The Summer Solstice Parade this year is dedicated to Eric Lassen, who was the architect of community celebration and joy in Santa Barbara for more than three decades.
He also spent 25 years supervising the design, restoration, and construction of the Santa Barbara Bowl. A dilapidated structure dating to 1936, when the Bowl was built using funds from the Federal Works Progress Administration, the sandstone amphitheater had a leaking concrete slab and eroding bluffs, and crumbling infrastructure. Eric transformed the neighborhood problem in Quail Canyon into a world-class venue that helped to power Santa Barbara’s reputation as a city of the arts.
The years of negative publicity surrounding the blighted structure had the Board of Supervisors declaring the Bowl to be a surplus property during the 1980s. Their intent was to sell it and turn the outdoor amphitheater into a luxury condo development, closing the canyon to the public. Through Eric’s work and the leadership of the Bowl’s Board of Directors, the venue lost its derelict reputation and came to benefit the entire community. They began a ticket surcharge on events, all of which went to support arts programs throughout the county. Eric encouraged the Bowl’s active donations to youth education and arts programming at the school and neighborhood level.
Just as important to community artists in Santa Barbara’s neighborhoods and the general public was Eric’s support and vision of what the Summer Solstice Celebration could be. The Community Arts Workshop was created to build community through the arts and to foster free expression — a collaborative creativity visible this year at the parade on June 21.
Eric was my son Jethro’s mentor and friend. He helped Jethro create large floats with elaborate ensembles for five years, from 1994 to 1999. The Solstice Parade’s theme was “HOT” for Jethro’s first effort.
With Eric’s encouragement, Jethro designed and built a big red papier-mâché dragon. The girl who lived next door was costumed like a hot dog rotating on a motorized spit. His friends and aunt danced around the float dressed as condiments and utensils. Jethro was 13. Eric was 58.
As so many young people did through the Solstice workshops, Jethro learned construction and papier-mâché from Richard McLaughlin. Nan Parsons was the costumer, and Steven Lovelace choreographed the condiments. Randy Tico was in the room. These artists taught Jethro well, helping him form a future and an apprenticeship to the Santa Barbara chapter of the International Alliance of Stage of Stage and Theatrical Employees (IATSE) at age 19. He worked at all the theaters in town. The last night of his life he was on the technical platform above the seating at the Bowl for the show headlining Tom Petty, his hero.
After Jethro’s death on June 6, 2021, at 20 years of age, Solstice Executive Director Claudia Bratton initiated the Jethro Davis Junior Artist Residency Program. Eric was the first donor.
Eric’s bright smile, skill, and patience benefitted everyone and every project he worked on. Calm and steady, he mentored dozens of community artists young and older in the workshop and because he understood how to manage crowds and large audiences through effective design, the Bowl is a magical experience and the Solstice Parade ends happily in Alameda Park.
Eric was a builder and visionary in community arts. He communicated that to young people, like Jethro, allowing them to see their vision fulfilled. To further his efforts, donations can be made to the Summer Solstice Junior Artists Residency Program at solsticeparade.com.