Under normal circumstances, De la Guerra Plaza would be filled with food stands and live music, but it stands empty during this year’s virtual Fiesta.
SANTA BARBARA — It’s already been a quiet Fiesta as COVID-19 has driven Old Spanish Days’ annual festival onto virtual formats, and the recent cancellation of one of its few in-person events is making Fiesta 2020 even quieter.
Originally planned for noon today, the Fiesta Caravan Parade will not go forward as planned due to risks of spreading COVID-19.
According to the Old Spanish Days website, county and city officials told the nonprofit on Tuesday that the parade featuring classic and decorated cars could cause groups of people to gather along the 19-mile parade route to watch it, which would violate orders from the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department.
“As we have done from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Old Spanish Days (OSD) continues to make decisions that are in the best interest of public health and safety,” the website reads. “To that end, we are not going to proceed with our small but spirited reimagined Fiesta caravan car parade that was scheduled for Friday, August 7.”
While the caravan car parade is no longer happening, those who missed Wednesday night’s broadcast of Fiesta’s opening night La Fiesta Pequeña on KEYT Newschannel 3 have plenty of opportunities to watch it over this weekend. The event will be replayed from noon to 1:30 p.m. today on KSBB (KEYT channel 3.2). It will also be played from 8 to 9:30 p.m. on Aug. 8 and 9.
