Saturday was that “dam” time of year again at Goleta’s Lake Los Carneros — the city’s annual Dam Dinner offering a community gathering with a scenic view.
The free and longtime community tradition, touted as “Goleta’s Best Dam Dinner,” is organized by the city of Goleta and the Goleta Valley Historical Society.
Saturday’s dinner drew hundreds of people, according to Kelly Hoover, Goleta’s community relations manager.
A long line of tables and chairs snaked along the Lake Los Carneros dam, where people sat and ate their dinner while mingling with fellow residents and city leaders in a casual environment.
The Dam Dinner offered attendees a scenic golden-hour view of Lake Los Carneros, live bluegrass music from the Salt Martians, food trucks, face painting, and a Goleta Valley Library book van.
Community members were encouraged to pack their own dinner or buy something from the food trucks at the event.
This year, free trishaw rides provided by Cycling Without Age, a local nonprofit organization, were a new addition to the event.
“I thought that was a really good idea,” Mayor Paula Perotte said.
She hopes the trishaw rides continue at future Dam Dinner gatherings because they make the event more accessible to the community, Perotte said of the three-wheeled vehicles.
She also said she enjoyed getting to hear from community members, without a formal agenda, unlike government meetings.
Councilmember Stuart Kasdin said he also enjoyed talking with community members in a casual setting.
“The lovely thing about it is just how community it is,” he said. “You walk by, you see people and say hello to people you don’t ordinarily see.”
He said he feels like he learns more about people in the community during the event.
While he brought his own dinner to the event, one of his favorite parts was the “dam” food and drinks.
For some community members, this is a summer tradition.
Attendee Stacie Furia has been going to the Dam Dinner every year, she told Noozhawk.
“The kids like the shaved ice; it is fun to get to meet or see our neighbors,” Furia said.
She also liked the bike valet service that MOVE Santa Barbara County offered at the event, which gives bicyclists a designated place to park their bikes.
“We always bike, and we used to have to just put our bikes behind the table; it was always a little bit precarious,” she said.
But for others, this was their first time attending the event and exploring Lake Los Carneros.
Santa Barbara residents Jessica and Mike Ryu, and their 3-year-old daughter, Autumn Ryu, decided to join the dinner this year after hearing about it from friends who live in Goleta.
“(We) are really lucky that the city offers this,” Jessica Ryu said. “It is really great that they have all of these tables set out for us.”
They hope to return for next year’s Dam Dinner, they said.
