Tag archives: Old Spanish Days
After Old Spanish Days was all but cancelled last year because of the pandemic, Fiesta fever was palpable at the Carriage and Western Art Museum with La Primavera, as the unveiling of the colorful festival’s new poster and pin helped kicked off the festivities in front of nearly 100 guests, led by gloriously attired La […]
Yes, it’s time to think about that 97 year-old-fun fest, Old Spanish Days (OSD). To start the Fiesta year off La Presidenta 2021 was just announced, Stephanie Petlow. She has lived here for many years and served on the OSD board for 20 years. Her leadership team is primer Alex Castellanos, vice presidente; David Bolton, […]
The Santa Barbara Historical Museum is one of the cultural gems of our city with a collection of more than 80,000 irreplaceable objects and artifacts relating to Santa Barbara’s extraordinary past. For local history it’s a must. The museum complex was constructed in 1965 by the Santa Barbara Historical Society (now called Museum), which was […]
This week, both sides of State Street would typically be lined with crowds watching men and women wearing traditional Mexican costumes parading on horseback or dancing in formation from one end of town to the other. But thanks to COVID-19, the annual Old Spanish Days Fiesta has been called off for the first time since […]
Though the beautiful and elegant Fiesta del Museo is cancelled this year, Project Fiesta: A History of Old Spanish Days is not. And what better place to see the latest exhibition than outdoors in the spacious and beautiful courtyard of the Santa Barbara Historical Museum, where fresh air and social distancing create an idyllic environment? […]
Virtually all of Old Spanish Days’ annual celebration of the city’s heritage have been cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. But apparently even a deadly disease can’t rain metaphorically on the most popular events in the five-day Fiesta as the 2020 El Desfile Historico has been reimagined as the Caravan Fiesta Parade. As always, […]
Montecito Bank & Trust gave its annual Fiesta party in their historic building at 1010 State Street. According to Chairman and CEO Janet Garufis it was completed in 1921 for County National Bank and is an historic landmark. Its design is Italianate, popular at the time and related to the Medici family chapel, an extension […]
You’d be hard-pressed to find a more bubbly and enthusiastic supporter of Old Spanish Days Fiesta than Barbara Carroll, a Santa Barbara native who serves as a litigation attorney for a prestigious local firm when she’s not busy shouting “Viva La Fiesta!” for the better part of a week in mid-summer. Which is good news […]
Fiesta Ranchera celebrated its 12th anniversary with a sold-out bash for more than 800 guests at the 147-year-old Rancho La Patera and Stow House in Goleta, raising around $60,000 split equally between Old Spanish Days and the 52-year-old Goleta Valley Historical Society. The colorful gala, co-chaired by Tim Aceves, Gaia Zellet, and Hatty Husband, featured […]
Old Spanish Days 2019 got underway at the Carriage & Western Art Museum with the 95th annual La Primavera event. Historically, “In 1920 the La Primavera Association sought to perpetuate the history of Santa Barbara’s founding years through a spring festival and pageant. More than 300 locals played a part in the La Primavera masque, […]
Lying among the rolling hills and fresh arroyos of the Gaviota coast, Rancho Tajiguas has been a favored spot for times immemorial. The 1769 Portola expedition, which prepared the way for Spanish settlement of Alta California, camped for the night at its mouth and were welcomed and entertained by the Chumash peoples living in two […]
On four separate occasions over the past 40 years, my husband and I have evacuated due to wildfire. Each time, the first possessions that are packed in the car are our family photos. More important than art, electronics, books (well, maybe), or clothing, are the images of the important people, times, and events in our […]
Everywhere you look in California, there are larger, more explosive fires. Why? As the left once again blames climate change, could there be another reason why we are seeing so many huge fires? What role have environmental activists, eco lobbyists, green NGOs, lawyers, and politicians played? What about forest management? Forests need thinning to promote […]
One last “Viva” and one last cascaron happened on August 12 at the end of Fiesta. It’s the Fiesta Finale given by the Profant Foundation at the El Paseo Restaurant – the perfect venue. This was the center of the celebration at one time. Rita Hayworth danced here in her father’s troupe. This is where […]
One of the Old Spanish Days traditions is the president’s reception, and this year was no exception. It’s usually held in the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort, which always brings to mind what the rotunda used to be in the old days – the train turntable and roundhouse. The great earthquake in 1925 destroyed the […]
A plethora of presidentes, past and present, descended on the Hilton Beachfront Resort for the sold-out 70th annual La Reception del Presidentes, kicking off Fiesta week in grand style. The fun fete, short on speeches and long on tradition with dancing and music, attracted more than 300 local dignitaries, including current La Presidente Denise Sanford […]
The theme of Old Spanish Days this year is to celebrate traditions. The Montecito Bank & Trust began a new one under the auspices of bank president George Leis, who says, “It’s my favorite time of the year.” They held their first Fiesta Party at the bank’s historic downtown branch on State Street for about […]
On the Verge (OTV), Santa Barbara native Kate Bergstrom‘s repertory theatre company founded in 2015 with a mission of marrying new work created by female and LGBTQ writers with the local community of actors, directors, producers, and theater-goers, is taking a slight detour for its fourth year. In place of presenting several different plays in […]
Every year, the Santa Barbara Historical Museum (SBHM) launches the Fiesta season with their party a couple weeks before the official Fiesta. They know how to do it and it just keeps getting better. If our Old Spanish Days roots come from Spain, it’s no wonder. After living near Sevilla for seven years, I can […]
The 94th edition of Old Spanish Days [OSD] Fiesta is nearly upon us. This year’s theme is “Tradition and Celebration”, noted by La Presidenta Denise Sanford, who declares, “Traditions are the very foundation by which individuals and families construct their identities, creating the bonds of community. To celebrate our community’s traditions,” she says, “is to […]
