NOVEMBER 7 - NOVEMBER 20, 2025
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SANTA YNEZVALLEYSTAR.COM
Halloween in SYV — Haunts, scarecrows, and flash mobs, oh my! Spooky season take all kinds of forms all around the Valley By Mike Chaldu michael@santaynezvalleystar.com
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esidents and visitors to the Santa Ynez Valley took advantage of Halloween to roam the area in their scariest, funniest, and wackiest (or some combination of the three) costumes — or in their regular clothes — to partake in “spooky season” events held in the area. Chief among those events was the 31st Annual Haunted House and Street Fair in Solvang. For the second straight year, the city’s Parks and Recreation created a scary setup at the Solvang Festival Theater for the weekend of October 24 and 25. Reception for the Haunted House was unprecedented as the attraction drew record numbers, with 1,137 people showing up on Friday, and 1,634 on Saturday, when the line to get in went all the way up 2nd Street and around the corner along Copenhagen Drive. “This has been great,” said Candice Libera of Solvang Parks and Rec, who was managing the entrance at the
The Arias family — (from left) Ozzie, Kaia, and Melissa — from Lompoc went to the Santa Ynez Halloween celebration and won first prize in the Family category in the costume contest. Photo by Mike Chaldu/SYVS
theater. “We had almost 1,200 last Yes, the Street Fair. As folks were night and are expecting more. And waiting in line at the theater others everybody’s enjoying the fair we have were roaming about, many in costumes out here.” to check out the street vendors and also
grab a bite to eat at the Whiskey and Rye food truck. In addition to delicious dishes, the owners also had a widescreen TV so nobody missed Game 2
City Council, Planning Commission hold joint meeting on General Plan Air quality, noise, safety subject of discussion on Buellton’s 2050 document
of the World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays. However, the big attraction to the Fair, other than the Haunted House, was a flash mob of locals performing the Michael Jackson “Thriller” dance. The group gathered at approximately 6:30 in zombie makeup to do the dance to the classic tune from the King of Pop. Maria Henning of Santa Barbara was one of the volunteers who took part in the performance. “I answered an email asking for dancers, and I thought it would be fun,” she said. “We rehearsed for two weeks at the Maverick Saloon, and I think we pulled it off OK.” An old aquaintance of Henning’s, Kylie Tigard of Solvang, also participated in the flash mob. “Maria and I went to school together over 40 years ago at Santa Ynez High,” Tigard said. “We’re still out doing crazy stuff.” Caroline Howe of Solvang was one of leaders of the mob, helping out Vanessa Robertson, a line-dance instructor at the Maverick, who organizes the event every Halloween. “I’m just here helping out Vanessa,” Howe said after the early Saturday performance. “She teaches the line dancing at the Maverick, and we’ve been getting the ‘Thriller’ flash mob together for the last five years. We CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
INSIDE
By Mike Chaldu michael@santaynezvalleystar.com
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he Buellton Planning Commission and the Buellton City Council had a rare joint meeting on Thursday, discussing the city’s General Plan 2050 update. The council members and commissioners, minus Vice Mayor Elysia Lewis, who was absent, met with consultants Jean E. Ward and Adam Pisarkiewicz of Civic Solutions, as well as Aaron Pfannenstiel from Atlas Planning Solutions. Each consultant discussed a separate subject with the combined panel. Ward described the General Plan as “a roadmap or a blueprint for future growth and development in the city.” She went on to explain the plan needed an update becuase some of its elements were done as long as 20 years ago, and needs to update to keep up with changing needs and conditions of the city. She also said it must address state requirements. Required elements or topics to be discussed on the document include: Safety, Housing, Conservation, Land Use, Open Space, Mobility, Noise. Subjects discussed on Oct. 30 included Resources and Conservation (led by Pisarkiewicz) and Noise and Safety (led by Pfannenstiel). The meeting followed a format of the consultant introducing the subject, with the Planning Commission, and then City Council asking questions about the topic. Pisarkiewicz began his presentation in resource conservation by bringing up two topics he considered
Arts & Nonprofits | Pg. 5 “Emma” takes the stage at SYHS This slide from city consultants show some of the things the City of Buellton should protect by policy in its General Plan 2050, discussed at a joint meeting of the City Council and Planning Commission on Thursday, Oct. 30. Screenshot from YouTube
as very important in the Santa Ynez Valley. Air and water quality were brought up first as he pointed out wildfire smoke was the biggest threat to the area. That could greatly affect the air quality as well as water. He asked the Buellton officials what they could focus on. Planning Vice Chair Marcilo Sarquilla asked if the city was looking at moving some water through town like he pointed out San Luis Obispo does, and Planning Director Andrea Keefer said that staff was working on it. Planning Chair Shannon Reese followed up on that by asking about the paths along the rivers. “At our prior meeting, we talked about scenic and biological resources; pedestrian connections and trials,” she said. “I’d like to explore some standards how trails
should look by waterways.” Keefer answered by saying staff had talked to SBCAG about getting some preliminary designs looked at. Reese then pointed out the wildfire smoke was a problem in many communities and asked how those cities were able to combat it. Pisarkiewicz said there were some filtration systems that were utilized, but said policies in the safety topic would entertwine with that and help them figure out how to combat. After Pfannenstiel elaborated on wildfire smoke and how it must be dealt with, City Councilmembers John Sanchez seemed to push back on the idea that wildfire smoke required radical action. CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
News Briefs . . . . . . . . . Pg. 2 • Estimated 600 Santa Ynez Valley residents demonstrate as part of No Kings Rally • VFW Post 7139 to host annual Veterans Day Program News . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pg. 3 • Solvang to look into building a new site for City Hall Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . Pg. 5 • Pirates football drops regularseason finale, but earns home playoff matchup