Celebrating Four Decades of the
Santa Barbara Independent
We’re Toasting Our 40th Birthday by Sharing Memories
and Throwing the INDY40 Fest on August 29
By Indy Staff | August 21, 2026
We’re throwing parties and sharing memories to celebrate our 40th birthday here at the Santa Barbara Independent, which began with the inaugural Local Heroes issue on November 26, 1986.
On the party front, the big bash is the INDY40 Fest, a free event open to all ages at El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historical Park on Saturday, August 29, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
There will be live music, interactive booths, and tons of journalism-themed fun at the corners of Santa Barbara and East Canon Perdido streets. We’re also hosting a series of panels inside the Presidio chapel, featuring Marianne Partridge, Nick Welsh, Josef Woodard, Tanya Spears Guilliachi, and many more veteran and new Indy voices.
For a full rundown of the INDY40 Fest schedule see independent.com/indy40fest
As for the memories, we’re publishing an extended series of articles about the history of the Independent, from its origin as a merger of the Santa Barbara News & Review and The Weekly to Nick Welsh’s metamorphosis into the Angry Poodle and a look back at our first issue ever.
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