On Sunday, April 12, the Marjorie Luke Theatre will host the Spring Gardening Festival & Marketplace. The event brings together vendors, nonprofits, filmmakers, environmental experts, and more to promote sustainability and the cultivation of native plants.
“This event is the kickoff of The Luke’s 2026 Green Film Series, featuring thought-provoking films and engaging panel discussions all focused on today’s most important environmental issues,” said Kathy Kelley, development director for The Marjorie Luke Theatre.
The festival will open at 2:30 p.m. with a Community Marketplace, where local businesses and nonprofits will showcase methods, tools, and practices for creating sustainable landscapes.
The Marketplace is followed by a film screening, which will take place at 4 p.m. The screening presents four related short films produced by the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. The films form a series on native plant conservation that highlights the Botanic Garden’s ongoing transformation of Elings Park. Staff and volunteers, in collaboration with Channel Islands Restoration, are engaged in a multi-year project to remove invasive species from a plot within the park and reintroduce native plants, such as California oaks.
“Through our video series, we hope to ignite a sense of urgency and hope — showing that by embracing native plant conservation, we can help mitigate the impact of climate change and foster vibrant ecosystems for generations to come,” said Denise Knapp, Director of Conservation and Research at the Botanic Garden, upon the film series’ release last year.
The event will conclude with a panel featuring environmental experts, moderated by former Santa Barbara mayor Helene Schneider. Details about the panel guests are forthcoming.
Santa Barbara County faces long-term challenges due to climate change and environmental degradation. Most residents are familiar with the impacts of drought, heat waves, and wildfires on their community, but many are unaware of what they can do to protect local ecosystems. The Spring Gardening Festival & Marketplace presents an opportunity to learn more about conservation and sustainability, with a focus on local issues and practical actions.
Native plant cultivation, a crucial component of developing healthy, natural landscapes, is specifically highlighted. Festival attendees will learn why native plant cultivation is important and how to practice it in their own lives, whether as home gardeners, professionals, or volunteers in a community-based project such as the Botanic Garden’s Elings Park Transformation.
Tickets can be purchased at luketheatre.com and Eventbrite.
