In case you’ve never heard of a ShelterBox, it’s a big green box filled with lifesaving items for families the world over who have lost their homes due to a disaster. The ShelterBox headquarters are right here in Santa Barbara. They recently had a virtual fundraiser, livestreamed, and raised more than $250,000. Since 2000, ShelterBox […]
Instead of getting all decked out in long gowns and tuxes for the Military Ball, we donned our best drive-in attire to pay tribute to veterans and have a night at the West Wind Drive-In. “Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation (PCVF) is proud to be able to have a Veterans Day event for Santa Barbara since […]
What many alcoholics need in Santa Barbara is a new house, on a new street, in a new city, for a newfound recovery.” – Elmo Little Elmo was one of the leaders in establishing a rehab place in Santa Barbara. It is called New House and is 64 years old. The idea that alcoholism is […]
The first time I ever heard of tapas was when my Navy pilot husband, Cork, our two young children Kim and Dane, and I moved to Spain in 1969. The kids went to school on the Rota Navy Base but we lived on the economy. When Friday night came we didn’t go to McDonald’s (there […]
Christmas at the Casa: From Our Casa to Yours” will be a new experience this year. Usually Casa del Herrero is decorated with all the traditional trees and twinkling lights and is one of my favorite holiday events. This year it will be an amazing online Christmas boutique silent auction that opened November 1 and […]
When Pearl Chase was attending the founding meeting of Santa Barbara Beautiful (SBB) in 1965 she offered this quote from Abraham Lincoln, “I like to see a man proud of the place he lives.” And so Santa Barbara Beautiful was born. Arriving at the Music Academy of the West for the annual awards, I was […]
I first learned of the Blessing of the Animals when we lived in Spain. My daughter, Kim, came home one day and said, “We need to take Alegria (her horse) to the Blessing of the Animals.” Really? Okay! And that was the beginning of St. Francis in my life. Even though I heard he began […]
The Community Action Commission has just rebranded itself CommUnify and they do many things. Their dinner event at Firestone Vineyard had to be changed because of the pandemic. It was replaced by “The Good Ole Days” or a blast from the past – the 1950s. The location was the West Wind Drive-In movie theatre on […]
Girls Inc. of Carpinteria hosted its eighth annual “An Evening in Bloom” but with a different twist this year and the community “showed” up. Their bold goal was $250,000. So far they are just over $230,000 and still counting! The usually elegant affair at the Girls Inc. campus was quiet this year because of the […]
The Santa Barbara Rescue Mission is holding its annual fundraiser for the nineteenth time, this year titled “The Bayou Derby.” Again the Women’s Auxiliary, 70 women strong, wove their magic, only this year they were not at Rancho Dos Pueblos. This year, the party came to us. Don and I had Keith Mautino Moore and […]
Coast Village Road had an extra bit of excitement last Saturday morning. The Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation held a masked and social distanced event, partnering with Renaud’s Pattisserie and Bakery, which provided free coffee and yummy croissants, and Nurture Cottage and Mesa Burger, which provided the space for silent auction items (more than 100 online), […]
When I think of a state park I think of mountains and trees, not downtown Santa Barbara. Wrong! We have one in the middle of town. El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park sits between Anacapa and Garden streets on East Canon Perdido Street. The main part of the site is across the street […]
Across from the Bird Refuge (30 Los Patos Way), we have a pop up during October just in time for Halloween. Did you know there will be two full moons that month? Arlene and Milt Larsen from the Magic Castle Cabaret will be having a Halloween gift shop for the month of October, open Tuesday […]
Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA) recently held an opening reception for their latest exhibit, “Salt & Silver: Early Photography, 1840 – 1860.” There were over 100 seldom seen salt prints from the Wilson Centre for Photography in London with the Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, Connecticut. These are some of the earliest […]
According to the California Missions Foundation press brochure, “Nothing defines California and our nation’s heritage as significantly or emotionally as do the 21 missions that were founded along the coast from San Diego to Sonoma. Their beauty, stature, and character underlie the formation of California. Over time, many mission enclaves have developed into some of […]
The Santa Barbara Courthouse docents just announced a self-guided walking tour of the courthouse exterior starting Labor Day weekend using your cell phone or tablet or to view the tour on a computer anywhere with wifi. The courthouse interior remains closed except for official court business and docent-led tours are suspended due to COVID-19. Docents […]
The Santa Barbara Historical Museum is one of the cultural gems of our city with a collection of more than 80,000 irreplaceable objects and artifacts relating to Santa Barbara’s extraordinary past. For local history it’s a must. The museum complex was constructed in 1965 by the Santa Barbara Historical Society (now called Museum), which was […]
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. That’s what the Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation did. Because of COVID-19 their spring event was cancelled and also their fall fundraising event, the Gold Ribbon Luncheon. They have been operating since 2002 and hope their latest venture will add to the coffers. And it did. The […]
After eight months of negotiations, the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Barbara is joining the United Boys and Girls Clubs of the County. This is the first time since the first club was founded in 1938 that all the clubs from Carpinteria to Lompoc will operate together. This affects 5,000 kids along with 450 […]
My docent tour of the Santa Barbara Courthouse began in the Mural Room and proceeded through the second floor and out the back by the old jail. We crossed the grounds to the Hall of Records and ended up in front of the courthouse. As we walk along the path you see three plaques. The […]
As my docent Courthouse tour continues, we have exited the Mural Room and walked into the Lobby just outside the door on the second floor. We see the nine-by-twelve-foot painting of the landing of Juan Cabrillo which Dan Groesbeck had painted in 1924 for County National Bank. It was influential in his being chosen to […]
While we’re waiting for this pandemic to subside it might be fun to learn a bit about one of our five National Historic Landmarks, the County Courthouse. The others are the Mission, Casa del Herrero, the Raphael Gonzales Adobe, and the Santa Barbara Club. As I write this the Courthouse has a lock on the […]
From the olden days fast forward to the current days for the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum (SBMM). I remember when it first began and now is the 20th anniversary. With the pandemic, the Hawaiian themed party had to be cancelled. Instead supporters browsed and bid on online auction items to support SBMM children’s education program, […]
The wildest place in town has to be the Santa Barbara Zoo and certainly a child’s favorite. When I moved here in the ‘70s I thought the Child estate related to children because the Zoo was there. I soon learned it had once been Lillian Child’s property. When she passed away it eventually became a […]
The Cecilia Fund is Santa Barbara’s oldest philanthropic charity founded in 1892. It was due to host “Earl Gray & Chardonnay” at the Santa Barbara Club for its annual tea and membership drive until the pandemic. It’s named after St. Cecilia but was never affiliated with any church. Its founding members all played musical instruments […]
The Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network (WCN) is a wild and amazing place located at 1460 North Fairview in Goleta. The Spring babies are here! Wildlife doesn’t know about the pandemic. They just need to be fed and cared for. Because of the virus the Wildlife volunteer force is absent and the small staff has […]
Santa Barbara has five National Historic Landmarks – the Courthouse, the Mission, the Raphael Gonzales Adobe, the Santa Barbara Club, and Casa del Herrero. The Casa is a great tourist attraction and I have been lucky enough to be a docent there for twenty years. I would like to tell you about the origins of […]
There is a new book just published about Ganna Walska by her niece Hania Tallmadge called Portraits of an Era. The book was meant to coincide with an exhibit at Lotusland. But while we’re all still operating under stay-at-home orders, doesn’t mean we can’t take a moment this spring for some fresh Ganna Walska/Lotusland appreciation. […]
“This too shall pass!” Until it does, how about some armchair traveling. You don’t have to get on a cruise ship, just a boat, to get to Catalina Island. It’s the only one of eight Channel Islands to have an incorporated city, Avalon. “Twenty-six miles across the sea, Santa Catalina is waitin’ for me. Santa […]
I’ve been studying to be a docent at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse and learning historical facts. I never knew that the building at the back part of the Courthouse with the turret on top was once our jail. The first floor held the sheriff’s offices (it still does), the second floor was for the […]
“Welcome to our first ever production of an opera in Spanish,” said Opera Santa Barbara’s (OSB) artistic and general director Kostis Protopapas and board chair Joan Rutkowski. There was a sold-out audience at the Lobero to see Il Postino (The Postman). Some of you may remember the 1994 Oscar winning film which transferred the action […]
Direct Relief (DR) was a bustling place for International Women’s Day. Over one hundred folks gathered to learn and to help pack 2,000 hygiene kits for women. To begin the morning there was a baker’s delight of sweets and fruits of many kinds along with a variety of coffees all organized by Kelly Walker and […]
Little Women, a Classic Storybook Luncheon, was the theme of the Women United’s second annual luncheon at the Four Seasons Biltmore for United Way. Event chair Andrea Kahmann and her “gang” looked smashing in their Victorian dresses complete with corsets. Andrea commented, “I’m so glad we don’t have to wear these anymore.” The décor fit […]
The Cottage Health folks call it the “party of the year” and the Tiara Ball was certainly one of the most elegant. Tiaras and tuxes abounded. Formal is fun! It could have been a scene in a movie. There was no silent or live auction in sight thanks to the generous support of its patrons. […]
It was amazing how many people got up so early to come to breakfast with the Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation (TBCF) at 7:30 am at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort. It was the 6th annual Little Heroes breakfast to raise funds for their programs helping families who have a child struck with cancer. After […]
Domestic Violence Solutions (DVS) gave their 12th annual fundraising luncheon at the Loggia ballroom in the Four Seasons Resort – The Biltmore. The group was founded 43 years ago. In 2019 alone they answered 5,091 calls to their 24-hour crisis and information lines, provided 7,908 safe nights of shelter to victims of domestic violence, responded […]
Reunir is a Spanish word meaning “to gather”; to bring together friends whose collective passion, ideas, and commitment are making a legendary difference serving the land. The invitation wanted us to reunir with the California Rangeland Trust (CRT) at the Santa Barbara Club. Why the Santa Barbara Club? The club was formed in 1892 to […]
UCSB Arts & Lectures (A&L) keeps filling up theatres. The latest was a sold-out Granada to listen to columnist David Brooks. As he said, “I can jabber about anything,” and indeed he can. William F. Buckley Jr. heard him speak years ago and offered him a job. How good is that? But before the lecture […]
The ballroom of the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort was a sea of red, literally. It was time for the annual American Heart Association “Go Red for Women” luncheon when everyone is encouraged to wear red. And they do. Adding to that were fabric boas for all the committee members and blinking red heart necklaces […]
Friendship Center brought 2020 roaring in with their 21st Festival of Hearts “The New Roaring ‘20s” held at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort. The hotel was a sea of feather boas, sequins, fringe and headbands as the flapper ladies and a few dandy gentlemen sipped Fess Parker wines to the live music of A […]