Moments of romantic songs will add that extra touch of love for Valentine’s Day. 

Just go to the Santa Ynez Valley Chorale’s website, syvchorale.org and tune into some beautiful love songs.

The music will be available at 12:01 February 14, so you can enjoy the music at anytime during this special day.

Normally the 42-year-old Chorale would be visiting homes, businesses and senior residences for a more personal touch.  But with Covid-19, they believed it safer to serenade people with love songs on their website.

The post SYV Chorale offering virtual Singing Valentines appeared first on Santa Ynez Valley Star.

By Pamela Dozois

news@santaynezvalleystar.com

In 2017, Valerie Edmondson Bolaños stepped out of her comfort zone and threw herself into the Category 5 winds of Hurricane Maria, which devastated her home island of Puerto Rico, where her family members still lived. Since then, it is remarkable what one Solvang woman and her team of volunteers have accomplished. 

Valerie Edmondson Bolaños started a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and founded Warrior Angels Rescue, an organization of volunteers who are presently rescuing mostly women and children from Afghanistan.

Edmondson Bolaños started a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and founded Warrior Angels Rescue in the immediate aftermath of that storm. What began as an effort to rescue her own family grew exponentially. 

The following year, her team airlifted residents affected by the 1/9 Montecito debris flow, and in 2020 responded to the international border shutdowns at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, evacuating Americans stranded in Peru and other countries, such as Ecuador and Ghana. 

Warrior Angels Rescue is now evacuating girls, women and their families from the humanitarian crisis that is escalating in Afghanistan after United States forces withdrew, leaving Americans and those who helped the U.S. for more than 20 years stranded in the midst of a violent takeover. To date, Warrior Angels Rescue has secured safe harbor to evacuate more than 450 people from Afghanistan, mostly women and girls who were at a high risk of danger, and they are about to rescue 300 more.

“Sometimes our darkest moments bring out a strength of purpose from within us,” said Edmondson Bolaños. “The eye of Hurricane Maria went straight through Humacao, the town where I was born and sliced right across Puerto Rico exiting through Dorado, the town where my family lives. 

“I knew I had to get my family off the island after I lost contact with them for 36 hours. When I did finally speak to my cousin, she had no idea of the scale of devastation that Maria had left in its wake. She had no clue that the entire island was completely without power. There was no communication at all. She had to climb to the top of a mountain to make cell phone contact with me. I just knew I had to evacuate them. That’s how it started and it just snowballed from there.”

The seeds of her effort were planted when Edmondson Bolaños realized she had a couple of extra seats.

“Once I figured out how to charter a plane, a six-seater, which was enough for my four family members, I didn’t want the two vacant seats to go to waste,” she said. “I went on social media asking if any medical patients needed to get to the mainland, and the response was overwhelming.”

Edmondson Bolaños’ sister had just given birth in California, with complications, to a baby girl named Olivia Joy four days before, so she had a soft spot in her heart for a high-risk pregnant woman who was seeking help. She donated the two remaining seats to a very pregnant woman and her young son, while the husband remained behind in Puerto Rico.

“Coincidentally, the passenger on the first flight gave birth one month to the day, to the hour, on October 16, safely in Florida, and named her new baby Olivia Jean, the same first name as my niece,” Edmondson Bolaños said. “We call these little miracles ‘godwinks,’ like when your grandfather winks at you from across the dinner table and you know you are loved and he’s there for you. I have experienced so many godwinks in the evacuations we’ve led so far.”

Edmondson Bolaños didn’t plan on starting a nonprofit organization, but when she put out some feelers for those two empty seats on the plane, the response was so overwhelming that she knew she needed more planes. There were so many people who desperately needed to get off the island to survive.

Farzana, shown here gazing at the mountains, is one of the evacuees-turned-volunteers for Warrior Angels Rescue, and has been proactively supporting the mothers of young children traveling in the same group.

“My friend, Abby Hollingsworth, started a GoFundMe campaign which raised $100,000 in no time and it took off from there,” she continued. “A couple of weeks later we established ourselves as a nonprofit with the help of a law firm in New York called Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, a well-established and respected law firm which has a nonprofit incubator. 

“They contacted us and offered to help us get set up, on a pro bono basis. We were immeasurably grateful for their help, because once we were a 501(c)(3), it opened up more funding opportunities and possibilities because donations are tax deductible.” 

Edmondson Bolaños said that from the very beginning, the nonprofit never had to proactively make an effort to fundraise or get media coverage or legal assistance.

“At first, we spent our own money to fund the flights, but when people found out what we were doing, they genuinely wanted to help and that’s the way it has been ever since,” she said. “It made me realize that we could get a lot done using 100 percent volunteers. One hundred percent of every donated dollar goes to the actual cost of getting people to safety. I also think that having an all-volunteer team guarantees that the work we are doing is from the heart, and that’s important. That’s the reason our team is unstoppable.”

Since August 2021, Edmondson Bolaños and the Warrior Angels Rescue team have been evacuating and resettling girls, women and their families from the humanitarian crisis that is unfolding in Afghanistan. The messages and videos she is receiving directly from the families on the evacuation lists, she said are “just horrifying.”

“Afghanistan is in a state of upheaval. It is chaos by design, for power and control,” she said. “There are different factions, such as Haqqani, ISIS-K, and the Taliban, who are vying for power and that makes it even more dangerous for the people caught in the crossfire.”

Edmondson Bolaños explained these groups use evil tactics strategically, to divide and disempower. They hung one of their evacuees by one leg for three days. Women are being killed for showing even the slightest bit of skin; one was shot for wearing jeans, an American symbol, under her burqa, another for wearing the wrong shoes. All women and girls have to wear burqas, which cover every inch of their bodies, with a screen for seeing and breathing. 

“Women are stoned, beaten or killed for any perceived infraction by the Taliban. As far as they are concerned, there are only two places for women – in the house, or in the ground,” she said. “Any young girl who has dreams and aspirations is at risk. They are in grave danger in Afghanistan. Girls and women are forced to stay in their homes and serve the extended family and have zero aspirations and can be sold by desperate relatives. 

“The Taliban want to completely exclude women from their society. ‘Death notices’ are placed on the doors of suspected American supporters, which demand that they report to be killed on a certain day and if they don’t report, then their families will be killed.”

Edmondson Bolaños said the Taliban are targeting the upper and middle classes, the educated and professionals in order to quash any potential viable resistance to their takeover, so most people have gone into hiding. This means that most of the mechanisms that keep a society going are completely shut down. 

The Taliban are also trying to root out those who have worked with the U.S. forces when they were still on the ground. They torture and beat them publicly, while abducting and interrogating those who they think had close ties or worked directly with the U.S. forces, according to Edmondson Bolaños. 

“The middle class, the educated, and those who can, are leaving their homes behind, hiding out in less conspicuous areas, such as abandoned homes that have been bombed, with no windows, gaping holes and no electricity, while trying to get to the border of Pakistan or Iran,” she said. “They are under direct threat of starvation and death from the cold winter months. There is little to no heat, the economy is shut down along with the monetary system, and food is scarce.

“The Taliban have been bombing the power grid and there is sporadic internet access. There are few resources, they’ve had zero income since August, and they are actively being hunted down. We are providing them with coal, wood, oil, tons of blankets and solar chargers for their cell phones, so they can keep in touch with us.”

However, the efforts of Edmondson Bolaños and her volunteers still face major hurdles.

“We can’t send planes into Kabul to rescue anyone because the Taliban would kill them. We can land at the airport but we can’t get the people out that way,” she said. “They have to make it across the border to other countries such as Pakistan, where they are extensively vetted and administered COVID vaccinations. 

“We can then issue papers for them through the Pakistan government guaranteeing that they will only remain in Pakistan for 30 days and then they will be transported to other countries, such as Ecuador, which has been amazing, and Spain or Portugal, countries that will guarantee them a safe harbor for one year while their paperwork and visas are processed.”

Warrior Angels Rescue has also gotten assistance from the neighbors to the north. 

“Canada has been wonderful and has taken in, with permanent asylum, hundreds of our evacuees, resettling them in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan,” Edmondson Bolaños said. “We are corresponding with the State Department and trying to cut through all the red tape and bureaucracy that doesn’t lend itself to responding as quickly as possible, as swiftly as they deserve, for those who have a strong case for protection from, and residency in the U.S. 

And the search to find countries in which to place the Afghan people continue for Edmondson Bolaños and her group.

These cabins in Alma Village in Ecuador have been rehabilitated, and used to house Afghanistan evacuees who have been resettled, thanks to the Warrior Angels Rescue program.Wa

“We are also in touch with countries in Latin America, the Middle East, and the Arabian Peninsula, hoping they will resettle some of the evacuees,” she said. “We have completed two missions so far, of high-risk school children and their families. And we are working to evacuate more than 1,000 more. It is our mission to successfully relocate all of these people into different countries, so they can heal, start anew and contribute meaningfully to their new home countries.”

“The vetting process is essential, to ensure that we are only evacuating families who either supported the U.S. and NATO allies, or hard-working, academically driven girls and women who are being hunted down for daring to have professional aspirations,” Edmondson Bolaños continued. “Warrior Angels Rescue pays for each of the evacuees’ ground and air transportation, guaranteeing that they have safe harbor, a dignified place to stay, Halal food to eat, and all the opportunities to succeed during their stay, even arranging for schooling. Vida School is an education program we started that is bringing them access to a world-class education.”

Presently, Warrior Angels Rescue is focused on children and women. But some people who helped the U.S. in Afghanistan are men and they are also being helped. A medical doctor, a Fulbright Scholar who advocated for women’s health, is just one of many who are at risk, according to Edmondson Bolaños. 

Helping women attain equal standing in any way is very dangerous, Edmondson Bolaños said. 

While medical care is not completely gone, it is still hard to get under the circumstances. There are simply too many people that are now relying on volunteer medical professionals who are scared, but also want to save lives. Some hospitals are still running, but people are going to work and not being paid. The Taliban keeps them because they are indispensable.

“For 20 years these Afghani people have been living normal lives, they are just like you and me,” Edmondson Bolaños said. “Our evacuees are so motivated to learn; they speak five languages; some are on the national basketball team, or Girl Scout leaders, martial arts champions and Olympians, professional athletes, musicians, science fair winners, doctors, lawyers — what is happening is a ‘brain drain’ from this country. 

“There is an entire generation of girls and women who will be lost if we don’t get them out of Afghanistan. They are suffering from depression and crushed dreams. Their beauty and strength are proactively being squashed and killed by the Taliban.”

As with anyone who runs a nonprofit, Edmondson Bolaños is always seeking people willing to donate to the cause.

“There is an overwhelming number of people who need help but there is also an overwhelming number of people who want to help and don’t know how,” Edmondson Bolaños said. “Ten thousand dollars ($10,000) can save a life. One hundred percent of the funds raised by Warrior Angels Rescue goes to the rescue efforts, transportation, housing, food and education along with medical and emotional support for one year or more, helping these people to heal from the trauma and loss they have endured and start a new life.”

For more information, visit www.warriorangelsrescue.org or call 805-295-8906. To donate visit GoFundMe at https://www.gofundme.com/f/evacuate-school-girls-to-safety. For larger donations, wire instructions are available upon request.

The post From hurricanes to humanitarian crisis, local woman rescuing hundreds from Afghanistan appeared first on Santa Ynez Valley Star.

publisher@santaynezvalleystar.com

With the new year comes change, including some major changes at the Santa Ynez Valley Star. At the time this issue goes to print, there will be new owners of the Santa Ynez Valley Star. Nic and Hayley Mattson, of 13 Stars Media are taking over publishing of the Valley’s best source for local news. 

Raiza Giorgi, publisher of the Santa Ynez Valley Star.
Photo by Jessica Maher Photography

My time as publisher of the Star has come to an end, and I have complete faith in the Nic and Hayley to continue. They are local to the Central Coast, and their vision is the same as mine, which is to bring community together and keep local news in the forefront. 

Looking back, I think I was a bit crazy to start a newspaper, but the Valley deserved to have a publication that would shine a light on all the wonderful people, businesses and organizations that make up this world-class area. The Star was born and I want to say that these past six years have been an amazing journey for myself and the people who have made my dream come alive, which includes you, the readers. 

I started the Santa Ynez Valley Star as a monthly publication back in 2016, and with the help of my small Star team and a dozen advertisers, we created a high-quality news publication and grew it into a twice-monthly publication within that first year. 

We won “Best of the Best” our first year at the California News Publishers Association awards, and countless awards in the years since for writing, photography, breaking news, sports features, advertising campaigns and more. 

Some of my best memories have been working to cover local news and ensuring the word got out about what was happening in local government, new businesses opening, and of course how to help our fellow neighbors in times of need — especially at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

I want to thank all the people who have contributed to the Star over the years including Dave Bemis, Aimee Reinhart Avery, Shana DeLeon, Victoria Martinez, Amberly Lahr, Ebers Garcia, Jen Trupiano, Mike Chaldu, Pamela Dozois, Daniel Dreifuss, Barry Sigman, John Copeland, Sheila Benedict and Vida Gustafson. 

I also want to thank each and every advertiser that has put their advertisement in the Star, because without them the Star wouldn’t have been born at all. I am so deeply appreciative and thank every single one of you from the bottom of my heart. 

Life has pulled my family to another adventure away from the Santa Ynez Valley, and even though I no longer live here we will be back often to visit as our multi-generational family still does. 

I wish each and every one of you all the best and encourage you to welcome Nic and Hayley Mattson into the community. 

With love

Raiza Giorgi

Former Publisher

Santa Ynez Valley Star

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Staff Report

While taking advantage of a break in the weather on Thursday morning, construction crews installed six new steel lighting columns at Solvang Festival Theater, utilizing a 350-ton crane to accomplish a huge milestone in Theaterfest’s $4.7 million rebuilding project. 

The columns, each weighing 12,000 pounds and rising more than 50 feet above the theater, will provide for safer, structurally sound lighting towers for the theater and for the lighting technicians who operate from the top of the towers during performances. 

The Theater rebuilding project, which commenced in September and is slated to be completed this July, will accomplish these key elements: 

• Ensure structural integrity for generations to come 
• Upgrade electrical, lighting, and sound technology 
• Assure safety for audience, stage crew and staff 
• Comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act 
• Reduce wind and noise for the audience 

Solvang Theaterfest launched the Imagine $4.7 Million Capital Campaign to renovate major parts of the theater in 2018. The community has responded generously and brought the theater to over 90 percent of its initial goal. Increased costs of construction, however, have resulted in adjusting the goal to just over $5 million. Completion of this project will bring the theater to today’s standards and ensure quality live entertainment in the Santa Ynez Valley for generations to come. 

For more information, contact Solvang Theaterfest Executive Director Scott Coe at exec.director@solvangtheaterfest.org. 

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Staff Report

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival has announced the recipients of the Virtuosos Award presented by UGG, an honor created to recognize a select group of talent whose noteworthy performances in film have elevated them into the national cinematic dialogue.

Caitriona Balfe (“Belfast”), Ariana DeBose (“West Side Story”), Jamie Dornan (“Belfast”), Alana Haim (“Licorice Pizza”), Emilia Jones (“CODA”), Troy Kotsur (“CODA”), Simon Rex (“Red Rocket”) and Saniyya Sidney (“King Richard”) will discuss their work and receive their awards in-person March 5 during the 37th Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

The evening will be moderated for the 12th year by Dave Karger, Turner Classic Movies host.

“This year’s Virtuosos are a phenomenal and international group, who are integral parts of the season’s most exciting and emotional films,” Karger said. “I’m so excited to gather them on stage in Santa Barbara in March.”

The last two years’ Virtuosos honorees were Riz Ahmed, Maria Bakalova, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Andra Day, Sidney Flanigan, Vanessa Kirby, Tahar Rahim, Zendaya, Awkwafina, Taron Egerton, Cynthia Erivo, Beanie Feldstein, Aldis Hodge, George MacKay, Florence Pugh and Taylor Russell.

The 37th Santa Barbara International Film Festival will take place in-person March 2-12. Official events, including screenings, filmmaker Q&As, industry panels and celebrity tributes, will be held throughout the city, including at the Arlington Theatre. This year’s lineup will be announced this month. For more information or to buy passes, visit sbiff.org.

SBIFF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts and educational organization dedicated to discovering and showcasing the best in independent and international cinema. Over the past 36 years, SBIFF has become one of the leading film festivals in the country, attracting 100,000 attendees and offering 11 days of 200 films, tributes and panels.

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Staff Report

The Santa Barbara Zoo recently welcomed Stella and Mini, two cotton-top tamarin siblings who arrived at the Santa Barbara Zoo earlier this month from the Central Florida Zoo.

Stella is female and 6½ years old, and Mini is male and 5½ years old. Both were born at the Central Florida Zoo and came to Santa Barbara on a recommendation from the Species Survival Plan.

Cotton-top tamarins are one of the smallest species of primates and are found in a small area of northern Colombia where there are only about 6,000 individuals left in the wild. These small monkeys (they each weigh about 1 pound) play an important role in rainforest ecology by dispersing digested seeds throughout the forest. They are listed as critically endangered by the IUCN due to deforestation and illegal pet trade.

They vocalize using a shrill whistling sound that changes depending on what they are communicating to each other. These monkeys are named for the shock of white hair on the tops of their heads which stands out in contrast to the darker black and brown tones of the hair on the rest of their bodies.

Guests can visit the cotton-tops in their new home next to the capybaras on Zoo Train Lane.

The Santa Barbara Zoo is open daily from 9 a.m. for members and 9:30 a.m. for general admission until 5 p.m.; general admission is $19.95 for adults, $14.95 for children 2-12 and free for children under 2. Parking is $11. The Santa Barbara Zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).  For more information visit www.sbzoo.org.

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Staff Report

After a one-year hiatus, the Chumash Charity Golf Classic returned in 2021 and raised $120,000 to benefit two pre-selected beneficiaries and help fund the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians Foundation’s Technology in Schools Program, which provides grants for high-tech upgrades to local classrooms.

The United Boys & Girls Club of Santa Barbara County, the North County Rape Crisis and Child Protection Center and the Technology in Schools program each received $40,000 as a result of the tournament, which was held over a two-day period in September at the Alisal River Course in Solvang.

“After canceling our event in 2020, it was great to have an opportunity to come together, enjoy two great days of golf and raise funds for programs that help the vulnerable and underserved youth in our community,” said Kenneth Kahn, tribal chairman of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. “This year, we held a vote among our workforce to determine one of our event’s beneficiaries. Our employees chose the North County Rape Crisis and Child Protection Center. To include an organization that our workforce respects and supports made this donation even more special.”

The center provides direct services, including education and prevention skills, to children and adults to help alleviate the trauma experienced by survivors of sexual assault and child abuse.

“This donation lifts us up,” said Ann McCarty, executive director of the North County Rape Crisis and Child Protection Center. “This tells us that people have our back, and they understand how important it is to provide services to victims of child abuse, sexual assault and human trafficking in our county. It also means they want us to continue this work, providing the education and direct services.”

The United Boys and Girls Club of Santa Barbara County received its $40,000 donation recently during its own fifth annual United Golf Tournament at La Cumbre Country Club in Santa Barbara.

“We are extremely grateful to the Santa Ynez Chumash for their continued support of our organization,” said Michael Baker, CEO of the United Boys & Girls Club of Santa Barbara County. “Their incredibly generous investment will allow us to continue our efforts to reach the youth that need our services the most in all the communities we serve.”

The tribe’s Technology in Schools Program gives school administrators and faculty members the opportunity to apply for technology grant dollars to fund specific projects.

Grant recipients for the 2021-2022 school year are Los Olivos’ Dunn School, which received $15,000 to refresh its network infrastructure on its upper campus; Santa Ynez Valley Charter School, which received $9,000 to help cover the cost of 25 iPads and iPad covers to be used by its kindergarten through fourth-grade classes; and Santa Maria’s St. Louis de Montfort School, which was granted $15,000 to buy 49 Chromebooks for its Tech for Tikes program (serving transitional kindergarten and kindergarten classes) and its fifth-graders.

The deadline to apply for the 2022-2023 school year is April 30, 2022, and all applications must be submitted online at www.santaynezchumash.org.

The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians has donated more than $25 million to hundreds of groups, organizations and schools in the community and across the nation as part of the tribe’s long-standing tradition of giving. To find out more about the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians Foundation and its giving programs, visit www.santaynezchumash.org.

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The Santa Barbara Wireless Foundation is accepting applications for its new scholarship in support of students who intend to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The $1,000 scholarship will be awarded to a college-bound high school senior in May 2022.

Applicants must be high school seniors who plan to study science, technology, engineering or mathematics in higher education, and should have an excellent academic record. While not requirements, preference is given to applicants who are graduating from a high school in Santa Barbara County and who hold an active Federal Communications Commission amateur radio license.

The application period is open through April 30. Applications may be completed online at scholarships.sbwireless.org.

The scholarship is funded through contributions made to the Santa Barbara Wireless Foundation Scholarship Fund. Tax-deductible donations to the Scholarship Fund may be made at the foundation’s website www.sbwireless.org. 

The Santa Barbara Wireless Foundation and Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club together form a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, public benefit corporation to promote education for people interested in telecommunications, disseminate information about scientific discoveries and progress in the field of wireless communications, and train communicators for public service and emergency communications.

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Staff Report

The 41^st season of the Santa Ynez Valley Concert Series continues with pianist John Churchwell on Saturday, Feb. 12 at 5 p.m., and violinist Johnny Gandelsman on Wednesday, Feb. 16, at 7 p.m. Both concerts will be held at St. Mark’s-in-the-Valley Church in Los Olivos.

In a concert inspired by Valentine’s Day, Churchwell, who is head of music for the San Francisco Opera and faculty member at the Music Academy of the West, will present “Love Songs and Dances — An Evening of Lieberslieder,” a romantic program of songs and dances featuring two rising stars from the San Francisco Opera — Esther Tonea, soprano, and Victor Cardamone, tenor — and guest pianist Robert Cassidy.

The concert program features Brahms, arias and a duet from the opera “Roméo et Juliette by Gounod.” The artists will conclude with some of their favorite love songs from different genres.

Four days later, the Grammy Award-winning Gandelsman returns to the Santa Ynez Valley Concert Series with several works from “This is America,” the ambitious anthology project he was inspired to create in response to the turbulent period our country has been experiencing since 2020. He commissioned original pieces from 20 American composers focused on the theme “This is America.”

“Each composition in the anthology reflects on the current state of American society in a personal and intimate way, looking through an unflinching lens at universal topics like separation, loneliness, hope, and love,” Gandelsman said.

He will also perform one or two works by Bach.

“We present this concert series to enrich lives through the exquisite beauty of masterworks performed by brilliant musicians,” said Cassidy, the SYV Concert Series artistic director.  “We invite you to join us for one or all of the upcoming performances.”

These concerts are non-religious, non-sectarian community arts events.

The SYV Concert Series is being offered in-person with limited designated and distanced seating. Taking the proper precautions will allow all those attending to do so safely.

• Please go to https://smitv.info/syvconcerts to purchase tickets in advance to avoid overcrowding. Limited numbers of tickets for the live performances are available. General admission tickets are $20. Concert admission is free for ALL students (with a student ID) but must be reserved in advance. Doors open 30 minutes before the start. Both concerts will be professionally video recorded for future viewing.
• If you are feeling unwell with any symptoms of disease, whether COVID-19, flu, or a cold, or if you have recently tested positive for COVID-19, please stay home, take good care of yourself, and enjoy the video-recorded concerts in the future on our website.
• All doors and windows of the venue will be open, so the indoor space is almost like an outdoor space. Audience members are advised to bundle up, wear a warm hat, and bring a blanket.
• Please wear a mask.
• Please be as fully vaccinated as you can be.
• If you have the option of testing, you will have a better sense of whether or not you are contagious. Please do so for everyone’s safety.
• Consider your own level of risk and choose to participate based on your comfort level.

St. Mark’s-in-the-Valley Church is at 2901 Nojoqui Avenue in Los Olivos (next to Mattie’s Tavern, one block from the downtown flagpole). For questions, please contact SYV Concert Series Coordinator Linda Burrows at 805-705-0938 or syvconcerts@smitv.org or visit www.smitv.org.

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By Laurie Jervis

Noozhawk Columnist

Kitá Wines, the label founded by the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians and led by Chumash native and winemaker Tara Gomez, will sell off remaining case goods, close its Lompoc tasting room and halt production, the tribe announced last week.

Gomez, a native of Santa Maria and the daughter of Richard Gomez, a former vice chairman of the tribe, launched Kitá Wines in 2010 with just three tons of grapes.

When I last interviewed her in August 2019, Gomez noted that the label had grown to about 2,000 cases annually.

In 2021, Gomez earned several honors, among them “Winemaker of the Year” by VinePair, and was named as an advisor to the James Beard Foundation Legacy Network Foundation.

Gomez referred my questions about the label’s closure to Mike Traphagen, senior public relations manager for the tribe, who emailed back a statement from Kenneth Kahn, tribal chairman for the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians:

“The tribe, with a focus on diversifying our investment portfolio, has made the business decision to leave the wine industry at this time. Tara Gomez successfully produced award-winning wines while telling the story of our tribe to a new audience. We thank Tara for the years of dedication and hard work she poured into Kitá Wines, and we congratulate her on cementing her legacy as a top-flight Native American woman winemaker. Thank you to all of you who enjoyed and supported Kitá Wines throughout the years.”

Traphagen also shared an email Gomez wrote to Kitá’s club members:

“It is with a heavy heart that I send you this email today to announce that the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians has made the business decision to cease production of Kitá Wines, and we will be closing our facilities in April.”

The label’s tasting room and winery is located in the Sta. Rita Hills Wine Center in Lompoc.

“When we embarked on this journey in 2010, my mission from the very beginning was to approach these wines the same way I approach life: with a heart full of gratitude and a healthy appetite for adventure,” Gomez wrote. “Every step of the way I have been grateful for the opportunities provided by my tribe, through education and this incredible opportunity to tell the story of our ancestors through wine cultivated from our ancestral lands.”

In 2010, the Chumash purchased Camp 4 Vineyard, located on the western edge of Happy Canyon AVA, from the Fess Parker family. The 1,400-acre site, planted to 256 acres of vines, will not be affected by the tribe’s decision to close Kitá, Traphagen said.

In 2017, Gomez and her wife, Mireia Taribó, founded their own wine label, Camins 2 Dreams, and that winery and tasting room is also in Lompoc. The two produce syrah, gruner veltliner and rose from vineyards in the Sta. Rita Hills.

Laurie Jervis tweets at @lauriejervis and can be reached via winecountrywriter@gmail.com. The opinions expressed are her own.

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