Seen Around Town
El Presidente J.C. Gordon with wife Jamie and daughters Avianna and Olivia at Rancho Dos Pueblos La Primavera event
by Lynda Millner
La Primavera La Primavera party soldados with event chair David Bolton and Gonzalo Sarmiento at the greeting “barn”
W
OW! Old Spanish Days held a monumental La Primavera party at Rancho Dos Pueblos north of town on the Gaviota Coast at a private beach. It was perfect to showcase El Presidente. J. C. Gordon’s theme: Santa Barbara – the Coastal Frontier, near where Juan Cabrillo anchored in 1542 and Portal camped on the creek in 1769. At one
time, there were two Chumash villages above the beach; hence the name Dos Pueblos. A sold-out crowd of three hundred costumed in fiesta finery boarded buses to head to the Ranch. They were greeted at the “barn” by soldados doing a drum roll for their entrance and a glass of sangria. Then a walk on the red carpet to two horse-drawn car-
Ms Millner is the author of The Magic Makeover, Tricks for Looking Thinner, Younger and More Confident – Instantly. If you have an event that belongs in this column, you are invited to call Lynda at 969-6164.
riages from the Carriage Museum for a ride to the beach. There was also a small lake where a group of Chumash were rowing their tomol (boat) to shore and were greeted by the Spanish – a meeting of the two cultures. And so the event began. The receiving line included El Presidente, his wife Jamie and two daughters Avianna and Olivia, the Spirit of Fiesta Alexis Simentales and Jr. Spirit Sarah Naretto who later danced for us. It was their first official performance of the year. A silent auction of plein-air paintings depicting various scenes around the Ranch were on display. Artist Jeremy Harper who painted the scene for this year’s Old Spanish Days poster was introduced, and the painting unveiled to a threegun salute. It shows a long-ago scene of Santa Barbara from the water with just the Mission in the distance. Guests enjoyed the sunset with cocktails, wine, and bites and also the unveiling of this year’s Fiesta pins. The sit-down three-course dinner
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magically appeared. I’m still not sure where the “kitchen” was. The VIP tables had wrought-iron candelabras with driftwood intertwined. Mayor Helene Schneider spoke, “I want to honor and respect the Chumash elders and family members who are here today.” Also speaking was the Spanish consul general of Los Angeles, Francisco Javier Vallaure de Acha, who loves the United States so much, he’s going to retire here instead of Spain. El Presidente reminded us,
SEEN Page 364 Artist Jeremy Harper’s original painting for the 2016 Fiesta poster representing the theme Santa Barbara: The Coastal Frontier
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Spirit of Fiesta Alexis Simentales and Junior Spirit Sarah Naretto at the premiere performance for the season at La Primavera
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14 MONTECITO JOURNAL
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P R E V I E W S I N T E R N AT I O N A L
• The Voice of the Village •
2 – 9 June 2016