Opens Streets Event Makes a Debut in the Santa Ynez Valley

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Buellton, California — A mile of the Avenue of Flags in the city of Buellton will be car-free on
April 30, 2023 as part of the first Open Streets event for the greater Santa Ynez Valley.
The Santa Ynez Valley Healthy Eating Active Living Coalition (HEAL) will host the Open Streets
event from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., located on the Avenue of Flags in Buellton, California.

The event will kick-off CycleMAYnia in Santa Barbara County. CycleMAYnia is a month-long
celebration with activities and events during National Bike Month. The celebration reaches
thousands of cyclists and community members throughout the month of May led by Santa
Barbara County Association of Governments Traffic Solutions Division.

The Santa Ynez Valley Open Streets event is made possible through the support of the City of
Buellton, Measure A Santa Barbara County’s Transportation Sales Tax Measure, and local
sponsors including Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, Cottage Health, Visit Santa Ynez
Valley, Buellton Chamber of Commerce, Solvang Chamber of Commerce, and more.

“We’re incredibly excited to bring this event to the Santa Ynez Valley,” said Valerie Kissell, chief
executive officer, People Helping People and the fiscal sponsor for the HEAL Coalition. “The city
of Buellton has been incredibly supportive and we look forward to the community coming out
and supporting this inaugural event.”

There is still time to sign up to sponsor or participate in the Open Streets event. Organizers
anticipate more than 2,000 attendees will attend the new event. “Business organizations and community members can still sponsor the event or sign up to bring a fun activity or contest,” said Kissell.

The city will shut down an nearly mile-long section from Damasa to State Route 246 to vehicles
and open it up for pedestrians and bikers to enjoy and will include street music, family-friendly
physical fitness activities, wellness themed activities hosted by local businesses and
organizations.

Those interested in signing up to sponsor or participate as a vendor in Open Streets are
encouraged to find information on the Santa Ynez Valley Open Streets website:
www.syvopenstreets.com

Open Streets events are unique, they all share a common goal of promoting community
wellness by creating safe and temporary car-free spaces on streets and roads. Santa Barbara
County Association of Government’s Traffic Solutions Division has hosted or supported
community-led events across the county including in Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, Lompoc,
Guadalupe, and Carpinteria.

For more information, go to www.syvopenstreets.com or contact Zohe Felici,
zohe@felicievents.com or 805-895-3402.