we have so many people here. It is a true celebration.”
Mayor Garner talked about Harold Matzner’s unique contributions to the City of Palm Springs. She gave him credit for creating a world class event with the Film Festival and said it had become one of the most important film awards and film festivals in America. The Mayor commented on the important role Harold had played in bringing the Forever Marilyn statue to Palm Springs and said that he had led the campaign for the 1% Measure J tax. 65% of the voters in Palm Springs voted for the tax which this year will bring more than $20,000,000 to the City’s coffers. Mayor Garner ended with the statement that only Harold could have gotten the citizens of Palm Springs to vote for that tax.
Palm Springs celebrated its 85th anniversary Saturday April 8th with a Classic Car Parade, which featured 85 classic cars to represent each year since the city was incorporated. The event hopes to set a Guinness World Record with the impressive lineup of historical vehicles. Harold Matzner rode in a beautiful light blue 1975 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible with his friend Aftab Dada, Chairman of the Palm Springs Resorts. Keith McCormick did a brilliant job in planning this parade and obtaining the cars that made it a huge success. Many thousands of people lined the streets to watch this amazing collection of automobiles beginning with the year 1938. By coincidence, Harold Matzner is also 85 years old.
Photos by Gregg Felsen
