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KENNETH SONG/NEWS-PRESS PHOTOSThis was part of the convoy vehicles decked out in Fourth of July decorations during the Independence Day procession in 2020 on Channel Drive through Montecito.
Expect parades, a car show, a barbecue and the return of a 20-year tradition as Montecito and Carpinteria celebrate the Fourth of July in style this weekend.
On Saturday, Carpinteria’s festivities include the Rods and Roses Show and Independence Day Parade. The Rods and Roses Show runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and the parade starts at 3:30 p.m. The parade will go down Linden Avenue in Carpinteria.
Additionally, on Monday, the Carpinteria Lions Club is hosting the annual community barbecue from noon to 4 p.m. at Lions Park, 6197 Casitas Pass Road, Carpinteria. Tickets are $18 for adults, $15 for seniors and $10 for children.
On Monday, Montecito will celebrate the Fourth with the Montecito Fire Department’s traditional pancake breakfast, which begins at 7:30 a.m. and is followed by the parade.
The Fire Pancake Breakfast is being held for the first time since the pandemic started.
Dana Newquist’s 1937 Ford fire engine, seen in this 2020 photo, is a traditional part of the Fourth of July parade in Montecito. It’ll be back in Monday’s parade, which starts at 11:30 a.m. at Upper Manning Park.“The pancake breakfast has been going on for 20 years with a pause for COVID,” said Dana Newquist, co-founder of the Montecito Village Fourth Celebration. The breakfast will be held at Fire Station 91 at 595 San Ysidro Road, Montecito. Tickets are $10.
All proceeds will benefit the Montecito Firefighters Association.
Diane Pannkuk is the grand marshal of this year’s parade, which starts at 11:30 a.m. Monday at Upper Manning Park in Montecito and will end about an hour later at the upper Montecito village on East Valley Road.
And Mr. Newquist is bringing his classic fire engine, a longtime hallmark of the Montecito parade.
“In 1996, Diane Pannkuk, and I started the Montecito Village Fourth,” Mr. Newquist told the News-Press. “My fire engine has been in the parade every year since we started. I have a 1937 Ford Fire Truck.
“This year retiring park ranger Doug Norton, who is retiring after serving 48 years as a park ranger at Manning Park, will be on the fire engine,” Mr. Newquist said. “Also in honor of the late Pierre LaFond, his wife Wendy Foster will be on the fire truck. Pierre and Wendy are legendary in Montecito.
“Pierre started Pierre LaFond Cafe and many other businesses. He was also influential in the creation of vineyards and wines,” Mr. Newquist said. “Wendy Foster owns many boutiques and stores in Montecito and Santa Barbara.”
The Montecito Parade used to be the world’s shortest parade at about a quarter mile, but the parade is now about 4 to 5 miles in length, according to Mr. Newquist.
He emphasized the Fourth of July event’s importance to Montecito.
“Well, it’s kind of a reunion for a lot of people,” he said. “We feel like we’ve been sequestered these past two years, and this will be quite the celebration … I think the crowds will be much bigger than in the past.
“I think this will eclipse what has happened in the past.”
email: kzehnder@newspress.com
FYI
For more information about the Village Fourth celebration in Montecito, see www.montecitofoundation.org.
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