Village Vibe events bring community together

The Rancho Santa Fe Association continues to work toward energizing its village.

The Association’s consultant, Stacey Pennington, was brought on in 2015 to lead the Village Vibe and build on the Association’s belief that the community would benefit from strategic engagement and village activation. On Sept. 1, she gave a report to the RSF Association board on the Vibe’s progress to date.

“It’s far from just party planning,” Pennington said. “That’s the easy part. The more thoughtful part is actually how we involve the community members and work to gain their feedback.”

From September 2015 to March 2016, the Vibe held biweekly gatherings on the Village Green in front of The Inn. The pop-up events featured socializing, information-gathering, food trucks and activities such as kids’ golf with the Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club. At the Vibe events’ peak, 120 people were in attendance.

The Vibe also held larger seasonal events such as the Oktoberfest, a Halloween event that had kids engaging with village businesses and this June’s Celebrate Osuna.

“Nothing tops Celebrate Osuna,” said Pennington of the event at the Osuna Ranch that featured a collaboration between the RSF Historical Society, the Osuna Committee and the RSF Garden Club. “This is really a great case study that gets at the heart of what we’re doing. The event itself was a huge success. The attendance was tremendous, the cross-section of our community that attended was heartwarming. It was really amazing to see everyone from young children to folks who have lived here for decades.”

Over the summer, the Vibe has hosted “Summer Gatherings” such as an event on the Country Friends patio and a RSF Garden Club gathering at RSF Bistro. The next gathering will be held at the RSF Historical Society on Sept. 22 and there will be a RSF Library Guild concert on Sept. 29.

The Vibe also plans to be very active at the upcoming Rancho Days community celebration, to be held Oct. 1-9, and on Nov. 19 is planning a gathering at the Arroyo property.