THE SANTA BARBARA FLOWER-CARNIVAL. 



•E C\-ENT IN CALirUK-M 



N April ig the city of Santa Barbara^ 

 California, engaged in a magnifi- 

 cent Floral Festival, a "Battle of 

 Flowers," which lasted four days 

 The affair was a success from first 

 to last, and reflects great credit 

 upon the inhabitants of the city, 

 for everybody from miyor to 

 common citizen seemed to have 

 a hand in the enterprise. The event was evidently 

 based upon both sentiment and good sense ; it was a 

 grand holiday, adapted to the tastes of all, from gray- 

 haired men and matrons down to little children. And 

 much to the credit of the city be it said that those ele- 

 ments which during public holidays so frequently lead to 

 excesses of various kinds were entirely wanting. This 

 open-air flower-festival was as innocent and pure as it 

 was gay and cheerful. 



In our churches and Sabbath schools a day known as 

 Floral Day h:'.s 

 for some year 

 been quite 

 generally ob- 

 served. The 

 Santa Barbara 

 festival was an 

 enlargement of 

 this — a city in- 

 stead of a mere 

 congregation 

 participating. 

 Such consistent 

 methods of en- 

 gaging in pub- 

 lic festivals are 

 commendable, 

 and it is with 

 pleasure that 

 we devote space 

 in this issue to 

 some notice of 

 the event. 



Before the 

 visit of Presi- 

 dent Harrison A 

 to the Pacific 



Coast early in the current year, C. F. Eaton, of Monti- 

 cello, suggested among ways of showing general appre- 

 ciation of the presence of our chief magistrate a " Battle 

 of Flowers," such as may be seen every year in the city of 

 Nice, France. The idea was adopted and the result was 

 so satisfactory that later on a score of the leading citi- 



zens resolved to inaugurate an annual season of floral 

 festivities. For this purpo.se the Santa Barbara Floral 

 Festivities Association was formed Thi= 3'ear witnesses 

 the first season of its usefulness. I; is the intention of 

 the association to incorporate, and thus to provide for 

 such a festival yearly in Santa Barbara. 



This season's festivities began with a display of horti- 

 cultural products in the pavilion at the fair grounds. 

 Owing to the lateness of the season and the remarkable 

 weather of the past month, it had been feared that this 

 would not be a very brilliant success. So much is al- 

 ways expected of Santa Barbara because of her celebrity 

 as the home of the rose and many subtropical flow- 

 ers, that more than one true friend of the city shook 

 his head over the prospects of the horticultural exhibit. 

 But it was a decided and pronounced success, as all who 

 visited the pavilion testified. 



But the great event of the carnival was the street 

 pnicession which signalized the triumph.il entry of the 



goddess Flora to this fair city. At an early hour of the 

 day on which it took place, the people on the main 

 street had begun to decorate their several places of 

 business so that all might b3 in readiness for the pageant 

 of floral cars and other vehicles passing. Much taste 

 was shown in adorning the buildings, and garlands, cornu- 



