A night of dancing and music in front of a crowd will kick off festivities for Santa Barbara’s Old Spanish Days Fiesta in August after the coronavirus pandemic adapted celebrations in 2020, event organizers announced Tuesday.
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.
The public is invited to attend, according to Fiesta officials.
“Santa Barbara County Public Health gave us the 100% go-ahead for Fiesta Pequeña as we normally do it,” 2021 Old Spanish Days El Segundo Vice Presidente David Bolton said. “The city also gave the go-ahead, so we’ve gone through the proper government and protocol tracks to make sure we’re doing everything correctly.”
The event will feature dance performances from 2021 Junior Spirit Savannah Hoover and 2021 Spirit of Fiesta Isabella Yturralde, as well as other dancers and singers gracing the steps of the Santa Barbara Mission.
“Fiesta Pequeña is a magical night in Santa Barbara,” La Presidenta Stephanie Petlow said Tuesday during a news conference at the Santa Barbara Mission.
The announcement came on the heels of California eliminating the reopening tier system.
“We’re pleased to be able to bring you some traditional Old Spanish Days events and bring those back after last year we weren’t able to do everything,” Petlow said. “But this year, we’re excited to do a few of our special events.”
La Fiesta Pequeña, or “Little Fiesta,” has been celebrated at the Santa Barbara Mission since the late 1920s with traditional songs and dancing, including styles of Californios, flamenco, classical Spanish and Mexican folklórico.
The official opening of Old Spanish Days often draws thousands of spectators to watch performers.
The popular event was among the few Fiesta happenings to be offered in 2020 because of COVID-19 restrictions amid the public health crisis.
Because of the pandemic last year, 2020 Spirit of Fiesta Alena Velasco and 2020 Junior Spirit of Fiesta Alexandra Nocker displayed their talents on a makeshift outdoor stage at KEYT News. Their performances were televised for viewers at home.
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.”
The traditional Fiesta parade and Mercados will not occur this year, but several other happenings will take place during the next two months.
Click here to read more about the events for the 97th 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.
