SANTA BARBARA — Each year, there is an artistic competition for the Santa Barbara Summer Solstice T-shirt and poster design. The 47th annual Summer Solstice Celebration theme is “Bloom.” After receiving many wonderful works of art that exemplified this theme, they are proud to announce the winner – Wanda Venturelli and her artwork “Rain of Flowers.”
About Wanda Venturelli
Wanda Venturelli is a Santa Barbara artist energized by the natural beauty of our local environment. A fine art major who gravitated to architecture, she studied at Sci-Arc in Southern California and has teamed with local architects on residential projects as well as with her husband Bruce Venturelli. Drawing is the foundation of her art practice, and while she devotes herself to painting full time at her downtown studio, she also incorporates years of creation in many other mediums, such as kiln-formed glass. An important focus for Wanda has been her community work in Santa Barbara for many years: Kids Draw Architecture, Montessori Center, Santa Barbara International Film Festival, State Street Ballet Young Dancers, and in recent years, the Community Arts Workshop Outreach Committee, helping to produce many events celebrating fellow artists. Wanda anticipates the Santa Barbara Solstice Parade as the artistic high point of every year, with abundant opportunities for a variety of artists to produce handmade works of incredible dimension at the CAW workshop. Ultimately for Wanda, her love of family and friends is the air and water and soil from which her creativity grows. It is in this spirit of effusive creativity that the oil painting “Rain of Blooms” was created, as a celebration of verdant growth, renewal, and the holistic cycle of all life forms.
About Santa Barbara’s Summer Solstice Celebration in 2021
Soltice Celebration is still in the process of finalizing 2021 festivities. They are working very closely with Santa Barbara County Public Health and Safety to ensure they comply with all of the recommended guidelines with respect to current and projected COVID-19 restrictions. Although sadly, they can’t have the regular parade or festival this year, they have been given the green light to expand the event in other ways.
This year they are bringing State Street to YOU with the 2021 Santa Barbara Summer Solstice Virtual State Street Parade! They will be hosting a parade filled with light, color, music, dance and motion all on Virtual State Street. Master of ceremonies and artistic director, Riccardo Morrison, will be your host. Get ready to bloom with energy and excitement in your bright, bold, sparkling creation and help capture the Santa Barbara Summer Solstice spirit in the virtual State Street parade.
The workshop will be open to groups of 10 or less to be filmed in front of a green screen and put on State Street post-production, for the Virtual State Street Parade!
Filming is by appointment only. Appointment times can be scheduled during these hours:
● Monday, May 10 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
● Tuesday, May 11 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
● Wednesday, May 12 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
● Saturday, May 15 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
● Monday, May 17, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
● Thursday, May 20, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
● Friday, May 21, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Location: Community Arts Workshop at 631 Garden St, Santa Barbara, CA
Groups of 10 or more can schedule to be filmed at Alameda Park on May 22 between 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Schedule your time slot at the link below.
Appointments will be made in 1/2 hour increments. To schedule your appointment to go: solsticeparade.com/2021-parade-participation
In addition to producing the Virtual State Street Parade and the Virtual Home Grown Parade, the Solstice Artists in Residence will be creating art installations throughout town and installing a Blooming Inflatable Garden.
Join the fun by dressing up your house or your business in the spirit of community celebration! This is a great opportunity to ignite that spark of creativity after such a long and arduous year of social distancing. The power to create and be a light for our community is literally at your front door!
There will also be an inflatable art garden, with works from the iconic, long time Solstice Artist, Pali X-Mano in the plans as well!
In addition, Solstice organizers will be producing a locally crafted virtual parade again this year. The Summer Solstice Celebration Virtual Community Parade, (or long form video parade) will be released on the Solstice YouTube Channel and TVSB around Jun. 27. It will include the Virtual State Street parade as well as all community video/photo submissions.
Learn more about how you, your household or business can get involved this year at solsticeparade.com.
