Tag archives: Thanksgiving

The Veterans Memorial Building, a tiara’s toss from Stearns Wharf, was absolutely heaving when 600 needy guests converged on the historic locale for the 4th annual Thanksgiving lunch organized by Adam’s Angels, founded by realtor Adam McKaig. More than 350 pounds of turkey bought at Shalhoob’s, with the PATH Homeless Shelter donating its kitchen to […]

The Friendship Center in Montecito held a Thanksgiving luncheon for its members and their families and friends on Wednesday, November 22 at the center. The festive feast was led by Executive Director Kathryn Westland and her team of Kim Larsen, cooks, and even her cousins – the MeekerFamily from San Diego! The cooks were busy […]

The holidays are upon us, and it’s a time of delightful chaos. There’s the turkey to roast, gifts to hunt down, parties to attend, and family clamoring for an invite to the American Riviera for the holidays. As a local Montecito wine specialist, clients often turn to me to curate their wine pairings for festive […]

David Fletcher, head food service specialist at the Rescue Mission, certainly had his hands full on Thanksgiving Day, not only preparing for more than 300 homeless guests, but three other local organizations, adding another 100 recipients. David, who started on the job last year, says it has gotten easier as time goes by, with 25 […]

Photos by Joanne A Calitri It’s not every Thanksgiving this society gal takes off, but with my hair newly colored by Montecito’s own French Hair Salon expert, Eliane Alexandre International, I was ready to take on the sun-bleached blondes of the Florida coast in true Parisian style. Saving the almost impossible details of getting to […]

Carlos, The Bear, stood at the head of the table as Old Fox, Wise Owl, Connie Cougar, and Rocky Racoon, took their seats. Laid out on the table was a Thanksgiving dinner that couldn’t be beat. A Turkey, with all the trimmings and Carlos’ famous grub, berry and acorn mash, stuffing, it was a meal […]

It was quite the nerve-wracking occasion when the 56-year-old Rescue Mission’s new kitchen manager David Fletcher organized his first Thanksgiving Feast for 200 guests. With 50 roasted turkeys, 100 pounds of mashed potatoes, and 75 pounds of vegetables, not to mention huge trays of pumpkin and pecan pie, David, who has only been in the […]

It may have slipped by you with everything else that’s been going on lately — the new variant and two national murder cases — that this year was our country’s 400th Thanksgiving! And all was going well at my family’s annual Turkey Day celebration at my sister’s home in Los Angeles. Until my sister made […]

This past year has been really tough (COVID-19, inflation, supply chain problems, etc.). However, when things get tough, it is exactly when we need to give thanks. Our Founding Fathers and great leaders understood that giving thanks and expressing gratitude matters in the face of adversity. It gives us hope, emotionally. Giving thanks for what […]

Having volunteered at the Rescue Mission for the past 13 years, I had to miss acting as a waiter at the Rescue Mission’s annual Thanksgiving Feast this year because of the pandemic restrictions. However, as the 55-year-old shelter is designated as “an essential service,” 40 homeless at a time were allowed in to nosh on […]

Montecito dynamic duo Bill and Sandi Nicholson, who recently sold their 11-acre estate Solana to Google billionaire Eric Schmidt for $30.8 million, have joined forces to honor Nurse Heroes with an all-star concert to be broadcast worldwide on Thanksgiving Day, which will provide much needed funds for programs including scholarships for nurses and their children. […]

There are certain holidays I appreciate less for their historical importance, than for the opportunity they afford us to stop and reflect upon our lives, and to feel gratitude for all we have been given. As well as all we are able to give back. At the risk of retreading well-travelled terrain, I won’t go […]

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced lockdowns and closures all over creation, Camarillo-based comedian Jason Love just kept on cruising. Sure, his regular in-person gig, including a rotating lineup of stand-ups he put together monthly for the Carrillo Recreation Center in Santa Barbara, went by the wayside. But Love, a former humor columnist for the Ventura […]

No doubt, this year we have had the stuffing knocked out of us. The coronavirus squashed any hopes of a normal year. The economy sank like a lead gravy boat. And we had a turkey in the…  “Wait. Are you really going to make us suffer through a Thanksgiving pun column?”  “Of course not, dear. […]

Even movie stars and the rich and famous need to play by the rules, so it should seem simple for the rest of us mere mortals. At a Summerland Architectural Board of Review meeting a few years back, the board approved a 26,000-square-foot house (by virtue of a variance on the 25-acre beachfront property) for […]

Some of Santa Barbara’s best flavors are savored during the holiday season: citrus, persimmons, sage, fennel, spicy pecans, Mexican chocolate, honey, fresh and dried chili peppers and, of course, seafood.  Chefs are relying on the state’s bounty as a springboard for Thanksgiving, the year’s most important dinner in these parts, when coastal ranch, Mediterranean and […]

Carpinteria twosome Ashton Kutcher, 42, and wife Mila Kunis, 37, have listed their 7,351-square-foot Beverly Hills home on half an acre for rent. The property in Hidden Valley in the mountains above Coldwater Canyon is a guard-gated community with neighbors including singers Adele and Katy Perry, and actresses Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Lawrence. The estate, […]

PCPA previews America’s annual fall feast two month’s early with Larissa FastHorse’s The Thanksgiving Play, the second in its new series of staged reading previews of relatively new works of current interest. The “bitingly funny satire” find good intentions colliding with absurd assumptions as a troupe of supposedly racially awakened white teaching artists are tasked […]