Musicians, yoga instructors and a sea of hula hoop dancers took center stage at Isla Vista’s 6th annual Chilla Vista festival this Saturday to celebrate local culture and environmental sustainability.

Over 2,000 people gathered in Anisq’ Oyo Park for the event, which was hosted by the Isla Vista Community Relations Committee. The festival featured nine bands — which played on stages powered by either biodiesel or solar energy — tie-dye T-shirt makers, reusable bag decorators and innumerable hula hoops.

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Locals attend the sixth annual Chilla Vista festival in Isla Vista Saturday. The event’s activities honored I.V. culture while promoting sustainable energy.

Committee Chair Cori Lantz said she hoped the event brought Isla Vista residents together.

“The goal was getting everybody to come together and making sure everything was free and people could relax and enjoy themselves,” Lantz said.

The festival lasted from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. with entertainment from bands such as Lady Danville, Portugal. the Man, and Pacific Dub. Lantz said festival-goers also participated in community art projects.

“For example, during the day we adopted the project of painting a mural on the bathrooms in Anisq’ Oyo Park,” Lantz said. “The entire bathroom now is pretty much covered in community members’ art, which is so cool.”

Associated Students County Liaison Beth Goodman, who helped coordinate the event with the External Vice President for Local Affairs office, said the annual festival served as an exception to UCSB’s hard-partying reputation.

“A lot of times people feel like I.V. is a different place at night than during the day. … I hope it provides a different view of Isla Vista not just as party town,” Goodman said. “There’s a huge community of music and art lovers.”

The event also served to promote environmental sustainability. In addition to biodiesel and solar-powered stages, the festival featured organic food vendors and reusable bag decorators.

Lady Danville guitar player Michael Garner said he was glad Chilla Vista featured sustainable approaches.
“It’s really awesome to have festivals that are multipurpose and support green energy,” Garner said. “There’s no reason why we shouldn’t have solar power. I’m glad we could come out and support this.”

First-year zoology major Marissa Gravett said the festival was fun enough to keep her there all day.    “I really liked it,” Gravett said. “I’ve been here since it started and haven’t really left.”

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