"To protect the health of our community due to the current public health emergency, the Santa Barbara Summer Solstice Celebration has decided to go virtual with our annual Solstice community workshop and 3-day festival at Alameda Park. While we are certainly heartbroken to make this announcement, we feel it is in the best interest and welfare of our community.
We are, however, committed to keeping the Solstice spirit alive and thriving. We are in the process of planning a plethora of free and donation-based online classes and gatherings in May and June and possibly beyond. We invite the community to apply to join us in hosting these online offerings. Artists, performers, costumers, musicians, storytellers, dancers and creative makers, we invite you to share your creative Solstice spirit with our community.
These classes, gatherings and virtual concerts will open up many opportunities for artists, organizations and people, from around the world and will offer Solstice and our community new creative connections that we believe will enhance our parade, community and organization for many years to come.
The schedule of activities is set to be announced the first week of May" said Robin Elander, Executive Director of Summer Solstice Celebration.
"We know you hold the Solstice Parade near and dear to your hearts. Our team is exploring alternative dates to host a parade later this year, in lieu of our Summer Solstice Parade previously scheduled for June 20th, should conditions allow. We will keep you posted!" said Summer Solstice Celebration board member, Stacie Bouffard.
Summer Solstice Celebration is also happy to announce a partnership with the UCSB Museum of Art, Architecture and Design for an online Solstice "parade of history," to showcase a sampling of the organization's 45-year history started by Michael Gonzalez in 1976.
We can't wait to see you at one of our online workshop gatherings," said Artistic Director, Riccardo Morrison. We will make the best of this challenging situation, have some fun and make new connections in the process!"
