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AFFORDABLE GOLF MEETS FINE WINE IN THE SANTA MARIA  VALLEY
May 10, 2008—In a recent issue, Golf Digest ranked Monarch Dunes Golf Club third on its list of America’s Best New Golf Courses Under $75, yet another testament to the Santa Maria Valley’s remarkably affordable and diverse golf experiences on California’s Central Coast. Golfers can now visit www.californiagolfvacation.com to view the latest golf packages offered by several area hotels. More>>

SANTA MARIA STYLE BARBECUE SIZZLES IN NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
April 25, 2008—Santa Maria Style Barbecue gets star treatment in the May 2008 issue of Chile Pepper magazine as the subject of an eight-page feature story titled “Red All Over: The Quintessential California ‘Cue.” More>>

SANTA MARIA VALLEY SET FOR SIZZLING BARBECUE SEASON
February 15, 2008— In an age of fickle tastes and culinary fads, Santa Maria Style Barbecue continues to prove that good taste never goes out of style. Now, with spring and summer on the way, the Santa Maria  Valley is once again preparing for a sizzling barbecue season. To help feed this flavorful phenomenon, the Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce and Convention & Visitor Bureau is offering an expanded new version of its Santa Maria Style Barbecue booklet, inclusive of recipes, restaurant recommendations and more. More>>

NEW BOOKLET REVEALS MAGIC OF SANTA MARIA VALLEY WINE COUNTRY
November 28, 2007—Experiencing the wondrous flavors of the Santa Maria Valley wine country just got easier with the release of a new touring booklet produced by the Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce and Visitor & Convention Bureau. The free 16-page glossy booklet is available directly through the visitor bureau, and is also viewable and printable at www.SantaMaria.com. “This piece is a significant extension and expansion on our previous wine touring literature, and it’s ultimately a reflection of intensifying visitor interest in our local wine tasting experience,” said Gina Keough, manager of the Santa Maria Valley Visitor & Convention Bureau. More>>

ARIZONA TRAVEL MARKET ZEROES IN ON SANTA MARIA
September 25, 2007—The trip from the Sonoran desert to the Guadalupe dunes is about to get a lot easier, cheaper and shorter as Allegiant Air launches nonstop flights between the Phoenix metropolitan area and Santa Maria on October 26, a new route that unites the natural splendors of the Santa Maria Valley with the resort lifestyle of Arizona’s Valley of The Sun. Scheduled for Monday and Friday afternoons, the flights offer fares as low as $79 each way. More>>

LAUNCH YOUR BALL LIKE A ROCKET AT MARSHALLIA RANCH GOLF COURSE
July 1, 2007—Titan missiles aren’t the only things launched at Vandenberg Air Force Base on California’s Central Coast, where golf balls soar above one of the nation’s most acclaimed military golf courses—and where golfers even schedule their tee times to coincide with rocket launches. “Just last week, we had a lot of people come out to watch the launch of an Italian satellite,” said Paul Feckovic, the director of golf at Marshallia Ranch Golf Course. “It was quite a sight.” MORE>>

KIDS GET THE SCOOP ON POOP AT SANTA MARIA  VALLEY DISCOVERY  MUSEUM
May 5, 2007—Number two is now number one at the Santa Maria Valley Discovery  Museum with the launch of the “Whose Poop Is That?” exhibit, which teaches children to identify birds by the nature of their “splay” or, for lack of a better word that makes children squeal, poop. Who knew that flying dung could be so much fun? The exhibit joins “Trouble in The Tar Pits” and “Storm Water Santa Maria Style” as one of three new attractions at the 13,000-square-foot museum. MORE>>

STARS OF SANTA MARIA BARBECUE SET TO SHINE IN 2007
March 1, 2007—The 150-year-old tradition of Santa Maria Style Barbecue is set to shine in 2007 as the food and wine scene on California’s Central Coast continues to gain momentum. “The growth of our local wine industry is helping write a new chapter for Santa Maria Style Barbecue,” said Gina Keough, manager of the Santa Maria Valley Visitor & Convention Bureau. “More and more people are coming to enjoy wine within the entire regional taste experience, including fine dining, fresh local produce and Santa Maria grown food products.” MORE>>

FROM DEPP TO DEMILLE, NATURE STARS AT GUADALUPE DUNES
November 28, 2006-- When Johnny Depp and his pirates recently invaded the Rancho Guadalupe Dunes Preserve in the Santa Maria Valley, they walked in the footsteps of pharaohs. Indeed, from the third installment of Disney’s “Pirates of The Caribbean” to Cecil B. DeMille’s 1923 silent epic “The Ten Commandments,” the towering dunes on California’s Central Coast have proved irresistible to the silver screen and everyday visitors alike. MORE>>

GROUPS GET “SWEET” TREATMENT IN SANTA MARIA VALLEY
October 25, 2006—Nestled between the Pacific shoreline and majestic vineyards on California’s Central Coast, the Santa Maria Valley unfurls as a feast for the senses—and as a place where groups can kick up a good time at local farms and ranches. Here, where fine wine, fresh strawberries and savory barbecue are found in abundance, the Santa Maria Valley Visitor Bureau offers a variety of online tools and personalized services that make it easy for groups to plan and enjoy a successful visit to the valley. MORE>>

COME OUT AND COOL DOWN WITH DIRECT FLIGHTS FROM LAS VEGAS
June 23, 2006-- The short trip from Las Vegas to Santa Maria on California’s Central Coast just got easier with the addition of new Wednesday evening flights by Allegiant Air, which complement Friday and Sunday flights launched in January. “We are extremely pleased to extend the Allegiant brand of low-fare, nonstop jet service to the Central Coast community,” said Tyri Squyres, director of corporate communications for Allegiant Air. “We are confident that the area's myriad of activities, beautiful scenery and pleasant weather will be attractive to the Las Vegas market.” MORE>>

NEW WEB SITE INVITES GOLFERS TO STAY AND PLAY IN THE SANTA MARIA VALLEY
June 22, 2006—Some of the best kept secrets in California golf are now revealed as the Santa Maria Valley Visitor & Convention Bureau (VCB) offers a new web site showcasing the diverse courses, stunning scenery and affordable rates that define the Santa Maria Valley golf experience—which is at its finest amid the temperate summer and fall seasons. MORE>>

PILOTS ENJOY “RED CARPET” RUNWAY IN SANTA MARIA
June 1, 2006— The runway at Santa Maria Airport might as well be made of red carpet as private pilots enjoy one-of-a-kind amenities here in the heart of California’s Central Coast wine country—including free parking, walk-up dining and special lodging discounts. “I’m not aware of anything else like it in California,” said Mark Sullivan, sales director for the airport’s 184-room Radisson Hotel, which includes the Vintner’s Grill and Atrium Bistro right next to the runway. MORE>>

SANTA MARIA STYLE BARBECUE STILL SIZZLES AFTER 150 YEARS
April 14, 2006—In an age of fickle tastes and culinary fads, Santa Maria Style Barbecue continues to bring more than 150 years of tradition to the table, its popularity growing as more and more visitors embrace what Sunset magazine once called “the best barbecue in the world.” Indeed, Santa Maria Style Barbecue—originating from the picturesque Santa Maria Valley in coastal Santa Barbara County—endures as one of California’s truest regional cuisines, boasting a locally discovered cut of beef cooked over indigenous red oak and served with native pinquito beans. The ingredients, methods and history of Santa Maria Style Barbecue are now detailed a complimentary new brochure offered by the Santa Maria Valley Visitor & Convention Bureau. MORE>>

SANTA MARIA VALLEY IS “CALIFORNIA’S SWEET SPOT”
February 27, 2006—The Santa Maria Valley Visitor & Convention Bureau this month unveiled a new tagline and logo as part of a larger branding and marketing effort to better position the valley as a leading visitor destination on the Central Coast. The new tagline, “Santa Maria Valley—California’s Sweet Spot,” is a multidimensional phrase that celebrates the valley’s key attractions and attributes, as well as its geographic position in the heart of the Central Coast. MORE>>

TAKE A SWING AT AFFORDABLE GOLF IN SANTA MARIA VALLEY
September 30, 2005—To enjoy the refreshing mix of attributes that defines the Santa Maria Valley golf experience, all you have to do is step up to tee amid the rolling foothills along scenic Highway 1 in northern Santa Barbara County. Here, stunning scenery, affordable rates and relatively uncrowded fairways combine for an unparalleled day on the links. MORE>>

CHILDREN’S MUSEUM TRIPLES IN SIZE FOR THREE TIMES THE FUN
June 28, 2005— Daylight floods through a chartreuse-colored wall of tiny windows revealing a tyrannosaurus rex, a shipwreck jungle gym and a “Mars Terrain” climbing wall. And that’s just the beginning of the new and improved Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum, a 13,000-square-foot facility that has tripled in size since moving across town to the site of the historic art deco Coca Cola Bottling Company, and the only hands-on children’s museum in Santa Barbara County. MORE>>

AL ROKER GETS A TASTE OF SANTA MARIA STYLE BARBECUE
April 25, 2005—The legendary flavors of Santa Maria Style Barbecue will be showcased on The Food Network on Tuesday, May 17 as “Roker on The Road” airs a segment with local barbecue master Billy Ruiz, proprietor of Cowboy Flavor, LLC in Los Alamos. The show, hosted by The Today Show’s Al Roker, invites viewers to “join Al Roker on the road as he takes his love of food and his fascination with people across America.” MORE>>

SANTA MARIA VALLEY GETS “SIDEWAYS” WITH PINOT NOIR
February 10, 2005—Here in northern Santa Barbara County, where reliable Pacific breezes orchestrate one of California’s longest winegrowing seasons, the delicate and temperamental Pinot Noir grape wins many disciples—including Miles, the delicate and temperamental protagonist in the hit move “Sideways,” which celebrates the wines of the Santa Maria Valley. MORE>>

SOARING FLIGHTS, AMAZING SIGHTS ARE NOW IN SEASON
January 4, 2005—Tourists aren’t the only ones flocking to the beautiful Santa Maria Valley this winter and spring. Indeed, here in the heart of California’s Central Coast—along what is known as the Pacific Flyway and the Central Coast Birding Trail—the skies, beaches and lagoons are abundant with resident and migratory birds. And now, to help sort out all the sightings in this birder’s paradise, the Santa Maria Valley Visitor & Convention Bureau is offering a free Santa Maria Valley Birding Map. MORE>>

SANTA MARIA WINE COUNTRY IS WINTER WONDERLAND
December 1, 2004—Stash the snow shovel, toss the mittens and grab a wine glass—it’s wintertime in the Santa Maria Valley. Indeed, here on the northern perimeter of the famed Santa Barbara County wine country, there is perhaps no better season to partake in the pastime of wine touring, and to find out why wine authority Robert Parker recently predicted that “California’s Central Coast will rule America…” MORE>>

FROM CRUDE OIL TO FINE WINE, AGRICULTURE TO AEROSPACE, SANTA MARIA HONORS 100 YEARS OF PROGRESS AND PROSPERITY
August 24, 2004—More than 130 years ago, before even the railroad reached the fertile soils of the Santa Maria Valley, four farmers envisioned a new and prosperous city on California’s Central Coast—but even they could not have foreseen the extraordinary developments that awaited the City of Santa Maria. where the spark of an oil strike ignited a community that would later be famed for its fine wines, world-class barbecue, aerospace legacy and more. Now, approaching 100 years since its incorporation in 1905, the City of Santa Maria is launching a 12-month Centennial Celebration. MORE>>

SANTA MARIA VALLEY IS BUILT FOR SPEED
August 9, 2004—Already famed for its fine wines, exquisite strawberries and legendary barbecue, the Santa Maria Valley now adds Harleys and Choppers to its list of main attractions as the Speed Channel features Santa Maria’s recent 2004 All American Motorcycle Madness on two upcoming shows. MORE>>

SMOKIN’ HOT EXPOSURE FOR SANTA MARIA BARBECUE
July 19, 2004—Punctuating a season of sizzling publicity, the Santa Maria Valley’s famed Santa Maria Style Barbecue earned a new fan last week as celebrity chef Bobby Flay enjoyed a barbecue luncheon hosted by the Righetti family, whose culinary roots reach deep into the region. The Food Network’s BBQ with Bobby Flay will air the resulting segment on Santa Maria Style Barbecue this fall. MORE>>

FROM STRAWBERRIES TO STALLIONS, LAVENDER TO LUFFA, NATURE’S BOUNTY NOW UNVEILED ACROSS SANTA MARIA VALLEY
May 28, 2004—Here in the heart of California’s Central Coast, nature’s bounty is evident at virtually every turn, with vineyards and strawberry fields unfurling over rolling hills, and picturesque ranches unfolding along country roads. Yet there is even more than meets the eye in the Santa Maria Valley, as revealed in the new “Santa Maria Valley Ranch & Agriculture Tours” complimentary reference packet available to groups free through the Santa Maria Valley Visitor & Convention Bureau. MORE>>

DO THE DUNES! HOLLYWOOD HISTORY, EXOTIC ECOLOGY AND BREATHTAKING SIGHTS CONVERGE AT GUADALUPE DUNES
April 28, 2004– Here in the heart of Santa Maria Valley and the Central Coast, one of California's "hidden" treasures is also one of its largest, spanning 18 miles of shoreline, 1.400 individual species of flora and fauna, and numerous lagoons and lakes–not to mention towering sand dunes that famed director Cecil B. DeMille used as a breathtaking backdrop for his 1923 silent epic "The Ten Commandments" MORE>>

BADDEST BARBECUE IN THE WEST SET FOR SIZZLING SUMMER
March 24, 2004—With unseasonably high temperatures reaching 85 degrees across California’s Central Coast during the second week of March, the “Santa Maria Style Barbecue” season enjoyed an early jumpstart this year, offering a taste of things to come as locals rounded up the red oak and fired up their grills. Indeed, here in the heart of the Santa Barbara County wine country, the 150-year-old tradition of regional barbecuing reaches a crescendo each spring and summer, resulting in what Sunset Magazine once called “the best barbecue in the world.” MORE>>