Downtown Santa Barbara Announces Winners of 61st Annual Holiday Parade and Holiday Decor Contest
Release Date: December 18,2013
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – On Friday, December 6th, the 61st Annual Downtown Holiday Parade delivered Holidays in Paradise to State Street. The parade, sponsored by the Santa Barbara Downtown Organization (SBDO), featured nearly 80 entries and more than 3,500 participants, including magnificent marching bands, fabulous floats and spectacular performance groups, Celebrity Grand Marshal Michael Imperioli, the Holiday Prince & Fairy and of course, Santa Claus. With more than 50,000 spectators, this was the most spectacular holiday community event!
The 2013 parade winners are: Most Theme Oriented – Grand Prize: Adelante Charter School; Most Creative: Lemos Feed & Pet Supply; Most Spirited: Girl Scouts – Costa de Oro Service Unit; Best Drill Team: San Marcos High School Marquettes & Cheer Teams; Best Performance Group: Dos Pueblos Jazz Choir & Combo; Best High School Band: Dos Pueblos High School Band; Best Junior High School Band: Goleta Valley Junior High School; Best Elementary School Band: Goleta Union Elementary School Band.
The Downtown Organization would like to thank Southern California Edison for donating the Community Holiday Tree and the City’s Public Works crew for installing it at State and Victoria Streets. A special thanks also goes to Business First Bank, CADA, Canary Hotel, City of Santa Barbara, Hotel Santa Barbara, Goleta Lions Club, KEYT, KJEE, MarBorg Industries, Montecito Bank & Trust, Paseo Nuevo, Rincon Broadcasting, Santa Barbara International Film Festival, The Santa Barbara Public Market, Santa Barbara Nightlife, Santa Barbara News-Press, Santa Barbara Independent, The Towbes Group, Tri-Valley Trophy, Union Bank and Wheels and Waves for their generous sponsorships and contributions.
Next year’s parade is scheduled for Friday, December 5, 2014 at 6:30pm. For more information, please contact the Downtown Organization at 962-2098 ext. 22.
‘Twas two weeks before Christmas and all along the street, the shop windows were all decorated – oh, what a treat! The Downtown Organization Décor Committee strolled along State Street to judge the Holiday Window Décor Contest this week – here are the results, along with a hearty congratulations to the winners:
2013 Award of Excellence:
33 Jewels at El Paseo (814 State Street)
Best Holiday Spirit Award:
Hotel Santa Barbara (533 State Street)
Most Traditional Award:
Hampstead Village (1100 State Street)
Most Festive Award:
Opal Restaurant & Bar (1325 State Street)
Best Vintage Holiday:
Antique Alley (706 State Street)
Most Whimsical Award:
Bizerk (432 State Street)
Utilizing not only both floors of the store, but the outside paseo and even a small window balcony, 33 Jewels’ all-encompassing design was the hands-down favorite. The warm décor inside Hotel Santa Barbara greets all who enter, while Opal’s interior décor invites one to linger longer over dinner. Hampstead Village brings a bit of an English Countryside Christmas to State Street. Clearly utilizing store stock, Antique Alley’s window display is filled with vintage toys, holiday decorations and even clothing items – everything you remember from holidays of years (or even decades) past. Lastly, if there is one word to describe the windows of Bizerk, it is indeed “whimsical.” Best to check it out yourself. “Each year, there are more participants,” said Genny Cummings (Indigo Home Furnishings), Décor Committee Chair. “It’s so fun to see the variety of the décor as well as all the effort each location puts into their window designs.”
The Downtown Organization is a membership-driven, non-profit organization whose goal is to maintain and enhance the business and cultural activity in the downtown area. Helping keep downtown Santa Barbara clean, attractive, safe and vibrant goes towards supporting this goal. Presently, there are more than 1,400 members who benefit from the Downtown Organization’s commitment to excellence and its ongoing efforts on their behalf. Some of the programs, activities and events sponsored by the Downtown Organization include the Downtown Holiday Parade, the Downtown Art & Wine Tour, the decorative State Street Flag Program, 1st Thursday and 1st Thursday: After Hours, Shop Spree SB, Downtown Safe Trick-or-Treat and Film Feast. Like us on Facebook (Downtown Santa Barbara), follow us on Twitter (@SBDowntown) and follow us on Instagram (@DowntownSantaBarbara) for the latest info on events, specials and downtown information.
###
