Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Fiesta kicks off at Mission Santa Barbara

BY COLBY FRAZIER
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

With a fiery sunset as a backdrop, Mission Santa Barbara glowed with rays of bright purples, blues and pinks last night as the 83rd Old Spanish Days Fiesta celebration officially kicked off with the La Fiesta Pequena event.
Thousands of Fiesta revelers gathered on the lawn in front of the mission and in the Rose Garden to watch the dancers and hear the music that ushers in the five-day long celebration.
As the party unraveled, cascarones (eggs filled with confetti for Fiesta first timers), cracked over the heads of those in attendance like bottles of Champagne on new years eve.
And whether you love Fiesta or hate it, it’s here.


“There’s nowhere else like Santa Barbara,” said Nina Garcia, who has lived in Santa Barbara since 1972 and has been selling cascarones for the past five years. “I like how people have a lot of fun with the confetti.”
When her grandchildren arrive in Santa Barbara today, Garcia said they will help her sell the cascarones. Aside from the big events, Garcia said the food at the mercados is top notch, as well as a Sunday celebration at Our Lady of Guadalupe.
This reporter apparently wasn’t festive enough, so Garcia took care of business and crushed a cascarone over his head.
Keith Morris and his family, who are visiting from Michigan, were enjoying their first Fiesta Pequena last night.
“This is one of a kind,” Morris said.
Morris’s daughter Katie said she was most impressed by the dancing and the colors.
For Allison Hansen, who asked for this reporters business card after he asked her name, Fiesta is not only a time to party, but a time when the town opens up and it becomes easier to meet new people.
“Everyone is ready to open up and talk with other people,” Hansen said.
She also said she likes it when the streets are closed and said she’d like to eventually see State Street closed during Fiesta.
Lucille Boss said she enjoys the dancing and the wide variety of festivities, which include all at once wild parties in bars and one of the largest equestrian parades in the country that will feature several hundred horses this year.
As for the crime element last night, Santa Barbara Police Officer Chris Zbinden said no major incidents had yet occurred.
“It’s a great crowd,” Zbinden said. “I think the whole thing’s good. It’s a great family event up here.”

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