Key Event Details
What: Classic Series and Defender Land Rovers, limited to pre-2005 vehicles (surely a Puma Defender will slip in)
Date: Saturday, October 11, 2025
Time: 09:00-11:00 (main event)
Where: Chase Palm Park (right next to the beach) in Santa Barbara, California
Vehicle registration: $150 (to campaign your truck; includes a large swag bag, invite to the cocktail party, and loads of priceless camaraderie)
Pedestrians: Walk-ins are free, and so is parking right along Cabrillo Blvd.
Website: thevineyardseries.com/santabarbara25
The Vineyard Series began innocently enough in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. Most annual events touting a fledgling 5th anniversary won’t raise anyone’s pulse. When the gatherings involve early Land Rovers of every configuration converging at a single locale, measurements using Earth’s orbit around the sun become irrelevant.
The Series East Coast gatherings initially sprang up at other locations in Massachusetts, Virginia, and South Carolina. Folklore has it, some Massachusettsan in a muddied Defender 90 blurted out: “Spread the Solihull gospel.” And so, bypassing the breadth of North America, as if some SAS troopers driving a Series IIA 109 “Pinkie” were tasked to carry the word as far as possible, the Vineyard Series then sprouted up 3,150 miles away, in Santa Barbara, California.
An attendee of the inaugural 2024 Santa Barbara Series event, I have driven the iconic marque’s variants in numerous locales for work, exploration, and on assignment for Overland Journal. My significant other has an LR4 (too new to display at the event), but I own an old-school Toyota Land Cruiser. One can’t just roll up to a Land Rover Series event in a BJ40 and expect the welcoming committee. So, I did the next best thing, bringing a Land Rover-owning South African buddy who could facilitate our entrée. Fortunately, my Jo’Burg buddy recently blew his Defender 110’s motor, allowing a solid cover story with ample room for deft embellishments and model-specific name drops, if our intentions were questioned. Once inside, the geek-o-meter needle pegged at redline as we found ourselves surrounded by Land Rover enthusiasts comparing notes, popping open bonnets, pointing at oil leaks, and sharing travel stories. I was sweating. Someone was surely going to ask me about a 6-volt Lucas three-position dim, flicker, and off switch, and they’ll suss me out. By chance, I spotted a British chum explaining to some nodding onlookers complications concerning his short wheelbase Series IIA restoration. Once he gave me the bro hug, I was immediately accepted as one of their own. Land Rover beach life is good.
General Info:
The Santa Barbara Series 2025 event, hosted by Scott Rouleau, Dylan Conway, and Cooper Murray, will highlight a distinguished collection of Land Rover Series I, II, and III models, as well as Defenders. Expect 30+ meticulously restored, concours-level examples, the obligatory well-patinaed survivors (my favorites), and bespoke Landies. Of course, the nearby non-event parking areas should be teeming with Land Rovers, proudly leaking oil on public roads.
(All event details and minutia, including the pre-event drive through Santa Barbara, and post-event brewery hangout, are posted on the event website)
Insider Intel:
After discovering one of the organizers also owns a Toyota Land Cruiser, I was able to leverage him for some ancillary event details.
An exclusive participant cocktail party is scheduled for October 10, in Summerland, California, at The Well. Intended for registered attendees, the evening will feature cocktails, light fare, and a preview of select Landies. I’ve been informed that if marque enthusiasts just appear, you’d be surely welcomed. I was also informed that The Well owner and host Shane Brown does own a non-running Land Rover.
Terry Pillow, proprietor of the Montecito-based Homer Maker shop (and a Land Rover owner), made the leather Series key chains for 2024. They were a big hit, and they’re back for 2025. Other sponsors will be present too. Event T-shirts, made by Vineyard Vines, should be available for purchase. At last year’s event, I left with plenty of swag to dole out to moping friends who stayed home, and I didn’t even have a vehicle in the lineup. It’s hard to come up with an excuse not to attend an event featuring these iconic expeditionary vehicles.
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