103 Years of Fiesta: Santa Barbara’s Hometown Festival

By: Eden Burnett, FestForums® | August 4, 2026

Photo: Visit Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, CA, the home of FestForums®, is known today for its beaches, weather, food, and wine year round but each August its Spanish history comes alive through Fiesta. 

Santa Barbara’s Old Spanish Days Fiesta celebrates the Spanish heritage of the city, first colonized by Spain in the late 1700s, and has honored this history through parades, performances, exhibits, and markets across a few days in early August for over 100 years (Old Spanish Days in Santa Barbara).

Originally started as a way to attract summer visitors and commemorate the opening of a new theater, the festival now draws tens of thousands of visitors and local residents to the downtown Santa Barbara area.

This serves as an economic boost for community businesses big and small, including local families that work year round to hand craft hundreds of cascarónes (confetti-filled eggs meant to broken over the heads of friends) which have become a symbolic part of the annual Fiesta celebration.

Like with so many festivals, the festival artwork has become such an iconic and collectable part of the festival’s history. The Fiesta posters are created by local artists and usually include local landmarks, dancers, or historical figures. The Santa Barbara Historical Museum stores copies of each year’s unique promotional artwork and produces annual exhibits related to the Fiesta celebrations to preserve the tangible energy of the festival for generations to come. 

For FestForums®, the spirit of Fiesta represents what we and so many of our festivals and partners strive to achieve: tradition, community, and longevity, proving that sometimes the greatest inspiration is right in your own backyard. 

We hope that you will come enjoy Santa Barbara yourself with us at FestForums® 2027!