It was an evening of decidedly high note when Lebanese-born soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian performed in a Glorious and Free concert at the Lobero, part of CAMA’s – the Community Arts Music Association – Masterseries. The performance of Romani-inspired songs and operetta arias featured works by Dvorak, Brahms, Lehar, Salman, and Yvain sung effortlessly by the […]

As British cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason had performed at their royal wedding at historic St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, in 2018 and watched by two billion people globally, it was hoped that Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle might attend his entertaining concert with his pianist sister, Isata, at UCSB’s Campbell Hall, part of the popular Arts […]

My congratulations to my friend and Journal colleague Lynn Kirst who has achieved sainthood! Our illustrious organ’s bridle correspondent has been selected to portray Saint Barbara in this year’s Old Spanish Days fiesta by the 121-year-old Reina Del Mar No.126 of Native Daughters of the Golden West. In a tradition that dates back to 1926, […]

Ensemble Theatre Company has a new head honcho. Following a national search, the New Vic-based organization has appointed Scott DeVine, who brings 20 years of theater management experience to the role, as its managing director. “Scott has skillfully managed complex artistic organizations and been responsible for ensuring theaters he has served have maintained a sound […]

Los Angeles’ iconic Magic Castle, leased by Santa Barbara dynamic duo Milt and Arlene Larsen since 1961, has been sold. The buyer of the property, just a tiara’s toss or two from the world-famous Hollywood sign, is Randy Pitchford, founder and CEO of the Gearbox Entertainment Company, which developed the Borderlands franchise of video games, […]

There are 2,668 billionaires around the globe for the world’s latest rich list. Down from a record 2,755 last year, according to Forbes’ 36th annual billionaires rankings. They’re worth a collective $12.7 trillion – $400 billion more than 2021 – and, as usual, our rarefied enclave is well represented.  America leads the world with 735 […]

Racial dynamics are at the forefront of the Ensemble Theatre Company’s latest New Vic show American Son. The nail-biting drama, directed by Jonathan Fox, takes place at a Miami, Florida, police station where, in the middle of the night, the parents of an African American teenager anxiously await news of their son, who may have […]

Santa Barbara uber realtor Adam McKaig, founder of the homeless charity Adam’s Angels, marked the 11th anniversary of his half century in style at the Carriage & Western Museum when more than 100 guests turned out to help him celebrate. The La Boheme dance company production, under director Teresa Kuskey Nowak, was co-hosted by Adam’s […]

Social gridlock reigned in the courtyard of the Santa Barbara Historical Museum when Jeremy Tessmer, gallery director of Sullivan Goss, spoke on the life and works of Lockwood de Forest, 50 of whose paintings are currently being displayed through May 12. De Forest, who died in our Eden by the Beach in 1932, was not […]

After soaring into the heavens last week aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket from a spaceport in Van Horn, Texas, the former CEO of California Closets and Party America reached an altitude of 350,000 feet, or about 66 miles, above our planet, flying above the Kármán line, which is defined as the boundary between Earth’s […]