Los Angeles herald., 1908-04-20
SANTA BARBARA
AWAITS FLEET
CITY is DECKEC IN SAILORS
HONOR
ODD FEATURES ARRANGED BY
RESIDENTS
Civic League in Charge Of the Decora-
tons Announces Completed Plans,
and Arrival of Warships Is
Eagerly Awaited
Special to The Herald.

Special to The Herald.
SANTA BARBARA, April 19.-The
Civic league of Santa Barbara, which
has in charge the arrangements for
the reception and entertainment of the
Atlantic fleet at this point during the
five days of the visit of the men of
the navy to the beautiful little city by
the sea, has completed all details for
the affairs which bids fair to estab-
lish a record-breaker in the annals of
the Mission city.
Santa Barbara, on account of its
wealth of blossoms. has long been re-
garded as the flower wonderland of
the west, and, with an idea of varying
| the reception that shall be accorded
| the naval men at other points along
| the coast, Santa Barbara has planned
to receive it's guests with a deluge of
| floral offerings and pageantry.
grand ball on the last evening of the
stay of the ships, at which time the
most beautiful matrons and maidens of
the society set will cast aside conven-
tionalities and, regaled in the garb of
some flower, will present an original
dance under the effects of vari-colored
calciums, the "dance of the flowers"
which in years gone by has made the
glory of Santa Barbara byword for
the tourists and the visitor from other
parts OF California.
Peaks Will Be Decorated
Preparations have been perfected
for a magnificent illumination of the
high peaks that stand as sentinels on
the north and east of the city for
fifty miles. This feature has been
placed i'm charge of Uncle Sans for
esters. and the fifty men have been
supplied with tons of red fire, sufficient
to keep the heavens aglow for hours
on the night of the arrival of the big
ships Saturday April 25.
The ships VIII be met by Mayor e.
J. Boeseke, representing the city, and
| by that gallant old naval hero, Rear
| Admiral Bowman H. McCalla,
u. S. N. retired. chairman of the
| Civic league, and. by other officers of
the league. Following the formal
greeting an informal reception will be
given officers of the fleet at the Pot
ter hotel and at the various clubs of
the city, including a CHEEKY welcome
at the new clubhouse of the Country
club at Montecito.
The floral parade will extend two
miles. This will be by far the most
pretentious affair of its kind this city
has ever attempted. and will be most
spectacular, as the flowers of the city
were never known to be so prolific as
is lHt case lIllS StdSOlls
Another spectacular feature of the
events of the evenings during the stay
of the fleet will be the open air public
| dances.
viii Expend $4,000
Santa Barbara has planned her re-
ception with a lavish hand, and the
| $4,000 to be expended by the Civic
league will be done with an eye single
| to magnify the hearty welcome TO the
men and officers of Americas armada
in a manner that shall entirely elm
mate all commercialism. Santa Bar
bara has bid the sailors come as
guests and every minute of the stay
of the ships will be devoted to recrea-
tion and entertainment.
Santa Barbara has already received
| assurances from many parts of the
| state that large crowds will be here not
alone to see the fleet and witness the
gorgeous parade of the flower-be-
decked equipages, the "dance of the
flowers" and the original "dance Of
spring" created by Miss Ynez Dibblee,
a beautiful Castilian belle of this city,
when a half hundred tots will imper-
senate butterflies and insects of flow
erland, and with the end in view of
| entertaining unquestionably the larg-
est crowd that has ever gathered in
this city the civic body has asked the
| people TO throw open tnelf nOlneS 10
| the visiting multitude.
Committees have canvassed half of
the city up to this time, and already
nearly 5000 rooms are available ex-
elusive of the accommodations at the
hotels, private boarding houses and
lodging houses which are estimated to
be capable of taking care of as many
more.
AS an extra precaution to insure the
utmost satisfaction to all visitors. the
committee has in reserve accommoda-
tions for 1900 at Ventura and proposes
to run special evening trains to that
place, If necessary Provisions have
been made for seating 10000 on the
tribunes in front of which the battle
of flowers" will be enacted, and ac-
commodations will be provided for
viewpoints for 10000 persons who do
not care to secure reserved seats in
the tribunes. ----. .---.----.-..