“Where do you park the USS Santa Barbara?” Not at the Santa Barbara Carriage Museum, apparently. But sailors from the namesake warship came ashore with a pot of chili christened “Anchor Drop,” ready for action at the Santa Barbara Navy League’s eighth annual Chili Cook-Off. Eighteen teams put their best beans forward, from Navy and […]

“Years from now, I hope people will have their own stories about this building,” said Cheryl Goldberg, founding contributor to The Muse, and Music Academy of the West board member. From fashion to fortissimo! The former Forever 21 at 901 State Street is getting a $55 million cultural makeover. The Academy celebrated the groundbreaking of […]

“I just thought I had died and gone to heaven,” recalled Bernadette Peters, recounting a childhood memory at Santa Barbara’s Granada Theatre. As a little girl, she explored her parents’ record collection one Sunday morning while they slept, selecting the album with the prettiest cover: Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel. As the “Carousel Waltz” began, she […]

“Every mile was in service of the kids,” said Ray Link, chairman of Rally4Kids, as the signature fundraiser for United Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Barbara County shifted into high gear for its most successful year yet. On October 9, drivers departed Carpinteria for a 225-mile adventure through Ojai, the backcountry and high desert, […]

Montecito’s plant people came out in force for Lotusland’s Exceptional Plants Auction, where collectors, growers, designers, and garden devotees spent the afternoon bidding on more than 200 rare and remarkable specimens, comparing favorites and talking shop beneath the garden’s famously exotic canopy. The savvy sale ranged from collector treasures to drought-tolerant and climate-resilient plants suited […]

Only in Malibu could the truth sound more theatrical than the fiction. Beneath a barn on Barbra Streisand’s Malibu estate really is a private shopping street, complete with cobblestones, an antique shop, doll shop, gift shop, vintage clothing boutique, and even a sweet shop. The catch? Nothing is actually for sale. Streisand already owns everything. […]

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” – Mary Oliver It was a fitting question for the 14th annual Heroes of Hospice luncheon at the Hilton Santa Barbara, where #1 New York Times bestselling author Cheryl Strayed joined Hospice of Santa Barbara supporters to reflect on […]

“If I had the ability, I would buy every one of these.” California Rangeland Trust CEO Michael Delbar had barely arrived at the Faulkner Gallery before the walls of sweeping ranchlands had him smitten. “They have captured so well the open space, the life, the beauty of these amazing landscapes,” he said. Delbar drove down […]

“Grief is just the receipts for love,” Scott Galloway told a sold-out Arlington Theatre during an evening that began with masculinity and modern America, but ended somewhere more personal. Presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures, the NYU professor and New York Times bestselling author joined Talk Easy Host Sam Fragoso for a conversation inspired by […]

“He’s my security,” Kevin Costner joked, smiling as he gave Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown a friendly pat on the back. It was a lighthearted moment at Costner’s oceanfront “Field of Dreams,” where nearly 4,000 guests gathered over two nights for ONE805LIVE! – a weekend of music, philanthropy, and appreciation for the men and […]

“I’m blown away by the amount of people and the excitement,” Margaret O’Leary said, looking around her packed new Coast Village Road boutique. From County Kerry to San Francisco to Montecito, Margaret has come a stylish distance from the single handloom she began with in a San Francisco bedroom in 1990. And apparently, Montecito wanted […]

“I came here 45 years ago to this community, and I’ve always been amazed at the quality of all of you and how you keep this place special,” Bo Derek said. “Thank you so much for keeping this place beautiful and keeping it going.” It was an appropriately heartfelt note for the Granada Theatre’s 10th […]

“That’s really the mark of a successful event – that everybody here believes in what we’re trying to do, believes in the vision,” said Dr. Nicole Callahan, board president of State Street Ballet and co-chair, with Alex Nourse, of its Victorian Vogue gala at the Music Academy of the West. The evening was deliciously Dracula-forward, […]

“I think that for me, being able to see this community come together, especially in such a historic place in Santa Barbara, it could not be more beautiful here,” said Elizabeth Poett at the Community Environmental Council’s Green Gala at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum. “There is so much room for hope, and with this […]

“Do you think we could plant grapes here? I said, ‘I don’t know, but I’ll sure find out.’” For Kiah Jordan of Montecito’s Impact Family Office, the inaugural Bounty Benefit Dinner at Rosewood Miramar came with history. Years before White Buffalo Land Trust acquired the 1,000-acre Jalama Canyon Ranch from Wayne Siemens and David Grotenhuis, […]

Saturday went to the dogs; Sunday belonged to the cars. Coast Village Road turned an ordinary September weekend into a two-day neighborhood promenade during Coast Village Week, pairing four-legged charm with four-wheeled glamour. Saturday’s Dog Days Photo Booth brought families, children and camera-ready canines to the village. Dogs posed with nautical props, oversized sunglasses and […]

“Let the garden speak to you. Then write from your heart.” At Lotusland’s Members Appreciation Day, that invitation became the spirit of the afternoon as nearly 200 members, supporters, trustees and neighbors gathered across the Garden’s 37 acres. Presenting Sponsor Leslie S. Thomas was also celebrating her birthday. A cake appeared, the crowd sang “Happy […]

“Four years ago, Kenny said to me, ‘I want to have a pickleball tournament.’ I was like, ‘Oh my! What is that?’” That was Unity Shoppe Executive Director Angela Miller Bevan’s introduction to pickleball, courtesy of longtime supporter Kenny Loggins, who promptly taught her how to play. Now in its second year, “Pickleball in the […]

“This town is amazing,” said Grassini Family Vineyards CEO Katie Grassini, looking around a tasting room filled with supporters raising their glasses for the Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation. The gathering at Grassini’s El Paseo tasting room brought together TBCF Director Brittany Wazny, Development Director Julia George, events director Kirsten Stuart and friends of the organization […]

“It’s your club, not theirs, not anybody else’s, not the billionaire next door. It’s our club,” Henry Walker told the tuxedoed crowd at Birnam Wood Golf Club, setting the tone for the black-tie Pacific Coast Open Ball, celebrating the patrons who make Santa Barbara’s high-goal polo season possible. The room was dressed nearly as smartly […]

“There are only two ways to live your life: one is as though nothing is a miracle, the other is as though everything is a miracle,” goes the line attributed to Albert Einstein. At the Santa Barbara Zoo, one tiny gibbon baby is making a convincing case for the latter. The pairing of white-handed gibbons […]

Julia Child spent her final years in Montecito. Her words could almost serve as a blessing over Ancora Osteria, where Chef Luca Crestanelli has built a restaurant, and a life, around much the same philosophy of taking the chance, working hard, and doing things properly. Luca was 23 when a friend from his summer restaurant […]

“It’s all about appreciation, sportsmanship, loving and caring for your horse,” said Mindy Denson, summing up the spirit of Saturday’s children’s tournament at the Polo Training Center. And there was plenty to love. Tiny tots, little riders, proud parents and patient ponies filled the field for an afternoon that felt less like high-goal polo and […]

“It was close! A big battle. It’s an amazing feeling to win,” said Most Valuable Player Nachi Viana after Klentner Ranch captured the Pacific Coast Open Sunday afternoon, defeating La Karina 16–9 at the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club. For Jake Klentner, the victory still felt unreal. “It’s just amazing. I still can’t believe […]

“My favorite part of the game is always the beginning,” said Sy Zahedi. “You have that nervous energy, and then once the ball is thrown in, everything becomes slow motion.” That calm arrived just in time at the Pacific Coast Open, where Zahedi Chogan staged a roaring comeback to edge Mrs Momma Bear 11–10 in […]

“We are so lucky to have an incredible world-class zoo right here in our little community,” said Janet Garufis, president and CEO of Montecito Bank & Trust. “The benefits are generational. Children who grew up coming to this zoo are now bringing their own children here. It crosses generations – children, parents, grandparents.” Those generations […]

“We used to tell the joke about our island – we save money on fencing.” For Dr. Tim Vail, the punchline was obvious: his family’s cattle ranch had the Pacific Ocean for a boundary. By 1902, Vail & Vickers owned the entire 53,000-acre Santa Rosa Island, where broad grasslands and perennial streams supported a vast […]

“Who let the dogs out?” joked Jane Lynch, as the classic tune played out over the crowd. At the Rosewood Miramar Beach, the answer was more than 40 contenders, taking over the Great Lawn for the fifth annual “Best in Show,” benefiting Santa Barbara Humane. Celebrity hosts Jane – star of Christopher Guest’s cult classic […]

“The Music Note Gala was a stunning success.” So said honoree Cheryl Goldberg – and “stunning” suited an evening of Broadway royalty, golden-hour cocktails and philanthropy at the spectacular Bella Vista Estate in Summerland, raising a record-breaking $1.2 million dollars for their music education and community outreach programs.  The sold-out Music Academy of the West […]