About Santa Barbara, California (courtesy of Wikipedia)
Santa Barbara is a city in California, United States. It is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 92,325. The metropolitan area—which includes the cities of Goleta and Carpinteria; the unincorporated communities of Montecito, Summerland, Isla Vista, and Hope Ranch; and adjacent areas—has a population of approximately 200,000.
Santa Barbara has two daily newspapers: The Santa Barbara News-Press, which has a circulation of about 45,000 and the Santa Barbara Daily Sound, the city's free daily. The News-Press was sold by the New York Times Company in 2000, and is now independently owned by Wendy P. McCaw, a local resident and outspoken environmentalist. The Daily Sound is also independently owned by Jeramy Gordon. Gordon is also a resident of the City of Santa Barbara. Other local media include the Pacific Coast Business Times, a weekly business journal covering Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Luis Obispo Counties, Santa Barbara Independent, an arts and entertainment newsweekly, and Coastal Woman, a quarterly glossy magazine for local women, as well as television stations KEYT 3, an ABC television affiliate and KPMR 38, a Univision affiliate.
Santa Barbara is home to a vibrant artistic community, and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art is home to a significant permanent collection. Other art venues include the University Art Museum on the UC Santa Barbara Campus, various private galleries, and a wide variety of art and photography shows. The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History is located immediately behind the Santa Barbara Mission in a complex of charming, mission-style buildings set in a delightful park-like campus. The Museum offers outstanding indoor and outdoor exhibits and a state-of-the-art planetarium. The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum is located at 113 Harbor Way (the former Naval Reserve Center Santa Barbara) on the waterfront.
Santa Barbara is a year-round tourist destination renowned for its warm weather, downtown beaches, and Spanish architecture. In addition to the city's cultural assets, several iconic destinations lay within the city's limits. Mission Santa Barbara, "The Queen of the Missions," is located in Santa Barbara. It was founded on December 4, 1786 on a rise about two miles inland from the harbor, and is maintained as an active place of worship, sightseeing stop, and national historic landmark. The Santa Barbara County Courthouse, a red tiled Spanish-Moorish structure, provides a sweeping view of the downtown area from its open air tower. The Presidio, a Spanish military installation built in 1782, was central to the town's early development and remains an icon of the city's colonial roots.
Also famous is the annual Fiesta (originally called "Old Spanish Days"), celebrated every year in August. Fiesta, in Santa Barbara, is synonymous with food, music, and riotous parties, ranging from the annual Covarrubias Adobe Pre-Fiesta Tea, to the Fiesta Pequeña on the steps of the Mission. Fiesta is hosted by the Native Daughters of the Golden West and the Native Sons of the Golden West in a joint committee called the Fiesta Board. Fiesta was originally started as a tourist attraction, like the Rose Bowl, to draw business into the town in the 1920's. 80 years later, it has become a several-day-long bash of Mexican food, Spanish dancing, and traffic tie ups all along State Street.
Flower Girls and Las Señoritas are another attraction of Fiesta, as they march and participate in both Fiesta Pequeña (the kickoff of Fiesta) and the various parades. Flower Girls is for girls under 13. They throw roses and other flowers into the crowds. Las Señoritas are their older escorts. Many Señoritas join the Native Daughters at the age of 16.
In recent years, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival [4] (SBIFF), another local non-profit, has also become a major draw bringing over 50,000 attendees during what is usually Santa Barbara's slow season in late January. SBIFF hosts a wide variety of celebrities, premieres, panels and movies from around the world and runs for 10 days.
The annual Summer Solstice Parade draws up to 100,000 people. It is a colorful themed parade put on by local residents, and follows a route along State Street for approximately one mile, ending at Alameda Park. Floats and costumes vary from the whimsical to the outrageous; parties and street events take place throughout the weekend of the parade, which is invariably the first weekend after the solstice.
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