As someone who never considered herself a sporty person growing up, Annis Barajas wanted to offer Guadalupe residents more than sports when she joined the Recreation Department six months ago.
“Guadalupe has [always] been super strong when it comes to sports,” said Barajas, the recreation services manager. “I wanted to have options for people who might not be very sporty.”
In her time so far in the position, she’s expanded the Recreation Department’s reach, offering line dancing, painting, a skate deck design class, a fashion show, poetry jams, hikes, movie nights, a glow in the dark dance party, and hopefully pickleball within this month.
“It’s been pretty successful. Based on what I’ve been told from the last Recreation Department manager, since I was here, our numbers have tripled for events,” Barajas said. “We’re still doing sports and a lot of things we were doing before; we’re just expanding it to have more diverse activities.”
Recreational youth soccer is still going strong with fall classes running from Oct. 2 to 23. Drop-in volleyball begins Oct. 2 and runs every Wednesday of the month, and drop-in basketball starts on Oct. 4 and runs every Friday.
Locals can also boogie at the roller skating party on Sept. 28; tap into creativity at a pumpkin paint party on Oct. 5; take a hike through the Rancho Guadalupe Dunes Preserve on Oct. 12; or grab popcorn for a Halloween movie night on Oct. 25.
Every Guadalupe event is free for the community and provides any equipment needed for participation, she said.
“I want to continue to ramp that up and have our set events that almost take care of themselves. We always have movie night or a skate day, that will always happen, and as I add new things, see what the response is, maybe that becomes another event,” Barajas said.
Line dancing was one of the first additions she made to the department’s schedule. Guadalupe hosted two classes in August, and again in September with people asking about the next line dancing night.
“It’s just really exciting to see people interested in what’s being provided,” Barajas said.
The department’s three-person team is tiny but mighty, she said, and the budget may be small, too, but it hasn’t slowed them down from adding more activities.
“There was a decision to add an extra $10,000 to our budget. That’s very nice; that has helped with some of the bigger events, but I’m really big on using the resources available,” she said. “We do have restrictions when it comes to budgets, but I feel like that shouldn’t have to hold us back.”
She has “no shame” in asking for donations or asking people to volunteer or to use community resources. As a former Santa Maria Rodeo executive and wedding planner, she likes the challenge of creating events that suit Guadalupe.
“It’s been an opportunity to learn what the community wants, how they want to receive information, and how they interact. … I’ve really enjoyed it and I hope to continue growing the Recreation Department,” she said. “We are up and coming; we have been working hard as a city to provide more services and experiences in Guadalupe.”
Visit cityofguadalupe.org/recreation-department-events for more information.
Highlights
• The League of Women Voters of North Santa Barbara County and the Santa Maria Valley Chamber are hosting a candidate forum for the Santa Maria mayor’s race on Oct. 4 from 5 to 7 p.m. at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 402 Lincoln St. Residents have the opportunity to meet the candidates running for election and learn more about their positions and priorities. After a brief networking period, the moderated program will begin with a set of predetermined questions, have an intermission, and close out with the candidates answering questions from the public. Audience members may not bring signs or wear supporting material in the forum room or speak out or applaud before the forum concludes. RSVP for the free event at business.santamaria.com.
• All sections of Surf, Wall, and Minuteman beaches on Vandenberg Space Force Base officially opened on Sept 19. Seasonal restrictions are enforced annually on all three Vandenberg beaches from March 1 through Sept. 30 to protect the nesting habitat of the Western snowy plover, a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act. To lift restrictions before Sept. 30, Vandenberg biologists documented that the last Western snowy plover chicks on Space Force beaches have left the nest and are able to care for themselves without assistance from their parents. Once numbered in the thousands, fewer than 2,400 breeding Western snowy plovers remain on the Pacific Coast, and Vandenberg beaches are one of the few suitable breeding habitats remaining in the state.
Reach Staff Writer Taylor O’Connor at [email protected].
