An artist is cutting a piece of metal that’s going to be a part of a float for a one of a kind parade this weekend.
The final countdown is on for the 2023 Santa Barbara Summer Solsticeparade, which will feature wildly creative costumes and floats. Picture a thousand people marching up the street, with up to 100,000 watching. It’s sort of like a family-friendly Mardi Gras parade, with a lot more creativity, like giant animal and plant floats.
"The theme this year is 'Roots', so we have a lot of things going back to the roots of things," said Ricardo Morrison, who is the Solstice Parade’s Artistic Director. He said the entries range from giant floats featuring plants, to something having fun with the theme by centering on root beer.
We’re at the Santa Barbara Summer Solstice workshop, on Garden Street in downtown Santa Barbara. The two main buildings are filled with people working on costumes, and floats. And, the parking lot is jammed with floats under construction.
Clare Carey is creating costumes, and floats for Santa Barbara’s La Boheme dance troupe, which is one of the largest groups in the parade. ""We are the Birds in Paradise...as you can see, we start with a giant orchid." The orchid is the first small float. The second is huge, and will feature a DJ and aerial performers.
"We have over 60 dancers, and we're going for high glamour...bejeweled...glamorous."
We walk into a big rig tractor-trailer which has been converted into workshop space. Pauli Xmano is at work here. He’s known for creating some of the parade's most elaborate works. He's creating a giant mushroom. "It will be 25 feet tall, and 25 feet wide," said Xmano. "There will be aerial dancers hanging from the inside ceiling."
With the parade just two days away, the work is shifting into high gear. Everywhere you look at the workshop, you see parts of wildly creative floats and costumes.
Solstice organizers say they feel they are completely bouncing back from the pandemic this year, with a surge in entries.
"Fantastic...amazing...I'm just always stunned by the creativity," said Santa Barbara Summer Solstice Executive Director Penny Little. She talked about what she hopes people get from watching the parade.
"Joy...memories...happiness, in a world that sometimes feels like the opposite of that."
The parade begins at noon on Saturday, at Santa Barbara and Ortega Streets.
It’s once again being shifted off of its longtime home on Santa Barbara’s State Street because of the restaurant parklets which have closed part of the street to traffic.
It will head up Santa Barbara Street to Alamada Park, which is the scene of the weekend long Santa Barbara Summer Solstice Celebration, with music, food, and crafts.
And you can still take part. Some of the ensembles still need volunteers to do everything from wearing a costume and marching, to helping to push a float. Nothing motorized is allowed in the parade.
