Current Exhibits

July

2010 Santa Barbara Presidio Archaeological Field School
Monday - Friday, July 12 to August 20

An intensive six-week combination of excavations and laboratory analysis of historical archaeological materials from the northern yard of the Spanish presidio of Santa Barbara. The presidio was founded in 1782, the last of four military posts in Spanish California intended to defend the province from foreign invasion. Attention will be focused on architectural remains which may provide information for future reconstruction. More.

El Presidio de Santa Bárbara State Historic Park
123 East Canon Perdido Street, Santa Barbara
For more information visit Cal Poly Continuing Education

Adobe Days
Saturday, July 31 from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM
CANCELED (Please join us for the next Adobe Days on Saturday, September 25, 2010)

Get your hands dirty and help rebuild Santa Barbara's birthplace, one brick at a time. We need 14,000 adobe bricks to complete the Presidio Northwest Corner Reconstruction Project. You can help!

El Presidio de Santa Bárbara State Historic Park
123 East Canon Perdido Street, Santa Barbara, CA
FREE Event
To register for Adobe Days please contact the education department at (805) 962-9504 or email
For more information (805) 965-0093

August

Casa Cantina at Casa de la Guerra
Wednesday, August 4 - Saturday, August 7 from 12:00 PM to 12:00 AM 

Celebrate Fiesta where it all began as SBTHP presents the 9th annual Casa Cantina in the courtyard of the historic Casa de la Guerra. Part of the annual Old Spanish Days Fiesta celebration, locals and visitors alike are invited to relax, sip a cold drink, and celebrate at the home of Fiesta!

Live Music begins at 9:00 PM:
Wed, Aug 4 - Spencer The Gardener
Thur, Aug 5 - Vientos del Sur
Fri, Aug 6 - Somos Son
Sat, Aug 7 - Somos Son

Casa de la Guerra
15 East De la Guerra Street, Santa Barbara
Entrance fee required* | FREE admission for SBTHP members
For more information (805) 965-0093 or www.sbthp.org
*All proceeds benefit the nonprofit Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation and Casa de la Guerra

Annual Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon
Wednesday, August 25

SBTHP volunteers are invited to this special appreciation BBQ as a thank you for their dedicated service. Learn more about volunteer opportunities with SBTHP.

Casa de la Guerra
15 East De la Guerra Street, Santa Barbara
Refreshments served
*Special event for SBTHP volunteers
For more information (805) 965-0093

September

1st Thursday at Casa de la Guerra
Thursday, September 2 from 5:00 to 8:00 PM

Inside the Casa... Presenting the return of the Haass Adobe Watercolors, a collection of 1950s watercolors of historic Santa Barbara Adobes by artist Fridolin Haass (1886-1959). Commissioned in the early 1950s by community leader Pearl Chase through the Plans and Planting Committee of the Santa Barbara Community Arts Association, these paintings document the Hispanic architectural heritage of Santa Barbara and capture the beauty and uniqueness of each adobe. Some of the structures depicted no longer stand, while others remain familiar landmarks within the city.

In the Casa Courtyard... A benefit for the Naples Coalition. Art, live music and refreshments! More information at www.savenaples.org.

Casa de la Guerra
15 East De la Guerra Street, Santa Barbara
FREE
Refreshments served
Complimentary wine for SBTHP Members
For more information (805) 965-0093

Presidio Pastimes
Special Asian American Presidio Neighborhood Pastimes
Saturday, September 11

History comes to life at El Presidio de Santa Bárbara as SBTHP continues the "Sharing Our Common Ground: Asian American History in Santa Barbara County" series with the first ever Presidio Pastimes emphasizing Asian American history in the Presidio Neighborhood!

El Presidio de Santa Bárbara State Historic Park
123 East Canon Perdido Street, Santa Barbara, CA
FREE Event
For more information (805) 965-0093

Vinos, Tapas, y Arte 2010
Saturday, September 18 from 3:00 to 6:00 PM

Enjoy delicious appetizers, superb wines, live and silent auction items and talented local art for exhibition and sale at the 5th annual Vinos, Tapas y Arte.

Casa de la Guerra
15 East De la Guerra Street, Santa Barbara
$100 ($75 tax-deductible). Patron and Distinguished Patron opportunities are available.
For more information (805) 965-0093

United Way Day of Caring 2010
Saturday, September 25 from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM

Lend a hand and enjoy a day of volunteering at El Presidio de Santa Bárbara State Historic Park. Participate as a team, individual or family! Paint, clean, garden and more at the largest single-day volunteer event in Santa Barbara County!

and...

Adobe Days

Get your hands dirty and help rebuild Santa Barbara's birthplace, one brick at a time. We need 14,000 adobe bricks to complete the Presidio Northwest Corner Reconstruction Project. You can help!

El Presidio de Santa Bárbara State Historic Park
123 East Canon Perdido Street, Santa Barbara, CA
FREE Event
For more information (805) 965-0093 or visit www.unitedwaysb.org

Smithsonian Magazine Museum Day
Saturday, September 25

Join El Presidio de Santa Bárbara State Historic Park and SBTHP for the sixth annual Museum Day, presented by Smithsonian magazine. Museum Day is a day when museums and cultural institutions nationwide open their doors free of charge to Smithsonian magazine readers and Smithsonian.com visitors.

El Presidio de Santa Bárbara State Historic Park
123 East Canon Perdido Street, Santa Barbara, CA
AND
Casa de la Guerra
15 E De la Guerra Street, Santa Barbara, CA
Present the Museum Day admission card to receive FREE general admission. The admission card is available in the September 2010 issue of Smithsonian magazine or downloadable via their website

October

Reflections on Pio Pico: The Last Governor of Mexican California
Friday, October 8 at 7:30 PM

Join Carlos Manuel Salomon as he discusses his new book, Pio Pico: The Last Governor of Mexican California. Two-time governor of Alta California and prominent businessman after the U.S. annexation, Pío de Jesus Pico was a politically savvy Californio who thrived in both the Mexican and the American periods. This is the first biography of Pico, whose life vibrantly illustrates the opportunities and risks faced by Mexican Americans in those transitional years.

Carlos Manuel Salomon breathes life into the story of Pico, who—despite his mestizo-black heritage—became one of the wealthiest men in California thanks to real estate holdings and who was the last major Californio political figure with economic clout. Salomon traces Pico’s complicated political rise during the Mexican era, leading a revolt against the governor in 1831 that swept him into that office. During his second governorship in 1845 Pico fought in vain to save California from the invading forces of the United States. Pico is an important transitional figure whose name still resonates in many Southern California locales. His story offers a new view of California history that anticipates a new perspective on the multicultural fabric of the state.

Carlos Manuel Salomon is Assistant Professor of Ethnic Studies and Director of the Latin American Studies Program at California State University, East Bay.

El Presidio de Santa Bárbara State Historic Park
123 East Canon Perdido Street, Santa Barbara, CA
FREE for SBTHP Members, $10 for non-members, $5 for students
Reception to follow
For more information (805) 965-0093

Becoming Californio - Tales from The Father of All:The de la Guerra Family, Power, and Patriarchy in Mexican California
Thursday, October 21 at 7:30 PM

Join historian and Chief Curator of History at the Oakland Museum of California, Louise Pubols, as she discusses her new book, The Father of All: The de la Guerra Family, Power, and Patriarchy in Mexico California. The Father of All presents a rich and nuanced study of a key family in California's past: the de la Guerras of Santa Barbara. Amid sweeping economic and political changes, including the U.S.Mexican War, the de la Guerra family continually adapted and reinvented themselves. Pubols analyzes the region's trading and provisioning economy and clarifies its volatile political rivalries. By tracing a web of business and family relationships, Pubols shows in practical terms how patriarchy functioned from generation to generation in Spanish and Mexican California. This is the first of a series of books on western history to be copublished by the Huntington Library and University of California Press.

Casa de la Guerra
15 E De la Guerra Street, Santa Barbara, CA
FREE for SBTHP Members, $10 for non-members, $5 for students
Reception to follow
For more information (805) 965-0093

Día de los Muertos Holiday Craft Event
Sunday, October 31

Celebrate Día de los Muertos, “Day of the Dead,” with a free family craft workshop at Casa de la Guerra in downtown Santa Barbara. Discover the fascinating history of this special holiday while making skeleton masks, decorating sugar skulls, designing traditional tissue paper marigolds and creating holiday prints. Traditional Día de los Muertos refreshments, including pan de muerto and Mexican hot chocolate, served.

Casa de la Guerra
15 East De la Guerra Street, Santa Barbara, CA
Refreshments served
FREE event
For more information (805) 965-0093

November

2010 Veterans Day Ceremony
Thursday, November 11 at 10:30 AM

Join members of Los Soldados de Cuera as the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation pays tribute to our military veterans at El Presidio de Santa Bárbara State Historic Park. The event begins at 10:30 AM and includes a prayer, wreath ceremony, the playing of taps and a cannon and musket firing.

El Presidio de Santa Bárbara State Historic Park
123 East Canon Perdido Street, Santa Barbara, CA
FREE event
For more information (805) 965-0093

December

Una Noche de Las Posadas
Friday, December 17 at 7:00 PM

Las Posadas (The Inns) is the time-honored reenactment of Joseph and Mary's search for shelter in Bethlehem as it was once celebrated in Early California and is still observed throughout Mexico and South America. Join in this rich cultural tradition, experiencing first-hand the way in which Santa Barbara’s earliest Spanish and Mexican residents celebrated Christmas with song and food.

El Presidio de Santa Bárbara State Historic Park & Casa de la Guerra
123 East Canon Perdido Street, Santa Barbara
FREE Event
For more information (805) 965-0093

La Pastorela (A Shepherd's Play)
Co-sponsored by the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation & Los Pastores de Santa Barbara
Saturday, December 18 at 7:00 PM
Sunday, December 19 at 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM

Returning this year to the Presidio Chapel—La Pastorela is Santa Barbara's oldest and most beautiful Christmas tradition. Dramatizing the epic battle between good and evil the play invokes elements of spectacle, comedy and fantasy. This version of the pastorela was transcribed in the mid-nineteenth century by Pablo de la Guerra and will be conducted in Spanish.

Presidio Chapel at El Presidio de Santa Bárbara State Historic Park
123 East Canon Perdido Street, Santa Barbara
$10 for Adults - $5 for Children 12 & Under & SBTHP Members
For more information (805) 965-0093

Current Exhibits

Alfredo Zalce: Works on Paper

The Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation at Casa de la Guerra is proud to present Alfredo Zalce: Works on Paper, featuring thirty-one works on paper by distinguished Mexican artist Alfredo Zalce (1908–2003). Belonging to the second generation of Mexico’s great revolutionary muralists, Zalce studied at the National School of Fine Arts under Diego Rivera and was a younger contemporary of other great revolutionary Mexican artists including Siquieros, Orozco and Kahlo. These select works of art demonstrate the influence of 19th century lithographers and caricaturists on the artist’s graphic style. Zalce’s native state of Michoacán commissioned this exhibition in celebration of the 100th anniversary of his birth in 2008.

Exhibit Dates:
Through August 29, 2010
Saturday - Sunday, Noon to 4:00 PM
Casa de la Guerra
15 East De la Guerra Street, Santa Barbara
FREE with museum admission ($5/adults, $4/seniors (62+),
Free/children 16 & under & SBTHP members
For more information (805) 965-0093

*Presented in collaboration with the SB County Arts Commission and SB Trust for Historic Preservation.

Ceramics Rediscovered: Science Reshapes Understanding of Hispanic Life in Early California

Discover how ceramics were made, used and traded in early California with the newest exhibit at El Presidio de Santa Bárbara State Historic Park, Ceramics Rediscovered: Science Reshapes Understanding of Hispanic Life in Early California. Based on a decade-long investigation of ceramic production using archaeological evidence and scientific analysis, the exhibit offers a rare glimpse into daily life during California’s Spanish and Mexican periods (1769-1848). Featuring period artifacts and reproduction pottery, this groundbreaking exhibit traces the evolution of California’s earliest potters and the material culture they helped shape.

Exhibit Dates:
Saturday, November 14 - January 28, 2011
10:30 AM to 4:30 PM
El Presidio de Santa Bárbara State Historic Park
123 East Canon Perdido Street, Santa Barbara
FREE with museum admission ($5/adults, $4/seniors (62+),
Free/children 16 & under & SBTHP members
For more information (805) 965-0093

*This exhibit has been developed by the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation in collaboration with the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History,  Santa Clara University, California State Parks, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the University of Texas-Pan American. The exhibit received generous support from the Smithsonian Latino Center.

Memorias y Facturas

Based on the book Documenting Everyday Life in Early Spanish California, "Memorias y Facturas" offers a glimpse into life at the Santa Barbara Presidio between 1781 and 1810. Featuring transcriptions and translations of fifty-two memorias (requisitions) and facturas (invoices) for goods delivered to the Presidio, along with artifacts found on site,
"Memorias y Facturas" helps imagine life on the fringes of the Spanish Empire.

Exhibit Dates:
Daily, 10:30 AM to 4:30 PM
El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park (Northeast Corner)
123 East Canon Perdido Street, Santa Barbara
For more information (805) 965-0093

*This calendar listing may not include all events and programs at SBTHP. Times and dates are subject to change. Please call (805) 965-0093 for more information. If you are interested in becoming more involved in programs offered at SBTHP, you may be interested in our membership program.