Santa Barbara 66th Holiday Parade from John Silva Films.
Downtown Santa Barbara is excited to officially kick off the holiday season with the 67 th Annual Downtown Santa Barbara Holiday
Parade, Presented by Consumer Fire Products Inc. The highly anticipated holiday parade steps off promptly at 6:30 pm on Friday, December 6th, lighting up State Street. This year’s parade will feature giant balloons, magnificent marching bands, community floats, spectacular performance groups, the Holiday Prince and Fairy, and of course the most anticipated appearance of the season: Santa Claus. This year’s theme, “A Tropical Holiday,” chosen to show off the sunny, laid back attitude of Santa Barbara offers a world of ways to decorate, illuminate and celebrate our community and to bring out the ultimate “ooh and ahh” factor from the fans.
Over the past 34 years, SBIFF has become one of the leading film festivals in the United States – attracting 95,000 attendees and offering 11 days of 200+ films, tributes and panels, fulfilling their mission to engage, enrich, and inspire people through the power of film.
Since 1974, tuba, sousaphone, euphonium and baritone horn players from across the nation play Christmas carols, first with instruments only and then with everyone singing along.
1st Thursday is an evening of art and culture in downtown Santa Barbara. On the first Thursday of each month, participating galleries and art-related venues offer free access to visual and performing art in a fun and social environment from 5-8 pm. 1st Thursday venues feature attractions such as art openings, live music, artists' receptions, lectures, wine tastings and hands-on activities.
McConnell’s Fine Ice Cream - 728 State Street
Step right into this Santa Barbara original, McConnell’s Fine Ice Cream. McConnell's has been serving Santa Barbarians since 1949. With their quirky-rustic look, McConnell’s Fine Ice Cream opened a fun and bustling parlor, right in the heart of Downtown on State Street. This ‘scoop shop’ offers so many amazing flavors that pair very well with on another. Our favorite part about going to McConnell’s is the ability to create your own ice cream sandwiches. Taking a fresh chocolate chip cookie, we asked the crafters to add in one large scoop of their ‘Turkish Coffee’ flavor. Only through tasting their ice cream, will you be able to truly appreciate their use of fresh and natural ingredients. To learn more about McConnell’s history and alternate locations, visit: https://mcconnells.com/
Cold Stone Creamery - 504 State Street
An international ice cream lover’s favorite, Cold Stone Creamery is a great place to combine your love of ice cream and cake! Coldstone handcrafts their ice cream each day, giving their customers a fresh creamy indulgence. The employees were very excited about their ability to make the ice cream fresh every morning, because it shows their dedication in pleasing their customers with their rich creamy scoops. Located directly on State in Old Town Santa Barbara, Cold Stone Creamery continues to draw you in with the sweet smell of creamy goodness. Thinking of visiting Cold Stone in a different town, or looking to purchase one of their signature Ice Cream Cakes? Visit: www.coldstonecreamery.com
Rockin’ Yogurt - 620 State Street
If your sweet tooth’s been bothering you and you’re looking for a different way to enjoy ice cream, we would recommend trying out Rockin’ Yogurt. Not only is this small shop totally family operated, but they combine their frozen yogurt with crepes! Find a new way to enjoy a cold treat, by combining some refreshing frozen yogurt with your choice of crepe. Being family owned and operated, their hours are usually from: 2:30pm-9:30pm Monday-Friday and 12pm-9:30pm Saturdays and Sundays. After shopping in Paseo Nuevo, stroll on down to Rockin' Yogurt for an amazing afternoon cold treat.
Blenders in the Grass - 720 State Street
Blenders in the Grass is the perfect place to grab something cool as you walk on State. Located directly on State, Blenders offers an array of smoothie blends from: "Juicy" and "Tropical," to "Creamy" and "Powerful." Each section contains a multitude of flavors, alongside your choice to add one free supplement to any flavor. Our favorites are: Tropical Guava and Peanut Butter. Blender’s is also offering their ‘Focused Health Blends,’ giving you the opportunity to enjoy a Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, and Plant-Based smoothie. After you've fallen in love with their fruity goodness, grab a reusable cup to save you money and the environment! Visit: https://www.drinkblenders.com/.
Creamistry - 935 State Street
Creamistry, located directly on State Street downtown, is a new innovative way to create your own ice cream flavors with toppings. Creamistry uses liquid nitrogen to make their ice cream and freezes it right in front of you! This spot opened about a year ago and the best part about this decadent treat, is seeing its actual creation! No more scoops from the case. Fresh and made to order! They offer numerous amounts of flavors and toppings to choose from, so you’ll never be bored when you revisit. Walk up State Street for a creative way to enjoy your ice cream and talk to the super friendly Creamologists. For more information on their liquid nitrogen process, visit their website at: https://creamistry.com/
Sweet Creams - 651 Paseo Nuevo #607
If you’re looking for another unique way to enjoy your ice cream,visit Sweet Creams in Paseo Nuevo to enjoy some delicious creations to sweeten your taste buds. They offer some amazing ice cream creations such as the ‘Donutwich”—combining ice cream flavors and toppings in between to halves of a donut, along with ‘Cookiewich’—a scoop of your favorite ice cream in between two cookies, and ‘Baklava & Ice Cream’—combining your favorite flavors with some homemade baklava. There are also other interesting treats, such as: homemade cheesecake and ice cream and homemade waffles and ice cream. This is also a great location for children due to the huge array of options for the sweet tooth, including an entire wall of canady to eat or sprinkle on top of your ice cream. Their employees are fun, welcoming, and excited about their creations. For more info, visit them on Instagram: @sweetcreams_sb
Rori’s Organic Ice Cream - Inside the Public Market, 38 Victoria Street Rori’s Organic Ice Cream shop is located inside the Santa Barbara Public Market. It has an easily accessible counter with very kind employees working to serve Rori's fresh and locally flavroed ice creams. They are very passionate about serving the best ice cream to their customers and the importance of Rori's use of only real and natural ingredients in their delicious ice cream. The owner, Rori, sources all her ingredients from a few local towns, including: Solvang, Carpinteria, and Santa Barbara, giving each scoop the taste of home. Take a stroll through Public Market, sit down and enjoy some natural ice cream to feel your taste buds explode. And remember, “Rori isn’t just a name, she’s a person.” For more information on Rori’s handcrafted ice creams, visit: www.rorisartisanalcreamery.com
Yogurtland - 621 State Street
Yogurtland is one of the best places to get frozen yogurt in Downtown SB. They have 16 flavors out at a time with the ability to choose as many flavors as you want. There’s also an array of toppings, from fresh and fruity to dense and chocolatey—everyone’s favorite flavor is present in some way. I love how creamy and smooth their yogurt is. There is an extra level of that ‘melt in your mouth’ effect that you sometimes just don’t get with ice cream. The beautiful soft serve machines allow the customers decide exactly what to mix and exactly how much of everything they want in the Yogurtland cup. The employees are attentive kind and great about keeping the large seating area clean for the following customers. For more info, and to play with their handy-dandy ‘Flavor Finder’ visit: https://www.yogurt-land.com/
Pressed Juicery - 651 Paseo Nuevo #305
Pressed Juicery is a great juice bar that allows their customers to enjoy fresh and wholesome sweetness, without feeling too bad about potential additives. Pressed Juicery is completely plant-based, dairy-free, and gluten-free. They also create "Freezes," similar to the texture of frozen yogurt, and use only 5 main ingredients to create each of their flavors. They offer a few classic toppings, such as: cocoa drizzle, almond butter, coconut, vegan marshmallows, and vegan gummy bears. Strawberry is one extremely refreshing flavor that tastes just like the fruit itself, allowing us to indulge in a purified fruity frozen treat. Enjoy their Happy Hour at 6pm, with all of their "Size One Freezes"-- half off! Visit www.pressedjuicery.com for more information.
ParadICE: Hawaiian Shave Ice - 11 West De La Guerra St. Unit A
ParadICE: Hawaiian Shave Ice is one of the best ways to cure the heat during the summer. With their many flavor options over shave ice, there’s a taste for everyone. ParadICE uses real fruit and organic cane sugar with purified water to create their syrups. They have an amazing staff that is very passionate about their house-made shave ice flavors. Ourfavorite, POG, is an amazing Hawaiian flavor—mixture of: passionfruit, orange, and guava. It is one of the most popular fruit juices in Hawaii and has an amazing sweet and refreshing taste that goes great over shave ice. The owners pride themselves in being able to give their customers a cool refreshing treat with fresh ingredients. If you are interested in more information regarding their flavor process, please visit: https://www.paradiceshaveice.com/
805 Boba - 651 Paseo Nuevo #213
Are you a Boba lover looking to get your fix? Well luckily for you there’s a great Boba place located inside Paseo Nuevo! This Taiwanese tea-based drink is a great way to cool down during the hot summer months. These tea-based drinks are usually shaken/mixed with fruit or milk and the chewy tapioca balls sit at the bottom of the cup for a change in texture with the slurp of your straw. Their menu includes Boba for smoothies, tea, milk tea, slushes, and coffee drinks. Get your Boba fix with all of their great flavors! The staff is very friendly with lots of employees eager to serve you their favorite combination. For more info: http://www.805boba.com/home.html
Chocolats du CaliBressan - 1100 State St
While this famous chocolate shop is mostly known for their unique French chocolates, they also have a case with some amazing gelato! If you’re looking for more than just a cold treat, feel free to walk right on into Chocolats du CaliBressan for an amazing experience with great customer service. The employees are very friendly and happy to assist you in your gelato and chocolate making decisions. They have 12 fresh and decadent flavors to choose from giving you that dense and milky flavor and texture that all gelato connoisseurs love! Grab a scoop of some refreshing gelato while enjoying the beauty and richness of their signature French chocolates made by the owner himself! For more information on Chocolats du CaliBressan, please visit: https://www.chococalibressan.com/
~ Written by Brontee Cintron. Brontee is the 2019 summer intern for Downtown Santa Barbara. She is currently a third year student at the University of California San Diego, majoring in Literature and Writing.
