A Fourth of July drone show is officially coming to Goleta this summer.
On Tuesday, the Goleta City Council approved an agreement with the drone company, Droneshow.com LLC, which is the same company Santa Maria uses for its drone show.
Kelly Hoover, Goleta’s community relations manager, told the council that the city is still fundraising money for the free event that will be held in the football stadium at Dos Pueblos High School.
The city has raised $43,500 so far and the total cost of the event is estimated to be $70,000. Hoover said the remaining funds they need will go toward security fees, custodial services, entertainment, audiovisual and promotion.
Yardi Systems donated $25,000 for the drone show and other donations have come in from local organizations including Teledyne FLIR, Deckers, the Goleta Valley Historical Society, Community West Bank, MarBorg Industries and Santa Barbara Airbus.
City Councilman James Kyriaco said the show is a great way to blend the old and new in Goleta.
“At first glance it seems like a really wonderful blend of old timey Fourth of July, what Goleta loves, but also technology and embracing new ideas,” Kyriaco said. “Having FLIR and Yardi involved, Goleta has really become a tech hub so I like the blend of old fashioned and new tech.”
Hoover said this is more affordable than having the show at Girsh Park. Before the pandemic, the Rotary Club of Goleta put on an annual fireworks show at Girsh Park. The show never returned, largely because of the costs and effort to put it on.
The Old Fashioned Fourth of July celebration at Rancho La Patera and Stow House is held in Goleta each year, but there has not been a fireworks show since 2019.
Councilman Stuart Kasdin said that while there are plenty of community events in Goleta such as the Dam Dinner and the holiday parade, residents have missed the fireworks show in recent years.
“This is one that was really missed by people and so many people with kids, people who grew up here, they all remember taking their kids to the fireworks show,” Kasdin said. “It’s a big deal that we’re getting this back this year and we’ll see how it goes.”
The plan is to have doors open at 6 p.m., with the drone show starting at 8:30 p.m. and lasting 14 to 17 minutes.
The show will include 150 drones that are able to fly 400 feet into the air and can be seen from 7 to 10 miles away, however the best viewing will be inside the stadium, on the home side of the field.
Hoover said the visitor side will be closed during the show, so only 2,000 actual seats will be available. However, there will also be room for some seating on the track and grass.
While the city is hosting the event his year, it’s not committing to doing so again in the future.
“We would want to see, did the community even like it, what was the turnout and also to see who would want to take it over in the future,” Hoover said. “We’re talking with community groups who may be interested in stepping up and taking it over in the future and then we would just step in as supportive partners.”
Hoover explained that they’re doing a drone show instead of a fireworks show because of fire hazards, noise issues, and environmental impacts caused by fireworks. For those who still want a fireworks show, Santa Barbara hosts an annual show at the waterfront.
Councilwoman Luz Reyes-Martin said she was glad to see another Fourth of July event return to Goleta, adding that she enjoyed a drone show that she recently saw at Dodger Stadium.
“I love fireworks and I saw all the sometimes negative impacts of it, especially to pets, elderly folks or anyone who is really noise sensitive, the environmental impacts,” Reyes-Martin said. “I think it is really prudent for us to look at an alternative and I’m really glad that the technology for the drone shows has really grown so much in the last couple years.”
