“I can’t wait to visit UCSB for Deltopia!”
After committing to UCSB, right underneath the usual have a good summer, this message was scrawled into my yearbook about a hundred times. Deltopia, a huge weekend-long street party held on Del Playa Drive, has long been considered the unofficial kickoff to spring quarter. More than just any ordinary dayge, Deltopia has been a UCSB tradition and part of our school culture for the past decade.
REST IN PEACE DELTOPIA
Unfortunately, other first-year students and I won’t be able to experience Deltopia this year. A 72-hour noise ordinance was placed on what is traditionally Deltopia weekend. Like many other UCSB students, I was very disappointed about the idea of returning from spring break to a silent campus.
Fortunately, while it may have been the beginning of the end for Deltopia, IV won’t be dead this weekend. Almost immediately after the noise ordinance was approved, UCSB Associated Students sprang into action to build Soltopia. Soltopia, a collaboration between Associated Students and IVCSD, is a noise ordinance approved live spring music festival.
While Deltopia still holds a special place in many students’ hearts, Soltopia solves its one major problem: the out-of-towners. The festival runs on the “by locals for locals” mantra, focusing on local businesses and artists. IV and on-campus residents have the opportunity to gain free wristbands for exclusive festival access and food options from several local restaurants.
WHAT EXACTLY IS SoLTOPIA?
So how exactly will Soltopia work? To answer the many questions that other UCSB students and I have about the festival, I consulted with Phoebe Tunnell, a senior editor for Her Campus and an event lead for Soltopia. As an event lead, Tunnell’s job entailed budgeting decor and other supplies, reaching out to local artists to participate in the festival, and creating flyers to promote the event.
Tunnell explained that the event itself would divide IV into six different zones, with a map drawn by a local artist for participants to navigate the event. Tunnell will assist in the Coastal Commons Zone around the People’s Park area, which she describes as being “kind of like Thriftopia, with options like bouquet making districts”. However, beyond flea markets, Soltopia has options that cater to many different tastes, whether that be house music or grunge.
THe GooD And BAD oF THE SETUP PRoCESS
But, getting to this point wasn’t easy. Tunnell said that the “fast timeline was one of the most difficult parts of being an event lead.” The process for bringing Soltopia to life happened almost immediately after the announcement about Deltopia’s cancellation, with event leads being hired “end of January, early February.” While the stress of replicating an event as iconic as Deltopia in such a short period of time was hard, Tunnell also found it to be an incredibly exciting experience.
When asked why she wanted to take such an active role in creating Soltopia, Tunnell said that after participating in Deltopia, the idea of a silent Isla Vista “broke her heart”. Working as an event lead also gave her the opportunity to replicate the parts of Deltopia that she loved, like having fun with friends and celebrating live music, while improving the parts she didn’t like, such as the influx of SBCC students and non-IV residents crowding parties. The main goal Tunnell described for Soltopia would be “giving back to the people who actually live in the community.”
SOLTOPIA’S LEGACY
Deltopia holds an iconic legacy for IV residents, so will Soltopia actually measure up? Better yet, will this quick fix be a long term solution, something that can be celebrated for years to come? Tunnell certainly hopes so, noting that while the event won’t replace Deltopia entirely, it could be an opportunity to create a new UCSB tradition.
Deltopia isn’t dead, it’s simply evolving. While Soltopia may lack the chaotic energy that made Deltopia so memorable, the music and connection, arguably the most important part, will remain. I, for one, can’t wait to see what this weekend brings.