GOLETA, Calif. – City of Goleta has agreed to bring back their Fourth of July celebration as a drone show, but they'll need the community's help to actually make it happen.
During Tuesday's city council meeting, Community Relations Manager, Kelly Hoover, painted the picture of what this modernized event would look like for the community and city leaders.
"Doors would open at 6 o'clock, there would be food trucks, DJ Darla Bea would be playing, there would be a stage, there would be a dance floor... [The drone show] would be customized, choreographed, animated light show with a 150 drones that are able to fly 400 feet in the air that can be seen 7-10 miles away."
City Council agreed to the alternative celebration – set to be take place at Dos Pueblos High School this summer – but the city is still searching for additional funding.
According to Hoover, the cost to put on a drone show alone is roughly $50,000, and adding on the associated costs (security, audio/visual, custodial, entertainment, etc.) brings the total cost of the event to $65,000 - $70,000.
The city has managed to fundraise $43,500 thanks to the help of local groups, but they'll need more community partners and donations to help with the total cost.
"While we have the foundation for a great event, we need more community partners to come forward now and help us fund the rest. With Independence Day just three months away, time is of the essence to get all our funding in place,” Hoover says.
The drone show will put on by the company, Droneshow.com LLC, which has been utilized by the city of Santa Maria and Salt Lake City in past years. Overall, Hoover says this modern alternative will cost less and be more practical than previous firework shows.
She said the past firework shows held at Girsh Park hosted by the Goleta Rotary Club were "a lot of work and expensive." She also mentioned the environmental hazards and community disruptions that contributed to the city's unwillingness to bring it back.
Fireworks were a beloved tradition that went away during the pandemic – but Hoover said they were too expensive, caused fire hazards, and were disruptive to noise sensitive folks.
"This year, we're looking at something very simple. Go to DP High School, there's parking... it's a pretty simple concept as people going, finding a seat in the stadium, watching the show and having some activities and food trucks."
The event would be free to the community, and those who still want to see fireworks can watch Santa Barbara's annual show at the waterfront.
The city says they are unsure if the drone show will continue in the years to come, and hopes to pass it along to another organization in the future.
Hoover says the event is still very much in the planning stages but the event is scheduled to take place at Dos Pueblos High School's football stadium on July 4th, 2025.
The home side of the stadium would be the only actual seats open for best visibility, roughly seating 2,000 people. The track and turf would also be available for viewing.
Doors would open at 6:00pm where visitors can enjoy local food vendors, games and activities, and live music from DJ Darla Bea.
A 14- minute drone show would follow at 8:30pm.
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