A man drilled holes in the top of a float that was inspired by the ocean. It’s far from complete, but you could see that it looks like a scene from the bottom of the Santa Barbara Channel.
We’re surrounded by more than a dozen floats under construction in a yard off of Garden Street in downtown Santa Barbara. It's the Santa Barbara Summer Solstice Workshop. It's part of the 2026 Summer Solstice Parade, the community’s artistic and often whimsical ode to the start of summer.
"This year's theme is Wave," said Penny Little, Executive Director of the Santa Barbara Summer Solstice Celebration. "It's an amazing theme because it brings out creativity in many different ways. You can be a sound wave, a light wave, a heat wave, you can be the royal wave, you could be a wave in the ocean, you could be a surfer on a wave."
"It's like a cross between the Doo Dah and Carnival parades," Little continued. "We have elements of many different things, because most of the people who are paid staff — our artists-in-residence — are fine artists. They are teaching our community celebration arts. You can make something with other people by collaborating. It doesn't matter what skill level you have."
Anyone with an idea can enter the parade. The rules are simple: It can’t be commercial in nature. No words, signs, or symbols, and motorized devices aren't allowed. The floats have to be pushed or pulled by people.
At the Solstice Workshop, some of the bigger projects for Saturday’s parade are taking shape.
Carolyn Strong is working on a float for the biggest ensemble in the parade, the La Boheme Dance Group.
"We're going to look like a wave," Strong explained. "You'll see us blocks away, with beautiful waves of fabric, so it looks like a tidal wave of emotion, and joy is coming towards you. There are 111 dancers and 20 extras. And we thought about what's happening below the waves. We made a beautiful disco mermaid who's going to be on top of the float, along with clamshells full of disco balls. We're just going to rock you!"
Natasha Kucherenko is with another ensemble group, called Buckle Up. She worked on a treasure chest sitting on a float.
"This is going to be a pirate ship," said Kucherenko. "We're cowgirls/pirates. So, we have stolen our loot, we've flown our pirate flag, and we're parading through the streets with what we've stolen."
Several artists and craftsmen are at the workshop to help people turn their ideas into reality.
"Artists will come to me with some sort of sketch, or freehand drawing of what their thoughts are on a project," said workshop assistant Henry Castello. "I do my best to make it into a 3-D reality."
The parade is more than half a century old. This is year 32 for Diane Arnold.
"The theme is 'Wave', and initially I was going to do a giant wave, with a couple of fiberglass poles with fabric," said Arnold. "The wave would go over and around. And then I realized it would be funnier to just have a giant hand wave. So, I'm making two giant hands, 14 feet tall, which will be waving."
"It's amazing how the community gets together to create art," said Solstice Artist-In-Residence Carlos Cuellar. "Having an idea for Solstice is like having a dream, because you're going to put your artwork in the middle of the street in front of 100,000 people."
The Summer Solstice Celebration kicks off Friday afternoon. with the Solstice Festival in Alameda Park. The weekend-long event features music, kids' activities, food, and arts and crafts vendors.
The parade begins at noon Saturday at Santa Barbara and Ortega Streets, and heads up Santa Barbara Street, ending in Alameda Park.
