Old Spanish Days hosted their annual Fiesta Ranchera event on June 19 at the Stow House gardens in Goleta for Pre-Fiesta celebration. Fiesta Ranchera originally started with 1997 Old Spanish Days Presidente Tim Taylor wanting to bring fiesta to Goleta. Fiesta Ranchera brings a fun night filled with food and drinks from local vendors and ends the evening with performances and dancing.
Attendees walked into the venue dressed in embroidered floral dresses, cowboy hats, and boots carrying lawn chairs to sit and enjoy the performances planned for later in the evening. Vendor tents lined the walkway displaying a large selection of food, wine, and beer. Guests walked around chatting, trying the appetizers while a guitar softly strummed in the background.
The local vendors brought food ranging from margarita pizza from Santa Barbara Woodfire Catering to pupusa from Elubia’s Kitchen. A personal favorite of mine was Los Arroyos with shrimp ceviche and chicken taquitos
Once you’re so full that you think you can’t handle any more food, think again, because there’s desert. The sweet treat that had me coming back for more was the gelatina de mosaico from Catering Connection. I grabbed four of these delicious treats throughout the night, and it was definitely my favorite dessert of the night.
Victoria Plascencia, 2025 Junior Spirit of Fiesta, is a rising fifth grader at Oak Valley Elementary School. She wowed the crowd with her gusto during her flamenco performance on Thursday night. | Credit: Elaine Sanders 
Natalia Treviño, 2025 Spirit of Fiesta, is a rising junior at Bishop Garcia Diego High School. Since she was six months old, she has been involved in Old Spanish Days’ Children’s Parade and she now gets to share her love of flamenco as the leader of this year’s Fiesta parade. | Credit: Elaine Sanders 
Victoria Plascencia, 2025 Junior Spirit of Fiesta, is a rising fifth grader at Oak Valley Elementary School. She wowed the crowd with her gusto during her flamenco performance on Thursday night. | Credit: Elaine Sanders 
Natalia Treviño, 2025 Spirit of Fiesta, is a rising junior at Bishop Garcia Diego High School. Since she was six months old, she has been involved in Old Spanish Days’ Children’s Parade and she now gets to share her love of flamenco as the leader of this year’s Fiesta parade. | Credit: Elaine Sanders 
Guests dancing the night away while Area 51 plays songs to keep them moving. | Credit: Elaine Sanders 
String lights lit up the lawns of the historic Stow house during Fiesta Ranchera, the only night event held at the property. | Credit: Elaine Sanders 
Two time Grammy-nominated singer Shea Chambers singing to the crowd along with Area 51 bandmates. | Credit: Elaine Sanders 
The dance floor was full well into the night as Area 51 kept people’s feet moving with their brassy tunes. | Credit: Elaine Sanders 
Partygoers mingle while Area 51 is on a break in their set. | Credit: Elaine Sanders 
El Presidente Fritz Olenberger welcomes the crowd and saying that this is him and his wife Gretchen’s 14th time attending the Fiesta Ranchera event. | Credit: Elaine Sanders 
Julie Romero Hathaway is this year’s Saint Barbara selected by Native Daughters of the Golden West Reina Del Mar Parlor No. 126. The eighth generation Carpinterian is keeping the Saint Barbara tradition in the family as her mother Margret Jean Harp Romero depicted the saint back in 1946. | Credit: Elaine Sanders 
Ashley Parker Snider, second generation owner of Fess Parker Winery, serving a variety of wines from the vineyard to party goers. | Credit: Elaine Sanders 
Debbie and Mike Bruce, sponsors of Fiesta, talking with chef and owner of Quail Canyon Catering Owen Hanavan. Tonight, Hanavan serves a refreshing vegetarian quinoa dish. This is the Bruce’s 14th Ranchera event. | Credit: Elaine Sanders 
Woodfire Catering was the official late night vendor, serving pizza well past dark to guests who danced the night away. They brought their own wood-fired oven and were baking pies fresh on site. | Credit: Elaine Sanders 
Roberto Fernandez cutting slices of al pastor at the Maíz Picante Taquería tent. Many Waited in line for the restaurant’s birria and al pastor tacos. | Credit: Elaine Sanders 
Patricia Escalera, a property manager from Santa Barbara says that this is her favorite event of Fiesta as she grabs a slice straight from the oven at the Woodfire Catering tent. | Credit: Elaine Sanders 
Guests gather under trees imported from around the world and planted by Sherman P. Stow for his wife Ida G. Hollister in the late 1800s at the historic Stow house in Goleta. | Credit: Elaine Sanders 
Family owned and operated Esfuerzo Wines had a booth pouring their wines at the event. | Credit: Elaine Sanders 
Guests sip and mingle as the daylight slowly fades away at the historic Stow house in Goleta during the Fiesta Ranchera festivities. | Credit: Elaine Sanders
El Presidente Fritz Olenberger addressed the guests, asking who was there for their first time; a few hands shot up and Olenberger responded, “You’ll be back.” Next, he asked who has been coming for more than ten years, to which a majority of guests’ hands went up. It’s clear that this celebration has become a beloved tradition for the community.
Next on the agenda were performances from 2025 Spirit of Fiesta Natalia Treviño, a sophomore at Bishop Garcia Diego High School, and Junior Spirit of Fiesta Victoria Plascencia, a fourth grader at Oak Valley Elementary.
First up was Plascencia, wearing a floral dress with pink fabric bunched at the bottom and her 2025 Junior Spirit of Fiesta sash. Her performance was a highlight of the evening causing loud cheering and applause from the crowd. Plascencia’s dance ended with a bow to the crowd and a flare of her skirt as she walked off the stage.
Treviño took the stage next, wearing a dark green dress, white cowboy hat, and her 2025 Spirit of Fiesta sash. Her dance was slow and emotional, eventually picking up intensity, finishing with a dramatic pose then bowing to the crowd.
Following the flamenco dancers the band, Area 51 took the stage. They started with “I Wish” by Stevie Wonder which immediately drew a large group to the dance floor. More and more people joined the dancing as Area 51 did their customary crowd favorite tunes. The crowd even spilled onto the lawn, a dance party worthy of the fiesta celebration.
The Old Spanish Days Pre-Fiesta events continue on July 27 with, La Recepción del Presidente a cocktail reception featuring special performances. Fiesta events run July 30- August 3. For more information and the complete schedule, see sbfiesta.org. For more information about the Goleta Valley Historical Society, see goletahistory.org.
