ANNOUNCEMENT OF POSTER ART CONTEST WINNER AT "Trunk Show & Art Auction" at CEC ​ ​ Solstice Santa Barbara announced the winning entry for this year's 2026 Poster Contest is Larry Vigon. ​ The announcement was made at the BIGGEST Little Elephant Parade® Trunk Show & Art Auction Thursday, March 26. ​ Vigon is an internationally acclaimed art director and designer whose work has been seen by hundreds of millions of people around the world. Highlights include induction into the Album Cover Hall...

By Penny Little, Executive Director, Solstice Santa Barbara When we talk about the future of Santa Barbara—its economic vitality, its sense of community, its resilience—we often overlook one of our most powerful assets: our creative sector. Solstice is often seen as a Parade and Festival. And yes, it is joyful and celebratory. But it is also something more consequential. It is a working model of how the arts drive economic activity, strengthen community bonds, and generate measurable public...

Photo by Robert Bernstein Santa Barbara Solstice Celebration lit up the longest night of the year on Saturday, December 20, as hundreds of glowing revelers gathered for our second annual Let It Glow Lighted Costume Street Party. Community members joined Solstice, the Brasscals, Fishbon, and friends for an evening of music, movement, and illumination along State Street Special light projections by Jon Smith of The Environment Makers transformed the 700 block of State Street across from...