By far, the hottest topic in Montecito this week is the fear of the coronavirus and its rapid spread around the world. Anxiety is high because we are all being warned by the media that the coronavirus has not yet peaked. Social Distancing Wherever cases are reported, the cry escalates for “social distancing,” which means […]
Lea másAt the end of February, we issued a survey electronically to our membership, and the response rate was pretty strong and super-informative. We did this same thing in 2019, and it informed our work for the year. In 2019, our community identified as their top three priorities: 1. Safety and security: evacuations, emergencies, crime, and […]
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Mary Tonetti Dorra has lived the most fascinating, international life you could ever imagine. We are lucky she and her husband, the late Dr. Henri Dorra, professor of art history at UCLA and UCSB and author of many books, decided to live here in Santa Barbara over 50 years ago even though they also spent […]
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When I think of my friend Miguel, the word “brave” is what comes to mind. One reason is because Miguel is Native American, a member of the Santa Barbara Chumash Band, and the word “brave” refers to a Native American warrior. Although Miguel has never, as least as far as I know, gone to battle […]
Lea másIt was a nice coincidence when former veteran KEYT-TV weatherman Alan Rose, who now works at KOAA-TV in Pueblo, Colorado, took some time off from his vacation to Palm Springs to visit Disneyland. The complex’s California Adventure was hosting its annual food and wine festival, drawing media from throughout the country, including KEYT-TV morning anchor […]
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Bruce Heavin and Lynda Weinman opened the doors of their charming Padaro Lane beach house for a concert by veteran rocker Patti Smith, 73, which raised $100,000 for CADA – The Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse – which hosts its 34th annual Amethyst Ball “Motown at the Miramar” on March 27. The bustling beachside […]
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Opera Santa Barbara was on a high note when it performed Mexican composer Daniel Catan‘s Il Postino at the Lobero. The Spanish language production, based on the charming 1994 film, was conducted by maestro Kostis Protopapas and directed by Crystal Manich, who made her debut with the company three years ago with The Cunning Little […]
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It may have been written in 1868, but Louisa May Alcott’s Civil War classic Little Women continues to stand the test of time, with the first silent film of the work in 1917, George Cukor’s 1933 film with Katharine Hepburn, and last year’s Oscar nominated Greta Gerwig version with Meryl Streep, the seventh one made. […]
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American British-based writer Bill Bryson, 68, was in fine humorous form at the Granada, when he spoke about his extensive work as part of the UCSB Arts & Lectures program. Bryson, who first visited the U.K. in 1973 as part of a European tour, decided to stay after landing a job at a psychiatric hospital […]
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One hundred years to the very day the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Venezuelan maestro Gustavo Dudamel performed in a special CAMA – Community Arts Music Association – sold-out concert at the Granada. Both CAMA and the orchestra are celebrating centenaries this year, with the Big Orange musicians having made its Santa Barbara debut at the […]
Lea másThe Beach Boys make what seems like an annual local appearance – and why not, since Bruce Johnston and Christian Love live in town? – at the Chumash Casino Resort’s Samala Showroom on Friday, March 6. One night later on March 7, scions of the classic rock band Cream – Kofi Bake (son of drummer […]
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Every year, approximately 375 films vie for just 80 slots in The Banff Mountain Film Festival, the most prestigious international presentation of short films and documentaries about mountain culture, sports, and environment that takes place every October in Banff, Canada. During the festival, a jury chooses the best films in such categories as Mountain Sports, […]
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With SBIFF barely six weeks gone, the time seems ripe for more film fests to find local favor, as three different offerings arrive in town this week. The fifth annual Santa Barbara Jewish Film Festival since the event was resurrected by the Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara takes place March 11-15 at the New […]
Lea másOpera Santa Barbara presents Il Postino (The Postman), created by Mexican-American composer Daniel Catán, who is known for his sweeping, impressionistic music and bringing Spanish-language opera into the international repertory. Based on the Oscar-winning film of the same name, the story follows a poor and uneducated mail carrier who meets Chilean exile and poet, Pablo […]
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The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra was founded by renowned conductor-pianist Daniel Barenboim and the late Palestinian scholar/author Edward Said 20 years ago to bring together outstanding young Palestinian and Israeli musicians in a collaboration superseding national and cultural boundaries. The group, Barenboim has said, was conceived as a project against ignorance and aims to promote understanding […]
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It is fitting, of course, that a world-class culinary affair inspired by Julia Child would take place in Santa Barbara. The beloved chef summered on its shores as a child, and it was in the bucolic enclave of Montecito that she chose to spend her final years. Indeed, the Santa Barbara Culinary Experience, coming the […]
Lea másEnough with the platitudes and generic news. I, for one, would love to see this paper get back to its roots – LOCAL NEWS. How about an issue that affects all of us? People thoughtlessly leaving their dog’s business everywhere but where it belongs – in a BAG in YOUR trashcan. I cannot believe the […]
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Nothing has the ability to transport us to another time and place quite like the resonance of pure sound. From Aboriginal tribes who used the didgeridoo as a sound healing instrument to ancient Tibetan singing bowl ceremonies, for centuries people have used sacred vibrational sounds to quiet the mind and heal the body. Today the use of […]
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After about a decade of marriage, I came to the realization that my wife has a birthday every year. That was also about the time she told me that I had given her the same humorous birthday card four of those years in a row. She also showed me the three “unique” heart necklaces with […]
Lea másThe California Primary is finally over and our sincere congratulations go to Das Williams for the win. Now let’s get to some serious bridge-building – something we’re all too familiar with in Montecito. Hopefully these bridges will take less time to build than the one at Parra Grande. Am I pushing for a Kumbaya moment? […]
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