Music Festival to include pole-vault exhibition in Old Sacramento
When: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Sunday, May 25, 2014, in conjunction with the Sacramento Music Festival.
Where: 1112 Second Street, Old Sacramento (in front of Firehouse Restaurant).
Who: Olympic gold medalist Stacy Dragila will be the master of ceremonies for an exhibition featuring male and female vaulters from Northern California colleges.
Why: To help raise interest in the upcoming USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Dragila will be the master of ceremonies during the exhibition behind held on Second Street directly in front of the venerable Firehouse Restaurant. A coed group of current and former collegiate vaulters will be flying through the air in a carnival atmosphere from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Dragila is personally familiar with the concept of street vaults, but Sunday’s event in Old Sacramento figures to be a novelty for most of the people attending the Sacramento Music Festival. Dragila, a graduate of Placer High School in Auburn, won the pole vault at the 2000 and 2004 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials in Sacramento. She set a world record in 2000 at Hornet Stadium en route to winning the Olympic gold medal in Sydney, Australia. At a Santa Barbara beach vault in 2000, Dragila surpassed her official world record by clearing 15 feet, 5 inches.
One of the pole-vault officials at the 2000 Olympic Trials, when Dragila thrilled a sellout crowd by breaking her own world record, was USA Track & Field official John Shirey. Shirey is taking a break from his duties as Sacramento’s City Manager to officiate at today’s exhibition.
The USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships will be held June 25-29 at Sacramento State. Discounted ticket prices to the USA Championships will be offered during Sunday’s street vault in Old Sacramento.