Tag archives: gossip
President Ronald Reagan’s school principal granddaughter Ashley, 40, married her police officer beau, Joe Dunster, 44, in an intimate ceremony at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel before a reception at the nearby Reagan Ranch Center in Santa Barbara. During the reception, the newlyweds were surrounded by photos of America’s 40th president and memorabilia, which included […]
Italian violin genius and Grammy Award-winner Augustin Hadelich, making his fifth CAMA appearance since 2015, played a rapturous performance at the Lobero as part of the organization’s Masterseries. Bach featured prominently in the delightful program, launching with “Partita for Unaccompanied Violin No. 3 in E major” and ending with “No. 2 in D minor,” with […]
To Blackbird at uber-vintner Bill Foley’s Hotel Californian for a four-course winemaker dinner delightfully prepared by longtime executive chef Travis Watson with senior winemaker Michael Beaulac explaining the intricacies of the process with each course served to the 33 guests, including gourmands and oenophiles from far and wide. Having covered the eatery’s opening six years […]
In a spirited competition at the Lobero with more than 600 eager attendees, Jack Harwood,19, was donned as this year’s Spirit of Fiesta, marking the first time ever a male Spirit of Fiesta was selected. Jack is the son of Riley and Dacia Harwood, the Executive Director of the Santa Barbara Historical Museum. My Montecito […]
Forbes magazine has just released its 37th annual World’s Billionaires list, with 2,640 billionaires worth a total of $12.2 trillion ranked, down by $500 billion last year. At Number One is Frenchman Bernard Arnault, 74, the owner of Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, and Tiffany for the first time with $211 billion, while Tesla magnate Elon […]
World renowned trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, bandleader and composer, who I’ve seen many times on the Granada stage courtesy of UCSB Arts & Lectures, was back at the historic venue after a tour of Asia with the Wynton Marsalis Septet. Marsalis, 61, artistic director of Jazz at the Lincoln Center and director of Jazz Studies at […]
It was definitely a ship to shore moment when hotel magnate Pat Nesbitt and his wife Ursula hosted a boffo bash for the captain and crew of the newly commissioned USS Santa Barbara at Bella Vista, their scenic oceanside 20-acre Summerland estate. The fun fête, assisted by the local council of the U.S. Navy League, […]
Montecito rocker Kenny Loggins is on the road to retirement. The iconic guitarist and Grammy-winning singer-songwriter is playing just 18 concerts on his upcoming “This Is It” farewell tour, and then that’s really it! “I just had my 75th birthday and I feel like it’s time,” Kenny told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. His tour, which started […]
Montecito Bank & Trust’s 31st annual Anniversary Grants reception, originally scheduled for the courtyard of the Santa Barbara Historical Museum, had to be changed at the last minute to the bank’s imposing State Street headquarters because of the heavy rains. More than 100 guests turned out for the popular fête celebrating the bank’s 48th anniversary, […]
Social gridlock reigned when society gadabout Rick Oshay took over the Fieldside restaurant at the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club to celebrate the 13th anniversary of his half century. Fifty guests descended on the clubhouse locale to nosh on a five-course dinner after beluga caviar canapés and champagne and then dancing the night away […]
Hollywood musical giant John Williams, 91, who was featured in last week’s Oscars coverage, was celebrated in grand style by the Santa Barbara Symphony under Fresno Symphony guest conductor Rei Hotoda at the Granada. The hugely entertaining performance, dubbed John Williams: A Symphonic Celebration, included music from most of his major hits, including Jaws, E.T., […]
While former TV talk-show titan Oprah Winfrey has been reducing her waistline as a spokeswoman for Weight Watchers, now rebranded WW, she has been expanding her property empire. The longtime Montecito resident, 69, now owns nearly 1,000 acres of land on the Hawaiian island of Maui, I learn. She has splashed out $6.6 million on […]
After being asked to leave their historic home, Frogmore Cottage, just a tiara’s toss from Windsor Castle, Prince Harry and his former actress wife Meghan Markle have been offered alternative accommodations at Buckingham Palace by his father, King Charles III. The tony twosome moved into the 10-bedroom property, just a short distance from Queen Victoria’s […]
Montecito dynamic duo Bill and Sandi Nicholson co-hosted a boffo bash at the Sullivan Goss Gallery for a new feature documentary, Helen Believe, which debuted at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. The film, one hour and 33 minutes in length, focused on Helen Maroulis, who debuted in her first Olympics aged 23 in Rio […]
Having written about the sale of uber philanthropist Leslie Ridley-Tree’s Birnam Wood home and her extensive couture wardrobe in last week’s illustrious organ, now it’s time for her amazing collection of bling to hit the market. John Moran Auctioneers in Monrovia is selling 85 lots, including necklaces, earrings, bracelets, brooches, and rings featuring fine gemstones, […]
TV Santa Barbara and our Eden by the Beach hosted the two-day Alliance for Community Media (ACM) Western Region conference and trade show, with events at the station’s South Salinas Street studio, the Mar Monte Hotel and a welcome reception for 100 guests which I attended at the Cabrillo Pavilion. The conference, which attracted 168 […]
Prince Harry and former actress wife Meghan Markle are eyeing entering their two children, Archie and Lilibet, at a local private school, I can exclusively reveal. The Riven Rock twosome were spotted inspecting an institution’s campus last week, bringing them one-step closer to a decision. School fees in our area range from $6,000 to $50,000+ […]
The former Birnam Wood home of uber philanthropist Leslie Ridley-Tree, who died in October at the age of 98, has hit the market for $7.95 million. The 4,900-square-foot, single-story home on 1.06 acres, which I last visited for Leslie’s Christmas party, is just a tiara’s toss from the tony enclave’s clubhouse. Her extensive 700-piece wardrobe, […]
To the historic Santa Barbara Club for a talk by local writer Lorie Dewhirst Porter, author of the fascinating coffee table tome Montecito Style: Paradise on California’s Gold Coast with 250 colorful photos by Firooz Zahedi, whose work has been seen in Vanity Fair, Interview, Town & Country, Time, and Architectural Digest. Zahedi, a 74-year-old […]
Aging Cossack Taras Bulba reigned supreme when Filharmonie Brno Philharmonic, the Czech orchestra conducted by Dennis Russell Davies, performed at the Granada, part of CAMA’s international series. The Leoš Janáček work, a three-part rhapsody for orchestra based on the 17th-century historical novella, concluded the first half on a high note after Martinu’s “Sinfonietta ‘La Jolla’” […]
