Mercados open with Fiesta food, music, shopping and friends

Food, music and various attractions have created a buffet of choices at the Old Spanish Days mercados in Santa Barbara this year. Downtown the mercado is in De la Guerra Plaza. The first visitors there Wednesday looked in all directions at signs welcoming hungry visitors who want familiar food items including tacos, taquitos, churros, corn on the cob, shaved ice, baked potatoes or tamales. A stage of dancing and music is at the end of the plaza with a big screen of images behind it. The northside mercado is at MacKenzie park. It too has a tasty selection of food booths along with a performance stage and carnival style rides. Annie Hecker sat at a table and said she came down “f or everything I love it. I love Fiesta.” Some people can”t wait to be the first to take a bite out of a freshly made dish. Nearby Alvin Ferrara was eating a pupusas. “I t is an El Salvadorean dish. It’s like a pancake, it is usually stuffed with cheese and meat and stuff like that.” Each booth is helping a non profit group and some of the visitors are eating for the made-on-site food item and some are trying to help the specific cause. “That would be for me, that’s for sure,” said Pamela Schiffer. De la Guerra also has a large marketplace for hats, dresses, jewelry and novelties to remember Old Spanish Days. It’s especially helpful if you are still putting your outfits together. The mercados are open until 11 p.m. daily. For more information go to: https://oldspanishdays-fiesta.org/