Communities showed some transition, continued some tradition, in the year 2025
PART ONE OF TWO
The Santa Ynez Valley spent 2025 maintaining a lot of traditions, welcoming its usual crowds of tourists while trying to keep the things that make the area livable for its residents. Longtime annual events like Danish Days, the 4th of July fireworks show, and Julefest continued to roll along, while newer yearly staples like Buellton’s Fall Fest, the Holiday Lights Festival and the Viking Classic Car Show in Solvang solidified their footprints into the local culture. Cities also saw some transition as new City Council took over in Buellton and Solvang, and people looked to the future with projects taking shape and (hopefully) moving slowly but surely. Here’s a look at 2025 for the Santa Ynez Valley, from Month 1 to 12.
January
Solvang Senior Center Executive Director Ellen Albertoni got a little choked up as her and seven other city leaders shoveled some dirt to constitute the groundbreaking of the new Solvang Senior Center by the Veterans Memorial Hall. The new 5,500-square-foot, two-story building, which will double the size of the current facility, is taking shape and should be ready sometime in 2026.
Meanwhile, Buellton and Solvang were installing their new City Councils under new mayors David Silva and David Brown, respectively. Solvang would immediately appoint a new City Councilmember, Louise Smith, to fill an election-caused vacancy, but Buellton opted for a special election to fill their vacancy (see August). In Buellton, the local SYV Humane Society helped out in the Palisades Fire effort as it housed some pets who had to be evacuated from Malibu, and back in Solvang, people got to check out youngsters’ business savvy in the annual Jr. Entrepreneur Fair.
February
Five years after purchasing the former Willemsen Dairy property for public use, the City of Buellton and its residents got to see a big result of that acquisition on Feb. 8 with the grand opening of the new Buellton Library. City leaders got to cut the ribbon, and residents got to see the inside with a cozy reading area, a fireplace, conference rooms and a picture window that allows patrons a full view of the hills south of Buellton.
Also in February, we got to hear about Los Alamos meatcutter Ray Williams, who earned a spot on Team USA for the World Butcher Challenge (WBC) in France, and the California Nature Art Museum in Solvang reopened with a new tenant, a wooden troll named Lulu Hyggelig, a creation from Danish artist Thomas Dambo, who has several other trolls he completed all over the world. Lulu, however, is his first in California.
March
The Santa Ynez High girls basketball team made a memorable postseason run in 2025, not only making it to the CIF Central Section Division IV championship game, where the Lady Pirates lost in Fresno to Immanuel High, but because of that title-game berth, made it into the state playoffs. SYHS would beat Serra High of Gardena at home, but then get eliminated by Granada Hills Charter to finish with a 21-13 overall record. Head coach Jennifer Rasmussen said of her players, “I’m incredibly proud of their achievements and the dedication they’ve shown throughout the season.”
Other SYHS students were also getting attention: The school’s drama department put on a production of “Andrew Lloyd Webber’s School of Rock,” on the weekend of May 14-16, with students put on engaging performances in a show that saw the cast members coming off the stage and into the audience for some numbers.
April
For the first weekend in April, Solvang became Legoland as the city hosted the first Bricks & Builds event for avid Lego builders, a fitting designation since the Lego brand did originate in Denmark. The two-day event saw all kinds of Lego builds displayed across the Veterans Memorial Hall, a contest for the best build based on a Hans Christian Andersen character, a pop-up Lego store and so much more. Organizer Allyson Gail expressed her desire to make the event an annual one to make up for the lack of a Lego-style convention in the state of California.
At the same time as, but unrelated to, the Lego event, over 100 people gathered in front of the Veterans Hall along Mission Drive to participate in a national day of protest against President Donald Trump’s policies. The “Hands Off” was part of a nationwide protest that drew over 3 million to demonstrations across the nation. Othern happenings in the Valley later in the month included the Buellton Easter Egg Hunt at Riverview Park on April 19, and the annual Cachuma Lake Fishing Derby on April 26-27.
May
The end of the month saw Santa Ynez High School say goodbye to 211 graduating seniors during the Class of 2025 commencement at Rio Memorial Field. SYHS Superintendent/Principal Dr. Kimberly Sheehan lauded the school’s alumni for always ready to support the current students and reminded the 2025 grads that they’re “once a Pirate, always a Pirate.” The next day, 28 students got their diplomas at the commencement for Dunn School in Los Olivos, a ceremony highlighted by the annual poem recited by Head of School Kalyan Balaven, sprinkled with references to members of the graduating class.
Other May highlights included the opening of the Chumash Cultural Museum, the Valley’s newest jewel of Highway 246, the Santa Ynez boys volleyball team winning a CIF Central Section championship after a thrilling five-set win over Sanger High of Fresno in the Division II title match, and the return of the Ranchos Visitadores riders, in their annual ride from Santa Barbara, and down Alisal Road on their way to the meet-up at Mission Santa Ines.
June
As the summer season started coming into view, there were a number of celebrations and events bringing people outdoors, including the Los Olivos Olive and Jazz Festival on June 7, the fourth annual Pride Parade in Solvang, and the Santa Ynez Old Days weekend event, which included a parade and rodeo on June 21-22.
Solvang also got to host the movers and shakers of the Valley with the Santa Ynez Valley Economic Summit, where local figures in government, business, and tourism discussed how to make tourism work with a community’s desire to maintain a regular life for its residents. Much of the same kind of discussion could be heard later that month with the Buellton State of the City address.
See the Year in Review for events from July to September in our next issue Jan. 16.
