Celebrating Country Roots

It’s been called an “oenophile’s Disneyland” and hailed as “America’s best small food and culture town” but for people like Greer Araujo, Los Olivos is just called home. The director of marketing grew up in the Valley and has dedicated the last seven years working for Fess Parker. Officially, though, she’s been with the legacy Valley brand for much longer – she’s family. 

Araujo is part of the Los Olivos Chamber of Commerce team that is building an ode to Los Olivos with the 2026 Day in the Country. Celebrating their 46th year, it’s expected to be the most ambitious festival yet after the small-town affair ballooned in size the last few years to the point where many locals didn’t even recognize it. 

This year, Patrick Alo assures me, it will be very much about the locals. “We’re taking it back to the center of the Valley. The signature harvest festival will be celebrating everything local and wonderful,” adds the former Disney executive turned small-town resident. The Day in the Country artisans and culinarians at the festival are all hand-picked, while still highlighting everything fabulous about the region. “It’s primarily for the community itself and bringing our neighbors together,” he adds. “but I think people all over Santa Barbara County over the decades have looked forward to this very wholesome community event.”

In keeping with this reset, the Los Olivos Wine Festival, which is celebrating three years, will showcase regional wines from just 20 vintners. It’ll be held in the St. Mark’s courtyard garden from 1-4 p.m., and is limited to 200 guests. The “Sideways” boom is still a topic of discussion among the local set, but this wine festival is the antithesis of the oversaturated, drunk-fests so many other wine festivals are known for. “With the tasting rooms, you don’t have as much one-on-one time with the vintners themselves,” Alo adds. “A wine festival like this [one] allows for an intimate conversation.” Araujo adds: “It’s a really intimate wine festival.”  

Festivities begin at 8 a.m. for the 5K before the children’s run at 9 a.m. There will be three age brackets for the kids fun run, and Alo is excited to announce there will be a “fastest kid in the Valley” crown to whomever hits that red tape first. There’s also a charity pumpkin patch where guests can pick up a pumpkin for free when they bring in a bag of non-perishable food items, which will then be donated by St. Mark’s to Valley families in need. There’s also the annual parade that finishes with an announcement of the third annual Los Olivos pumpkin pie contest winner, judged this year by Tracy Fleming of The Bakery Farmstand, as well as a pancake breakfast hosted by the Grange. 

Day in the Country is on Saturday, October 10, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and is open to the public. For more information, visit losolivosca.com/dayinthecountry. For tickets to the Los Olivos Wine Festival visit: losolivosca.com/losolivoswinefestival2026