Outdoor Opportunities: Surf and Turf for the Holidays

Heading outside, the overwhelming headliner this week – at least in the continuing post-pandemic absence of the Santa Barbara Downtown Holiday Parade – is the 38th annual Parade of Lights on December 8 at the waterfront. The celebration gets underway at 3:30 pm with a Winter Wonderland on the City Pier in the Santa Barbara Harbor complete with holiday elves, 10 tons of snow, goodie bags and a visit by Santa and Mrs. Claus. The water-bound activities start with the “Human-Powered” category, boasting dozens of stand-up paddlers and kayakers dressed in festive attire, who will loop the Harbor and Stearns Wharf just before the tree lighting ceremony – complete with holiday tunes sung by the Dos Pueblos Jazz Choir – lights up the wharf by the Sea Center. 

At 5:30 pm, the roughly 30 highly illuminated watercraft, spanning power, sail, and commercial fishing boats, will light up the night as they make their way from Leadbetter Beach down the coast to the Cabrillo Pavilion, then back along the coast to the East side of Stearns Wharf. The celebration caps off with a brief but intense fireworks show launched from West Beach. The fun continues at the no-host awards ceremony at the Anchor Rose restaurant, located upstairs in the Waterfront Center Building in the harbor. 

Visit https://santabarbaraca.gov/things-do/waterfront/waterfront-news-and-events/parade-lights

In lieu of the street parade, Downtown Santa Barbara’s annual tree lighting ceremony, complete with wreath building, a visit from Santa Claus, music by DJ Darla Bea and presentations by local performance groups takes place 5-7 pm on December 6 on State Street in front of Arlington Theatre…. And while Santa Barbara’s street parade is still on (permanent?) pause, Goleta gets going December 7 with their holiday effort, featuring school bands, dignitaries, classic cars, festive floats, and others marching (or driving) through Old Town (Hollister Avenue from Orange to Kinman), where businesses have been busy decorating their storefront windows. Details at https://goletaholidayparade.org… Back in Santa Barbara, the newly refurbished Plaza del Mar bandshell in Pershing Park hosts a free community singalong featuring the Santa Barbara Strummers. Songbooks with lyrics will be provided so everyone can join the concert of popular holiday songs and carols from the comfort of their blankets and chairs for the 2-4 pm December 8 show.