July 5, 2012 
There are so many fun options to celebrate Fourth of July in Santa Barbara, me and my SO-CO. were hard put to center in on any one excursion this fine if foggy Wednesday past. From the Spirit of 76 Parade running the same route as the Solstice pageant, to West Beach’s Sparkle Celebration at Stearn’s Wharf, to the rivaling display of pyrotechnics at Goleta’s Girsh Park–for a small slice of beachfront, Santa Barbara County sure does pull out all the stops.
Old Glory
Even SB can’t stop the calendar, though, and something about the holiday falling on a Wednesday called for a more low-key type of entertainment, at least to my mind, and the day’s continuing overcast at 3 pm decided it. The open air concert slated for a 4 pm kickoff at Santa Barbara’s Courthouse Sunken Gardens would be perfect. Not as chilly as the beach, and the cloud cover couldn’t cover our ears, as it was bound to compromise our view of the firecrackers later on, so grabbing blankets and beach chairs, we headed out for a semi punctual arrival.
Right on time’ish…
An arrival coordinating perfectly with the opening speakers, as it turns out. After emcee Tim Tribley welcomed a relaxed and relatively small crowd of a couple hundred or so, the Morgan Riflemen saluted the unfurling of gigantic flag under the Courthouse’s watch tower with a thunderous round of gunfire—period attire or no period attire–and Rollin Jacks led the crowd in a rolling rendition of our National Anthem. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited, and America the Beautiful was sung, and frankly, there was so much standing, clapping, turning and heart cupping to honor things there for a while, it felt like I was in church.
Retro-wear…but not retro-hardware!
Good thing I’m partial. The customary yet paradoxically unbidden sense of patriotism that usually sets in as the pomp and circumstance of our country’s birthday works its magic–set in–and I settled in. Happy to be among so many proud Americans, happy for the bonus break midweek, and fully ready to laze the afternoon away in our beautifully, free country.
Open air concerts rock!
That welcomes diversity at every turn. Turn of an elaborately fashioned paper dragon, in this case, that cavorted through the air just seconds after the preliminary ceremonies wound down. Held aloft on the uplifted arms of teenagers affiliated with the Santa Barbara Chinese American Association, the dragon was visual sorbet, cleansing the stars and stripes from our pupils’ palates with vibrant yellow eye candy, and upping the collective energy level with repeated, zig-zagging passes.
There be dragons!
Followed by one dynamite band…
Missed this fella’s name…
And another—
The Rainbow Girls.
–band as equally interested in promoting civil rights as they were talented. The conscientious young ladies comprising the group: The Rainbow Girls, urged the audience to stand out against gang injunctions, racial profiling & mandatory DUI checkpoints during breaks in their set. Similar in sound to the Indigo Girls but better, find them on Facebook, as well as at their website: http://www.rainbowgirlsmusic.com.
On Facebook, too, of course!
And still another whose inspiration would probably agree with the Rainbow Girls stance. Looks like I’m preaching to the choir here…or wait! Is it the other way around? It is indeed. Mama Pat’s Inner Light Community Gospel Choir, to be precise. I don’t think all 30 of the talented men and women that comprise this local group were on stage Wednesday—I wasn’t exactly taking roll–but those that did participate shone like true lights. Putting their own spin on such classics as Kumbaya & Melodies from Heaven, their constant smiles and hand clapping made it plain they were enjoying themselves as much as we enjoyed their performance, while the solos the featured vocalists performed were recording contract ready, if you ask me. http://www.innerlightchoir.com
Harpo
Harpo not so much, though maybe a silent film short is in his future, as true to form, the funny man remained quiet but quirky throughout the afternoon event. Happy to ham it up for the camera & offer me a souvenir postcard, the information let me know I can find the California-based Clownster at www.harpotheclown, and he does “parlez” for parties, folks.
No matter how inclement the weather. As the marine layer began to descend anew, the same couldn’t be said for the hardiness of the dwindling crowd. The tolling of the Courthouse carillon at seven found only a handful remaining on the Kelly green expanses of lawn, and as the temperature started to dip we called it a day, too, leaving the sunken gardens to the sweet strains of Lena Loy, and heading home for a little time-delayed explosion.
AKA: Macy’s Day Firework Show.
Charron's Chatter 
What an extraordinary day! It looks like you had a wonderful time.
Thanks for mentioning us Charron! So glad you liked our performance and what we had to say- we had very mixed feelings from the audience afterwards. 😉 Rock on!
-Rainbow Girls
it is always a pleasure to be a part of the July 4th festivities!! This was the first time Inner Light Choir was in the afternoon concert event – we had a wonderful time — thanks to everyone who helped to make it happen!!
Sounds like your fourth was a great adventure to start the summer.
That it was, Bill. Hope your Indie Day was lotsa fun, too! Thanks for stopping by. I know you are hella busy.
Charron,
What a Great day for a parade and concert in Santa Barbara! I had a great time and the people were wonderful! Thanks so much, Harpo the Clown, Palm Springs, California http://www.harpotheclown.com P.S. I will be working the Santa Barbara County Fair next week in Santa Maria. I hope to see you again.
Now this is my kind of 4th of July!!
It was veddy civilized. After all that hoopla of Fiesta, I was ready for less sardines! 🙂