Tag archives: local people

In a man-cave bar in the L.A.’s Art District, I watch the World Cup… but I’m really waiting for the Pride event, a packed setlist of queer musicians, to set up next door. I’ve instructed my buddy Stephen Dabby to arrive an hour early for our chat. Stephen is a charming studio artist with a […]

Two former employees of the Funk Zone, who met and fell in love in Santa Barbara’s Arts District, share their frustration with the disappearance of locally owned community spaces. For my first article back from hiatus, I contacted my premier source for finding interesting artists to interview in Santa Barbara, my old pal Ariel. She’s […]

I recently reconnected with an old friend from Crane Country Day School, Blake Ladd. We both entered Crane at the same time and had the same unfettered enthusiasm for the arts and creative energy. For this week’s Dear Montecito, I bring you an update on one of Montecito’s greatest – a great actor, entrepreneur, and […]

My story starts when I was born at Santa Barbara’s St. Francis Hospital in 1922. I spent my childhood on the Campbell Ranch which is now part of UCSB’s Education campus and was the site for Devereaux School. In fact, I sprained my ankle jumping down from a loft of the Red Barn on the […]

“So 90% of magicians are hobbyists. They don’t perform. They might for a little dinner party at home for a family member, but that’s about it.” Gene Urban is a professional magician – a card-carrying performer and habitue at the storied Magic Castle in Hollywood, and a guy who has traveled the world, his skill […]

Society Invites was contacted by Jeannine Morgan – former Head of School for El Montecito School in Montecito (ELMO) – about her son Judson Pearce, who has volunteered to direct the Providence School play Annie Jr. The performances are April 25 – 26, tickets are on sale now. Proceeds benefit the school. Jeannine is a […]

As a kid in Long Island, New York, Jackson Gillies woke up one of two ways: his mother Connie stirring him for his type 1 diabetes insulin shots, or his father Billy “cranking the Grateful Dead and Genesis through the floorboards.” What follows is a life of tireless dedication to music and activism for his […]

My friend Joan Curran and I were walking up State Street on a Tuesday afternoon when she called out, “Hey Nathan!” Sitting cross-legged on the curb was a casually clad guy with softly curled blonde hair and an array of beaded jewelry. As I squatted down to the pavement to behold his work, I immediately […]

It’s painful to think, to imagine, to realize, that I’ll never experience the joy of being with Erin Graffy de Garcia ever again. She passed away – surrounded by family – at Cottage Hospital at 2:54 am on January 21 after a frighteningly short bout with cancer. To say that she’ll be missed is a […]

Sure, the discovery of fire was kind of a big deal for humanity. But little did we know that that was also the moment we discovered a way to light up our life every single day. As early man and woman sat around their newly-invented flame, the enticing aroma of (let’s just assume) woolly mammoth […]

My brother Benjamin Tolan – and you can ask anyone who went to MUS, Crane or Laguna Blanca High School – is best known for his uncanny excellence in whatever he pursues. He can pick up any tune on the flute, saxophone, or piano in just a few listens and dominate in any video game […]

It’s fair to say the path to everlasting love comes in many shapes, sizes, colors, and in some cases fabrics. Just steps away from the white sands of Montecito’s Butterfly Beach, there is a quiet beauty and tranquil ambiance lining the road to one such love story that sits on full display – many years […]

“They’re still recovering bodies. It’s the third deadliest hurricane behind Katrina and Camille,” said Yvette Vega, a Carpinteria-native and healthcare professional living in Charlotte, North Carolina. “It’s a small community here, so if you don’t know someone directly, you know someone who does.” Vega was fortunate enough to miss Hurricane Helene’s full force. “We didn’t […]

Get up and out of your bunk at 4 am. Make coffee and a bagel… it’s burnt. Equip your waders, boots, headlamp, backpack, and lots of surveying equipment. Wade in the river and hike the woods for 12 hours, being cautious not to run into the man who lives in the shack made of bones. […]

Dr. Frederic Wells Baum (Ted) of Carpinteria, California passed away on September 9, 2024, at age 95. He died peacefully in his own home, surrounded by his family.  Ted was a loving and supportive father to five children and four grandchildren, an enthusiastic golfer, an aggressive doubles tennis player, a dedicated choir singer, and a […]

Ariel Leira is a multidisciplinary visual artist and writer who grew up amongst the trees of Montecito, documenting her TRAVELS through glowing, abstract photography and heartfelt poetry. She was a lifer at Crane Country Day School – where we met in fifth grade – and graduated from Santa Barbara High School.  Leira’s artistic proclivities began […]

Nicole Belton’s art studio, located at 1019 West in Inglewood, feels like walking into a museum of trees frozen in time. Dream-like hills and extending branches captured in a submerged composition (Skyview Drive); a tree in a moment of transition, poised before fading into a muted, decaying terrain (Ash). For the past six years, Belton […]

Residents of Montecito’s Hedgerow neighbourhood may be closely familiar with the tunes of the Grateful Dead, as, between the years of 2019 and 2021, my garage became the headquarters for my brother Cosmo’s Grateful Dead cover band, Curly & Co., made up of a rowdy posse of high school and college-age boys who, when not […]

I met Kiara Lin in the place many Santa Barbara natives eventually meet–Los Angeles.  She grew up in Santa Barbara, attending Montessori Center School and Santa Barbara Junior High. Even in her youth, Kiara’s dedication to film was unmistakable. After three years enrolled at Santa Barbara High School, she moved to Michigan to complete her […]