State Street Closing for The Art of Community

On Saturday, September 28, Santa Barbarans will get the chance to gather around one long table spread in the middle of State Street to eat, talk, and remind one another that while we may come from different backgrounds and believe in different things, we’re all neighbors and we’re all in this together. Everyone is invited, and it’s free. Please bring your own food.

The upcoming Common Table event is the latest in a series of get-togethers organized by the Lois & Walter Capps Project. “There is no hidden agenda, no specific issue to debate or goal to achieve,” explained director Todd Capps. “The purpose is a return to human connection, neighbor to neighbor, face to face.” 

This will be the second time a Common Table is held on State Street, and it appears the first has already achieved a new level of community harmony. Last time, Santa Barbara City Hall made life miserable for the event’s permit seekers, throwing up hurdles and fees every step of the way. This time around, the city has become an actual cosponsor, complete with a complementary street closure and strings of lights.

After eating, the evening will progress to live performances and presentations from artists, musicians, dancers, poets, and storytellers. Capps is calling the overall evening The Art of Community. “From the internationally acclaimed to the undiscovered,” he said. 

The lineup includes Grupo Sismo, a Mexican band formed in Santa Barbara in 1990; Trent Summar, a multi-award-winning songwriter from Nashville who recently relocated to Carpinteria; Clean Spill, a group of Santa Barbara surf rats who play garage-flavored punk rock; Zayan Reza, a young Bangladeshi-American poet and writer from Oxnard; The Decent Folk, a lively quartet specializing in Irish, Scottish, and Celtic tunes; and others.

Things kick off at 5 p.m. in the 500 block of State Street. Visit cappsproject.org for more information.