Rather than tossing out broken household items, Repair Café invites the community to fix them together. The bimonthly workshop will return on Saturday at the Community Environmental Council’s Hub in downtown Santa Barbara, continuing its mission of keeping valuable items in working order and out of the trash.
Founded by Isaac Laris and Meg Miller last July, Repair Café has spent the past year bringing that goal to life. Everything is completely free, and with 25 to 30 volunteers ready to help, Santa Barbara residents can experience a community they may not have been part of before this Saturday.
“It’s simple: Bring one to two items for repair, check in, join the queue, and work right next to the volunteer best suited to help fix your item,” Laris said.
From electronics to furniture, toys, appliances, clothing and more, the benefits of recycling, reusing, and repairing don’t discriminate. Whether your blender isn’t working, your favorite shirt has a tear, or your bike’s gears are stuck, participants will walk away with more knowledge about how to care for the things they love, all while enjoying refreshments and live music.
Hosted by Kathi King, the CEC’s director of climate education and leadership, the free event is part of the Community Environmental Council’s Year of Active Hope series.
Launched in February, the initiative has hosted a variety of spring events at the CEC’s Environmental Hub. The series is designed to unite the community around climate solutions, creative expression, and hands-on learning.
With Santa Barbara’s deep ties to environmental leadership and federal rollbacks creating new challenges, the need for local action has become more prominent than ever. Organizations like Repair Café remind us that small actions can have a big impact, whether it’s repairing a favorite item or strengthening connections.
So really, the point is simple: to learn, connect, enjoy live music, and maybe even fix that lamp that blinks instead of beams.
Repair Café takes place on Saturday, July 18, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Community Environmental Council’s Hub. See repaircafesb.org.
