Social gridlock reigned at the East Haley Street wine bar Uncorked when Santa Barbara TV game-show host Rebecca Brand marked the 18th anniversary of her 40th. Rebecca, who turned a small business hosting dinner parties and teaching French impressionist oil painting at her home into a culinary and travel TV show empire, has just returned […]
King Charles II was nowhere to be seen when Montecito interior designer Penny Bianchi hosted a bustling Restoration party at her charming Provencal-style home, next door to the sprawling estate of TV talk show titan Oprah Winfrey. The property suffered considerable damage in the mudslides after the Thomas Fire, so much so that when I […]
On a personal note, I remember Broadway icon Hal Prince, who left us for more heavenly pastures aged 91. Prince was the driving force for many of the Great White Way’s most memorable productions, including Cabaret, West Side Story, Sweeney Todd, and Phantom of the Opera, the longest running stage show in Manhattan. In his […]
Anais Pellegrini has joined the Santa Barbara Symphony as Vice President of Advancement. Born in Malta and raised in China, Australia, and Hong Kong, she began her career in fundraising at New York’s Katonah Museum of Art in 2005 and has since worked for a range of non-profit organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League, the Community […]
After Queen Elizabeth‘s granddaughter Princess Beatrice dining at Lucky’s with her boyfriend, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, it was the turn of former President Barack Obama‘s daughter, Malia, and her beau Rory Farquharson, to check out the area. The twosome, who both attend Harvard and have been dating for three years, were spotted at the Ojai Valley […]
A positive plethora of presidents, past and present, descended on the Hilton Beachfront Resort for the sold-out 71st annual La Reception del Presidents, kicking off Fiesta Week in grand style. The fun fête in the Plaza del Sol, short on speeches and long on tradition with dancing and music, attracted more than 330 local dignitaries, […]
It was all a very hush-hush affair when Belle Hahn, daughter of the late billionaire art dealer Stephan Hahn, who died in 2011, celebrated her 35th birthday with a night on the tiles. More than 120 guests gathered on the rooftop of the MOXI Museum for the top secret bash, with Belle thinking she was […]
Having won polo’s 55-year-old America Cup three times in the last four years, it seems appropriate that former Santa Barbara Polo Club president and banker Dan Walker should now be sponsoring the three-week annual 16-goal tournament that runs through August 11. To mark the occasion, he hosted a bustling reception at his Farmers & Merchants […]
School students had to face the music at the Music Academy of the West. More than 300 youngsters from United Way of Santa Barbara County’s Fun in the Sun scheme attended a concert at Hahn Hall as part of the Up Close and Musical program, now in its eighth year. The fun event, a collaboration […]
It was a record turnout when the Santa Barbara Polo Club held its annual Belmond El Encanto Robert Skene Trophy final between undefeated BenSoleimani.com, last year’s runners up, and banker Henry Walker‘s FMB Too! Henry tied the game with only a few minutes of the hotly contested 16-goal match remaining. Just as overtime loomed, Felipe […]
Polo patron Justin Klentner and his interior designer wife Amanda Masters opened the doors of Klentner Ranch, their sprawling Carpinteria estate, for a 160-guest Summer Social fundraiser for the Polo Training Center of Santa Barbara, which was expected to raise around $100,000 to support activities and upgrade the facility’s training arena, including lighting for nighttime […]
Lotusland, the 37-acre botanical nirvana created by the late opera singer Ganna Walska and dubbed one of the ten most beautiful gardens in the world, took on a decidedly oriental flavor when it celebrated Memoirs of a Garden for its popular sold-out annual 500-guest gala, which was expected to raise around $500,000. The floral fest, […]
Food From The Heart, a Santa Barbara charity which serves 160 elderly clients a week using 60 volunteers, hosted a thank-you bash at the Pilgrim Terrace senior living facility to mark its 25th anniversary. With an annual budget of just $270,000 and hydroponic vegetables grown on 120 produce towers by the Pilgrim Terrace Foundation, more […]
An elaborate Montecito chateau inspired by the Alhambra palace in Granada, Spain is up for sale for $35 million. The custom-built estate has Moorish, Spanish and Italianate architecture, with tall arches and mosaics. French owner Kinka Usher, a director of TV commercials, who has filmed spots for Nike, Taco Bell and Pepsi, says he was […]
Santa Barbara’s 31-year-old Wildlife Care Network hosted a sunset soirée to launch a capital campaign to raise $5 million to build the Central Coast’s only wildlife hospital between Morro Bay and Los Angeles. Already $500,000 has been donated to the organization, which has a $600,000 annual budget, and has so far rescued 2,920 animals this […]
As the 72nd Music Academy of the West summer festival nears its conclusion, the Santa Barbara Bowl was the place to be on an idyllic evening for a community concert with the historic London Symphony Orchestra and the Academy Festival Orchestra under conductor Daniel Harding, music director of the Orchestre de Paris. The sold-out show, […]
It was an event to dye for when the Alzheimer’s Association hosted its sixth annual Blondes versus Brunettes flag football game at the Garden Street Academy. The popular sports fest, which attracted more than 600 spectators and in past years has raised more than $450,000 for the cause, featured the Blondes led by Natalie Ford […]
A record 305 guests at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum for La Fiesta del Museo got a warm reception, but maybe too warm. President Bill Reynolds says the museum’s current central conditioning system, installed in the 1990s, does not cool the air sufficiently and is “inadequate” for the institution’s needs in keeping innumerable historical artifacts, […]
Allen Mask, chief of staff to the CEO and Vice President of product marketing and collaborations at Sonos, is a new member of the board of directors for the Santa Barbara Symphony as it marks its 66th season. “With an unparalleled education program reaching more than 10,000 students each season, the board plays a key […]
A 400-acre estate in the Santa Ynez Valley that belonged to the late actor James Garner is up for grabs. Garner, star of the TV series The Rockford Files, who died in 2014, commissioned the property, Rancho La Zaca, in the ‘90s with architect Hugh Newell Jacobsen designing a 8,000 sq. ft. house showcasing the […]
To the Bluewater Grill, with my trusty shutterbug Priscilla, when the popular eatery launched its new Maine tasting menu, which runs through the end of August. Having been a frequent visitor to Dark Harbor on the island of Isleboro in Penobscot Bay over the years, I was transported back to my sailing days with Marshall […]
Lotus lovers were out in force as Lotusland, the delightful botanical paradise, celebrated its annual LotusFest! in idyllic weather. More than 20 wineries and breweries poured their products for more than 300 guests, as they explored the late opera singer Ganna Walska’s 37-acre floral nirvana. Among those having a blooming good time were Tom and […]
It was a very in-tents occasion when Montecito dynamic duo, Justin and Mindy Mahy, hosted a boffo bash to mark their New Zealand company Kopu Sparkling Water’s high goal challenge at the Santa Barbara Polo Club. Justin’s mother, Pam, and father, Arthur, flew in for the occasion from Auckland on the country’s North Island, for […]
Prepare to be oar struck with the latest exhibition at the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum. Dorene White, a resident of Montecito for more than 30 years, and other members of SCAPE – Southern California Artists Painting for the Environment – will be exhibiting their colorful work. Dorene, a past president, is often seen at work […]
Montecito entrepreneur and philanthropist Lynda Weinman and husband Bruce Heavin are selling their Hollywood Hills home for a bargain $21.995 million, $5 million below the original purchase price. The dynamic duo bought the 12,500 square foot, three-level, six-bedroom, eight-bathroom property, which was originally on the market for $29 million, in the achingly trendy “bird streets” […]
Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics launched its Healthy People, Healthy Communities campaign with a sunset soirée at the charming rustic home of Santa Barbara Foundation president Ron Gallo. There are eight clinic locations in the network and it is hoped $20,000,000 can be raised over the next five years, including $6,750,000 for a new Westside Clinic […]
The Stonehouse, the San Ysidro Ranch’s award winning eatery, has added another accolade to its long list. Under the direction of Todd Smith, wine director, the restaurant’s robust collection has just earned the Wine Spectator Grand Award for the fifth consecutive year. The underground wine cellar houses nearly 12,000 bottles of the most premium and […]
Ensemble Theatre Company closed out its 40th anniversary season with a special birthday cabaret, preceded by a fun fête, chaired by Gwen Baker, on the New Vic’s stage for VIP donors. Culinary whiz Michael Hutchings‘ catering company provided the comestibles for the 150 guests prior to the entertaining show, which featured appearances from past ETC […]
Montecito artist Joan Rosenberg-Dent is exhibiting her award-winning porcelain sculptural art in a few galleries downtown, following her works selected by the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art earlier this year. I met her on Friday, July 5 at her opening at 10 West Gallery on Anapamu, a contemporary multi-artist showcase location. There Joan is showing […]
On a personal note, I remember Italian film director Franco Zeffirelli, who has died in Rome aged 96. I met the Oscar nominee a number of times with New York socialite Mary Mead Carter, a good friend of the helmsman of the 1968 film Romeo and Juliet, and the 1999 gem Tea with Mussolini, starring […]
After “kinging” as George III in the Village Fourth with Justin Bieber watching, for the seventh consecutive year with Dallas dynamo Charles Ward, Santa Barbara Polo Club promoter as George Washington, in his Mercedes convertible driven by British author Deborah Richards, I dashed off to the harbor to board former Santa Barbara Yacht Club commodore […]
Hamburgers and hot dogs ruled the menu when the Santa Barbara Rescue Mission held its 11th annual Independence Day barbecue in the parking lot at its newly renovated property on East Yanonali Street. More than 300 homeless guests enjoyed 560 hamburgers and hotdogs, and 27 pounds of macaroni and potato salad, while quaffing hundreds of […]
Local culinary whiz Michael Hutchings is about give Gordon Ramsay a run for his money! Michael is launching a new cooking show, The Santa Barbara Chef, on the Cox cable network, filming in the Flying A film complex, the original West Coast silent movie studio. The first 30-minute show debuts next month, featuring gourmet recipes […]
It was a magical mystery tour when Friends of Santa Barbara Public Library hosted a Kinsey Trolley Tour, Talk and Treats, for more than 100 fans of the late local bestselling author Sue Grafton, known for her alphabet series of books with private investigator Kinsey Millhone. Grafton, a former Hollywood screenwriter who died two years […]
Former International adventure racer, Santa Barbara’s Heather Bond is reuniting with an old friend, TV mogul and producer Mark Burnett, after more than two decades in what is described as the world’s most grueling expedition race, The Eco-Challenge. The ten-episode show, which will be held over three weeks in Fiji in September and airing on […]
It was a trip down memory lane for polo patriarch Glen Holden and his wife, Gloria, when for the first time in six years, they hosted a Family Fun Day at their former Gehache Ranch, now owned by Santa Barbara Polo Club president, John Muse. The fun event was so oversubscribed, with more than 500 […]
On a personal note, I remember legendary reporter Steve Dunleavy, who died at his Long Island home aged 81. Sydney-born Dunleavy was a hard drinking, heavy smoking conservative columnist for Rupert Murdoch‘s New York Post, famed as a door-kicking reporter who introduced the U.S. to tabloid TV with the show, A Current Affair. He was […]
It was kid’s play when Poppy Marché, a high-end children’s clothing emporium that just opened in the Montecito Country Mart, showcased its colorful wares at a pop-up Coral Casino bash. The founders – Heather Rosenfield and Jennifer Belushi, wife of actor Jim – joined young fans noshing on the grilled cheese bites and yogurt fruit […]
Social gridlock reigned at fashion designer Kendall Conrad‘s Montecito Country Mart store when she hosted a book launch bash for writer Julia Chaplin‘s 191-page The BoHo Manifesto, An Insider’s Guide to Postconventional Living. Brooklyn, New York-based Julia has already written and produced three books – Gypset Style, Gypset Travel, and Gypset Living, and has founded […]
Nearly a half-century after its founding, the Santa Barbara Writers Conference was alive and well when the latest event was held at the Hyatt Hotel, with the five-day event concluding with a glittering dinner where Grace Rachow, director, and Loriel Armstrong presented awards. Exceptional workshop leaders and speakers included Catherine Ann Jones, Dale Griffiths Stamos, […]