Staff Report

Solvang Theaterfest has announced that their final concert of the 2025 season, One Night of Queen, will be moving indoors to the Samala Showroom at Chumash Casino Resort for the Friday, Nov. 14, event.
“As we watched the weather projections shift, we realized for the safety of our guests, our staff, and the performers that we couldn’t keep the show as planned,” said Chantel Green, Executive Director for Solvang Theaterfest, which operates Solvang Festival Theater. “We reached out to the only venue who might be able to accommodate a sold-out event with two days’ notice
— the Chumash Casino Resort — and they saved the show. Literally!”
“The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians has been a long time supporter of our iconic theater and annual arts programs, and we are incredibly grateful for their partnership throughout the years,” Green said. “This is going above and beyond. We are so thankful to the tribe and to the leadership team of the Chumash Casino Resort for their hospitality, and for giving us a place to go in our time of need.”
One Night of Queen is a special two-hour tribute show dedicated to the stage theatrics, showmanship, and music of Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame members Queen. Performed by Gary Mullen & The Works, the band features Gary Mullen on vocals, David Brockett on guitar, Billy Moffat on bass, Malcolm Gentles on keyboards and Jon Halliwell on drums.
Showtime for One Night of Queen is 7 p.m., with doors opening at 6 p.m. The Chumash Casino Resort is located at 3400 East Highway 246.

All ticketholders should check their inbox for an email from the organizers alerting them to the change in venue and providing additional details on Friday night’s event. Questions about this event can be emailed to: info@solvangtheaterfest.org.

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The Santa Ynez High School Drama Department, led by drama teacher Amy Curti, has had the custom of using its fall production to perform a classic play based on a novel, such as last year’s “Little Women.” This year, Curti had decided to mark the 250th birthday of the esteemed English author Jane Austen by putting on a dramatization of Austen’s classic novel “Emma.” 

“Because it was Jane Austen’s 250th birthday, it felt appropriate to do this play,” said Curti, who is in her second year as the drama teacher at SYHS. “I know St. Joseph is doing ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and other high schools are doing Austen plays because of the milestone.” 

Curti, the student cast members, and volunteer stagehands are currently hard at work on the production, which will culminate in performances on four straight days from Nov. 13-16. 

The novel and story is focused mainly on its title character Emma Woodhouse, the protagonist of the story, a beautiful, high-spirited, intelligent, and somewhat spoiled young woman, but includes Mrs. Weston, Emma’s former governess and close friend, and Mr. Knightley, Emma’s neighbor and good friend. Mrs. Weston has just gotten married to Mr. Weston after Emma had introduced them, and because of that fancies herself a matchmaker. She tries to match a young girl, Harriet Smith, with a social-climbing gentleman despite Mr. Knightley’s advice not to, resulting in romantic misadventures. Eventually, things right themselves as Emma learns to potential problems of her matchmaking and meddling in the lives of her friends and neighbors. 

SYHS student Isla Burditt is playing Emma in this production, and she compared how the themes and characters of her time can relate to modern times. 

“Jane Austen, as many people have said, was ahead of her time,” she said. “She has so many notes of all these strong woman characters. And with Emma, she talks about how the women of the time would just drop everything to be with a man and get married and that was the social norm, and she doesn’t want to oblige to that. I think that’s a theme that trickles into our time now.” 

As far as portraying the character, Isla said she is trying to inject a little of her personality into the role. 

“In watching other people’s depiction of Emma, I thought they were kind of bland;I looked at her as someone who could be funny,” she said. “My family tells me I’m almost like a cartoon character with my facial expressions, so I try to incorporate that into scenes like when Emma is talking with someone she doesn’t necessarily like.” 

“Ultimately though, my favorite thing about Emma is how hard she tries,” Isla continued. “She tries to do well, but she’s not really good about it. She’s kind of spoiled, but I like how hard she tries; she has a never-ending spirit.” 

Addysinn Laliberte co-stars as Mrs. Weston, and enjoys her character’s role in the story. 

“I think she’s the best friend of the story,” she said. “We are the ones who conspire and gossip, and as a teenager, I love to banter. However, I find her to be the true instigator in the story, but her motives are pure. She’s kind of the healthy conspirer.” 

Alex Santi portrays Mr. Knightley, who is portrayed as a voice of reason throughout the story. “Mr. Knightley is the level-headed one, deep down a good person who generally cares,” Alex said. “He calls Emma out because he’s secretly in love with her. He’s like her conscience. I like how he is generally a good person.”

As the cast and crew continues to rehearse for the show, Curti hinted at a change for the selec- tion of shows from this point. In the spring, the department will be putting on a production of “The Sound of Music,” following its production last spring of “Andrew Lloyd Weber’s School of Rock.” Curti said the fall shows may become musicals also. 

“We did set a precedent last fall with ‘Little Women’ to do a classic play,” she said. “I am believing though that our heart and passion might be for the musical. There’s such an interest from the students and the community for musicals, especially seeing the difference in attendance for ‘Little Women’ and ‘School of Rock,’ I think we might be seeing more musical coming from this point forward.” 

But for now, the focus is on “Emma,” and the work on this show gives Curti another chance to applaud the community’s work and support for the show. 

“Right now we have Natalie Groves, a local artist, painting our sets,” she said. “Chris Mullins, a history teacher at Santa Ynez High, and Bob Rennick built the set for last year’s show and then redid it — they go above and beyond, and this is how the theater works with people pitching in. We even had Isla’s grandmother, Cyndee Burditt, make the costumes for this production. It’s all hands on deck.” 

But Curti said there’s still work to be done. 

“We still need to update our sound system and need a new stage,” she said. “If you’d like to make a donation or help out just contact me.” Curti can be reached at acurti@syvuhsd.org 

“Emma,” presented by the Santa Ynez High Drama Department, will run for four days, from Thursday, Nov. 13, to Sunday, Nov. 16 at the SYHS Little Theater. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday showings will be at 6:30 p.m., while Sunday’s showing will be 1 p.m. Tickets are available on the ASB Webstore at syvpirates.org and at the door. 

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The Buellton City Council was in a giving mood during its regular meeting on Thursday, Oct. 23, as it granted funds to two arts programs in Buellton, and also pledged its share of money toward a new aquatic center on the Santa Ynez High School campus.

In fact, the council upped the ante by passing a motion to increase its pledge on the condition that the City of Solvang matches it. The aquatic center is a joint undertaking involving the cities of Buellton and Solvang, the Santa Ynez Valley Aquatics Foundation, a local nonprofit organization, the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District (SYVUHSD), and the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.

The item on the aquatic center was heard without Vice Mayor Elysia Lewis, who was recused due to her management position with SYVUHSD.

In introducing the item, City Manager Scott Wolfe explained that the proposed aquatic center would consist of a second pool, to be used as a recreation facility, to add to the current pool, which is used for competition but is currently not up to standards. A stainless steel pool structure was purchased by the Aquatics Foundation several years ago and is currently in storage awaiting a location to be constructed. Fundraising efforts are underway to raise in excess of $13 million needed to make the necessary improvements to the SYHS campus to install the new pool and renovate the existing pool.

The Aquatics Foundation has asked that Buellton and Solvang make pledge for funds at $450,000 to, as Wolfe put it out, “have some skin in the game.” Solvang had approved their $450,000, which would be paid upon the future groundbreaking of the facility, at a council meeting earlier this year.

The proposed facility, and Buellton contribution to it, were universally endorsed by public speakers and councilmembers, citing the benefits of a proper competition pool for local athletes, a place for people to take a dip and cool off on a warm day, and a nearby location where kids could learn to swim.

“When I grew up there was no pool, nothing,” said former Buellton Mayor Judith Dale in public comment. “Growing up, raising kids here, if I wasn’t working at UCSB, my kids wouldn’t have had a place to learn to swim. Please accept this pool.”

Solvang City Manager Randy Murphy was also present, speaking as a member of the fundraising committee for the pool. “We accepted the amount to encourage the Chumash and private entities to make donations. We had given $450,000 to the Solvang Senior Center, and I thought aquatic complex was worth that, too.”

During the discussion, Councilmember John Sanchez was the first to suggest that Buellton raise the amount of their pledge from the suggested $450,000 to $550,000

“It’s big value to have our skin in the game,” Sanchez said. “I would consider going to $550,000 so we would have more than Solvang. It’s a nice message to donors to show if they’re not messing around.”

Mayor David Silva said he would agree to that if Solvang also would, saying that both cities should pledge the same amount. After discussion among Silva, Wolfe, and Murphy, it was agreed that Buellton would pledge $500,000 toward the project to make it an even $1 million between the cities. Murphy said he would bring the increase to the Solvang City Council at a future meeting of theirs.

The motion by Silva to pledge the $500 million, with a provision suggested by Councilmember Carla Mead that Buellton be involved with the management and programming of the aquatic center, passed by a 4-0 vote, with Lewis recused.

Earlier in the meeting, the council passed a motion awarding funds to two Buellton arts programs.

Alison Firey of Buellton Parks and Rec introduced both programs, the first being the Buellton String Project, where local kids signed up to learn the violin or cello through instruction at the Buellton Recreation Center. With the presentation, the council and audience even got to see a brief concert as program instructor Mary Woodruff and 6-year-old Coco, whom Woodruff identified as the “youngest, and best” student in the class, played what Woodruff called the “Pepperoni Pizza version” of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.”

While staff recommend a grant of $15,000 for the program, the City Council decided that was too low.

“This is the exact intent of the Arts and Culture Committee,” said Councilmember Hudson Hornick. “I think we should fund their full ask, more than staff recommends.”

With that Lewis moved to award $20,000, the amount request by Firey, and the motion passed 5-0

In the same item, Firey introduced the Buellton Mosaics Project brought by Veronica Medina and Stacy Curry, owners of Community Clayworks.

Medina and Curry, whose mosaic work on the wall of the Buellton Post Office is visible to motorists traveling into the city on Highway 246, proposed the creation of two new large-scale public mosaics celebrating native California wildflowers, continuing their mission to enhance the visual landscape of Buellton with vibrant and meaningful public art. The two requested $30,940, an increase over the $22,060 they received in 2024. One reason the pair gave for the increased amount of the request was that they felt they “lowballed” the worth of their work the previous year, an opinion Silva agreed with.

“We should be thoughtful about paying business a fair amount,” the mayor said. “We would like [the staff] to do the numbers, so we’re paying a business accurately.”

Silva moved to award the $30,940 request with staff directed to work with the applicants for a separate business item to discuss further disparity between the project as funded and the actual cost. The motion passed 5-0.

The City Council will next meet on Thursday, Nov. 13, at 6 p.m.

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The City of Solvang may be looking for a site to place a new City Hall. 

At the regular City Council meeting on Monday, Oct. 27, City Manager Randy Murphy brought a discussion item asking for direction to find a way to fund a new building to serve as Solvang’s City Hall.

In his staff report, Murphy noted the plaque on the front of the building said the current Solvang Municipal Center (aka City Hall) was completed in 1969. 

“As is often the case with pub- lic buildings, city staff outgrew the available space, and the nearby Masonic Lodge (constructed in 1957) was acquired,” Murphy said. “Only minimal modifications were made to the building prior to commencement of City operations in 2001/02 when Parks & Recreation, Community Development (Planning/ Building), and Public Works were moved across the street into ‘The Annex’. This arrangement continues to this day, which, unfortunately, contributes to multiple inefficiencies between/among staff and the public.” 

Murphy continued to list inadequacies of the building on 1644 Oak St., which the city administration with the Santa Barbara County Fire Department. Moreover, he was making his case on a night the video system malfunctioned, leaving colorful test patterns on the two video screens above the council dais. 

“Building is older and it suffers from a serious lack of technology, as evidenced tonight,” Murphy said, gesturing up to the screens. “An evaluation shows we need about twice of what we have. We need a new City Hall sooner rather than later.” 

Murphy said staff has evaluated options to moving into existing building, but nothing could be found that was feasible. He supplied council with a primary building design for a proposed new building that could be built on the lot across the street. An evaluation determined that a new City Hall would cost between $8.7 million and $10.3 million, and that price tag would increase 5% or more each year. 

“It’s not an inexpensive proposition, but it could included in a bond offering or other opportunities, like grants,” he said. 

Murphy cited other community benefits, such as the Fire Department taking over the space in the building that would be abandoned by the city, and the Solvang Library moving to The Annex when the city leaves that facility. Murphy said both the Fire Department and the library were open to those scenarios. 

“I’m just hoping to get direction from council whether or not this is worth pursuing,” Murphy concluded. 

At first reaction, councilmembers seemed pleased with the idea. 

“I’m interested about bartering with library,”Mayor ProTem Claudia Orona said. “Everybody needs more space; I would like to go forward.” 

Mayor David Brown wondered if Murphy’s floor design really does take care of the “inefficiencies,” of the current setup, questioned the need for an exercise gym that was on there, but Murphy reminded council that the plan was a primary draft he drew himself and could be modified — and said he envisioned the room as a potential child-care area. 

That seemed to appease Brown, but Councilmember Elizabeth Orona warned about the financial consequences of such a project. 

“I feel we have huge costs coming at us already,” she said. “To put unavoidable expenses on the backs of our residents and businesses, we better be really diligent.” 

Elizabeth Orona asked further about the possibility of moving into an existing building and whether it would be cheaper to retrofit a current building. She also brought up the possibility of moving into the former Rite-Aid space at the Valley Fresh Market shopping center. 

Murphy said a new building would actually be cheaper than a retrofit, which was confirmed by Planning Director Rafael Castillo, who also noted that the Rite-Aid space is not set up for the demands of a City Hall-type office and Murphy added that space doesn’t have enough square footage. 

At the end, council instructed Murphy to pursue the matter, and he said he would have something in the next three to six months. 

The City Council will next meet on Nov. 10 at 6:30 p.m. 

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Staff Report

Santa Barbara County Executive Officer Mona Miyasato announced on Nov. 7 that Garrett Huff has been selected to be the next fire chief for Santa Barbara County. The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to ratify the appointment at the Nov. 18 Board of Supervisors meeting.

Huff is currently the Deputy Chief of the Santa Barbara County Fire Department. His first day will be Dec. 8. He will assume the duties from Chief Mark Hartwig, who is retiring on Dec. 7 after six years as the Santa Barbara County Fire Chief.

Huff began his career in firefighting in 1999 and came to Santa Barbara County in 2005. Over the past 20 years with the county, he has worked his way up the ranks from starting as a firefighter/paramedic on an engine to most recently the deputy fire chief. In this position, he oversees the county’s Emergency Medical Services and the Regional Fire Communications Center.  In addition, he has served on the Incident Management Team for numerous fires, the Montecito debris flow, the Conception boat tragedy, and the county’s response to the COVID pandemic.

“I am deeply honored to be chosen as the next fire chief of the Santa Barbara County Fire Department,” Huff said. “Having grown up and spent my career serving within this department and county, this opportunity is both humbling and profoundly meaningful. The men and women of this organization embody the highest standards of professionalism, compassion, and dedication. It is a privilege to lead them as we continue to serve and protect the citizens of Santa Barbara County. I look forward to building upon our department’s proud history and working collaboratively to ensure a safe and resilient future for our communities.”

The County Fire Department operates 24/7 with 320 personnel and an operating budget of $130 million.  There are 16 fire stations, and each is equipped with multiple firefighters, engines, and Primary Advance Life Support (ALS) to directly serve about 172,000 people in the unincorporated areas such as Orcutt, Vandenberg Village, and most of the Santa Ynez Valley, along with acting as the fire agency for the cities of Buellton, Goleta, and Solvang.  In addition to fire-station response, the Fire Department utilizes helicopters, bulldozers, rescue watercraft, and hand crews for various disasters. The department oversees the new Regional Fire Communications Center, which dispatches the closest available resource to fire and emergency medical calls throughout the County.  In addition, the Department oversees the Office of Emergency Management which coordinates emergency preparedness, response, and recovery for the entire county.

“After a nationwide search, I’m confident that Deputy Chief Huff will continue to lead the department in the right direction. He has proven leadership skills, solid fire experience and immense respect from myself, County leadership and the staff of the Fire Department,” Miyasato said. “He knows this department from the bottom to the top and has worked throughout the divisions of the Department to have a full understanding of the work the department does and the responsibilities of a fire chief. I value his expertise in this field and servant heart to protect our community.”

Huff received his B.S. in fire and emergency management from Kaplan University, his A.S. in fire technology from Oxnard College, and is continuing his education with completing his Master’s in public administration this coming summer.  Huff also has several certifications for his field and is involved in professional organizations across the state, including serving as a board member on the California 9-1-1 Advisory Board.  Throughout his career, he received multiple recognitions, including being named the 2016 Firefighter of the Year for the County of Santa Barbara.

“I also want to take the opportunity to thank Chief Mark Hartwig. With a career spanning 33 years, he has been a knowledgeable, dedicated and bold leader, always striving to advance the fire service for the betterment of our community and the entire state. We appreciate that he has shared his immense experience and leadership with us over these last six years,” Miyasato said.

For more information on the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, go to sbcfire.com.

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The Buellton Planning Commission and the Buellton City Council had a rare joint meeting on Thursday, discussing the city’s General Plan 2050 update.

The council members and commissioners, minus Vice Mayor Elysia Lewis, who was absent, met with consultants Jean E. Ward and Adam Pisarkiewicz of Civic Solutions, as well as Aaron Pfannenstiel from Atlas Planning Solutions. Each consultant discussed a separate subject with the combined panel.

Ward described the General Plan as “a roadmap or a blueprint for future growth and development in the city.” 

She went on to explain the plan needed an update becuase some of its elements were done as long as 20 years ago, and needs to update to keep up with changing needs and conditions of the city. She also said it must address state requirements. 

Required elements or topics to be discussed on the document include: Safety, Housing, Conservation, Land Use, Open Space, Mobility, Noise. Subjects discussed on Oct. 30 included Resources and Conservation (led by Pisarkiewicz) and Noise and Safety (led by Pfannenstiel).The meeting followed a format of the consultant introducing the subject, with the Planning Commission, and then City Council asking questions about the topic. 

Pisarkiewicz began his presentation in resource conservation by bringing up two topics he considered as very important in the Santa Ynez Valley. Air and water quality were brought up first as he pointed out wildfire smoke was the biggest threat to the area. That could greatly affect the air quality as well as water. He asked the Buellton officials what they could focus on. 

Planning Vice Chair Marcilo Sarquilla asked if the city was looking at moving some water through town like he pointed out San Luis Obispo does, and Plan- ning Director Andrea Keefer said that staff was work- ing on it. Planning Chair Shannon Reese followed up on that by asking about the paths along the rivers. 

“At our prior meeting, we talked about scenic and biological resources; pedestrian connections and trials,” she said. “I’d like to explore some standards how trails should look by waterways.”Keefer answered by saying staff had talked to SBCAG about getting some preliminary designs looked at. 

Reese then pointed out the wildfire smoke was a problem in many communities and asked how those cities were able to combat it. Pisarkiewicz said there were some filtration systems that were utilized, but said policies in the safety topic would entertwine with that and help them figure out how to combat. 

After Pfannenstiel elaborated on wildfire smoke and how it must be dealt with, City Councilmembers John Sanchez seemed to push back on the idea that wildfire smoke required radical action. 

“As far as the concern about wildfire smoke; it’s something that will happen,” he said. “ We have the requirement to have smoke monitors. I don’t understand making us put in a new system. I don’t see the point.” Buellton City Manager Scott Wolfe answered by saying the future policy would mean encouraging new developers to put in filtration systems, rather than replace exisiting homes’ systems. 

Mayor David Silva believed protecting your home from fire was the way to go. 

“Requiring defensible space is appropriate for a plan,” he said. 

“The more we acknowledge wildfire, we can look into landscaping with plants that help with fire mitigation.” 

The discussion then went to noise and safety, with Pfaffenstiel leading the dicussion; first he asked the panel what the biggest source of excessive noise was in Buellton. 

Sarquilla said the big one was Highway 246, with cars going too fast and making noise while they were moving. “The only benefit is it helps the air flow.” 

Commissioner Daniel Contreras pointed to noise standards on construction that aren’t being followed, while fellow Commis- sioner Brian Campbell cited the increased launches from nearby Vandenberg Air Force Base as a problem. On the City Council side, Councilmember Carla Mead said complaints in her District 4 included tractor-trailer trucks driving by apartment complexes on McMurray Road. Silva said landscapers and trash trucks that come by at 7 a.m. 

Councilmember Hudson Hornick said that there were instances of noise, but creative ways to combat the noise, like his proposal to add a number of trees in the city to block the noise, and working with Caltrans to narrow 246. “Careful planning is necessary for 246,” he said. 

At the end of the meeting, Ward said they would take the info collected and add it to the input they gave in the last meeting. Even- tually, she said, they would have a draft plan sometime next year. 

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Residents and visitors to the Santa Ynez Valley took advantage of Halloween to roam the area in their scariest, funniest, and wackiest (or some combination of the three) costumes — or in their regular clothes — to partake in “spooky season” events held in the area.

Chief among those events was the 31st Annual Haunted House and Street Fair in Solvang. For the second straight year, the city’s Parks and Recreation created a scary setup at the Solvang Festival Theater for the week- end of October 24 and 25. 

Reception for the Haunted House was unprecedented as the attraction drew record numbers, with 1,137 people showing up on Friday, and 1,634 on Saturday, when the line to get in went all the way up 2nd Street and around the corner along Copen- hagen Drive. 

“This has been great,” said Candice Libera of Solvang Parks and Rec, who was managing the entrance at the theater. “We had almost 1,200 last night and are expecting more. And everybody’s enjoying the fair we have out here.” 

Yes, the Street Fair. As folks were waiting in line at the theater others were roaming about, many in costumes to check out the street vendors and also grab a bite to eat at the Whiskey and Rye food truck. In addition to delicious dishes, the owners also had a widescreen TV so nobody missed Game 2 of the World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays. 

However, the big attraction to the Fair, other than the Haunted House, was a flash mob of locals performing the Michael Jackson “Thriller” dance. The group gathered at approximately 6:30 in zombie makeup to do the dance to the classic tune from the King of Pop. 

Maria Henning of Santa Barbara was one of the volunteers who took part in the performance. 

“I answered an email asking for dancers, and I thought it would be fun,” she said.“We rehearsed for two weeks at the Maverick Saloon, and I think we pulled it off OK.” 

An old aquaintance of Henning’s, Kylie Tigard of Solvang, also participated in the flash mob. 

“Maria and I went to school together over 40 years ago at Santa Ynez High,” Tigard said.“We’re still out doing crazy stuff.” 

Caroline Howe of Solvang was one of leaders of the mob, helping out Vanessa Robertson, a line-dance instructor at the Maverick, who organizes the event every Halloween. 

“I’m just here helping out Vanessa,” Howe said after the early Saturday performance. “She teaches the line dancing at the Maverick, and we’ve been getting the ‘Thriller’ flash mob together for the last five years. We always seem to draw some people, so it should be going next year, and however many years after.” 

A few days after the Haunted House closed up shop for another year, Solvang Parks and Rec took to Facebook to thank everyone: “THANK YOU for making the 31st Annual Haunted House & Street Fair a TREAT! We had a record-breaking weekend!” 

The department credited Fred Lageman for being the “creative genius behind the theme & design,” Jalen, Jenny,Elisa,Candice,TerriandWendy, for the décor at the front of house; and the Parks & Maintenance crew for setup, cleanup and road closures. 

The department also gave credit to volunteers like Vivi and Ken Zigler, Anne and Val Nicholas, Kasi Magu- ire, Ryan Metzger, Athena McCan- dlish, Terri Harmon, Claudia Orona (for makeup), Chantel Green of the Solvang Festival Theater, Kevin McConnell (music and sound), the guides “walking five miles a night” and monsters and the street fair vendors for adding to the fun! The department added that funds raised at the event go back into community programs — keeping them affordable for all. 

Solvang wasn’t the only community hosting a Halloween event on Saturday, Oct. 24 — the Santa Ynez Chamber of Commerce was holding its own Halloween celebration on Sagunto Street. 

While there was no haunted house, there was a street busy with activity as attendees and the still-open businesses on the street greeted trick-or- treaters, took part in a costume contest, and some families sat on hay bales in a viewing area to watch the Disney Pixar movie “Coco” on a big-screen TV. 

Linda Small, executive director of the Santa Ynez Chamber of Commerce, said the organization started this event up again as sort of a trial run after the event was interrupted. 

“We had this going for a number of years, with bounce houses, petting zoos, a lot of things,” Small said. “Then the pandemic hit and we had to discontinue it. This is our first attempt after the pandemic and we thought a movie, the businesses with the trick-or-treat- ing, the restaurants being open, would draw some people. 

“We’re just testing it out now, and we know there are a lot of other things going on tonight. We’ll see how this goes and if we have it again next year, and maybe make it bigger.” 

Among the attendees were the Arias family from Lompoc — Ozzie, Melissa, and their toddler daughter Kaia — who were the winners in the family category of the costume contest. Ozzie wore an inflatable dinosaur on his lower half, making it look like he was riding on top of it, while little Kaia wore a dinosaur onesie and Melissa went with a more understated dinosaur decoration. 

“We heard about this and thought it would be fun; it’s our daughter’s first year that she’s aware of Halloween, so we thought we’d come out here because it’s a little more low-key,” Ozzie said. 

Across the Valley, people had a few more days to vote in the Scarecrow Fest, as businesses’ themed scarecrow display were up for judging, as onlookers were invited to vote for their favorites. 

According to the Scarecrow Fest website (syvscarecrows.com), 52 displays were put up all over the Valley, up from 46 in last year’s contest. A list of winners, as well as the winner of the Harvest Award for the most popular will be shown in a future issue. 

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Staff Report

The fifth annual Buellton Fall Festival will return to the Avenue of the Flags in Buellton from Nov. 7-9. The event schedule is Friday, Nov. 7, from 4 to 10 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 8 and 9, from 12 to 10 p.m.
The family-friendly, free-admission event will feature a carnival with rides and games, over 40 bands on two stages, and over 60 food and merchant vendors. It’s conveniently located right off Highway 101 in Buellton.
This year, the event organizers have focused on bringing in more carnival rides, headliners, and special entertainment nights.
“The Buellton Fall Fest is a great event for the entire community and visitors alike,” said Kathy Vreeland, executive director of the Buellton Chamber of Commerce. “Being on a holiday weekend allows families to come out every day and enjoy all the rides, games, food, and the live music. We look forward to this event each year and are so thankful for En Fuego Events for bringing this event to Buellton. The festival takes place on the Avenue of Flags and showcases the heart of our city. We look forward to welcoming everyone to Buellton.”
On Friday, Nov. 7, the Fall Fest kicks off with an ’80s and ’90s Dance Party on the Rio Vista Chevrolet Main Stage featuring everyone’s favorite, The Molly Ringwald Project. Also playing will be the 90s Babies, Smelly Cat, and The Last Decade.
Saturday, Nov. 8, will be the “Funk ‘n’ Rock the Block Party,” with Nautical Thrust, The New Vibe, and False Puppet. Saturday evening will be Reggae Night, featuring local band Cornerstone, and reggae legend and
icon, Pato Banton. Pato is a Grammy-nominated reggae legend who has recorded and toured the world with The English Beat, Steel Pulse, UB40, and Sting, among many others.

Pato’s concerts are upbeat, positive, energetic, and family-friendly. He travels all over the world, and now he will host a free concert at the Buellton Fall Fest.
“Having Pato come back and do this free concert during the Buellton Fall Festival is going to be amazing for the community,” said event organizer and co-owner of En Fuego Events, Andres Nuño. “We had a lot of people reach out hoping to have him come back and play the Fall Fest, and we are excited we finally were able to make it happen.”
Sunday, Nov. 9, starts with Fiesta Sunday, featuring Traviesos Jr., Equipo Marcado, and Equipo Elite.

The event ends with Country Night, featuring the Jimi Nelson Band, and local favorites Agin Brothers and Territorial Law, and Jayden Secor. Adding to the fun will be the Central Coast’s finest line dance instructor, Vanessa Robertson.
You can see the full entertainment schedule, including the bands playing on the Discover Buellton Stage at www.BuelltonFallFest.com/entertainment.
The carnival will feature rides and games for all ages, including the Century Ferris Wheel, the Zipper, bumper cars, a carousel, Super Slide, Extreme, Kamikaze, Pharaohs Fury, and other favorites.
Carnival presale All-You-Can-Ride wristbands ($38) are available online until Thursday, Nov. 6, at 10 p.m. Carnival wristbands and credits will continue to be available online and at the Fall Fest after the presale deadline. You can also purchase All-You-Can-Ride wristbands in person at the Buellton Chamber of Commerce located at 597 Avenue of the Flags, Suite 101.
For guests over 21, the Ales on the Avenue boutique-style Beer and Wine Festival will feature more than 12 breweries, ciders, and wineries on Saturday, Nov. 8. The event is from 12 to 3:30 p.m. and tickets are $35 presale. Tickets are available on the event website.
The Buellton Fall Festival donates a portion of proceeds to the Buellton Chamber of Commerce Scholarship Fund that benefits local high school seniors.
For more information about the Buellton Fall Festival, visit www.BuelltonFallFest.com.

The post Pato Banton returns to the Buellton Fall Fest appeared first on Santa Ynez Valley Star.

By Mike Chaldu

michael@santaynezvalleystar.com

The bad news on Halloween night for the Santa Ynez High football team was their defeat to Righetti in the regular-season finale, as the Pirates, despite getting off to an early lead, saw the visiting Warriors make big plays leading into halftime and into the second half to post a 34-24 win at Rio Memorial Field.

With the defeat, their second straight to close the Sunset League slate, the Pirates finished at 2-2 in the league, and 6-4 overall. SYHS had lost at San Luis Obispo the previous week by a 28-23 score. Righetti and SLO both finished 3-1 to share the league title.

Despite the setback, SYHS got some good news the next day, Nov. 1, with the release of the CIF Central Section playoff seedings. With a No. 6 seed in Division IV, the Pirates will be at home for their first-round matchup against 11th-seeded Dos Palos. The Broncos also finished with a 6-4 overall record and were second place in the West Sierra League with a 4-1 mark. The winner of that game will travel to Fresno to face No. 3 seed McLane, the North Yosemite League champ with a 10-0 overall record, on Nov. 14.

The game against Righetti was a chance for Santa Ynez to capture at least a share of the Sunset League title, and to begin with, things looked good for the Pirates.

SYHS scored on their first drive, culminating in an 8-yard scoring pass from Jude Pritchard to Austin Willis and the Pirates led 6-0 after a missed extra point. In the second quarter, Diego Pulido added a 21-yard field goal for a nine-point lead, and after Righetti got on the scoreboard with a 5-yard TD run by Michael Mendez, Pulido kicked a career best 44-yard field goal — just three yards off the school record for a 12-7 Pirates lead.

It looked like that scored would hold up by halftime, but Righetti was able to get into SYHS territory in the final second of the second quarter, and then Warriors quarterback Nick Matautia hit received Thomas Harris with.a 38-yard touchdown run as the half ended to give Righetti a 14-12 lead at intermission.

In the second half, Righetti blocked an SYHS punt, and Julian Santos returned that for a touchdown, and Mendez rushed for another to give Righetti a 27-12 lead. After Pulido caught a 3-yard TD from Pritchard to close the gap, Mendez rushed for his third touchdown of the night, and the Pirates’ Greyson Foy closed the scoring with a 1-yard TD run with 3:38 left in the game.

Pirates head coach Josh McClurg blamed the loss on the inability to contain the Righetti offense, which came up with plays at crucial moments.

“We can’t give up big plays,” he said. “No matter where it’s at, the big plays are going to kill us. We can’t do that.”

McClurg also pointed to his team’s composure: “We have to be able to have composure in adversity, and not point fingers. We’ve struggled with that this year; when things are going good, we’ve been good, but when they go bad, we struggle with composure.”

SYHS was riding high on Oct. 17 with a 51-0 shutout at Pioneer Valley that had them at 2-0 in league and 6-2 overall. In that game, Austin Willis returned the opening kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown, the third time Willis had taken a kickoff back all the way this season, and the third time the Pirates have done so on the opening kick. The Pirates also scored touchdowns on the ground (three times), by pass (one), and also with interception return (Pulido) and fumble return (Ayden Finley).

The next week, Nov. 24, the Pirates lost a tough game at San Luis Obispo 28-23 for their first league loss. Like in the Righetti game, SYHS had a lead late into the second quarter until the Tigers scored with about a minute left to take a 14-10 lead at halftime. The Pirates were able to regain the lead at 17-14 as Pritchard threw a 12-yard TD pass to Jaxson Glover, and after getting the ball back, hoped to add to it, but SLO returned a Pritchard interception 35 yards for a score to give the Tigers a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Kickoff for Friday’s playoff game against Dos Palos will be 7 p.m. at Rio Memorial Field.

Pirates girls water polo wins first-round playoff match

The Santa Ynez High girls water polo team won its first-round CIF Central Section Division III game over Exeter 7-4. The Pirates (13-10), the No. 8 seed in Division III, scored four goals in the second period to open up a lead, and then, when the No. 9 seed Monarchs drew to within one goal, scored a couple while shutting out Exeter the rest of the way.

Juliet Kerr led a balanced scoring attack with two goals, while Elena Sleiman, Angelina Lifeline, Paige Reynolds, Adriana Bilac, and Eleanor Murphy scored a goal apiece. Goalkeeper Rylan Agin was solid, with nine blocks and even has an assist.

The Pirates now advance to the second round, where they will play No. 1 seed in Hanford at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 8

Santa Ynez closed out it regular season by defeating Cabrillo 11-3 to finish its play in the Sunset League finals on Oct. 29.

Lefemine led the way with four goals and four assists, while Bilac and Sleiman had two goals apiece. Goalkeeper Rylan Agin had 13 blocks to turn back the Cabrillo attack. The previous day, the Pirates lost 10-6 to Paso Robles in their first game of the tournament, with Bilac scoring twice and getting four steals, Eleanor Murphy with two goals of her own, and Agin with 15 blocks in goal.

The Pirates stood at 12-10 with a 3-3 league record for the regular season.

Pirates girls tennis eliminated in second round of CIF playoffs

The SYHS girls tennis team, the defending CIF Central Section Division II champions, fell short of a second straight title, suffering a 6-2 defeat to Reedley on Thursday, Oct. 30. The Pirates were swept in singles play, with the doubles teams of Keegan Withrow and Haley Towns (8-6) and Danielle Hyland and Claire Tipich (8-3) earning the only two points for SYHS.

SYHS won its first-round playoff match 5-4 over Templeton on Tuesday, Oct. 28. Danielle Hyland won the deciding match at No. 2 singles, 6-2, 6-3, in a hard-fought battle. No. 1 Keegan Withrow (6-1, 6-4) and No. 5 Clea Malkmus (6-3, 6-3) also won in singles, while doubles duos Withrow and Townes (8-1), and Tipich and Ainsley Haws (8-6) picked up points in doubles.

The post Pirates football drops regular-season finale, but earns home playoff matchup appeared first on Santa Ynez Valley Star.

The Santa Ynez High football team returned to Rio Memorial Field for the third straight week on Friday, Oct. 3, for its Sunset League opener vs. Atascadero. The visiting Greyhounds opened the scoring with an interception return for a touchdown on the Pirates opening drive, and ended the scoring with a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.

However, between those two plays, the Pirates dominated, with four touchdowns on offense and three interceptions on defense, giving Santa Ynez a 28-13 victory, which raised their record to 5-2 overall.

The Pirates marched to the win with a strong ground game, gaining 245 yards rushing, led by quarterback Jude Pritchard, who gained 105.

“We really wanted to establish the run game, and we did,” said SYHS head coach Josn McClurg. “This week we challenged the offensive line, because we felt they did not play a great game last week [against Santa Maria High] and they rose to the occasion and blocked their tails off. I thought we had our way with them in the running game.”

As far as the passing game, Pritchard didn’t have to go to the air often, but he did complete 11 of 19 passes for 121 yards and three touchdowns. Jaxon Glover only had two reception for 20 yards, but both those catches were for touchdowns. Likewise, Levi Snow’s only catch of the evening was also for a score.

The defense, meanwhile, was stingy, keeping the Greyhounds’ offense out of the end zone until the fourth quarter. Defensive back Jack Swain had two interceptions on the night to go with seven tackles, and Diego Pulido had a pick of his own, and eight tackles.

“Once I saw them on defense, I know that was going to be fine,” McClurg said. “We gave up that interception and fell behind, but the defense stopped them on the next drive and we got the ball back, and we were fine after that.”

The Santa Ynez offense showed its effectiveness right away, taking the opening kickoff and marching down into Atascadero territory. However, that momentum was stopped when the Greyhounds’ Damon Mitchell picked off a Pritchard pass and took it 75 yards for a score. After the missed extra point, Atascadero led 6-0.

Undeterred, the Pirates again took the kickoff and moved down the field. This time, they were not stopped as Ayden Finley took it in on a 2-yard touchdown run. Pulido added the first of four successful extra points for a 7-6 SYHS lead. Later in the first quarter, Glover caught his first touchdown pass, a 9-yarder, to put his team up 14-6, a score that would hold until halftime. Snow caught his 20-yard TD pass in the third quarter, and Glover would have another TD reception in the fourth quarter.

Behind 28-6, the Greyhounds would score on a 29-yard pass with 4:54 left to cut the deficit, and then recover the ensuing onside kick, but the Pirates stopped them on downs and ran out the clock.

The Pirates enjoyed a bye week on Friday, April 10, and returned for a road game at Pioneer Valley on Oct. 17. SYHS goes out for another road game at San Luis Obispo on Oct. 24, then comes home for its regular-season finale vs. Righetti on Halloween night, Oct. 31.

Girls tennis

The Pirates lost to San Luis Obispo 8-1 in their last regular-season dual match of the season.

“Our lone win came from Claire Tipich, who showed incredible resilience — battling back from a 2–5 deficit in the second set to win 13–12 in a tiebreaker and push the match to a third set. An impressive fight!,” said Pirates head coach Jennifer Rasmussen.

The match was also during Senior Day, and three of them were honored.

We had the honor of celebrating our three amazing seniors: Keegan Withrow, Danielle Hyland, and Rylee Arellano,” Rasmussen said. “I’d like to thank them for their leadership, dedication, and the energy they’ve brought to the team. They’ll be missed!”

Girls water polo

The Pirates edged Cabrillo 6-5 in their Sunset League match to move to 10-9 (2-3 in league) on the season.

Juliet Kerr and Adriana Bilac had two goals apiece, while Rylan Agin had a whopping 12 blocks.

SYHS ends its regular season with a home game against Paso Robles on Wednesday, Oct. 22.

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