Lighter version of Old Spanish Days still comes with a big cleanup

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Even though the crowds were lighter and the events were fewer, Old Spanish Days comes with a big clean up in Santa Barbara.

Power sprayers were blasting confetti out of the brick walkways all morning.

Santa Barbara's Public Works crews had their equipment going over several blocks in the core of downtown and in the parking lots for hours.

This included landscaping, planters, trash cans, walkways, gutters and necessary repairs.

Thousands of people were out over the weekend but not the type of crowd that would normally be seen if this was not a year with a pandemic crisis.

Business owner Jackie Karp said, "There was a lot more confetti, nearly all of it has been picked up. They usually come around in the middle of the night."

La Presidenta Stephanie Petlow said crowds were in town even with a lighter schedule of events. "We really were able to have a safe Fiesta. More people were with their families and just really trying to continue the Fiesta spirit."  

Dancers who did not perform in the Mercados when they were called off this year due to crowd and COVID concerns did find other sites.

"The La Cumbre and also the Paseo Nuevo Mall had a large stages set up so the community were able to see the dancers, " said Petlow. "People were having a good time they were staying socially distanced they were going into the restaurants, they were going into the stores."

Santa Barbara Police say they were out in force and had some help from a few regional agencies including Lompoc and Santa Maria officers.

Their numbers include seven felony arrests and 52 misdemeanor citations which is significantly down from 2020, most were alcohol related offenses.

Petlow concluded her Fiesta activities Sunday night at the Fiesta Finale in the El Paseo restaurant. Music, Flamenco dancing and a live auction took place.