The day before Easter Sunday drew sizable crowds, despite the threat of rainy weather, to Buellton’s River View Park for the 33rd annual Easter Eggstravaganza on March 30.

The leadup to the popular egg hunt was greated with mostly sunny skies, although the event had to be curtailed somewhat with the possibility of the wet weather.

“It looks like the egg hunt will come along just fine,” Recreation Coordinator Kristen Thomsen of Buellton Rec said before the start. “However, we had to cancel a few things that were part of it. No petting, no games and a lot of the vendors canceled out, but we still have the Easter Bunny coming.”

As the time for the hunt came closer, Buellton Recreation Coordinator Allison Firey warmed up the crowd by running along the rope trying to get a good crowd shot with her cellphone camera.

Meanwhile, Fred Lageman of Solvang Recreation was out in the field with a bullhorn, reminding the participants how much time was left before the hunt, and the ground rules for the hunt.

Then, finally, Lageman counted it down and the kids, some with parents in tow, took off to get as many eggs as they could, and many were seen just minutes later with a full basket of the plastic eggs. The eggs had candy inside (of course), but some were “golden eggs” hidden somewhere in the park grounds and redeemable for a bigger prize from the Rec Department.

Of course, the rain did make an appearance, as a quick cloudburst passed over the park as kids and their parents were sorting out the collected eggs.

James Downing and his family — wife Sydney, and kids Tylee and Sawyer — were among those prepared as he held up an umbrella while the kids were going through their loot.

“It’s a good thing I brought this,” James said referring to the umbrella, “it said on the news the rain would come, but at least it waited until the hunt was over.”

While many of the booths and activities were canceled due to the threat of rain, one group that showed up was the Valley Christian Fellowship where Pastor Jon Firey and Sherri Noble were selling toys and other Easter goodies to raise money for the VCF.

“This has always been a good event, and I just wanted to support Buellton Rec,” said Firey, who is also a professional musician and married to Allison, who works for the rec department. “We were coming here rain or shine.”

Also able to make it for the event was the Easter Bunny, who was taking pictures with a long line of event attendees.

Despite the somewhat abbreviated event this year, Thomsen said the event was a success, and now they can look forward to next year’s Eggstravaganza, slated for April 19, 2025.

Feature Image: Kids fill up their bags with plastic eggs during the Eggstravaganza on March 30 at River View Park in Buellton.

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Visitors to Mission Santa Ines on Saturday, April 6, got to experience an event that’s becoming a little more frequent in Solvang: the Flying Miz Daisy Vintage Market.

With a little cooperation by the Central Coast weather, the market was able to happen on the first weekend in April, albeit in a slightly different location.

“We usually have this on the lawn next to the mission,” said Char Goetz, the founder/proprietor of Flying Miz Daisy. “However, with the threat of rain, we had to move it to the parking lot. Of course, we were able to sunny weather today, so it’s working out fine.”

The Flying Miz Daisy market is not your typical “swap meet” or “flea market.” While some of the vendors deal in straight antiques, many handcraft their products out of repurposed materials, whether it be furniture, home decor, jewelry, or clothing.

It was exactly what Goetz was going for when she first began the outdoor market, originally called Driving Miz Daisy, approximately 10 years ago in Orange County.

“I was an antique dealer for quite a number of years, maybe 15 or so, and my kids were growing up, and I decided, you know, Orange County could use a really cool winter market,” she said. “Since I was shopping at them all the time, I thought I could do it in a different way. I wanted to bring in the whole community where kids and all different ages just want to spend the day.

“I had a row of vintage trailer shops, a vintage barber, and a farmers market. I had a children’s play area. It was beautiful to see everybody come together.”

Goetz said it was important to bring a sense of community and personal touch to selling goods, something she feels has been lost.

“You know, we’re living in the age of technology, right?” she said. “And people are just shopping online all the time and losing that one-on-one experience. With this [Flying Miz Daisy], it’s so cool to see people go ‘Yes, I know what that is, and let me tell you a story about that.’ Then you know it’s going great.”

On the vintage market’s website (www.flyingmizdaisy.com), Goetz describes its vendors community as “a family” that “welcomes those who seek a different kind of relationship with the goods that surround them.”

“A lot of them have been with me for years and years, and they follow me where I do my shows,” she said. “There are some new ones, which is great, from the Central Valley and up, but I usually like to have the antiquing community with me on these.”

While Goetz treasures her vendor “family,” her real family is also very dear to her. Goetz and her husband, Bob, have lived in Solvang since 2020, and she keeps in touch with her four adult sons, Peter, Bobby, Corey and Dusty. In fact, two of them made appearances during our interview: Peter, who has a production company that works with TV network like the Discovery Channel, facetimed Char from the Amazon, where he was doing some work; and another son, Corey, who recently moved to the area and has a health and fitness podcast, came in person to check on his mother.

However, a driving force in Char Goetz’s efforts with Flying Miz Daisy and her philanthropic efforts is her late daughter, Ashley Goetz, who was born with cystic fibrosis, and passed away from the disease at age 25 in 2014.

Char said it was Ashley who had an important role in the establishment of Flying Miz Daisy.

“Before she passed, we sat down and actually did a dream board, or we like to call it a vision board, and she said ‘Mommy, what do we want to do with this trailer? Where do you want to go with it?'” Char said. “And I said I really wanted to open a vintage market, and we put it on the vision board.

“I took it to the city of San Juan Capistrano, and they were like, ‘this is great,’ and that’s how I got it started. So, Ashley was the one who pretty much inspired this.”

Ashley also inspired Char to create a foundation bearing her daughter’s name to contribute to deserving causes. Details can be found at ashleygoetzfoundation.com. Recipients of the foundation currently shown on the site, include Slave 2 Nothing, a foundation that aims to eliminate human trafficking and helps those in the throes of drug and alcohol addiction; and Womencraft, a community-driven social enterprise that designs, produces and exports hand-woven home décor items made from natural fibers and vibrant fabrics of East Africa.

“We’re in the process of changing it up, because we like to change up who we give it to,” Char said. “We have all women-based organizations we donate to, because she was all about that. So we donate every year to these causes, and [Mission Santa Ines] is one of them.

“Our goal is just to help as many people as we can and keep her legacy alive.”

A trip through the Flying Miss Daisy Vintage Market shows a number of different kinds of vendors. One of them was Anything Rustic, which sells furniture and home decor obtained from far and wide.

“We items sourced from around the world,” said Audrey Rivera, who runs the Anaheim-based business with her husband Hank, and their two sons, Zavier and Jeremiah. “We get stuff from far away as Germany and France.”

“We hand-pick every item we sell,” Hank said. “A lot of love went into it.”

The Riveras said working this show represented the first time they came to Solvang.

“We do at least 12 shows a year for our business,” Audrey said. “Sales have been amazing here for us today, so it’s definitely a success.”

Nearby, Pamela Amrine of Ojai was selling her wood products out of her trailer, along with Samantha Simpson. There, the selection ranged from small wooden signs with various sayings to flowerboxes to benches, all made with salvaged wood.

“Everything we have here is repurposed and recycled through my business, called Pamela’s,” Amrine said. “I’ve been doing this for 20 years to support my kids and grandkids.”

Amrine said she makes the rounds at all the big antique shows.

“Yeah, I do this show, Three Speckled Hens in Paso Robles, Great Junk Hunt, Barn Chicks; there’s a lot of them.”

Other kinds of merchandise spotted for sale at the market included clothes and antiques as well as a few food trucks.

Since starting it in Solvang last year, Goetz has run the Flying Miz Daisy twice a year, with the next one scheduled at the mission for Sept. 21. 

“We got it scheduled right in the middle of Solvang’s Danish Days, so we should do pretty well with that one,” she said.

Goetz said the market will continue to have a presence in Solvang as long as she resides there, and talked about how much she’s enjoyed the area since making the move in 2020.

“Solvang really has that small-town feel we were looking for when we moved from Orange County,” she said. “It really is so beautiful here. We live here, but I always feel like I’m on vacation.”

To find out more about the Flying Miz Daisy Vintage Market, go to flyingmizdaisy.com. For more info about the Ashley Goetz Foundation, go to ashleygoetzfoundation.com.

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By Pamela Dozois

Contributing Writer

Unspeakable cruelty has been perpetrated on animals down through the centuries to the present. Many people believe that animals are not sentient beings with individual thoughts, feelings, and personalities. It is their contention that animals can’t feel pain or become emotionally disturbed or that communication with each other, let alone humans, is very limited. Thankfully, science is becoming more aware of the fact that not only animals but plants really do have the capability of communication. We as humans just have to learn how to listen.

Santa Ynez Valley resident Tammy Golden is an animal intuitive healer, behavior consultant, and herbalist who works mostly with horses who have psychological, emotional, behavioral, and physical issues. She listens to them through what she calls a universal language: their body language combined with energy.

Golden’s job is her passion. She has always cared for animals on a deeper level, from rhinos to feral cats. Presently she works mostly with horses. 

“I’ve been handling animals since I was about 4 years old and naturally knew how to listen to them,” said Golden. “The first animal I rode as a child was a giant Galapagos tortoise. I rode around on his back, and I didn’t want to leave. It was just a wonderful experience.”

She moved on other animals a few years later.

“When I was about 8 years old, I started making money by training our neighbor’s dogs,” she explained. “Working with animals is something I can’t say no to. I can’t work in a store or on a computer; I need to be outside in nature, up close and personal with something furry, feathered, or scaled.”

After that, Golden got experience with cats.

“My first cat was feral. My neighbor was overloaded with kittens, and she said if I could catch the mother, I could keep her. That was all it took,” she said. “Interestingly, I was not interested in the kittens, I wanted the mother. I caught her, took her home and got her calmed down and socialized. Over the next few years, she actually taught me how to communicate with cats, learning cat language. I learned some things from other trainers, but for the most part, I’ve learned from listening to the animals themselves.”

As a youngster, Golden had a dream of becoming an animal trainer and when she grew up she went to work at a wildlife theme park in northern California but quickly discovered it wasn’t what she thought it would be.

“It was a terrible place for animals, and I quickly moved on, getting myself fired because I refused to beat a baby camel,” she said. “I am not a proponent of animal training colleges because they treat animals not as sentient beings but as things, and that’s not right.”

Returning to Santa Barbara, Golden has worked with local animal sanctuaries and with individuals who want to create a better relationship between themselves and their horse.

“Horses are the most in need of help, I find, because abuse is normalized and overlooked in the horse industry,” said Golden. “There is no protection for horses. Most people have traditions about handling horses that are often cruel, often without people realizing what they are doing is cruel, starting out wrong and escalating into something where the horse doesn’t trust people anymore.

“People think that punishment is a way to fix a problem. In reality they are causing the animal just to fear you. I’m trying to educate people that if they allow the horse to speak with his body, to say, ‘I don’t like something or I do like something’ and how to respond in a proper way that the horse can understand, the outcome is better for people and horses. You are setting up a conversation between you and your horse — not an ‘obey me or else’ attitude.”

Golden’s method is to create a friendly environment where the horse feels comfortable and secure enough to engage with her in a form of communication.

“While every situation is different, I can give one example of what it looks like when I work with a horse,” she said. “It’s actually more like play. I offer an invitation for the horse to engage. I take on the body language and demeanor of the herd matriarch, which is the most trusted and looked up to member of the herd, a very motherly figure. Horses understand and see the mother movements I am making and will respond in all kinds of ways that help me to know what’s going on inside of them. This is always done in an open environment without any kind of physical restraints or round pen to limit the movements of the horse. 

“There is never any need to show dominance or be the alpha as these ideas are foreign to horses. I seek to become the trusted friend that a horse can feel safe talking to. Meanwhile, I am always watching and listening to their body language and feeling their energy.”

Golden’s work with horses has inspired her to pursue another goal.

“I am hoping at some point to open a healing center for horses and other animals where people can come, in a quiet and natural environment and learn how to communicate with their animals, a place to heal animals that are in such bad shape that they can no longer be around humans,” she said.

Golden has four grown children: a son who is a local ferrier, a daughter in Washington who practices ancient Chinese medicine, a son who is a prison guard and another daughter who writes, illustrates, and animates comic books.

“My main goal is to change people’s perspectives about the other beings with whom we share this planet,” said Golden. “Communication is everything! If we can’t communicate with each other and our animals, how can we have harmony in this world.” 

To contact Golden, call (805) 245-4158.

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By Mike Chaldu
michael@santaynezvalleystar.com

Unlike last year, when major storms and resultant flooding caused cancellation of the event, crowds were able to gather this month at Mission Santa Ines in Solvang for the annual Christmas Tree Burn.

The burn, which signals the end of the city’s month-and-a-half long Julefest and the holiday season in general, went off without a hitch on Friday, Jan. 5, on the lawn across the parking lot from the mission.

“It’s great to have this back,” said Jenny McClurg, Solvang Parks and Rec director. “It was disappointing to have to cancel it last year, but the weather has cooperated and everyone seems to be having a good time.”

The Parks and Rec Department provided games to be played before the burn, and attendees were able to get some eats from the food truck belonging to Rudy’s Mexican Restaurant in Buellton.

Those arriving at dusk to the mission grounds were met with a sizable pile of discarded Christmas trees, a pile that was still being added to as the Santa Barbara County Fire Department personnel from Station 30 arrived to conduct the burn.

Joe and Sharon Filipko were awaiting the show along with their grandchildren Vienna Cervantes, 6; and her sisters Lola, 4; and Santina, 18 months. They were standing near the big pile of trees they contributed to a few minutes earlier.

“We live right across the street, so we just dragged the tree over and added it to the pile,” said Sharon Filipko. “We’re all pretty excited, the kids especially, after having to miss it last year.”

Another person who added to the pile of trees was Jesse Van Noy, who brought his all the way down from Avila Beach, coming with some friends to enjoy the fiery spectacle to come.

“We try to get down here for this as many times as we can; I think I’ve been to two or three of these so far,” he said. “I’m glad to be here; I think it’s a really good thing they put on.”

Van Noy was able to get his tree up near the top of the pile, although he needed a couple of tries for it to stick up there.

“Hey, those things are heavier than they look,” he said.

The burn also brought in attendees who were from out of town, some of whom didn’t know it was happening until hearing about when they were in town.

Amanda Meadows of Orange County came in with her husband Jake, children Autumn, 9; Silas, 7; Winnie, 5; and Sadie, 1; and Amanda’s grandparents (from Sacramento) Justin and Judy Petsas.

“We came up to visit and found out about this,” Amanda said as they waited for the sun to go down and the burn to commence. “We’ve been enjoying the area; we took the kids to the Santa Barbara Zoo, and I got to meet Monty Roberts [the Solvang horse trainer and owner/operator of Flag Is Up Farms]. I’m really into riding horses, so that was the highlight of the trip for me.”

The tree burn was a great topper to the trip, the kind of event the family never thought they’d come across.

“We don’t have anything like this where we live,” Jake Meadows said. “We just leave the tree on our curb for the trash guys to pick up and be done with it.”

While the burn was an unforeseen attraction for the Meadows and the Petsases, for the Molina family of Ventura, it was a destination.

Gabriel and Blanca Molina made the trip up to the Valley with their children Gabrielle, 17; Matthew, 7; and Adeline, 2.

“We decided to take a day trip; went to the Santa Barbara museums, and then continued it up here,” said Gabriel Blanca. “We come to Solvang quite a bit and love to visit the downtown, and we decided to check out this event for the first time.”

The program began with a ceremonial (and respectful) flag-burning conducted by the Boy Scout Troop 41, who cut up the worn flag before tossing the pieces into a small fire pit.

After that, the county firefighters gave a fire-safety demonstration, explaining the dangers a dry Christmas tree can pose and then lighting up three trees set up apart from the big pile to show just how fast a tree fire can ignite and spread.

After that, it was time for the main event.

The firefighters went slowly around the pile of trees lighting strategic spots along the bottom of the heap, and in no time at all the flames started shooting up into the sky amid the “oohs” and “aahs” of the crowd. The onlookers also gradually backed away from the pile as the heat got progressively more intense.

As the fire settled to a steady burn, Santa Barbara County Fire Capt. Andrew Wedel, who’s been with the department for 17 years — seven of them with Station 30 — could be pleased with another successful burn.

“Very pleased with how this turned out, and pleased with the crowd,” Wedel said. “We do this partly to show how careful you have to be with the trees and fire, but it’s also a time for the community to get together and have a good time, and we’ve had that tonight.”

Wedel estimated that the fire would burn out by “about 8:30 or 9 p.m.,” which would have meant two and a half or three hours since the fire was started just before 6 p.m.

As far as the aim of educating people about fire dangers, Wedel felt that part of the event has been a success.

“We haven’t had to answer a call about a tree catching on fire this year, and we haven’t had much at all over the past few years,” Wedel said. “So, I guess the people are listening.”

The post Solvang Christmas Tree Burn spells end to Julefest appeared first on Santa Ynez Valley Star.

By Pamela Dozois

Contributing Writer

Lost Chord Guitars in Solvang held a tribute benefit for local musician and drummer with The Molly Ringwald Project, LP (Lasse Plum Bertelsen), on Wednesday night, Dec. 27. He had been battling stage 4 prostate cancer since he was diagnosed in May of 2019. 

Sadly, LP passed away on Friday, Dec. 29, at Serenity House in Santa Barbara, at the age of 52, just two days after he was able to view the concert given for him on YouTube. 

“To know Lasse is to love him, and we’re now wanting to demonstrate our love to him by helping him in any way we can during this challenging time,” said Sarah Sheppard, LP’s stepdaughter, and organizer of the GoFundMe page started for his benefit.

The Central Coast music community came out in force to pay tribute to their friend and fellow artist in his time of need.

The evening’s music event was arranged by Chris Pelonis, the owner of Lost Chord Guitars, and also a long-time friend and fellow musician of LP. But Pelonis said the event was spearheaded by Carly Farmer and Ben Jordan, who took care of all the details involved in putting on the concert. 

More than 25 musicians of all genres performed throughout the evening paying tribute to LP. The small, acoustically perfect room at Lost Chords Guitars was filled to capacity with people standing shoulder to shoulder to hear the various performances and send love and support to LP, who was linked up to the livestreamed event on YouTube. LP was able to enjoy the event along with the many people who attended. 

The event can still be seen on the YouTube channel @chrispelonis. 

The evening began with a presentation of Mintang (John) Fitzpatrick’s Infinite Grapelings accompanied by pianist Matt McCarrin, artist in residence at Shepherd of the Valley Church, in the reception area where concert attendees gathered before the event to enjoy a glass of wine.

When all was set on stage, Pelonis opened the event by singing two songs, “I Can Only Imagine” and “I Will Trust in You,” followed by Teresa Pico on guitar and the T-Bone Ramblers. The merriment continued with a string of appearances by LP’s friends and musicians who had played with him over the years, including The Molly Ringwald Project, Lesley Lembo, Gary Foshee, Tony Martinez, Liz Brumfield, and more. His 19-year-old son, Lane, was also in attendance.

The number of people who attended the event could not be estimated because there was standing room only throughout the evening, which wrapped up by 11 p.m.

“When we found out about LP’s problem, Carly Farmer, my manager, approached me to put on an event for LP,” Pelonis said. “That was several months ago and at that time a lot of people were trying to put something together in a larger venue than mine, but none of them came to fruition. So, a couple of weeks ago Carly asked me again to do something. I was on tour in Hawaii, so Carly spearheaded the entire event. Carly and Ben Jordan took care of all the details and I provided the venue and the stage.”

Fitzpatrick was one of many moved by the event.

“What impressed me most was the outpouring of love and support from the Central Coast music community and of course our Valley,” he said. “The highlight for me was when LP FaceTimed us to say how much he was enjoying the event and how much he loved all of us. When we saw him and heard his voice, the mood in the room just shifted. It transformed from a tribute to a thoroughly joyous celebration … a beautiful reminder of what communal love and support means to each of us. 

“First and foremost, I know that LP’s Christian faith was really strong. I went to visit him on Thursday, Dec. 28, at hospice and played him a song that I had written for him called ‘There is a Place.’ He joined me, playing percussion on his body. When I was finished he asked me to play it again, which I did. In typical LP style, he just wanted to get it right. He was funny and happy when I was there, and deep for sure. He made some jokes. He sadly passed away the following day, but he did get to see the tribute.”

LP leaves behind his wife of 25 years, Stacey. He was a beloved husband, father, brother, son, uncle, and Papa. 

“It was beautiful to see our community come together for LP. Small towns are just that way,” said Pelonis.

To further contribute to LP’s family, visit Venmo@Stacey-Bertelsen.

The post Community pays tribute to local musician at benefit appeared first on Santa Ynez Valley Star.

By Mike Chaldu

michael@santaynezvalleystar.com

It was about three years ago when Evin Banta, now 8 and a third-grader at Solvang School started to take up skateboarding after watching others do it at the skatepark at Hans Christian Andersen Park in Solvang.

On Dec. 9, he was preparing for his very first skateboard competition, the Solvang Skate Contest, held at the same Hans Christian Andersen Park where he first started.

“I’ve gone to this skatepark this most,” said Evin, pointing over the the HCA setup. “But I have also gone to Nipomo, Mammoth, Santa Maria, Lompoc. I’m trying to get to Venice, I’m working toward that goal.”

Evin’s parents are supportive of his activity, and are enjoying the interaction with others in the skate culture.

“It’s a really good community. It’s tight knit a lot of fun to be around,” said Evin’s mom, Elfa Reader.

Evin’s father, Jason Banta agrees.

“Loving it. We’ve been to a few different skateparks in California,” Evin’s dad Jason Banta said. “I skated a little bit when I was his age, but then just played the ball sports; you know, football, basketball. But, if this keeps him happy, that’s great.”

Reader also mentioned that Evin is tackling this competition after “getting a few lessons with Robbie.”

“Robbie” would be Robbie Hargreaves, organizer of the competition. He is also the owner of the Solvang Skate Shop at 446 Alisal Road No. 14 in Solvang (to find it, take the staircase next to the Alisal Ice Cream Shop and go through the doorway straight ahead).

Hargreaves, who grew up in Lompoc, has been skateboarding for close to 30 years, and has competed in many national and international competitions.

“I have a genuine passion for teaching people how to skate and helping make their skateboarding journey more enjoyable,” Hargreave states on the Skate Shop website. “My mission is to encourage, inspire, learn and grow through skateboarding.”

On the early December morning, Hargreaves was greatly encouraged by the number of people at the event.

“Once we get going it’s going to be fine,” he said. “But it’s a great turnout so far.”

Later, Hargreaves gathered everyone in the parking lot for a group photo and then expressed his gratitude for those who came.

“I thank you guys so much for the opportunity to be here, sharing my love and passion of skateboarding with all of you,” he said.

The event had skateboarders competing in three categories: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced, with the contestants being rated by a small panel of judges.

While a good amount of the competitors were in the pre-teen to teenage category, there were a few adults who also decided to take part. One of them was Jason Daniel, a 48-year-old U.S. Marine veteran who, like young Evin Banta, had just started the sport.

“I’ve been skating about a year, and recently moved to Santa Ynez from Oregon,” Daniel said. “I’ll probably be doing the beginner or intermediate run, so it’s exciting.”

Daniel said he got interesting in skateboarding “kind of by accident.”

“I went to a birthday party for a kid that was held here at the skatepark,” he said. “I had a really cheap skate deck and start participating and it kind of lit a fire under me to do this.”

Daniel said so far his skateboarding has been self-taught.

“I just learned what from watching folks and taking what I can from what they do, and watching videos and stuff,” he said.

Ultimately, Daniel ended up entering the Intermediate division, while the competition started with the Beginner division that consisted of competitors 13 and under.

One of the skaters entered in the Beginners category was 9-year-old Natalia Bacha from Oxnard. Hargreaves, who was serving as the competition’s emcee made sure to point out that she was the first female to take part in the Solvang event.

For Natalia, though, being a female at the skatepark is not a big deal.

“I’ve never had anyone give me trouble about it,” she said. “Down in Oxnard, I just started skating two years ago, and the guys I ran into don’t have a problem with it. We just skate and have a good time.”

This was Natalia’s first time at the Solvang skatepark.

“My skateboarding instructor found out about this, and said this would be a cool thing to skate in so my dad brought me up,” she said.

Natalia’s father, Brandt Bacha, was there to cheer her on and give her any advice he might have.

“I’ve haven’t actually skated much, but I’m an avid surfer, and it’s kind of similar,” Bacha said. “It’s all board sports, and in fact, Natalia’s even started snowboarding when we can get to the snow areas.”

Bacha also agreed with his daughter that gender isn’t even much of an issue in this sport.

“They aren’t even looked at as a different section anymore, just because the progression levels are so high,” Bacha said.

At the end of the competition, the top three winners were announced in each category. The winners were:

Beginner: 1, Rusty Mullen; 2, Zachary Adam; 3, Owen Martinez

Intermediate: 1, Maddox Hazzard; 2, Ben Hazzard; 3, William McNamara

Advanced: 1, Nick Santos; 2, Issac Relis; 3, Komoana de Guzman

Logan Earthski Award: George Golluf.

The post Solvang skateboard competition held at Hans Christian Andersen Park appeared first on Santa Ynez Valley Star.

By Mike Chaldu

michael@santaynezvalleystar.com

Santa Ynez got a kick start on the local Veterans Day celebrations as the Santa Barbara County Veterans Foundation held its 3rd annual Santa Ynez Valley Salute to the Vets on Nov. 4, seven days before the actual Veterans Day.

The day began with the now-customary parade down Sagunto Street in downtown Santa Ynez, and continued with festivities at the Maverick Saloon, which was the starting point of the parade.

The parade was led by Grand Marshal Dave Smith, a Marine Corps sergeant who served in the Vietnam War and later was a teacher and coach at Santa Ynez Valley Union High School. Also in the parade were local dignitaries such as Solvang Mayor Mark Infanti, Buellton Mayor Dave King, Santa Barbara County Supervisor Joan Hartmann, and California Assemblyman Gregg Hart.

Other entries in the parade were the Flat Fender Friends’ caravan of jeeps, the Daughters of the American Revolution, numerous women dressed up as the pin-up girls of the 1940s, the 11th Mounted Cavalry Unit, and the Widows Sons motorcycle contingent representing the Vietnam Vets.

And, of course, introducing and interviewing the parade participant, as he did last year, was emcee Drew Wakefield, the motivational speaker and radio host who’s billed as “Mr. Santa Barbara.”

Wakefield expressed satisfaction that the Salute to the Veterans event has started to take a foothold in the Santa Ynez Valley area.

“Having a third year makes all the difference in the world, because now it’s not just a novelty,” he said. “People are now getting used to putting this on their calendar earlier in the year. People are looking forward to it because they know they’ve have such a good time at it before.

“If you love our veterans, and you love the United States of America, you want to show up.”

The parade kicked off the second annual Salute to the Vets celebration and led back to the Maverick Saloon on Sagunto Street for the in-person event, featuring live music from the Cash Cooper Band, local veterans programs and services booths, pin-up girl contest, food and drink, and military vehicle displays.

After the parade, there were a trio of individuals who made quite the entrance to the event as three members of the Patriot Parachute Team — Scott Harper, Nate Reed, and Steve Lobin — skydived in, landing in the field on the other side of Meadowvale Road right next to the saloon.

The parade and celebration at Maverick’s Saloon was presented by the Santa Barbara County Veterans Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to support and helping our local veterans and keeping the money in the tri-county area.

For more information on the organization, go to syvalleyvets.org. 

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