This Weekend
A full fall weekend: the harbor festival and GauchoFest on Saturday, Boo at the Zoo starting Friday, and a quiet festival at El Presidio on Sunday. Here are the plans worth knowing about, plus what to book before it disappears.
Age guide: “Ideal for” is our recommendation; official venue restrictions are listed separately.
Family Plans
Friday, October 16
🦁 Boo at the Zoo begins at the Santa Barbara Zoo and runs daily through October 31, 10 AM–3 PM. Ideal for: 2+. Halloween programming in the daytime, included with regular admission or membership. Santa Barbara Zoo
🎬 Finding Nemo outdoors at Montecito Country Mart, 6–7:30 PM. Ideal for: 3+. A courtyard screening with treats. Montecito Country Mart events
🎃 Casper on the Paseo Nuevo rooftop, 7 PM. Ideal for: 5+. A free showing above the South Side Parking Garage with complimentary popcorn; bring chairs, blankets and layers. Paseo Nuevo
Saturday, October 17
🦀 Santa Barbara Harbor & Seafood Festival, 10 AM–5 PM on Harbor Way. Ideal for: 2+. Free admission. Fresh local seafood, music, children’s activities and vessel tours, with free 20-minute harbor rides from 12:30–4 PM as conditions allow. City of Santa Barbara
🌱 Tree planting at Elings Park, 9:30 AM–12:30 PM at the SB Foundation Trailhead. Ideal for: 5+. Help plant 100 native trees with Your Children’s Trees. Tools and supplies are provided, no experience is needed, and the park lists it as free. Elings Park
🔬 Explore Together at Santa Barbara Central Library, 10–11:15 AM. Ideal for: 2+. Free hands-on art, science and literacy play for early childhood through second grade. Library calendar
🦕 Dinorama opens at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, 10 AM–5 PM. Ideal for: 3+. The new dinosaur exhibit is included with museum admission and runs through March 14, 2027. Museum calendar
🎉 GauchoFest, 1–6 PM on UCSB’s Commencement Green. Ideal for: 3+. Live music, food and a supervised Kids’ Zone for ages 12 and under. Admission is about $35 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under. UCSB Alumni
🎵 The Nombres at Carpinteria Arts Center, 6–9 PM. Ideal for: 4+. A free evening concert for all ages, with snacks and drinks available. Carpinteria Arts Center
🚲 One logistics note: Ride Santa Barbara 100 starts and finishes at Chase Palm Park on Saturday morning, so expect waterfront crowds and fuller parking near the harbor. Ride SB 100
🥧 Montecito Pie Baking Contest, 11 AM–1 PM at Montecito Country Mart. Ideal for: 5+. Bring a pie to enter by 11 AM (there is a kids under-14 category), or come watch the judging, with winners at 12:30 PM, a baking demonstration, and pie by the slice. Montecito Country Mart
Sunday, October 18
🏮 Asian American Neighborhood Festival, 11 AM–3 PM at El Presidio. Ideal for: 3+. Free. Cultural performances, family crafts and food vendors. Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation
🚶 Move with MADD 3K Walk, 9 AM–noon at Chase Palm Park Field. Ideal for: 3+. A family community walk for safer roads; registration is through MADD. City of Santa Barbara · Registration
🦢 Circa: Duck Pond, 4 PM at the Granada Theatre. Ideal for: 6+. Swan Lake retold as contemporary circus, all aerials and acrobatics; tickets $45–75, with youth tickets (18 and under) at $23. UCSB Arts & Lectures
Parents’ Night Out
🍷 Santa Barbara Vintners Festival, Saturday 1–4 PM at Firestone Estate in Santa Ynez. 21+ to drink. More than 70 winemakers and food partners. General admission is $125; early entry from noon is $175, and a non-drinker ticket is $35. Festival tickets
🎤 MUNA with hemlocke springs, Saturday 7 PM at the Santa Barbara Bowl. Tickets are through the Bowl. Santa Barbara Bowl
🎭 October Long Form Improv Show, Saturday 8–9:30 PM at Jefferson Hall, 1525 Santa Barbara St. Four troupes; $10 general admission, and ages 12 and under are free. Santa Barbara Improv
Worth the Drive
🦪 80th Annual Pismo Beach Clam Festival, Saturday and Sunday in downtown Pismo Beach. Ideal for: 3+. Free general admission, a parade down Price Street at 10 AM Saturday, a free Kids Zone, and a Kids Clam Rescue on Sunday from 11 AM to noon. The Saturday chowder cook-off tasting is sold out; the festival itself is free. Experience Pismo Beach
🎡 Atascadero Fall Festival, Friday 4–10 PM, Saturday and Sunday noon–10 PM, at Sunken Gardens in Atascadero. Ideal for: 3+. Free admission, with carnival rides charged separately and live music on two stages; the Colony Days Parade starts Saturday at 10 AM. Atascadero Fall Festival
🪕 Downtown Ventura Harvest Hootenanny, Saturday 12:30–5 PM at California and Main in Ventura. Ideal for: 3+. Free. Country and folk music, a downtown pumpkin patch, and line dancing with the Ventucky Stompers; the Ventura Music Festival’s bluegrass show follows at Mission Park at 7 PM, with picnic tickets at $15. Downtown Ventura
Book Now
👻 Acorn Village Halloween Journey, Friday and Saturday, October 16–17, at the Santa Ynez Valley Botanic Garden in Buellton. Ideal for: 2+. A 30 to 40 minute guided storybook walk designed for ages 2–8, with timed entry. This is the Buellton garden, not the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. Organizer tickets
🍬 Adult Trick or Treat wine passport, Santa Ynez Valley, running through Monday, October 19. $49 at the organizer, with voucher stops at participating wineries and bars; hours and reservation rules vary by venue. Santa Ynez Valley Wine Country
📖 Ojai Storytelling Festival, October 22–25 in Ojai. Ideal for: 4+. The organizer is advertising code KIDSFREE through October 21: one paid adult or senior ticket to a Saturday daytime show brings up to two children under 16 free. Festival tickets
Looking Ahead
🦁 Nighttime Boo at the Zoo, October 23–25, 5–8 PM, with a separate Adult Night on October 22, 6–10 PM, 21+. Santa Barbara Zoo
📚 Story Time at Elings Park, Saturday, October 24, 9–10:30 AM. Free, no registration; nature stories in the restoration site with library staff. Santa Barbara Botanic Garden
✈️ Santa Barbara Airport Plane Pull, Saturday, October 24 at Atlantic Aviation. Watching is free; teams register separately to pull. Santa Barbara Airport
🎃 Sunstone Haunted Ball, Friday, October 30, 7–11 PM in Santa Ynez. A masquerade ball; $35 general admission, $25 for members. Sunstone Winery
🎅 Breakfast with Santa at Ojai Valley Inn, December 18–20, 9 AM at The Farmhouse. Ideal for: 2+. Friday the 18th still has room for a full family; Saturday and Sunday are effectively sold out, with only a couple of seats left at each seating. Tickets $95 for adults, $50 for children 2 to 12, and under 2 free. Ojai Valley Inn
🎶 Santa Barbara Symphony: Hollywood Valentine, The Music of John Williams & More! — Granada Theatre, Sat, Feb 13, 2027, 7:30 PM (also Sun, Feb 14, 3:00 PM). Star Wars @ 50 with the orchestra live; boxes are already sold out and orchestra seats start at $35. thesymphony.org
Schedules and ticket availability can change, so please check the organizer’s page before you go. If you head to any of these, let us know how it was. And as always, send us the events we should not miss.
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