By Miriam Raftery

May 5, 2019 (Santa Ysabel) – You’re invited to bring Dad to a Father’s Day pit barbecue on June 16 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the historic 200-year-old Santa Ysabel Indian Mission (23013 State Route 79 in Santa Ysabel).  Contests will be held for best cowboy hats, boot and mustaches.  There will also be entertainment, vendors, a 50/50 raffle, barbecue ($10 a plate), beer, wine and sodas.

Tickets will be sold at the door, or in advance after mass.  Interested vendors can call (760) 765-0810 or (858) 335-3313. 

“Everybody forgot the Mission. But we are making a comeback. Our goal is to recognize and reconcile long-time differences between the Native, Anglo and Hispanic populations by restoring the Mission and bringing back historical community events like the annual Harvest Festival and Fiesta.” -- Gil Koda, parish finance councilman, volunteer

By Miriam Raftery

August 31, 2018 (Santa Ysabel) – A Herculean effort is underway to restore the Santa Ysabel Indian Mission (23013 Hwy 79) in time for its bicentennial celebration on Sunday, September 16th,^, 2018 at 10 a.m..  The multi-cultural celebration will include an outdoor mass and brunch with the Bishop, Native American bird singers and drummers, a flyover by the Navy’s Blue Angels, military salutes, multi-cultural dance groups, local celebrities, a historical wagon train show, tours of the mission and museum, Native speakers and historians, an arts and crafts show, and more.

Two other long-time community traditions are also being revived: the Harvest Festival on Saturday, October 20^th and a Fiesta in June 2019. There will also be a golf tournament on September 8^th at the Warner Springs resort as a fundraiser for these ambitious plans.