DOWNEY - A multi-day celebration of The Carpenters is anticipated to draw fans of the musical duo to Downey from around the world.

Commemorating the 55th anniversary of when Richard and Karen Carpenter signed with A&M Records, the four-day event, taking place April 24-27, will immerse visitors into the life, music, and history of the Grammy Award-winning sibling duo. Headquartered from the Embassy Suites, the event will include several presentations, musical performances, and walking tours and field trips to locations of Historical significance to the Carpenters, including the former home on Newville Ave. The Carpenters Performing Arts Center in Long Beach, their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and to Karen’s mausoleum at Pierce Valley Thousand Oaks Memorial Park.

The event was organized by Greg Kuritz, a self-described “big fan of the Carpenters to the point of almost being an obsession.” Kuritz attended the 25th anniversary in 1994, which was also held in Downey.

“It was there that I met Randy Schmidt who was the organizer of the event. I had such a fantastic time, that I thought if there was going to be another similar event, I would like to help organize it,” said Kuritz. “So in 2017, I contacted Randy, who by that time had become a friend, and asked him if he was planning to do something to celebrate the 50th. He informed me that he had so much on his plate that he would not be able to be one of the organizers, but if I was still interested in doing it, he knew two people who might want to get involved. Those two people were Robert Ingves and Peter Dawe, both of whom happened to live in Canada.

“So after thousands of emails and phone calls, our event was launched in April of 2019 in Thousand Oaks, California.”

Dawe, an event planner, says he was brought on board for his “Carpenter’s knowledge.”

“We are having a celebration of about 100 fans from all over the world, coming to celebrate the music of Karen and Richard, and the legacy that they have left us that so many fans are still joining on after all these years,” said Dawe.

According to Dawe, the success and legacy of the Carpenters draws from their “earthiness,” adding that their talent “took them to another level.”

“I find that the two of them were always very relatable,” said Dawe. “They weren’t to me like celebrities; they were always people who had talent to me, and I could relate to.

“On top of that, Karen’s voice, you hear the first notes of her on the radio, and it’s just this velvety beautiful tone, and of course Karen’s voice was projected with Richard’s productions.”

He added that there was “a fascination with fans of wanting to know who Karen was” due to her untimely passing.

Greg Kuritz, another organizer of the event, agreed with Dawe on the strength of Karen’s voice.

“For me, it was the music and Karen’s voice; that’s the first thing you hear, and that’s what you get attached to,” said Kuritz. “It was just my kind of music, and her voice was just soothing. It was like butter, as they would say.”

Both Dawe and Kuritz, along with Kathy Perez, President of the Downey Conservancy, agreed that Downey is, in many ways, the equivalent to Carpenter fans as Graceland, Neverland, or Dollywood would be to fans of Elvis, Michael Jackson, and Dolly Parton.

Perez said that “It always amazed me that they remained in Downey.”

“When they hit it big, they could’ve gone,” said Perez. “They could’ve left their smaller home here in South Downey…but they purchased a home on Newville in 1969.

“They could have gone anywhere else; they stayed in Downey, they remained in Downey.”

She says that Richard and Karen “truly loved Downey,” and added that “the fanbase knows.”

“The people that interacted and grew up with them that are still with us, they have such wonderful memories of them,” said Perez. “It’s that warm, down-home community feeling.”

“Isn’t it the quote that Karen, one of them said, ‘We’re just two kids from Downey.’ That’s how they referred to themselves: just two kids from Downey.”

Mayor Mario Trujillo, a Carpenters fan himself, expressed enthusiasm and excitement for the event.

“Downey has immense pride in the Carpenters and the legacy they have created as musicians and as proud residents and products of Downey,” said Trujillo.”As a personal fan and Mayor of the City of Downey, we are excited to celebrate their 55th anniversary and invite everyone to join us in April to honor the Carpenter’s musical legacy.”

More information on the 55th Celebration can be found at Carpenters55th.com, as well as on Facebook.