Santa Barbara’s Old Spanish
Days Fiesta, begun 85 years ago, is a five-day festival celebrating traditions
handed down from Spain, Mexico and the California Rancho period.
Each year, the unveiling of
the official Old Spanish Days poster is greeted with much fanfare. This year is
no exception.
This year’s featured artist,
Ed Borein (1872-1945), was one of the most popular artists of western scene
painting, equally adept at ink drawing and watercolor, but was most well known
for his etching. Borein executed approximately 400 different etched images in
his life. Among cattlemen and women, Edward Borein is most recognized for his
ability to accurately capture the canter of a horse, the posture of a working
cowboy and the force of a moving herd of cattle.
An interesting side note is
that Borein was on the committee that planned the first Fiesta Parade and the elite riding group Los Rancheros Visitadores.
The 2009
poster, which incorporates Borein’s work titled “A Gathering at Mission Santa
Barbara,” was created by graphic designer Debbie Oquist. She serves on the board for the Santa Barbara
Carriage and Western Art Museum.
Oquist has served on the
Navy League board as executive vice president of marketing for two years, and
as a board member for Montecito Trails Foundation and the Los Padres Trail
Riders.
She has enjoyed riding her
horse in the Fiesta Parade for more than 15 years, and is very involved in
local equestrian groups as a volunteer and advocate for trail use.
More information on this
year’s Fiesta events, August 5 – 9, can be found at
www.oldspanishdays-fiesta.org.