Tag archives: Anne Towbes
My item last week on the historic Lobero Theatre being chosen as one of the world’s 11 most beautiful by society glossy Town & Country prompted a call from Montecito philanthropist Anne Towbes saying that another of the theaters on the list, Steinmetz Hall in Orlando, Florida, was designed by Montecito architectBarton Myers, 88. The […]
A visit to Lotusland—the 37-acre Montecito botanical garden—to co-chair the launch lunch of a new coffee table tome with philanthropist Anne Towbes last year, has led to Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning British actress Jane Seymour designing a scarf to mark the 30th anniversary of Polish opera singer Ganna Walska’s estate as a public garden. […]
It’s a marriage made on Earth! Michael Smith, entrepreneurial son of Montecito philanthropist Anne Towbes, has partnered with Oscar superstar Leonardo DiCaprio in Regeneration.VC, an early-stage venture capital fund supercharging consumer-powered climate innovation driven by circular and regenerative principles, which he co-founded. The fund’s vision, according to its literature, is “to empower all consumers in […]
It was a spectacular start to Yuletide when Montecito Bank & Trust held its 20th annual Community Dividends awards lunch, which normally divides $1 million among myriad local charities. But this year the Hilton event for 300 guests was one with a decided difference as the bank, founded by the late Michael Towbes, awarded a […]
The Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (CADA) gave its 11th Annual Gratitude Luncheon, this time at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort. We were outside in the Rotunda under a tent. The occasion was to shed light on the Mentor Program, where an adult volunteers to mentor a young person, usually once a week, […]
It was a very in-tents occasion when Montecito Bank & Trust erected a giant marquee in the rotunda at the Hilton for its 17th annual Community Dividends lunch when $1 million was given to 179 worthy organizations from the local community. The late Mike Towbes, founder of the bank, always described the event as his […]
It was a super sunset birthday soirée by degrees when yours truly marked the 18th anniversary of his half-century with a boffo bash at the University Club hosted by Gretchen Lieff and her beau, Miles Hartfeld. Having been scheduled to wing to an old friend Cat Pollon’s home outside Marrakech for the past two years, […]
Earth Day, which started in Santa Barbara after a disastrous oil spill of more than four million gallons in 1969 which killed thousands of seabirds, dolphins, seals, and sea lions, has certainly been celebrated by Jennifer Smith, the publisher of Santa Barbara Magazine and C Magazine. Jennifer, daughter of Anne Towbes, tells me they have […]
Condor Express owner Hiroko Benko has been having a whale of a time visiting her native Japan with friends, including Montecito’s Anne Towbes and her sister, Suzy Farbman. The eclectic itinerary included the Katsura Imperial Villa in Kyoto, which had particular meaning for Hiroko, given a relative, Kobori Enshu, designed the garden in the Edo […]
The Santa Barbara Symphony (SBS) took us back to the era of Supper Clubs in a sea of sapphire. The rotunda at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort never looked more beautiful. It was totally draped in royal-blue curtains. The ceiling turned magical as the sun set, the tiny lights looking like we were sitting […]
The late Polish opera singer Ganna Walska had two passions: her gardens and jewelry. And her two loves were suitably intertwined when two major bling purveyors, Verdura and Belperron, staged an evening of cocktails and shopping at the Montecito estate of Anne Towbes. In the 1930s, Paris-based Suzanne Belperron’s clients included the Duke of Windsor, […]
The Alzheimer’s Women’s Initiative (AWI) Committee gave its fourth annual “Your Brain Matters’ Luncheon” at The Fess Parker. This was obviously on people’s minds (pun intended), since there was a crowd of 500 attending and looking forward to the speakers and some Alzheimer’s education. Co-chairs were Katina Etsell and Gerd Jordano, who was also a […]
