During the initial planning stages of a proposed Deltopia alternative, the Isla Vista Community Services District envisioned a multi-zone event across Isla Vista featuring live music, art, safety resources and free food. They also planned for a decreased police presence, verbally promised by Isla Vista Foot Patrol. The result was “Soltopia,” which conceptually matched the original vision for the festival, although there was a noticeable police presence.
In January, the Santa Barbara County (SBC) Board of Supervisors passed a 72-hour noise ordinance that effectively canceled Deltopia, the annual unsanctioned street festival, which saw an estimated 25,000 people last year. The event has historically strained law enforcement and medical resources with last year resulting in 84 arrests, 485 citations, 130 medical calls and 300 deputies and officers.
The noise ordinance prohibited any amplified music beyond a residential or commercial property line. An amendment was made to the initial ordinance, allowing Isla Vista Community Services District (IVCSD) to host an alternative sanctioned event. IVCSD members asked law enforcement to remain outside of the festival since a large police presence was a point of contention for several community members during town halls.
IVCSD envisioned Soltopia to be a multi-zone event across I.V. featuring live music, art, safety resources and free food. Sherine John / Daily Nexus
“Soltopia,” held on April 4 from 12-6 p.m., was held across multiple sections between Embarcadero del Mar and Embarcadero del Norte, and was estimated to have 12,000 attendees. IVCSD distributed all 8,000 wristbands the week prior, which gave attendees special perks, such as free food and the ability to skip lines. Additionally, 0 arrests or citations were issued on festival grounds, according to IVCSD Community Programs and Engagement Director Myah Mashhadialireza.
The total funding for the festival was $280,000 — half of which came from IVCSD’s existing Spring festival budget and the other from UC Santa Barbara’s Associated Students Program Board. The festival featured a variety of venues showcasing local artists, including Katy Plane, Dislocated and Big Hungry. It also had 11 different vendors offering free food for wristband holders, a 21+ beer garden, with proceeds funding the nonprofit organization Standing Together to End Sexual Assault and three medical tents.
Mashhadialireza was the primary organizer of the festival, and emphasized that a festival at this scale would typically need “at least six to 12 months of planning” compared to the three months IVCSD was given to prepare after the passing of the noise ordinance. They initially gathered community input through different town halls, which made it clear to Mashhadialireza to focus on local artists and businesses, while still being able to embrace standard Deltopia traditions.
“People wanted music. They wanted to support their local artists. They wanted to dance with their friends in the sunshine, and they wanted to be together. They wanted that community and that autonomy to be able to facilitate that on their own,” Mashhadialireza said.
Mashhadialireza was supported by 13 different event leads, most of whom were students, who helped guide the creative direction of the festival. She said given the unforeseen circumstances of the festival, she “could not be more proud of them.”
The festival showcased local artists, and participants shared positive reactions towards the variety of musical performances. Sherine John / Daily Nexus
Participants shared positive reactions towards the variety of musical performances. Third-year biopsychology major Colin King said the bands were “playing some really cool music.” Additionally, third-year English major Cassie Giner-Martin described seeing live music as the “highlight” of the festival.
“I went to Birchwood with my friends, which was the one thing I was like, ‘We’re all gonna meet here,’ and it was super fun and great and a good time. And I saw a couple other bands too,” Giner-Martin said. “I think that just being with all my friends was the highlight.”
Ethan Stuman, a third-year cellular biology major, said he enjoyed Soltopia because it offered a more organized structure compared to Deltopia.
“I think it’s cool the community’s putting in some effort to organize a safer approach to Deltopia, despite the downsides,” Stuman said. “There’s a central gathering right now, whereas previously it was just a stream, which was awesome seeing everyone celebrating, but having a centralized point is pretty cool.”
Multiple vendors sold out of food during the festival, including Yetz’s Bagels and M Special, which provided the beverages for the beer garden.
“Gauchos did well. We drank an insane amount of beer,” Carmichael said.
However, a frequent critique was that there was a large wait time to get food. While fourth-year English major Jade Corona enjoyed the festival, her largest issue with the event was the lines for food. She said she was expecting to get “a lot of free food,” but was disappointed when certain vendors ran out of food.
“I liked the vendors too, that was nice, but I was expecting getting a lot of free food. I thought I was gonna grub, I was like, ‘I’m gonna be a big back today,’ and then that did not happen. So I think for me, that was the biggest disappointment,” Corona said.
Attendees critiqued the event due to long lines and wait times to get free food. Shengyu Zhang / Daily Nexus
Carmichael blames the long wait times on the short timeline IVCSD had to organize the festival, which led to them being “pleasantly overwhelmed” by the large crowds. She hopes to resolve this issue by having more vendors in the following years, and having more activities so people can have a more “entertaining experience than waiting in line.”
Across I.V., there were six arrests, 42 citations and seven medical calls throughout the weekend, with the same number of officers on Saturday as last year. Carmichael said IVCSD views these statistics as “quite successful,” and she’s optimistic this could lead to a decrease in police presence in the following years.
“Nobody wants [a high police presence], that makes our residents feel really uncomfortable. It is a huge strain on county resources to have that many cops out here. So our eventual goal is just to have a normal number of cops that you have on [an] average Saturday,” Carmichael said.
However, many participants reported feeling uncomfortable with the high police presence. Despite Isla Vista Foot Patrol’s (IVFP) verbal promise to have officers operate at the “lowest level possible”, attendees noticed that there was a significant police presence on festival grounds. Mashhadialireza clarified that her original vision for the festival was minimal police presence as possible, and while there were two Sheriff safety tables, officers entering the festival “were not part of [the] event.”
Giner-Martin said she felt the increased police presence made her “anxious,” especially after being under the impression that the presence was supposed to be reduced at the festival.
“I feel like I definitely noticed them in the streets. I understand their purpose for safety in some ways, but I also think it makes an atmosphere that’s not the best. It made me a little bit more anxious, I don’t like to be out and seeing all the police officers,” Giner-Martin said.
Fourth-year English major Riley Schamahl argued it would’ve been ideal to increase the presence of other emergency responders, such as paramedics, given the “state of the world right now.”
“I don’t think there is a need for that many police to be there, especially with the state of the world right now. It is fearful for a lot of people, and probably a lot of people were turned off by that and didn’t want to go or went back home because they were scared,” Schmahl said.
A group of police officers present on the Soltopia festival grounds. Shengyu Zhang / Daily Nexus
Concerning the large police presence within the festival, Carmichael cited the lack of a centralized government in I.V., meaning officers were dispatched and controlled by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. Both Carmichael and Mashhadialireza suspected that the high quantity of unoccupied police on Del Playa Drive may have led officers to start “roaming and wandering.”
“I think there [were] just so many police on [Del Playa] with not a lot to do that some of them just kind of started roaming and wandering, going around seeing where the people were,” Carmichael said. “Going forward for next year, that is a really big conversation that we want to continue to have with our Sheriff, ‘how can we reduce police presence?’”
Moving forward, IVCSD said they want to promote greater community engagement while planning future festivals. She said their main goal with Soltopia is to allow residents to “celebrate Isla Vista culture,” and to achieve this, they will gather greater community input.
“We proved to ourselves that we can throw an event that has very, very little medical calls, very little formal interaction with law enforcement,” Carmichael said. “We’re not here to police your behavior. We’re not here to tell you what to do, we’re here to give you the resources to do exactly what you want, safely, with your neighbors in a way that celebrates Isla Vista culture.”
A version of this article appeared on p. 1 of the April 9 print edition of the Daily Nexus.
