Tag archives: tradition

Trimming Montecito’s Tree
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   December 12, 2023

It wouldn’t be the holiday season without the trimming of the giant pine tree near the Manning Park tennis courts on San Ysidro Road. It’s a festive tradition that goes back many decades, and we retell it here each year to keep the memory alive.  As the story goes, in the early 1960s, then Montecito […]

Trimming Montecito’s Tree
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   December 20, 2022

Last week, the usual crew of Montecito locals gathered to decorate the giant pine tree near the Manning Park tennis courts. It’s a festive tradition that goes back many decades, and we retell it here each year to keep the memory alive.  As the story goes, in the early 1960s, then Montecito Fire Chief Don […]

La Merienda
By Lynda Millner   |   August 23, 2022

The Santa Barbara Woman’s Club gave the first La Merienda since the pandemic. Merienda translates to “snack,” but it was much more than a snack. It was a full-on Mexican dinner with tacos, guacamole, chicken, beef, and salad. Event chair Sue Ziliotto told us, “This event has been going on for 92 years.” All the […]

Grieving, Family-Style
By Claudia Schou   |   March 8, 2022

In hard times, delivering comfort in a pan is a family tradition When death comes knocking, my Italian family goes to the kitchen. As early as I can remember, whenever a family member was infirm or passed away, an imaginary bell would ring and someone – usually a family elder – would go into the […]

Leadership Team Unveiled
By Lynda Millner   |   November 23, 2021

Plans are being laid out for Old Spanish Days to have a full and safe Fiesta in 2022. La Presidenta Maria Cabrera will lead the organization into its 98th year. She has been a community volunteer for many years.  “As we come out of restrictions and a new changing community, we look forward to meeting […]

Bringing in the Light for the New Year
By Ann Brode   |   January 14, 2021

Coming to the end of this tough, transformative year, we need to celebrate a new beginning more than ever. Although the first of January is a calendar event, it could be seen as part of a continuum that goes from the Winter Solstice to mid-January. Since early humans first noticed the sun cycles of light […]

The ‘Resilience Tree’
By Richard Mineards   |   December 24, 2020

Montecito accountant and inveterate travel writer Frank McGinity is raising the Christmas spirit! Frank, a longtime resident of Riven Rock, the new home of Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle, has continued a long-held tradition and erected a 120-foot-tall Yuletide tree on his estate. “Stanley McCormick, who lived here for forty years, always had […]

Fiesta Kickoff
By Lynda Millner   |   August 9, 2018

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 […]

Fiesta 2018 Celebrates Traditions
By Joanne A Calitri   |   July 12, 2018

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 […]