A Sweet Night for Opera
By Richard Mineards   |   May 30, 2023

It was an evening of high note, not to mention many in between, when Opera Santa Barbara hosted a captivating La Dolce Vita, A Night of Puccini gala at the Montecito Club with a sell-out crowd of 180 raising more than $200,000 for the popular organization. The fun fête, co-chaired by Karen Knight and Carol […]

Block Party with a Twist
By Richard Mineards   |   May 30, 2023

Astoundingly it was 63 years ago that America and the world learned how to do The Twist, as performed by a fresh-faced 17-year-old Ernest Evans, known to his millions of fans as Chubby Checker. In the last six decades the Twist has been continually in and out of the charts and at the weekend, as […]

 

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Speaking on Behalf of Mental Health
By Richard Mineards   |   May 30, 2023

Prince Harry and his actress wife Meghan Markle are marking Mental Health Awareness month.  The Riven Rock twosome visited with a local youth group for an hour in ‘candid conversion’ with teenagers aged 14 to 18 from AHA! Santa Barbara about how mental well-being is affected by societal pressures and social media in the digital […]

Osmo in the CAMA Cosmo
By Richard Mineards   |   May 30, 2023

CAMA, Community Arts Music Association of Santa Barbara, left one of its best for last when Philadelphia’s Curtis Symphony Orchestra under Finnish conductor Osmo Vänskä, former maestro of the Minnesota and Seoul Philharmonic orchestras, performed the penultimate show of its 104th international series season at the Granada with Russian pianist Yefim Bronfman playing Schumann’s “Concerto […]

Fox Says Farewell to ETC
By Richard Mineards   |   May 30, 2023

Jonathan Fox, artistic director of the Ensemble Theatre Company for the last 17 years, is moving to newer pastures. Jonathan, who I’ve known since moving to our Eden by the Beach in 2007 when the company performed at the rustic Alhecama Theatre, directs his latest and last play Seared at the New Vic, the final […]

Presidential Nuptials
By Richard Mineards   |   May 30, 2023

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 […]

Dream on: FSA Fundraiser rakes in $160K
By Richard Mineards   |   May 23, 2023

Santa Barbara’s 124-year-old Family Service Agency hosted its first Dreams in Bloom fundraiser with 170 guests and raised around $160,000 toward programs that serve more than 24,000 annually, ensuring access to food, shelter, and other basic needs. The boffo bash at the historic Rockwood Woman’s Club, co-chaired by the tony triumvirate of Maria McCall, Sandy […]

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  • Baker’s Bash
    By Richard Mineards   |   May 23, 2023

    Uber party planner Merryl Brown and Ashley Adelson hosted a blooming boffo bash at Villa Corbeau, Ashley’s charming Riven Rock estate, just a tiara’s toss or two from the $15 million, six-acre home of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The fun sun-soaked fête celebrated former Ojai resident Loria Stern’s Eat Your Flowers: A Cookbook, […]

    Music in the Air
    By Richard Mineards   |   May 23, 2023

    It was definitely an evening of extremely high note when Venezuelan male soprano Samuel Marino sang in his U.S. premiere with Camerata Pacifica at the Music Academy’s Hahn Hall before winging to the U.K. to appear at the famous Glyndebourne opera festival. Marino, 20, studied voice and ballet in Caracas and at the Paris Conservatory […]

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    Quint-essential
    By Richard Mineards   |   May 23, 2023

    Santa Barbara Symphony concluded its seven-event Concert Aperitif series with a quintessential performance. Todd and Allyson Aldrich opened the doors of their stunning Montecito aerie for a recital by Russian violinist Philippe Quint, 49, who played in the orchestra’s Platinum Sounds: The Symphony Turns 70 concert at the Granada two days later. Playing a 1708 […]

    Skol!
    By Richard Mineards   |   May 23, 2023

    It was anything but glacial when Icelandic pianist Vikingur Olafsson perfumed a 95-minute Mozart and Contemporaries concert at the Music Academy’s Hahn Hall. The hugely entertaining show shed light on lesser-known musical figures, including Italian composers Domenico Cimarosa and Baldassare Galuppi, and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, the fifth child and second son of Johann Sebastian […]

    Squash Vegas
    By Richard Mineards   |   May 23, 2023

    The racketeers were out in force when the Santa Barbara School of Squash celebrated its third annual Viva Las Vegas! gala at the 1114 Sports Bar in La Arcada with 130 guests raising around $40,000. Former U.S. Number One squash champion Robert Graham, executive director, is about to embark on an $8-million capitalization campaign to […]

    “Moon Riviera…”
    By Richard Mineards   |   May 23, 2023

    Riviera Ridge School celebrated its first off-campus gala in four years with an Under the Moroccan Moon bash at the Montecito Club. “We wanted to create a memorable and magical experience for our wonderful families, faculty and staff,” enthused Chris Broderick, head of school, as guests tucked into a three-course, Moroccan-inspired dinner. The fun fête […]

    Positive Thinking
    By Richard Mineards   |   May 23, 2023

    Montecito actor Michael J. Fox, 61, says the cure for Parkinson’s disease is “closer than it has ever been.” The now retired star, who was diagnosed with the degenerative condition when just 29, has raised more than $2 billion for the cause and says he is optimistic the disease can be eradicated following “a single […]

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