Tag archives: museum

All Aboard the Love Boat
By Richard Mineards   |   March 18, 2025

The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum throbbed to the Caribbean beat as 140 guests celebrated a Love Boat cruise gala with head honcho Greg Gorga in all white officer’s uniform. Condor Express owner Hiroko Benko, who created a Santa Barbara Whale Heritage Area, and Sigrid Toye, a past board president and current board member, were presented […]

A Dream Exhibit
By Richard Mineards   |   February 18, 2025

Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, which celebrates its 25th anniversary next month, opened its first exhibition of the year – Above Your Dreams by local artist Kevin A. Short, which runs through May 11. The colorful exhibit of more than 40 oil paintings showcases Short’s deftness at capturing fleeting beauty and the power of sunlight through […]

SB Museum of Natural History Presents 16th Annual Legacy Awards
By Joanne A Calitri   |   February 18, 2025

Your Society Invites gal-Friday is pleased to share the 2025 Legacy Award Winners of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History (SBMNH), who were announced at a trés private soirée called the Leadership Circles of Giving Dinner held at the Fleischmann Auditorium. This year’s honorees are UCSB Professor Emeritus Michael Glassow, PhD; geologist John Powell, […]

A Historical Holiday Soirée
By Richard Mineards   |   December 24, 2024

Santa Barbara Historical Museum had more than 300 lunar-tics at the Members Holiday Soirée under a full moon, which also marked the opening of two new exhibitions: The Chair, featuring seating through the ages, and J. Walter Collinge, displaying the photographer’s images of our Eden by the Beach before and after the 1925 earthquake. The […]

Artist Roland Petersen at the Elverhøj Museum
By Montecito Journal   |   October 29, 2024

A coup for the Elverhøj Museum is its upcoming major exhibit of works by 98 years young artist Roland Petersen [b.1926, Denmark]. The exhibit, titled The Visual Feast, is on view from October 26 through January 5. The critically-lauded Petersen has been painting for five decades, and continues to create, producing art in his Bay […]

New Members on Board
By Richard Mineards   |   October 1, 2024

Lucy Firestone, Gregory Fuss, and Greg Giloth have been appointed to the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Board of Trustees for a three-year term. Firestone is a producer, transformation coach and co-founder of Firestone Sisters’ natural perfume line, with more than 20 years’ experience creating content that inspires healing and growth. A Princeton graduate, […]

California Nature Art Museum Free Family Day
By Montecito Journal   |   August 13, 2024

The California Nature Art Museum Executive Director, Stacey Otte-Demangate is inviting the community to the museum’s annual End-of-Summer Family Day on Saturday, August 10, from 10 am – 3 pm. Admission is free and no reservations are required. The family friendly event has various hands-on and observational activities and craft projects focused on both art […]

Brian Storr and Rosina Garcia Join SB Museum of Natural History
By Joanne A Calitri   |   July 30, 2024

Brian Storr MBA is the newly appointed Chief Financial Officer for the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, as of May 2024. Storr was previously with the ABC-CLIO Goleta company in three positions, the Vice President of Finance & Manufacturing, Director of Manufacturing, Logistics & Strategic Analysis, and Director of Business & Financial Services. His […]

MOXI’s Millionth
By Richard Mineards   |   July 2, 2024

MOXI: The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation, which opened its doors in 2017, welcomed its one millionth guest last week in colorful and explosive style. As Vincent Regina, manager of Chili’s in Goleta, brought his youngsters Dante, 3, and Vivian, 5, through the door, a cannon of colorful confetti unloaded, much to the delight […]

Annual Butterfly Experience at the SB Museum of Natural History
By Joanne A Calitri   |   June 4, 2024

Nature lovers unite, it is time for the annual live butterfly expo at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, on now through September 2. The exhibit is held at the Sprague Butterfly Pavilion at the museum daily (except Tuesdays) from 10 am to 5 pm. There will be over 24 species and over 1,000 […]

18th Annual Wilderness Spirit Awards
By Joanne A Calitri   |   May 28, 2024

The California Nature Art Museum, formerly known as the Wildling Museum, held its 18th Annual Wilderness Spirit Awards Brunch at the Buellton Marriott’s Grand Ballroom, Sunday, May 19. For the first time in its history, a new category was added, “The Sustainability Award,” and awarded to the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.  The Wilderness Spirit […]

Art à la Carte with the SBMA
By Joanne A Calitri   |   May 28, 2024

The Santa Barbara Museum of Art Women’s Board held its second fundraising “Art à la carte” soirée at the University Club.  The SBMA Mercedes Eichholz Director and CEO Amada Cruz, along with the SBMA Women’s Board President Isabel Wendt, welcomed the guests as they arrived at the reception on the outside patio and lawn area. […]

Local Artists Awarded at ‘TBH’
By Scott Craig   |   May 28, 2024

A large crowd gathered inside and out for the opening of the annual juried exhibition of local artists, “[TBH]…To Be Honest,” at the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art. Los Angeles gallery owner Walter Maciel juried the exhibition of 45 works, selecting the winners for top cash prizes on May 16. The Tri-County Juried Exhibition is […]

A Shining Night
By Richard Mineards   |   May 14, 2024

Santa Barbara Historical Museum’s latest exhibition celebrates half a century of Summer Solstice, the colorful and creative annual parade on State Street. The event started in 1974 when mime and artist Michael Gonzales celebrated his birthday with friends on the town’s main thoroughfare. Fifty years later nearly 100,000 people line the street to experience something […]

Art à la Carte with the SB Museum of Art
By Joanne A Calitri   |   April 9, 2024

The Santa Barbara Museum of Art Women’s Board held its first of two fundraising soirées, titled, “Art à la Carte,” at the University Club on Monday, March 25.  The lovely event featured an in-depth artist talk with Iraqi American abstract artist Vian Sora, and the museum’s Contemporary Art Curator James Glisson,PhD.  The opening cocktail hour […]

Soaring Speech at the MClub
By Richard Mineards   |   April 9, 2024

Santa Barbara resident and fellow MClub member Bobbie Kinnear gave a riveting talk at the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum about her father, Col. Robert Ernest Evans, a highly decorated B-17 and B-29 pilot, who flew more than 50 combat missions over Europe and Japan in World War II. In 1943 he famously served as […]

New Exhibit Celebrates the Women of the Santa Barbara Harbor
By Sigrid Toye   |   April 2, 2024

In keeping with the celebration of March 2024 as Women’s History Month (spoiler alert!) this column is going to contain some seriously shameless bragging! At the close of this month I’d like to send the memo that, both in a professional capacity and as volunteers, every month of any year Santa Barbara women make huge […]

A Maritime Mystery
By Richard Mineards   |   March 19, 2024

Santa Barbara Maritime Museum was even more magical than usual when it hosted the “Heist at the Harbor: An Evening of Mystery and Intrigue” gala for 120 guests, which raised around $100,000 for the harborside institution. The boffo bash, co-chaired by immediate past president Sigrid Toye and Cindy Makela, also celebrated benefactors Robyn Parker and […]

Southern California Museums’ 19th Annual Free-for-All Day Event
By Joanne A Calitri   |   March 12, 2024

The SoCal Museums organization is holding its 19th Annual Museums Free All Day event on Saturday, March 23.  This free ticket covers all ages for general admission at over 30 museums from Santa Barbara County through Los Angeles County. The museums participating cover the arts, cultural heritage, natural history, and science. And the free day […]

SBMA Acquires Iconic Artwork by Hammershøi Dedicated to Larry Feinberg
By Joanne A Calitri   |   January 2, 2024

In a most progressive move, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA) has acquired the iconic artwork, Den Hvide Dør (The White Door), 1888, oil on canvas, by artist Vilhelm Hammershøi (1864–1916), and has dedicated it in honor of Larry J. Feinberg, the SBMA distinguished Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Executive Director and CEO, who was […]