As if the gorgeous sunsets, rugged bluffs, dreamy beaches and exhilarating adventures weren’t enough, the middle stretch of the Golden State that hugs the Pacific is also a hot spot for all things cultural nowadays. That includes arts in all forms, historic treasures and an ever-eclectic, locally sourced dining and drinking scene.
For attendees keen on getting cultured in some of California’s most idyllic settings, all roads lead to Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.
Ventura County
Abuzz with new offerings, Ventura County is turning heads and drawing an increasing number of leisure travelers and business groups to evolving, culturally rich communities like Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo and Port Hueneme.
“When people experience our culture, they get the benefit of coming to a performing arts center with a ballet, for example, and then the added bonus of staying right here on the coast with incredible beauty beyond measure,” says Rebekah Evans, executive director of Ventura County West.
The Oxnard Performing Arts Center is indeed one of the county’s cultural riches, according to Evans, and it also doubles as a great off-site event venue.
“We have the New West Symphony there with a top conductor, Marcello Lehninger, so there’s opera and music and ballet every Friday evening as part of a masterpiece series,” she says.
Another cultural highlight is Studio Channel Islands, a former elementary school that was due to be demolished but instead was preserved, and the classrooms turned into individual museums for different art mediums.
“Groups can set up a tour there and do a hands-on art program,” Evans says. “You can learn to sculpt in one classroom, then go to the next classroom for weaving. They also turned the old gymnasium into an incredible museum.”
Studio Channel Islands is located in recently revitalized Old Town Camarillo, which itself is a prime cultural draw with hip food establishments, wine and craft beer spots, and historic buildings.
Meanwhile, the artisan wine and beer scene continues to evolve. A great way for groups to experience it is by taking in the Ventura County Wine Trail, which links 11 wineries in Camarillo, Oxnard and Ventura.
One top option for groups is Herzog Winery, a unique kosher winery that offers interesting tours and an upscale restaurant, Tierra Sur.
Craft beer is another trend, and the breweries will either come to group events to do tastings, or groups can head to the breweries to sample the beer on-site and take tours. Some of the trendiest options are Surf Brewery, known for its strawberry wheat ale; Poseidon Brewing Company, which produces a unique blood orange pale ale; and Topa Topa Brewing Company, offering a chocolaty oatmeal stout.
Santa Barbara County
Just up the coast, Santa Barbara County also has its share of cultural treasures, according to Karna Hughes, director of communications for Visit Santa Barbara.
“The Santa Barbara Museum of Art is our big museum here,” she says. “They have an incredible collection of Roman antiquities and Impressionist works, and there are always rotating exhibits.”
The museum is one of the city’s most popular off-site event venues for groups.
A lively performing arts scene is another cultural highlight of Santa Barbara, according to Hughes, who recommends UC Santa Barbara’s Arts and Lectures Program. The program presents shows throughout the city at historic places such as the recently renovated Grenada Theater and the Arlington Theater, and at its hall at the university.
“The shows range from Yo-Yo Ma on the classical spectrum to pop icon David Byrne, and for dance, they just had New York City Ballet’s Moves,” Hughes says. “They also feature comedy as well as performance artists like Laurie Anderson.”
For something a bit off the radar, Hughes suggests Ganna Walska Lotusland in Montecito, an interesting option for a group outing or a small private event.
“Lotusland is an amazing, 30-plus-acre private garden and estate that was the property of a wealthy and eccentric Polish opera singer, Ganna Walska,” Hughes says. “She cultivated these really unique gardens, each with a different theme. It’s a very gorgeous, artistic place, and it’s really one of the undiscovered jewels of Santa Barbara.”
Meanwhile, the food and drink scene is as hot as ever, according to Hughes, and two particularly buzzed-about places she suggests for groups are The Lark and Barbareno.
“The Lark has long tables that can seat around 20 people. They do their food family-style on big platters, and everything is very fresh from the farmers market,” she says. “Barbareno has some of the best food in Santa Barbara right now, with very innovative, young chefs, and every dish has some connection to the region.”
The Urban Wine Trail, which features tasting rooms throughout Santa Barbara and the Santa Ynez Valley, is another favorite pastime.
“The trail is really eclectic, and there are tasting rooms downtown and in another very group-worthy area called the Funk Zone by the waterfront, which used to be abandoned buildings and is now a cool, eclectic neighborhood that is one of the most happening places in Santa Barbara right now,” Hughes says. “Groups can go from tasting room to tasting room in the Funk Zone, and each is a bit different. There’s one that’s more for Millennials with kind of a thrift store aesthetic, then there are more upscale places like Pali Wine.”
A few blocks away in downtown, El Paseo, an Old-World shopping area with beautiful cobblestone streets, is another ideal place to stroll and visit tasting rooms.
“Everything is super walkable in Santa Barbara, which is the great thing for groups,” Hughes says.
Farther inland, the community of Solvang is known as “California’s Little Denmark.”
“Solvang feels like Northern Europe, yet in the center of California,” says Tracy Farhad, executive director of the Solvang Conference and Visitors Bureau. “You’ll enjoy Scandinavian architecture and warm hospitality while strolling the flower-lined streets or stepping into five authentic Danish bakeries, more than 150 unique shops and art galleries, restaurants, 20 wine tasting rooms and lodging in 17 hotels and inns.”
Two premier lodging options for groups are Hotel Corque and The Landsby, a new property with Scandinavian modern design.
Cultural institutions that double as unique off-site venues include The Copenhagen House, a newly renovated historic bank building with a Danish modern retail space and two museums; Elverhoj Museum of History and Art and the recently renovated Wilding Museum.
Meanwhile, groups can participate in “Sweet on Solvang” programs, such as a pastry-making class from a fourth-generation Danish baker at Olsen’s Danish Village Bakery and a gingerbread house-decorating experience at The Solvang Bakery.
PageBreak
San Luis Obispo County
Santa Barbara County’s neighbor to the north boasts classic cultural standbys such as opulent Hearst Castle, a major group attraction, as well as an eclectic set of new offerings.
“We have some great iconic cultural buildings,” says Chuck Davison, president and CEO of Visit San Luis Obispo County. “The most important is Hearst Castle, the only castle in California, then we have two historic missions and two lighthouses, and in Atascadero, the City Hall was built in the 1800s as a small replica of the Capitol building rotunda in Washington, D.C., and that is a great venue for group events.”
On the arts scene, Davison points to Cal Poly Performing Arts Center as both a spectacular off-site venue and cultural experience.
“It’s an amazing structure and a great opportunity for people to see top-run cultural programs they normally would have to go to San Francisco or Los Angeles to experience,” he says, adding that the region is also home to a thriving small theater scene, such as the Little Theater in San Luis Obispo and the Melodrama in Oceano.
Meanwhile, the county’s wineries, encompassing more than 250, are a big part of the cultural experience, with group standouts like Edna Valley Vineyards near San Luis Obispo and Justin Winery in Paso Robles, which was just named winery of the year by Wine Enthusiast magazine. (In 2013, Paso Robles was named wine region of the year by Wine Enthusiast.)
The wine scene is now complemented by the growing distillery and craft beer movements.
“What we’re seeing now is wineries, particularly a handful in Paso Robles, that are producing their own craft spirits,” Davison says. “Re:Find [at Villicana Winery] is probably the biggest one now. They produce everything from lemon liquor to cucumber-flavored vodka to handcrafted gin.”
Others include Krobar at Grey Wolf Winery and Wine Shine at Turtle Rock Wines, as well as distilleries at Red Soles Winery and Opolo Vineyards.
Groups can arrange tastings at several of the distilleries, and some that are attached to larger wineries offer event space.
On the brewery scene, Firestone Walker Brewing Company in Paso Robles, which started about a decade ago, was the impetus for the hopping craft beer movement in the county.
“We now have this broad array of breweries from, Firestone to places like BarrelHouse Brewery, which started in Paso and is expanding to San Luis Obispo, along with some great smaller ones like Bang the Drum in San Luis Obispo and Manrock in Grover Beach, which opened about a year ago,” Davison says.
Tastings at the breweries are popular with groups, and the larger establishments, such as Firestone Walker, provide some of the county’s most unique off-site venues.
