Edhat Staff
2019 Spirit of Fiesta Sophia Cordero at Los Niños de las Flores Garden Party (Photos: Fritz Olenberger)
Update by edhat staff
The Mercado is open and Old Spanish Days Fiesta is just beginning! The historical parade is scheduled for this Friday at noon and edhat readers entered our trivia contest to win 2 VIP seats to see the parade.
Let’s get to the answers.
Question 1: What community landmark was created to host the annual Fiesta shows?
Many of you answered the Lobero Theater. Unfortunately, that is incorrect but a good guess! Fiesta Historian Erin Graffy explains the Lobero Theatre inaugurations happened at the same time but it was an existing theatre, and the creation of Fiesta was launched completely separate from anything to do with the Lobero. Fiesta decided to move their initially planned September date to August in order to join forces with the Lobero to take advantage of the Lobero’s publicity.
However, Old Spanish Days had been holding an annual pageant/musical show that featured our Californios history with the original folk songs and dances. It was performed in an area where Peabody stadium is now. Sam Stanwood was Fiesta presidente (1927-1947) and county supervisor. So he was inspired to create the County Bowl as a community venue, knowing the Old Spanish Days show would be perfect to showcase there. The show’s creator/director Charles Pressley, demonstrated to Stanwood that the natural acoustics there would make it a perfect place to install a stage and seating to make an amphitheater.
The correct answer is the Santa Barbara Bowl.
Bonus Question: In 1950, our Fiesta parade featured “the largest float in the world.” How long was it?
For the answer to this question, we defer to edhat reader Flicka: “The largest float ever in the parade was 90 ft long. I was on it dancing, it was ‘The De la Guerra Fandango’, the celebration of the marriage of Anita De la Guerra in 1836. There were no motorized vehicles allowed in those times. There were 14 horses pulling the float. As we turned onto State from Cabrillo Blvd. the hitch broke. I can still picture them leading the team of sorrel horses away. A tow truck had to pull us up State Street, the 1st motorized vehicle allowed in the parade. Below is a photo of my cousin and me doing the Mexican Hat Dance on the 90 ft float. I am on the left (had to be the boy because I was so tall, 9 years old).”
Only 7 edhat readers correctly guessed the Santa Barbara Bowl. Out of those winners, the edhat staff randomly selected a winner. Congratulations to Grandma_Jody! You’ll enjoy the Historical Fiesta parade in a nicely shaded area overlooking all the participants, floats, and horses.
A big thank you to Erin Graffy for the fun trivia questions! Don’t forget to enter our horse counting contest to win more prizes.
Tonight is La Fiesta Pequena at the Santa Barbara Mission. Check out a sneak preview with photos from Fritz Olenberger.
By edhat staff
We have 2 tickets to give away to one knowledgeable edhat reader for this Friday’s Historical Parade. Correctly answer the below Fiesta trivia question and you could enjoy the parade in a shaded VIP area with a full view of all its participants.
The Old Spanish Days historical parade (El Desfile Histórico) is celebrating its 95th anniversary this year. It begins at noon on Cabrillo Blvd and marches up State Street with a lot of horses, but that’s another contest.
We talked to local Fiesta Historian Erin Graffy and learned a lot about Old Spanish Days. She gave us some great material to educate edhat readers and also have a little fun. Answer the below trivia question by Wednesday at noon for a chance to win. Plus, correctly guess the bonus question and you could win more prizes including vintage Fiesta posters.
RULES
- One entry per person
- Email address on the entry must be tied to an edhat account [They’re free! .]
- Entry must be received by Wednesday, July 31 at 12:00 p.m. (noon)
- One winner will be selected from all the correct entries
- Winner will receive 2 VIP tickets for reserved seating at the Historical Fiesta Parade on Friday, August 2 at 12:00 p.m.
- Winner will be notified on Wednesday afternoon via email and must respond in a timely manner. If after several attempts to contact the winner with no response, a new winner will be selected.
EVENT DETAILS
The parade starts at the west end of Cabrillo Boulevard, proceeds east along the beach to State Street, then up State Street to Sola Street.
