Celebrate Osuna to bring Rancho Santa Fe community together on June 11

All Rancho Santa Fe residents are invited to come Celebrate Osuna on Saturday, June 11 at the Association-owned property home to a working horse ranch and the Osuna Adobe, a unique piece of history with ties back to 1831 as well as architect Lilian Rice.

The free community event will run from 3-6 p.m. featuring a Santa Maria-style barbecue, Latin-style live music, equestrian demonstrations and activities. There will be tours of the property and particularly tours of the adobe, which will be staged in different time periods. Cultural landscape specialist Vonn Marie May will speak about how the adobe fits into the overall history of Rancho Santa Fe.

Children will be able to make their own adobe bricks, a popular field trip activity at R. Roger Rowe School for several years.

Adults will be sample local craft beer and tequila in the barn; the tequila a nod to the Osuna Ranch’s history of growing blue agave.

Since fall of 2015, consultant Stacey Pennington has been working for the Association on the Village Vibe, gathering input on how to bring life back to the Village and making connections by hosting informal gatherings on the Village Green and larger events, such as Oktoberfest, a Halloween event and the Holiday Marketplace in December.

“We like to bring as many different parts of the community together by collaborating with different stakeholder groups and non-profits,” Pennington said.

Celebrate Osuna was the result of the Village Vibe working with the Association’s Osuna Committee and its fundraising arm the Amigos de Osuna, the RSF Historical Society and the RSF Garden Club, which has provided grants to enhance the Osuna’s landscaping.

Pennington said not only is the event an opportunity to showcase the Osuna property but also to highlight all of the “amazing institutions” within the community. If people aren’t members of these groups, they often don’t know a lot about them and what they do. Bringing everyone together allows all of the groups to expand their footprint and share what they do with a broader section of community members.

“An event like this connects all of the dots,” Pennington said. “Whether you’ve lived in the community one year or 50 years, it’s a chance to get together and get to know one another.”

While Pennington grew up in Rancho Santa Fe not too far from Osuna, it wasn’t until she began planning the event that she ever stepped foot on the property.

“To think of its role and the impact in the history of the Village, region and city, it’s just amazing that this treasure is among us,” Pennington said. “It will be really exciting for all ages of the community to be able to visit and appreciate that.”

The property is located at 16322 Via de la Valle.