The pandemic has forced the cancellation of the Mercado De La Guerra during Santa Barbara’s annual Old Spanish Days Fiesta in August, La Presidenta Stephanie Petlow announced Thursday.
The summertime celebration, scheduled for Aug. 4-7 at the historic De la Guerra Plaza, features vendors and food booths hosted by organizations, as well as live entertainment.
“As much as we would love to bring the entire Mercado experience to the Santa Barbara community, Old Spanish Days in Santa Barbara, Inc. recognizes our higher duty to preserve the health and welfare of our community, especially our elders and those that are infirmed,” Petlow said in a statement.
“This decision was not an easy one as we deliberated extensively with counsel from the public health agency and experts from within our healthcare community.”
The decision to cancel the Mercado De La Guerra is “due to the volume of people who pass through the Mercado on an hourly basis for four days and flow of participants,” Petlow said. “We are concerned about our families, grandparents, children and visitors in the community, and we want to make sure everyone remains healthy.”
The popular multi-day event held next to Santa Barbara’s City Hall is the backbone of Old Spanish Days Fiesta, Petlow said.
It provides memorable moments for families, visitors and friends, plus stages for local dance groups and a platform for nonprofits, she added.
“However, based on the spike of the COVID-19 Delta variant cases and based on our extensive review with health officials, it is important that we keep our families, visitors and community safe,” Petlow said.
Santa Barbara County public health officials said this week that the region is experiencing a “dramatic increase” in cases during the past few weeks as the highly infectious Delta coronavirus variant circulates throughout the community.
All other announced Fiesta events will continue, Old Spanish Days organizers said.
The historical parade will not occur this year, but several free events will take place during the first weekend of August.
As of Thursday, Old Spanish Days will hold an in-person La Fiesta Pequeña on Aug. 4 on the steps of the Santa Barbara Mission, 2201 Laguna St. in Santa Barbara.
Thousands of spectators often watch the historical program on the lawn near the Mission Rose Garden.
The annual Santa Barbara Old Spanish Days Fiesta Stock Horse Show is scheduled for Aug. 6-8 at Earl Warren Showgrounds in Santa Barbara.
The theme for this year’s 97th annual Old Spanish Days, which will be held Aug. 4-8 in Santa Barbara, is “Honoring Our Generations.”
Click here to read more about the events for Old Spanish Days Fiesta in Santa Barbara.
— Noozhawk staff writer Brooke Holland can be reached at bholland@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
