Valentines Around Town and Other News Bytes
San Ysidro Ranch is setting the stage for romance throughout Valentine’s season 2026, inviting couples to celebrate love amid its iconic rose gardens and lavender-lined paths. Now through the end of February, the intimate Speakeasy at Plow & Angel glows with a dramatic
installation of 12,000 illuminated hearts, plush velvet booths, and live music, paired with a newly launched Valentine’s cocktail menu. Signature offerings include the Rose of Rio and Sakura Clover Club, alongside refined classics and indulgent dessert cocktails served late into the evening Valentine’s weekend.
On February 14, the Ranch’s legendary Stonehouse Restaurant will host exclusive Valentine’s dining experiences. A romantic three-course brunch features free-flowing champagne and live guitar on the garden patio, while the evening unfolds with an intimate four-course prix fixe dinner, enhanced by live music, a harpist, and a floral workstation. Together, these offerings create a month-long celebration of love infused with the timeless elegance and charm for which San Ysidro Ranch is known and celebrated.
– Feb 6, 11 am – 4 pm: Poppy Store at Montecito Country Mart Sweets & Trunk Show. Join for a Valentine’s Crafts event with Sally Splash.
– Feb 14, 11 am – 4 pm: Valentine’s Day at porch in Summerland. Afternoon event with three brands showing their wares in a pop-up store – Ojai Wild, Jessica Foster Confections, and Jodi G Jewelry.
Montecito Inn Room Updates to Start
After rumors on Next Door, Montecito Inn owner Danny Copus made a press statement to Noozhawk stating that, “Next month, the hotel rooms will undergo redecorating for more modern luxury design, so furniture, artwork, carpet, etc. The hotel’s 61 rooms will be updated in stages to continue to accommodate guests.”
‘Held in Motion’
Art lovers are invited to Held in Motion, an engaging artist talk featuring Clara Berta and Chenhung Chen at Rubenstein Chan Contemporary Art (410 Palm Ave., Unit B3) on Saturday, February 7, at 1 pm, with a reception to follow. Visiting from Laguna Beach, Berta will discuss her intuitive process behind large-scale abstract works and share how her art has appeared in Super Bowl commercials and an award-winning documentary. She describes building each piece through layered movement until reaching balance between color, form, and space.
Los Angeles-based artist Chenhung Chen will present her 2020 Vision collage series. Inspired by the liberating of birds from captivity during the pandemic, the works use materials such as barcodes and everyday lockdown detritus. She will also discuss her water-inspired abstract paintings, which capture the ever-changing energy, texture, and emotion of the ocean. The afternoon promises insight, inspiration, and celebration.
RSVPs are encouraged at rubensteinchan.com/rsvp.
Reminder: Lifeguard Tryouts for Carp Beach & Pool
It’s open call for lifeguards at Carpinteria Beach and public swimming pool. Tryouts start February 7 through March 7. The beach tryouts consist of a 500-yard continuous swim, and the pool requires a 300-yard continuous swim. Interviews are online. The lifeguard coordinator role is for experienced lifeguards to mentor and supervise the City of Carp Aquatics Division.
411: https://carpinteriaca.gov/become-a-lifeguard
www.governmentjobs.com/careers/carpinteriaca
Reminder: Celebration of Life for Great Horned Owl Max
Max, the beloved Great Horned Owl, has passed away; he was 27 human years old. Max served as an Eyes in the Sky Avian Ambassador for the SB Museum of Natural History. A celebration of his life will take place on Saturday, February 7, 3-5 pm, at the museum’s Fleischmann Auditorium. Max remained in captivity his whole life, as he had fallen from his nest at an early age and was “imprinted with humans” – thus putting his life in the wild at risk. Adopted by the museum, Max fostered orphaned Great Horned Owl chicks, helping them return to the wild, and played as well a key role in the museum’s education programs.
411: https://tinyurl.com/SBMNHGreatMax
Reminder: Santa Ynez Trail Superbowl Hike
The Montecito Trails Foundation and Backpacking Barista host a Superbowl Hike of the Santa Ynez Trail on February 8, 8 am – 12 pm. All hike volunteers will have craft coffee during the hike, and everyone has a chance for a Superbowl square giveaway run by the Los Padres National Forest (LPNF). Everyone can enter the square online with a $20 donation to win one of four prizes. All proceeds go directly to much-needed revamp of the LPNF public info website, www.HikeLosPadres.com, which provides updated info on water availability, GPS, camp and trail conditions, and intel on planning any public adventure in the LPNF. The website was launched 2013 and sorely needs to be updated!
In other big news, majestic Highway 1 through the Big Sur Coast has reopened after three years of closure following the January 2023 storms.
411: https://lpforest.org
Reminder: EIR Draft Meeting on
The issues around the construction of Carpinteria’s Surfliner Inn continue. The draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is available for public review prior to the slated public EIR meeting to be held on Wednesday, February 18, 5:30pm at Carpinteria City Hall. If it’s anything like the public meeting that gathered for the Carp bluffs development, we can expect a huge crowd in person and online, with questions taking up most of the evening hours. The public may comment on the draft EIR through March 9 at 5 pm. The report is available in hard copy at City Hall, 5775 Carpinteria Ave., and the Carpinteria Community Library, 5141 Carpinteria Ave.
It is also available online:
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