City College’s sixth annual Spring Forward foundation gala was in style… Bond Style… at the sprawling campus’ Great Meadow, where 280 guests raised more than $500,000. The monies go to a number of programs, including school scholarships, book grants, and emergency funds, plus moves to four-year universities. An Aston Martin DB5 was the star of […]
Award-winning architect Robert Ooley has just completed a detailed guide to our Eden by the Beach. “It has 538 locations covering 35 styles and has taken me two years to put together, including detailed research,” he told 45 guests of the Montecito Bank and Trust’s MClub at a lunch at the historic Santa Barbara Club. […]
The Junior League of Santa Barbara just celebrated the end of its centennial year donating $100,000 to 16 nonprofits to mark the occasion at a dinner for 90 guests at the University Club. A gavel passing ceremony marked the inauguration of incoming president Jessica Hawley with the Sustainer of the Year Award being presented to […]
Gil Shaham, former concertmaster of the Santa Barbara Symphony, wrapped the current season at the Granada this weekend with works by Brahms, Dvořák’s “Symphony No. 8” and Tchaikovsky’s “Violin Concerto.” The Sunday concert had Shaham duetting with his wife Adele Anthony and the West Coast premiere of Avner Dorman’s “A Time to Mourn and a […]
Eight talented young musicians and vocalists took home a total of $36,000 in scholarships after competing in the annual music contest organized by the Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation. A professional panel of judges selected first and second place winners in the Adult Instrumental, Junior Instrumental, Adult Vocal and newly added Junior Vocal categories. Fourteen finalists […]
Actor Ryan Reynolds appearing on Carpinteria TV host Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend mentioned Meghan Markle and her new lifestyle brand As Ever. Reynolds’ late father Jimmy had worked as a food broker – a middleman for jams and tiny containers of yogurt. Conan, who hosted this year’s Oscars, suggested he worked for Prince Harry’s […]
State Street Ballet marked the end of its landmark 30th season at the Lobero with Brilliance: Balanchine, Arpino, and Beyond with the Opera Santa Barbara Orchestra under conductor Kostis Protopapas. The triple bill was a true culmination of a wonderful year with George Balanchine’s Who Cares? being the first performance of a Balanchine work in […]
CAMA – the Community Arts Music Association – closed its 106th season’s International Series with the Los Angeles Philharmonic led by beloved conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen, joined by French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard at the Granada. The concert hailed maestro Salonen’s 16th appearance conducting for CAMA over the past three decades – 12 with the L.A. Phil […]
MOXI, The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovations, hosted its annual spring brunch + learn event, an inspiring and informative showcase of MOXI’s educational programs and commitment to providing access opportunities for all youngsters and families. The event, co-chaired by Angie McGrath and Sabina Vohra-Miller, focused on the benefits of early childhood education and STEAM […]
Montecito actor Rob Lowe is at work on his third book. The working title for his next tome is What Do I Know? A Guide to Living which he hopes will land him in the self-help section at the bookstore. “It’s my truisms, what I found to work, what I found to not work, what […]
Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club opened its 114th season on Sunday, kicking off an action-packed schedule with exciting tournaments and events that will showcase some of the world’s most talented equestrians. With a record number of teams and players participating, including a Number Ten rider – the top accolade in the sport – this […]
English-born artist Don Louis Perceval is the focus of the latest exhibition at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum with His Vision of the West, which runs through August 17. Curated by Marlene Miller, Perceval’s interests were mainly the colorful people and cultures native to the desert realms. Perceval made Montecito his home for the last […]
It was all very in-tents. The Hilton rotunda was socially gridlocked and covered in a marquee when licensed psychologist Dr. Carrie Towbes, and lifelong conservationist George Burtness were selected as the 82nd Persons of the Year, with the Santa Barbara Foundation as the organizing sponsor – and legacy the occasion’s unspoken theme. Burtness’ father was […]
The Amazons were out in force at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum for Women United’s Blue in Bloom lunch co-chaired by Alice Hampton and Julie Heider-Gray. The fun fest, which raised more than $20,000 for United Way, featured two keynote speakers Dr. Melissa Drake, a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist in Santa Barbara, and Diana Rigby, superintendent of […]
Celebrating its 40th anniversary, the Santa Barbara Foundation hosted its annual Hope Awards at the historical museum, where a record 232 guests raised more than $120,000, a figure then matched by a local foundation. One honoree was the late Margie Yahyavi, who as executive director of the foundation from 2010 to 2022 transformed it from […]
The Duke of Sussex, 40, lost his battle for taxpayer funded police bodyguards when in the U.K. – putting him on the hook for nearly $2 million in costs. Harry was told his “grievance” over security was not enough to successfully change the decision. The Riven Rock resident believes he’s been “singled out” and “badly […]
Montecito Bank & Trust’s MClub went to the dogs when 45 guests attended a Lunch and Learn event at Santa Barbara Humane, which has helped 8,502 animals get adopted since 2020 with more than 360,000 veterinary services performed. The four-acre site in Goleta, a former walnut farm, has now started a major campaign to improve […]
Angels Foster Care hosted its 12th annual Al Fresco Afternoon for 170 guests on the Ocean Lawn at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara, raising more than $150,000 for the popular nonprofit with founder Meichelle Arntz and Montecito Bank & Trust head honcho Janet Garufis as Mistresses of Ceremonies. Supporters gaining their wings included Sarah Powers, Monique Limón, […]
To the Gail Towbes Center for Dance for a sneak peek of State Street Ballet’s upcoming Lobero Theatre show The Brilliance Program: Balanchine, Arpino and Beyond – celebrating the company’s 30th anniversary with an electrifying finale. Featuring Balanchine’s Who Cares?, Arpino’s Birthday Variations, and a world premiere by Kassandra Taylor Newberry, a choreographer known for […]
Santa Barbara Symphony under veteran maestro Nir Kabaretti debuted its new eponymous chorus at the Granada with Brahms’ “German Requiem” which took the composer nearly three decades to complete. Joining the voices was the Westmont College Choir in Brahms’ poetic work from the Bible and the Psalms along with Gustaf Mahler’s haunting Rückert-Lieder. Soloists were […]
The racketeers were out in force when the Santa Barbara School of Squash celebrated its fifth annual gala, The Magic of SBSOS, at the charming La Arcada complex. A record 150 guests attended the Courthouse Distillery raising more than $40,000 with founder Robert Graham, former U.S. No. 1 squash player, saying that a further squash […]
A roaring ‘20s speakeasy soirée at the historic El Paseo restaurant – commemorating the centennial of the 6.3 earthquake that destroyed or heavily damaged our Eden by the Beach – was a sell-out in support of nonprofit programming dedicated to preserving and educating the community about the city’s history, resilience and cultural heritage. The earthquake, […]
Meghan Markle has revealed the reason she opted out of filming her Netflix show With Love, Meghan at her $14 million Riven Rock estate. The Duchess of Sussex, 40, appeared at the TIME100 summit in Manhattan last week speaking about her lifestyle brand As Ever, as well as her culinary series which premiered on the […]
Montecito, described as a gripping, all-new audio soap opera, premiered this week and will be bringing explosive drama, betrayals, and unforgettable characters to our ears every week. The new show presents a dark paradise where shattered romances, hidden family secrets, and scandalous affairs hide behind manicured hedges and the shadows of towering palm trees. Each […]
After nearly 30 years, award-winning Montecito artist Mara Abboud is set to launch her new stage show Hidden Angel and invited 100 friends to a reading at the rustic Alhecama Theatre. The two-hour musical – a gritty production about five bag ladies on Manhattan’s Lower East Side in the early-1970s infiltrated by a guardian angel […]
Alvin Ailey’s American Dance Theater is described as “an American cultural treasure” and after two performances at the Granada, part of the popular UCSB Arts & Lectures series, one can see why, as it brought its unique blend of contemporary and classic movement to the cavernous stage. Showcasing a dazzling range of cultural influences and […]
Montecito rocker Kenny Loggins is hosting his eponymous “Pickleball in the Danger Zone” tournament for the eighth year to raise monies for the Unity Shoppe. Formerly known as the American Riviera Classic Pickleball, the tournament has grown into what is considered the largest amateur athletic event in our Eden by the Beach, with more than […]
Montecito actor Rob Lowe was not at all amused while strolling in Beverly Hills when the driver of a Hollywood tour bus mistakenly identified him as sitcom legend John Stamos. He said “What the f–k” to the camera filming him before marching up to the orange and pink bus packed with film and TV fans. […]
Navy blue blazers, gold buttons and Nantucket red pants reigned supreme when the Santa Barbara Yacht Club marked its 153rd opening day as the second oldest sailing Mecca on the West Coast. Club chef Owen Hanavan laid out a heaping display of food – plank halibut, Eggs Florentine and Benedict, sizzling sausages and more – […]
Fans of Handel’s Messiah were prepared for a fun dual language perspective of the beloved oratorio when Santa Barbara Choral Society performed at Trinity Lutheran Church with a full 21-piece orchestra in both English and Spanish. The new dual language version of Handel’s classic included a new arrangement from the Bach Collegium San Diego conducted […]
Owls, a New York-based string quartet collective, wooed the audience at the Music Academy of the West’s Hahn Hall with their original, visceral performance, part of UCSB Arts and Lectures. The entertaining foursome, which unusually included two cellists rather than two violinists – Gabriel Cabezas and Paul Wiancko, violist Ayane Kozasa, and violinist Alexi Kenney […]
Russian pianist Yefim Bronfman, 66, playing in our Eden by the Beach for the first time in more than 25 years, showed off his technical brilliance to the full. Bronfman, who studied at Juilliard in New York and the Curtis Institute of Music, was part of the CAMA Masterseries, having won an Avery Fisher Prize […]
Athleticism ruled supreme when Circa Humans 2.0 – created by Yaron Lifschitz and the Australian Circa Ensemble – performed at the Lobero as part of the popular UCSB Arts & Lectures series. The innovative new world show featured tightly woven choreography that was exhilarating, primal, and deeply engaging as the ten performers moved expressively in […]
Mark E. Trueblood, who has guided Community Arts Music Association (CAMA) of Santa Barbara to new programming heights over the course of his 27-year tenure as executive director and later president, will retire once the current concert season concludes. Elizabeth Alvarez, currently CAMA’s director of development, will succeed him as managing director of the venerable […]
Blue Origins New Shepard rocket launched on Monday with its all-female crew, including Santa Barbara singer Katy Perry, CBS News anchor Gayle King, and Lauren Sanchez, fiancée of Amazon mogul Jeff Bezos. It soared through the Texas sky with the tony triumvirate and three other crew members enjoying a few minutes in space before returning […]
Legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma reigned supreme when he performed to a sold-out crowd at the Arlington, part of the popular UCSB Arts & Lectures series. The Paris-born musician talked about his fascinating life dedicated to music, and played a number of his favorite pieces. Yo-Yo’s career has been multifaceted and a testament to his belief […]
Writer, actor and pianist Hershey Felder excels with the Ensemble Theatre Company’s latest world premiere production Rachmaninoff and the Tsar at the New Vic. Known internationally for his solo composer plays, for the first time he appears opposite another actor – British-Italian Jonathan Silvestri – in the role of the doomed ruler of Russia, Tsar […]
It was clearly worth the wait when the London-based Chineke! Orchestra made its West Coast debut at the Granada, part of CAMA’s 106th season. The talented company’s 2020 tour had been unfortunately cancelled in the wake of the COVID pandemic, just weeks before its scheduled concert. A champion of diversity in classical music, Chineke’s vibrant […]
The verdict is in on Meghan Markle’s long awaited and rebranded As Ever raspberry spread. “It might be time for her to ‘concentrate’ on a new formula,” is the withering opinion by Jane Herz in London’s Daily Mail, my former employer, who managed to get her hands on a $9 7.6-ounce jar ($14 for “keepsake […]
It was an evening of decidedly high note – not to mention a few in between – when Opera Santa Barbara hosted its annual La Dolce Vita gala for 155 guests dying to be in the right aria at the Montecito Club, raising around $150,000. The gala committee was co-chaired by Karen Knight and Carol […]