Small Town~Big Heart

The ‘I Love Lompoc’ window contest is back and we LOVE Lompoc!  We’ve entered again and this is so much more than just a contest.  For us it is about community, about our love for our wonderful town and about a celebration steeped in tradition.

The Lompoc Flower Festival traces its roots back to the 1950’s when an annual parade and two day rodeo was held during the summer in Lompoc.  George Miller, a prominent citizen, began advocating changing the celebration from a rodeo, arguing they were common and rather mundane, to something more unique and aligned with what Lompoc had to offer.  The Alpha Club Flower Show had been established in 1922 and it was decided to develop the Festival around this key event.  Since those days the Lompoc Flower Festival has grown to a 5 day event with local entertainment on stage at Ryon Park, the food booths run by community organizations and nonprofits, a parade on Saturday which includes floats and marching bands and of course the opportunity to visit and catch up with all your friends that you haven’t seen in the past year.  

And so, it is important to us to play what small part we can in this event, a chance to show our community spirit and proclaim our love for our city.  Help us spread some Lompoc Love by voting online at 

http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07ee8za5enj3kna5qz/start for your favorite windows (please remember us!) this year.  We may be a small town but we have a big heart!

Thankful, Greateful and Blessed

Thankful, grateful and blessed.  Three simple words that due to a sequence of events last fall were brought into sharp focus and spurred a new venture for us.  It is a simple idea; take old, beat up surfboards with little value, have them transformed into works of art and auction, raffle or sell them to raise money for children in our community.  

And so we have begun this new journey with the first of these boards on display at South Side Coffee Co.  It was painted by local artist Melody Lara and is a breath taking rendition of a surfer in a barrel with a very realistic shark underfoot.  Tickets are available for $5 each or two for $9 with only a total of #225 tickets to be sold.  The winning ticket will be drawn on March 20th.  Proceeds from the ticket sales will go Jason Contreras for medical expenses.  He is 5 years-old, a bilateral amputee, full of love and life and through a chance meeting, our inspiration for this project. 

Other boards are currently in the process of being transformed so that we may help more children in our community.  We hope you will consider assisting us realize our dreams by purchasing a ticket, sharing this story, donating an old used board or being a participating artist.  Thanks everyone!  We are thankful, grateful and blessed!

The Majestic Palms of Refugio

Growing up in the northern, landlocked state of Montana, California seemed like a paradise one could only hope to visit.  When I found out my family would be moving to that magical state, visions of a life on sandy white beaches kissed with sun and balmy sea breezes whispering through stately palm trees occupied my thoughts as we prepared for the move.  And so, after a few days of driving across several states, we arrived in Lompoc.  No beaches, white or otherwise, and no sunshine either as the rain was continuous those first days in my new home.  As for the palm trees, I thought those must reside only in Hollywood's imagination or perhaps they too were hiding from the rain for I didn’t see any in Lompoc.  There were other things that I loved about my new home but the dreams of living among palm trees and beaches had been lost.

A visit to Refugio Beach a few months later rekindled those dreams and as I spied the palms standing guard to the ocean I thought ‘this is the California I dreamed of.’  Over the years those palms have signaled the return home when I see them as we travel north.  They have provided shelter from the summer sun, the backdrop for family pictures, a point of interest in gorgeous sunsets and even the occasional back rest.  They were the stabilizing and static element of my vision of California.

However, time moves on and with it comes change.  For the Refugio palms, planted in approximately 1928 by Nelson Rutherford, this has meant erosion by the ocean waters next to which they reside.  The once three rows of palms are now a single, if staggered row and the storms of winter 2016 reduced their numbers further.  It is heartbreaking to see these statuesque guardians fall though there is some consolation in the fact they have left 100+ offspring throughout the park.  And so the circle of life continues and with it the one constant we have, change.

Sources-

http://goletahistory.com/the-refugio-palms/

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/environment/article57920288.html

Scarecrows, Trick-or-Treat & Community

Reflecting back on my youth, oh sooooo many years ago, it was always fun to travel through town and see the business windows decorated for whatever holiday was on its way.  Today the traditional window paintings and decorations seem to have been lost for more corporate or polished store and business fronts.  While this may just be a sign of progress, I find it a little sad, a little piece of community lost.  This time of year, however, I am able to relive my youth for a few days as I delight in seeing business windows once again decorated for Halloween thanks to the Scarecrow Fest.  

Thankfully the Halloween fun doesn’t stop there in Lompoc, but continues with Old Town Trick or Treat on Saturday, October 29, 2PM-4PM in Old Town.  We are looking forward to joining several other businesses at Centennial Park with our Prize Wheel and seeing all the joy and wonder a holiday filled with candy and costumes elicits for young and old alike.  

So help us celebrate our wonderful community this Halloween by voting for your favorite scarecrows here http://bit.ly/Scarecrows2016 (don’t forget us!) and/or stop by Old Town Trick or Treat this Saturday.  Happy Halloween Lompoc!

Enjoy the Scene & Keep it Clean

The word Jalama brings to mind a beautiful, sandy beach and the sound of clear aquamarine waves sparkling in the sun as they play hide & seek with the sand.  A wonderful place to spend a morning, an afternoon or a day, just relaxing; content to enjoy what nature has to offer for entertainment.  Unfortunately this idyllic scene may become a thing of the past due to the amount of trash and debris that is infiltrating our oceans, beaches and coastlines.  

The latest statistics from the Ocean Conservancy 2015 International Clean Up reveal some sad facts.  Just under 4 million pounds of trash and debris were collected along 9,780 miles of US coastline and included: 118,973 glass bottles; 231,264 plastic bottles; 170,357 plastic bags and over one million cigarette butts among other items.  The good news is that more than 200,000 people participated in the clean up effort here in the United States and the effort was met with an additional almost 600,000 individuals internationally.  

The negative impact this trash has on our environment extends past the visual aesthetic to marine and coastal life.  The biggest threat comes from abandoned or lost fishing gear (nets, lines, traps, buoys, etc.) due to entanglement which can be life threatening.  Plastic bags have the second largest impact as sea turtles and other animals ‘eat’ plastic bags mistaking them for food.  The Ocean Conservancy states “99% of all seabird species will be eating plastic by 2050 unless something is done to stem the tide.”  A frightening statistic that will ultimately impact our food sources with plastics becoming a part of our diet as well.  

As dire as this prediction is, proactive measures are being taken to change this.  Explore Ecology is coordinating a California Coastal Clean Up Day this Saturday, September 17th from 9AM to 12PM for several Santa Barbara County beaches including Jalama Beach.  If you are interested in participating at Jalama Beach you can call Chelsea at 736-4567 ext. 223 or visit http://lompoc.chambermaster.com/events/details/jalama-beach-clean-up-3754 for more information.  You can also make a difference by making every day a coastal clean up day no matter where you are.  Remember to enjoy the scene but keep it clean and hope to see you Saturday at the beach!

http://www.oceanconservancy.org/our-work/marine-debris/2016-data-release/2016-data-release-1.pdf

http://www.exploreecology.org/next-events.php