Isla Vista Community Celebration

By Robert Bernstein

Isla Vista is a community with history and social ties. A reunion was held this past weekend to bring together several generations of creators of Isla Vista community. But it was not just a reunion to remember old times. It was also a convention to inform about current progress.

Here are my photos and a video.

The gathering began at Goleta Beach Park on Friday with a potluck barbecue and music making:





And we were visited by an osprey holding a fish!



Saturday was the main day with a gathering in Anisq’Oyo Park for more music





And a performance by the Gorilla Theater performers



Who learned that the key to progress and success is community:





That sense of community was explored further at the evening gathering at Hillel



Starting with a dinner catered by the Isla Vista Food Coop





After dinner began a series of mini TED type talks about what is happening in Isla Vista today to build on the legacy that began in the 1970s and before.

Current Food Coop manager Melissa Cohen talked about the success of buying the Food Coop building.



How the Food Coop is a financial success, not needing subsidies or grants. Although many of us were surprised that the IV Market owner helps them out at times in other ways. Like storing turkeys before Thanksgiving.

An earlier generation of Food Coop creators and staff listened with interest, notably past manager Jeff Walsh



Jonathan Abboud is a powerhouse organizer of the current generation in Isla Vista. He is Board Vice President at Santa Barbara City College. He is a past Associated Students President at UCSB. He is also currently involved in Isla Vista governance through the Isla Vista Community Services District.



He talked about the Isla Vista Community Development Corporation, founded in 1974, that manages funding for community projects.

Isla Vista Community Services District Board President Ethan Bertrand is another young powerhouse who talked about current and future governance plans for Isla Vista.



The biggest challenge? The District was created with the vote of the people in Isla Vista. But they barely fell short of the 2/3 requirement for a tax to fund the district! It is hard to get many projects done without that funding, so they will have to try again.

It was Supervisor Das Williams who pushed hard in Sacramento when he was Assemblyman to create self governance in Isla Vista. He did this through the creation of the Isla Vista Community Services District. Das Williams grew up in Isla Vista in a family with little money and resources. He was grateful for the programs that helped him and he talked about his eagerness to give back.



One of those programs that helped Das Williams was Isla Vista Youth Projects and Arthur Kennedy talked about how it has grown and thrives today, helping young people of all ages:





Frank Thompson was around in the old days and is still active with the Isla Vista Housing Coop



Their first building was Newman House, purchased in 1981 and named for Patti Newman-Crandall. Patti was at previous reunions, but could not make it to this one.

Frank was excited to talk about the upcoming vote to dramatically expand the Housing Coop with the planned purchase of a 58 bed former sorority building. As with the Food Coop, the Housing Coop provides essential services in a financially sustainable manner. Yet it is not just a business. It is a true community in every sense.



The Isla Vista Neighborhood Clinic is one more creation of the 1970s that continues to serve the community with health services.

Following these presentations, Jeff Walsh delivered “The Isla Vista Slide Show”. An actual two-projector slide show covering the history of Isla Vista from its creation in 1928 but mostly focusing on the turbulent era in the 1960s and the creative era of the 1970s.

Most notable: The many conflicts of interest between Santa Barbara and UCSB business people and administrators and the way Isla Vista was treated and developed. These people profited by cramming residents in at extremely high density with no sidewalks or other normal amenities. They profited by buying land at critical moments and at the same time making administrative decisions that would increase their profits. They lived on vast tracts of land while they condemned their tenants to sub-standard conditions.

Ideally in the future this presentation will be available in a format that can more easily be shared.

The gathering wrapped up on Sunday with a brunch at the home of Frank Thompson and Carrie Topliffe



A notable feature of their home is a swimming pool that was hand dug by Frank Thompson with only picks and shovels! Here Tami Baliman Walsh enjoys a dip:



I think we all were gratified by how much the community of Isla Vista has contributed to creating enduring and unique institutions. Institutions that are a model for other communities. And community institutions that continue to thrive under the passionate guidance of new generations!