For over 20 years, Steinbeck lovers have flocked to Salinas in August to learn more about the celebrated author’s life and writings. The Steinbeck Festival began in the 1980s when the City of Salinas’ Steinbeck Library received a generous grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to explore the influence of the West on film and literature. In subsequent years, the annual event focused on the life and writings of John Steinbeck, Salinas’ native son. With generous financial support from the City of Salinas, a dedicated group of volunteers created a Steinbeck Festival every year that included speakers, bus and walking tours, and special events.

In the early years, devoted individuals and organizations, such as John Gross, Pauline Pearson, the Valley Guild, and the Steinbeck Library, created the template for the Steinbeck Festival that thrives today. The Steinbeck Festival currently draws upon the talents of volunteers, scholars, and staff members and is organized by the National Steinbeck Center. It has developed into a rich tradition for Steinbeck fans everywhere, offering tours, speakers and programs for all backgrounds.

19th STEINBECK FESTIVAL AUGUST 5-8, 1999
“Once There Was a War: Steinbeck and World War II”
The 19th Steinbeck Festival focused on Steinbeck’s years as a war correspondent and on his World War II-related fiction. Steinbeck scholars came from distant locations to give presentations, including Dr. David Costello of Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, who presented a talk titled “John Steinbeck’s War: An Historical Perspective.”

A number of other sessions provided interesting perspectives to Steinbeck’s writings, including the comparison of his writing to that of Ernie Pyle’s and highlighting elements of propaganda in Steinbeck’s book Bombs Away. While the lectures by scholars focused on Steinbeck’s writings and journalistic dispatches, two panel discussions highlighted humanistic aspects of the war, including the internment of Japanese and Japanese Americans in the United States.

The 19th Steinbeck Festival also included the showing of two films based on Steinbeck’s stories, The Moon is Down and Lifeboat; walking and bus tours; The Western Stage’s production of The Grapes of Wrath; and a workshop for teachers titled “A New Approach to Steinbeck & World War II.”

20th STEINBECK FESTIVAL AUGUST 3-6, 2000
“From Manuscript to Masterpiece: John Steinbeck and the Arts”
The 20th Steinbeck Festival highlighted the numerous artistic adaptations of Steinbeck’s writings. John Steinbeck’s stories have been reinterpreted and adapted for a variety of disciplines, including music, opera, dance, and fine art, and have influenced numerous other artists and writers. The 20th Steinbeck Festival explored the cross-disciplinary effects of literature and examined how Steinbeck’s writings lend themselves to other media.

Many of the festival speakers examined the qualities in Steinbeck’s books that make them attractive to playwrights, composers, and other artists. For example, Theodore S. Chapin, President of the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization in New York, highlighted the musical Pipe Dream, which was based on Steinbeck’s book Sweet Thursday. John Dizikes, Ph.D., author of Opera In America: A Cultural History, led a discussion about the opera Of Mice and Men and the process of adapting Steinbeck’s works for the stage.

Two made-for-television productions, three short films, and one Hollywood classic, Viva Zapata!, were featured at the 20th Steinbeck Festival, which together represented the diversity of films based on Steinbeck’s works. Slide lectures at the festival featured the associations between Steinbeck, artist Thomas Hart Benton, and various photographers. The crowning event for the festival was The Western Stage’s epic nine-hour production of East of Eden. The 20th Steinbeck Festival also hosted several literary events, including a panel discussion about Steinbeck and poetry, a Book Collector’s Fair, the 3rd Annual Short Story Competition, and a book signing event featuring the speakers.

THE 21st FESTIVAL, AUGUST 2-5, 2001
“The Birth of America’s Author”
This year’s festival is themed “The Birth of America’s Author” and explore Steinbeck’s early years and the formative experiences that shaped him into a world-renowned writer.

THE 21st FESTIVAL, AUGUST 1-4, 2002
The 22nd Steinbeck Festival, August 1-4, 2002 is tentatively titled, “Steinbeck’s Legacy.” The two festivals will serve as bookends to a year long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Steinbeck’s birth on February 27, 2002.