Santa Barbara County Public Health Puts Kibosh on Fiesta Car Parade
Sunday’s Annual Fiesta Cruiser Run Bike Ride Also Canceled, but Only Kind Of
In yet another display of last-minute dramatics, Santa Barbara County Public Health authorities ordered that the boom be lowered on Old Spanish Days’ plans to hold a 19-mile car parade this Friday, August 7, that would loop around Santa Barbara as a substitute for the annual Fiesta Parade, which has been canceled. Public health officials expressed concern that the proposed parade would draw too many onlookers, thus creating a public gathering of sufficient critical mass that aerosolized saliva infected with COVID-19 could be spread.
According to assistant Santa Barbara city attorney John Doimas, he notified public health authorities of the proposed parade and asked whether it violated public health orders against large gatherings. Doimas said he was told it did, and he notified Old Spanish Days—which organizes the annual Fiesta event—that the surrogate celebration had to be canceled.
“They took it exceptionally well,” Doimas stated. “They could not have been more gracious about it.”
