3rd annual Los Olivos Rotary Club’s Jazz and
Olive Fest
Set to the sounds of live jazz, olive-based dishes of all varieties will overtake Lavinia Campbell Park in Los Olivos June 2 for the third-annual Los Olivos Rotary Club’s Jazz and Olive Festival.
“We think it’s a great community event to bring everyone together,” said Rotary Club member James Lohmas. “We particularly try to keep the price low so everyone from all walks of life can come.”
Tickets are $30 for adults and $10 for children under 11 with the proceeds going to the club’s general fund that is used to sponsor both local and international charities and humanitarian efforts. The festival will be open from 1 to 4:30 p.m.
Local jazz musicians from Santa Barbara County will provide the music. The Tom Gastineau Quartet and the Laura Schlieske Quintet will set the score with their takes on jazz. “We had both of these groups performing last year and we got a very, very favorable response on both of them and that’s why we asked them back this year,” Lohmas said.
When club President Gabrielle Robbins was asked what made this festival special, she said, “It is the quality of music, the quality of food and the generosity of the o-chefs.” O-chefs is the name given to the amateur chefs featured in the event’s extensive use of olives and olive oil in creating a host of olive-based dishes in honor of the town’s name, Los Olivos, Spanish for “The Olives.”
“The music is wonderful. The food is wonderful,” Robbins said.
Amateur chefs can also enter their dishes into contests to win small prizes. Lohmas said he expects to have one of the professional chefs also cooking at the event judge the food.
Professional chefs from New West Catering and The Chef’s Touch are slated to hold cooking demonstrations next door to the park at Grange Hall.
In addition to all the food and music, 16 vintners will be on hand to sample wine and continue the Los Olivos and Santa Ynez Valley theme.
“It’s an opportunity to meet your neighbors in an intimate setting,” Lohmas said.
And at the heart of the event is that sense of community and a culture of giving, Robbins said.
“It’s purely a service organization,” she said. “We don’t just write checks, we go and work.”
The festival was started three years ago to raise money for the club’s general fund that recently donated $2,000 to the Los Olivos School District’s library. In addition to the Rotary Club’s school donation, it raised more than $40,000 to help purchase and manage Lavinia Campbell Park where the event is held. The club also donated $10,000 to aid in constructing a children’s playground at Sunny Fields Park in north Solvang.
“I think the more you do it, the more you want to do it. It’s sort of infectious,” Robbins said of the club’s participation in and service to the community. “One of the really gratifying aspects is when we do have sign ups for help for a fundraiser for other non-profit organizations, we have more people sign up that we have slots available.”
The Los Olivos Rotary Club meets Thursdays at 5:15 p.m. in Grange Hall. Tickets are available at the Book Loft and at the event.