Brown on Board
By Richard Mineards   |   February 21, 2023

Retired attorney Jen Brown, whose legal work over two decades included high profile litigation spanning multiple continents has joined the board of directors of the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara. She received a bachelor’s degrees in political science and communications at the University of Washington before earning a law degree at Gonzaga University School of […]

FestForums Fun
By Richard Mineards   |   February 14, 2023

The sixth annual FestForums, which serves the festival industry from ticketing, sponsorship, programming, sustainability, and marketing, hosted a boffo bash at MOXI for 300 guests to mark the launch of the two-day event in Santa Barbara. “It’s beyond my wildest dreams,” said Laurie Kirby, co-founder and president. “It is a magical event and the first […]

 

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Kabul at the Vic
By Richard Mineards   |   February 14, 2023

Ensemble Theatre Company (ETC) kicked off its first performance of the New Year with the suspenseful Californian premiere of the thriller Selling Kabul, written by Sylvia Khoury and directed by Nike Doukas. An off-Broadway hit and 2022 Pulitzer Prize finalist for Drama, the suspenseful play of abiding family love centers on an Afghani former interpreter […]

A Chorale Creation
By Richard Mineards   |   February 14, 2023

After three years of enforced layoff because of the pandemic, Santa Barbara’s Master Chorale, under new director David Lozano Torres, was in fine voice when it performed Haydn’s great masterpiece The Creation, an oratorio written in 1797 based on the book of Genesis, at First Presbyterian Church. Now in its 39th season, the group stages […]

Student Artists Honored at Museum
By Richard Mineards   |   February 14, 2023

The Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara has honored 23 student artists during a presentation and reception at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. Chosen as winners of the foundation’s Art Scholarship competition, each received a scholarship and their selected art submissions will be exhibited in the museum’s Family Resource Center through Feb. 12. “This was […]

Local Couple Renews Vows
By Richard Mineards   |   February 14, 2023

After tying the knot 15 years ago, former TV talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres, 65, and actress wife Portia de Rossi, 50, renewed their wedding vows at their $70 million Montecito estate. The dynamic duo’s good friend, Kris Jenner, matriarch of the Kardashian clan, officiated at the intimate ceremony with guests including near neighbor Prince Harry […]

Making a Claim to Reclaim
By Richard Mineards   |   February 7, 2023

It’s a marriage made on Earth! Michael Smith, entrepreneurial son of Montecito philanthropist Anne Towbes, has partnered with Oscar superstar Leonardo DiCaprio in Regeneration.VC, an early-stage venture capital fund supercharging consumer-powered climate innovation driven by circular and regenerative principles, which he co-founded. The fund’s vision, according to its literature, is “to empower all consumers in […]

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  • A Trio of Stellar Shows
    By Richard Mineards   |   February 7, 2023

    UCSB’s popular Arts & Lectures series has been working overtime with three major shows in the last week, two at the Granada and a third at the more intimate Lobero. Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato’s EDEN, a call to action to build a paradise for today fertilizing, nourishing, and protecting the pure bliss that is Earth, with […]

    Shining a Light on Photography
    By Richard Mineards   |   February 7, 2023

    Santa Barbara Maritime Museum has just opened its latest illuminating exhibit, The Lure of Lighthouses & Dancing Waves, an impressive collection of more than 35 large-scale images and panoramic photographs of waves and lighthouses around the world taken by renowned Emmy Award-winning surfing photographer and videographer Dan Merkel. “I first met Dan when he joined […]

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    New Principal Flutist for the SBS
    By Richard Mineards   |   February 7, 2023

    Amy Tatum has been chosen out of 150 applicants to be the new principal flutist for the Santa Barbara Symphony. Tatum, who was one of 70 musicians traveling to our Eden by the Beach for the final auditions, made her debut at the Granada with the “Plains, Trains & Violins” concert last month (Jan). As […]

    Dunbar Ranch Rental
    By Richard Mineards   |   February 7, 2023

    Carpinteria actor Kevin Costner, 68, is renting out his 160-acre Aspen, Colorado, home for a hefty $36,000 a night. The Oscar and recent Golden Globe winner’s property has 12 bedrooms and eight bathrooms, with it spread over nearly 6,000 square feet and accommodating up to 27 people. Known as the Dunbar Ranch, it is described […]

    Playing with Planes and Trains
    By Richard Mineards   |   January 31, 2023

    Santa Barbara Symphony was clearly on the right track with its first 70th anniversary concert of the New Year! Plains, Trains, & Violins at the Granada under maestro Nir Kabaretti was a celebration of the influence of music of the Americas with local ties to our Eden by the Beach. The entertaining performance included Uruguayan-born […]

    A Birthday Surprise
    By Richard Mineards   |   January 31, 2023

    It wasn’t quite James Bond, but certainly top secret when Montecito animal activist Gretchen Lieff celebrated her birthday at the La Lieff wine tasting room in the Funk Zone. Nearly 20 people gathered for the hush-hush fête with Gretchen taken totally off guard by the bash. “I had absolutely no idea!” she gushed. “What a […]

    Brems on Board
    By Richard Mineards   |   January 31, 2023

    Psychologist and yoga therapist Christiane Brems has joined the board of the Breast Cancer Resource Center. A breast cancer survivor herself, Brems brings a wealth of professional and personal expertise to her role. “I’m very impressed with the wholistic and integrated mission of the BCRC and I’m honored to be able to contribute to such […]

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