The 11th annual Pascucci Dine Out for Solstice is planned for 5 to 10 p.m. Wednesday at 729 State St. in Santa Barbara.
The event will raise funds for this year’s Solstice Parade on June 25 and the Solstice Festival on June 24-26. Proceeds from food, tips and drinks will go to Summer Solstice Celebration.
The theme for this year’s Pascucci Dine Out is “Wild.” The wait staff will be wearing wild costumes to reflect the Solstice 2011 theme of “Jungle.”
This year’s poster and T-shirt artist, Michael Matheson, will be on hand to sign posters and autograph T-shirts or tank tops.
“It is a hilarious evening of great food and fun wait staff,” Solstice Executive Director Claudia Bratton said, “and guests are encouraged to wear wild and jungle-like attire.”
Some of the celebrity wait staff on Wednesday will include local luminaries Santa Barbara Mayor Helene Schneider, John Palminteri, John Dixon, John Dickson and others.
Reservations are not needed, but diners are encouraged to come early to be seated faster and order from the regular menu. The first 100 diners before 6 p.m. will be part of a raffle for prizes.
For the first time in its 37-year history, the Solstice Celebration will extend over three days, opening at 4 p.m. June 24 in Alameda Park, with theatrical and musical entertainment until 9 p.m. The festival will resume at noon June 25 with entertainment until 8 p.m. The Solstice Children’s Festival is open June 25-26 from noon to 6 p.m. with a variety of family and children’s activities, free art projects, booths and musical entertainment.
The Solstice Parade will begin at noon June 25 at State and Cota streets and conclude in Alameda Park. On June 26, live entertainment will be featured from 1:30 to 6 p.m. on the main stage featuring soft jazz music as well as entertainment on the children’s stage from 1:30 to 6 p.m. Arts and crafts booths, food booths, and beer and wine garden will be open for all three days of the festival.
The celebration has grown into Santa Barbara’s largest arts event, drawing more than 100,000 spectators from around the world, with more than 1,000 parade participants. As a 501(c)3, nonprofit community organization, Solstice Celebration has become a year-round organization, bringing the community together through the arts.
— Claudia Bratton is director of the Summer Solstice Celebration.