If you drive through Los Olivos this month, there is a good chance you will see the first rainbow painted crosswalks in all of Santa Barbara County.
“We are standing in the center of Los Olivos where we are witnessing a beautiful act, done by Ramsey Asphault and Jeff and Bruce Wueste, where they worked with county supervisor, Joan Hartmann to get these crosswalks painted rainbow to celebrate Pride Month,” said Kiel Cavalli, president of Rainbow House Inc.
On Wednesday, a representative with Supervisor Hartmann’s office told KSBY since Los Olivos is an unincorporated community, the Pride Month displays were permitted through an approved application with the County’s Transportation and Roads department.
In the time since the crosswalks received their splash of color, it has been the talk of the town.
“I came down to walk my fur babies and we had to come and see the new crosswalks,” said Jill Effling, who came down to Los Olivos from Santa Maria to see the displays.
“It is unity, it is all of us coming together for one love. To know that we are all the same inside and equally made. It is just a beautiful thing,” added Jamie Effling, manager at Panino’s in Los Olivos.
Meanwhile, roughly ten months after a pride flag was stolen from a Los Olivos churchand burned last August, those we spoke to say the rainbow crosswalks carry a higher meaning.
“With everything going on right now, I feel like it just brings a lot more equality to everyone, and it definitely brings a lot more color into the valley,” said Korina Jimenez, a cashier at the Los Olivos General Store.
“To see kind of a full circle moment of having something so terribly done to the community with the pride flag being stolen and burned, to now where we are here to celebrate just by crossing the street in pride and see colors that represent who we are,” Kiel Cavalli said.
The crosswalks on Grand Avenue and Alamo Pintado will adorn their rainbow colors up until July 1, but Jimenez says the displays have already made their impact.
“It is great to just come out, see that in the morning and know that I am in a place where I am welcomed,” she told KSBY.
Supervisor Hartmann’s office says local company Ramsey Asphalt Construction donated their services to paint the crosswalks, adding that fellow local business, J-Wueste applied for the displays through the Los Olivos Chamber of Commerce, where it was then submitted to the County for review and approval.
