It’s the best dam dinner in Goleta.
Part picnic, part backyard gathering, nearly 400 Goleta community members gathered at a 400-foot-long table to celebrate the Goodland.
For its 13th year, the City of Goleta hosted its annual Dam Dinner, attended by elected officials, residents.
It’s a free, community-centered event that invites the public to dine outside with a view of Lake Los Carneros.
“There’s no agenda, we’re not politcking,” said Mayor Paula Perotte. “It’s time to just break bread with neighbors.”
Perotte said the idea for the dam dinner came roughly 10 years ago when former Goleta City Manager, Dan Singer, invited the author of For the Love of Cities: The Love Affair Between People and Their Places to Goleta.
Eventually, the Dam Dinner was organized with the idea of the city giving back to its community.
The views of the glistening lake against a backdrop of mountain ranges as well as the event’s “funny name” are what drew Halina Folta to the dinner for another year.
“The nature is unbeatable,” said Folta. “It is an undiscovered jewel.”
Folta said Lake Los Carneros reminded her of Seattle, where she used to live.
The event, though organized by the city, is rather lowkey. There’s no formal programming or speeches by city council members bolstering the city’s achievements.
“There’s no room for ancillary things,” said Denise Sanford, president of the Goleta Valley Historical Society, which helped organize the dinner. “There’s not that many free community events. Families can enjoy and eat together. That’s community, which is very few and far between.”
Some attendees brought their own food while others chose to grab food from Lobo Butcher Shop or Kona Ice.
The acoustic tunes of the Santa Barbara-based bluegrass group, The Salt Martians, soundtracked the casual dinner conversations. Attendees got to take home the centerpieces of the dining tables—succulents planted by residents of Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health. This year, the bicycle nonprofit Cycling Without Age provided nearly 100 trishaw rides to attendees to get to the event.
“When people say ‘keep Goleta country,’ this is what they mean,” said councilmember James Kyriaco, referring to The Salt Martians and the views of Lake Los Carneros.
The dinner’s location serves as a “panorama” snapshot of all of Goleta, Kyriaco said, pointing to the Pacific Ocean to the west and mountain ranges to the east.
“You can rub shoulders with your neighbor, and it doesn’t matter politics or views…” said Kyriaco, who said the dinner was one of, if not his favorite, city events. “We need more joy in this life…I think we’ve realized it’s better to be together than alone.”
