More than 400 people attended the #BestDamDinner at Lake Los Carneros in Goleta on Aug. 19. Despite the impending storm, the sun was shining bright, and the lake was at the fullest it has been in more than a decade.
“We were delighted at the turnout of friends and neighbors for Goleta’s Annual Dam Dinner. I think all that attended would agree that we had a dam good time,” said Goleta Mayor Paula Perotte said.
Whether they brought their own picnic dinner or purchased food, guests found a spot at the long community table decorated with yellow and blue checkered tablecloths. New this year were complimentary Plastic Free Goleta reusable cutlery sets placed on the tables to promote the city’s recent plastic reduction ordinance.
Live entertainment was provided by the bluegrass group Salt Martians.
To capture the evening’s moments in pictures, attendees could take photos with the traditional Dam Dinner frame that has been around since the event started in 2013.
The city thanks those who joined the event, including Goleta City Council members, Assemblymember Gregg Hart, and Santa Barbara County Supervisors Joan Hartmann and Laura Capps.
Key partners credited with putting on the event are the Goleta Valley Historical Society and the city of Goleta. Pete Wolf of Big Hammer Lures helped with the planning, set-up and clean-up, and again created the yearly Dam Dinner t-shirts.
Santa Cruz Market donated succulents for the tables and the Devereux Greenhouse Group created and delivered the arrangements for the event. Creekside Restaurant and the Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce shared their tablecloths; and MarBorg donated the bathrooms and handwashing stations.
