Uber philanthropist Sara Miller McCune opened the doors of her Montecito home, just a tiara’s toss or two from the San Ysidro Ranch, to host a dinner, along with her publishing company, SAGE Publications, for a 60th anniversary benefit for UCSB’s Arts & Lectures program featuring CNN host and Washington Post columnist Fareed Zakaria. The […]
Despite a last-minute change of venue because of heavy rain, the Dream Foundation’s 25th anniversary Flower Empower lunch at the Page Youth Center was a blooming success raising around $160,000 for the popular charity, which has fulfilled 32,000 dreams for terminally-ill adults since its launch. The 230-guest 9th annual bash was originally scheduled in the […]
It was our Eden by the Beach in Cinemascope when Visit Santa Barbara hosted its annual general meeting and tourism celebration Transformative Journeys in the ballroom of the Rosewood Miramar with 300 guests seeing a colorful visual presentation on a gigantic 8′ by 32′ LED wall. “We’re back!” declared Kathy Janega-Dykes, CEO, saying our tony […]
Ubiquitous charity emcee and auctioneer Andrew Firestone has joined the inn crowd! Andrew and his business partner, Jess Parker, who run five-year-old StonePark Capital, have just opened their fourth hotel property in San Luis Obispo, the La Quinta Inn and Suites by Wyndham. The three-story, 102-room hostelry, formerly the Monterey Hotel, has a sky bridge […]
Montecito Rotary Club has awarded ten $1,250 scholarships to high-performing City College vocational and career technology students. “For more than 25 years, the club has made scholarships available, with the total amount of support provided during this time exceeding $120,000,” says club foundation president, the aptly named Cathy Cash. “The club membership believes in the […]
Santa Barbara equestrian Karen Jenkins, 80, riding her quarter horse gelding Homer, who was celebrating his 20th birthday, made history in a Century Club ride at the Earl Warren Showgrounds. The rare event is designed for horse and rider who achieve the combined age of 100. Karen, the wife of Jedlicka’s Saddlery owner, Si Jenkins, […]
The amazons ruled when Girls Rock, which helps youngsters through music and arts appreciation, threw a third annual beach bash at the rustic Carpinteria home of music entrepreneur Marla McNally Phillips and her husband Lee. Our Eden by the Beach is home to the largest Girls Rock program in the world, says president Kerri Murray, […]
Social gridlock reigned when City College hosted its inaugural Spring Forward! gala, with 300 guests raising more than $400,000 for the work of the college’s foundation, headed by the ubiquitous Geoff Green. The college’s culinary arts, music, and art departments all played key roles, with surprise guest Michael McDonald joining the college’s New World Jazz […]
It was clearly a mane event when Santa Barbara Zoo hosted its fifth annual Roar & Pour, a sell-out attracting 1,500 oenophiles and gourmands, raising around $100,000 for the popular menagerie. Some 300 of the party animals splashed out for VIP tickets, allowing them early entrance to the fun fête, avoiding the crowds and giving […]
Girls Inc. of Greater Santa Barbara raised almost $300,000 when 150 guests attended the organization’s 34th annual scholarship event at the Goleta Valley & Teen Center, with Emmy-winning KEYT-TV anchor Beth Farnsworth as guest host, leading a lively panel discussion with current and former members about the lasting impact of their experience. The Biltmore-catered bash […]
At the Granada it was time for the tony triumvirate of violinist Joshua Bell, cellist Steven Isserlis, and pianist Jeremy Denk to shine, part of the popular UCSB Arts & Lectures program. The talented threesome were in glorious harmony playing works by Mendelssohn, Shostakovich, Rachmaninoff and Ravel. A blockbuster show… Like Father, Like Daughter CAMA […]
With news that Prince Harry, wife Meghan, and newly-born son, Archie, might possibly be purchasing a second home in Los Angeles, the rumor mill has been running at full throttle. The polo-playing Duke of Sussex participates regularly with Santa Barbara Polo Club player, Nacho Figueras, the Argentinian Ralph Lauren Polo model, who competes on the […]
The Rape Crisis Center, now renamed Standing Together to End Sexual Assault (STESA), threw its 11th annual Chocolate de Vine event at the Greek Orthodox Church, attracting more than 250 oenophiles and chocaholics, raising around $50,000 for the worthy charity that has an annual budget of almost $1 million. Fifteen chocolatiers, wineries, and breweries participated. […]
It was a night on the tiles for more than 500 underserved school students over a two-day period when Montecito resident John Daly‘s nine-year-old organization, the KEY Class, which teaches youngsters social and business etiquette, threw a graduating dinner on the roof of the MOXI museum. The four-course dinner, prepared by Seasons Catering, was underwritten […]
An avalanche of amazons descended on the Hilton for the 15th annual presentation of grants by the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara. Checks totaling $585,000 – $50,000 more than last year – went to nine local non-profit agencies, voted on by the membership of nearly 1,000 women and presented by Sandy Schoolfield and Maureen Ellenberger, […]
The Coral Casino was the place to be when French champagne maker Dom Perignon hosted a heavenly bubbly bash to launch its association with Beanie Baby billionaire owner Ty Warner‘s eponymous bar across the way at the Biltmore. Every Friday through August Ty’s will feature the sparkling libation, created by Moet & Chandon in the […]
Goats were in abundance when the 12-year-old African Women Rising, a northern Uganda charity, held its third Goat Fest with more than 200 guests at a rustic Cold Spring Road estate, raising enough to purchase 300 of the animals. “It’s not so much a fund raiser as a friend raiser, to draw attention to the […]
John Fowler really made a spectacle of himself when he was presented with the Jim Stanley Memorial Award as Volunteer of the Year at a 14th recognition lunch for the Lions Sight and Hearing Center at Mulligan’s Cafe at the Santa Barbara municipal golf club. John, who was presented with the coveted trophy by former […]
Crowns and tiaras were de rigueur when Santa Barbara’s Pacific Pride Foundation hosted its 6th annual sold-out biennial Royal Ball at the Rosewood Miramar. A record 425 guests partied the night away in the crystal chandelier-hung ballroom, magnificently decorated as a Platinum Palace by Montecito event wizard Merryl Brown, raising around $450,000 for the charity’s […]
Earth Day was celebrated at Tecolote, the tony tome temple in the upper village, when four local poets and authors, accompanied by Diane Ippel on a hammered dulcimer, read and recited from their works. Santa Barbara Poet Laureate Laure-Anne Bosselaar, editor of four anthologies and a Pushcart Prize recipient, joined Montecito native Doyle Hollister, author […]
The Granada was full of Eastern promise when UCSB’s 6th annual Dhadkan Nachle Deewane dance competition, run by founders Soham Tikekar and Nishu Viswanathan, filled the stage with 20 dancers and 24 a cappella artists. The colorful and energized sold-out show included Hindi-film Fusion and Bhangra dance teams representing a host of colleges, including USC, […]
Pride, pomp and pageantry, ceremonial and color marked the moment David Bolton, Santa Barbara-based executive director of the California Missions Foundation, was installed with one of Spain’s highest civilian orders at the Presidio by the country’s Los Angeles consul-general Javier Vallaure. The Royal Order of Isabel la Catolica, a red-enameled cross in a gold frame […]
A tony triumvirate of new members have joined the board of CAMA – Community Arts Music Association –, which is completing its centennial year. The trio are renowned soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian, retired internist George Messerlian, and local arts benefactor Marta Babson, who lives in Montecito and Chicago. “We’re very pleased to have these talented and […]
There were decidedly rum goings on at the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum when it opened its latest exhibition, which runs through October 20. Rum Running, Sailors, and Prohibition covers more than 400 years of history and the origins of the liquor from the Caribbean’s sugar cane plantations in the 17th century, with many of the […]
The Santa Barbara Education Foundation, which serves 15,000 students with more than 15 programs county-wide with a $2 million annual budget, hosted its 20th annual Hope Awards at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum for 200 guests. The boffo bash in the institution’s courtyard, chaired by Cita Torres, focused on literacy and honored Kinko’s founder and […]
It was a walk down memory lane when Marymount School, which is celebrating its 80th anniversary, hosted an ‘80s Glam gala at the Hilton, where the TV show Miami Vice, which starred Montecito resident Don Johnson, was the hit of the night, with many men donning all-white outfits and sunglasses, while Madonna lookalikes abounded for […]
The venerable Granada was the place to be when UCSB Arts & Lectures hosted the world premiere of the multi-talented 15-strong Silkroad Ensemble’s Heroes Take Their Stands with a 90-minute, five-piece concert, making ample use of the theater’s state of the art movie screen. Of particular note was Bharatanatyam dancer Aparna Ramaswamy, who added an […]
Our tony town’s Rescue Mission hosted its annual Easter Feast for our community’s more impoverished residents and for the 12th year I volunteered as a waiter. Kitchen director Wesley James served 320 pounds of ham, 200 pounds of mashed potatoes, 360 pounds of carrots, mountains of macaroni and cheese, and 75 pounds of peas to […]
Multi-talented Scottish actor and performer Alan Cumming brought his highly entertaining show Legal Immigrant to the sold-out Granada, part of the popular UCSB Arts & Lectures program. The almost two-hour intermission-free performance, with a four-member backup band, was a meditation on his ten years as an American citizen and the experiences and change has witnessed […]
Santa Barbara’s 31-year-old Wildlife Care Network, which rescued 3,297 animals of 170 different species last year, hosted a supporters party at its seven-year-old Goleta headquarters. Just the same day the organization had rescued two six-week-old skunk babies and a fox cub of the same age. Among the animal lovers turning out for the bijou bash […]
The Carriage & Western Art Museum was socially gridlocked when more than 300 Family Service Agency supporters participated in the 5th annual Cooking Up Dreams. The sold-out culinary spectacular raised more than $100,000 for long established mental health and family support programs. Celebrity judges included KEYT-TV anchor Joe Buttitta, food and drink writer George Yatchisin, […]
The historic El Paseo restaurant was socially gridlocked for the Women in Communications 12th annual awards lunch, which honored KEYT-TV anchor Beth Farnsworth and keynote speaker Kymberlee Weil of Strategic Samurai. Independent columnist Starshine Roshell emceed the 200-guest fête, while previous award recipient Perie Longo recited a poem lauding both award winners. Beth was introduced […]
Veteran maestro Nir Kabaretti has signed a multi-year extension as conductor of the Santa Barbara Symphony, which is celebrating its 66th season. Nir has been with the orchestra since 2006, when he was chosen from a pool of 300 candidates for the position. Since then he has used his considerable experience and talent in symphonic […]
It couldn’t have been the more perfect evening when the 25-year-old charity Food From The Heart, which prepares food for 160 clients each week, hosted its 8th annual fundraiser in the historic El Paseo courtyard, with wine provided by Doug Margerum and the Happy Canyon and Grassini vineyards. The organization, with its new executive director […]
It was an eggs-cellent and eggs-travagant weekend as two of our rarefied enclave’s toniest hostelries, the Four Season Biltmore and the Rosewood Miramar, hosted Easter events for the youngsters in our Eden by the Beach. More than 700 parents and children turned up at Beanie Baby billionaire Ty Warner‘s hotel where two Easter eggs hunts […]
Just three hours later the energized Andrew Firestone was at it again when he emceed Santa Barbara Channelkeeper’s 19th annual Blue Water Ball in the Deckers rotunda, with the 230 guests expected to raised around $185,000 for the popular environmental non-profit. The bustling bash, chaired by Kristin Larson, featured climber and world renowned adventurer Rick […]
UCSB Arts & Lectures supporters, Richard and Annette Caleel, opened the doors of their magnificent modern and tribal art filled Birnam Wood home for a reception for violinist Jennifer Koh, who later performed to a sold-out audience at St. Anthony’s Chapel, her second consecutive year, featuring works by Philip Glass, David Lang, Bryce Dessner, Andrew […]
The Granada stage was positively heaving when the Santa Barbara Symphony, accompanied by 150 singers from local choirs, performed a rousing concert of Verdi’s Requiem under conductor Nir Kabaretti. Featuring the Santa Barbara Choral Society, City College choirs, and the North County Chorus, I sat in at a rehearsal earlier in the week at the […]
Billionaire Los Angeles developer Rick Caruso nearly came a cropper at the final hurdle when developing the Rosewood Miramar, he has revealed. Rick was at a ribbon cutting ceremony at the oh-so tony five star resort and recounted he was in our Eden by the Beach for the final hearing on his $200 million development, […]
The Council on Alcoholism and Drugs Abuse’s 33rd annual Amethyst Ball at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara was a real gem! The bold-faced name-filled bash attracted nearly 360 glamorously garbed guests, many in Western outfits, and raised around $650,000 for 70-year-old CADA, which has an annual budget of $5.6 million serving more than 8,600 people with 23 […]