(Santa Barbara, CA) –Commemorate 234 years of history at the birthplace of Santa Barbara, El Presidio de Santa Bárbara State Historic Park (123 East Canon Perdido Street) on Saturday, April 23, 2016 from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Celebrate the history of Santa Barbara at the Founding Day Festival, featuring Presidio Neighborhood businesses and local entertainment in the heart of downtown. Enjoy a costumed reenactment of the original Founding Ceremony held in 1782 and other family activities across the Presidio grounds.

 

This free event begins with a community prayer service (11am) in front of the Presidio Chapel honoring the founding families, followed by an outdoor Founding Day program (12-1pm) featuring Los Soldados del Reál Presidio de Santa Bárbara, early California dance and musical performances, and the presentation of Saint Barbara 2016 by the Native Daughters of the Golden West, Reina del Mar Parlor No. 126.

 

Following the ceremony (1-3:30pm), enjoy an afternoon living history stations, stage performances, and tours that focus on the history and culture of California. Converse with costumed demonstrators and experience life in Santa Barbara as it was during the late-1700s through heritage gardening, colonial cooking, pottery making, Chumash storytelling, archaeology, and more. Enjoy stage performances by the local Mariachi Las Olas de Santa Barbara, flamenco dancers from the Linda Vega Studio, and UCSB a cappella group, Naked Voices. Walk through the neighborhood with a docent-led tour of historic Chinatown or see the permanent Japanese exhibit, Nihonmachi Revisited.

 

Entertainment Schedule

1:00 p.m.             Mariachi Las Olas de Santa Barbara (Stage)

1:30 p.m.             Chinatown Walking Tour (Visitor Center)

2:00 p.m.            Flamenco Dancers – Linda Vega Studio (Stage)

3:00 p.m.            Naked Voices

 

Educational Stations

Archaeology

Colonial Pottery

Early California Dance

Presidio School Room

Adobe Brick Making

Chumash Storytelling

Spinning Wool

Colonial Laundry

Indigenous vs. Introduced Plants

Presidio Cocina (Early California Foods)

Colonial Clothing

Blacksmith

Docent Tour

Presidio Descendants

SB Lotería – by the Santa Barbara Historical Museum

 

Santa Barbara’s Founding Day Festival is funded in part by the Santa Barbara County Arts Commission, the California State Parks Foundation, and the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation.

 

CALENDAR LISTING

Founding Day Festival

Celebrate the history of Santa Barbara at the Founding Day Festival, featuring Presidio Neighborhood businesses and local entertainment in the heart of downtown. Enjoy a costumed reenactment of the original Founding Ceremony held in 1782 and other family activities across the Presidio grounds.

 

DATE & TIME:   Saturday, April 23, 2016 from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

LOCATION:  El Presidio de Santa Bárbara State Historic Park

123 East Canon Perdido Street, Santa Barbara

FREE Admission

For more information (805) 965-0093 or www.sbthp.org/foundingday