Santa Barbara’s State Street Ballet is off to Japan for a two-week tour, including Tokyo and Osaka, in May. Founder and co-artistic director Rodney Gustafson tells me the tony troupe of 19 dancers, accompanied by five staffers, will be performing Jungle Book, which is being danced again on April 29 at the Lobero, and two […]
State Street Ballet’s performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Granada was an enchanting show full of mishaps and mayhem. The William Shakespeare work, with rollicking music written in 1843 by Felix Mendelssohn – he composed the overture when just 17 – and inventive choreography by company founder Rodney Gustafson, transcended the two worlds […]
Recently Trending
More from Montecito
Ruckus, a sextet of talented period instrumentalists, were going for baroque at the Music Academy’s Hahn Hall when they played an all-Bach concert with flutist Emi Ferguson for Camerata Pacifica. Exhibiting an extraordinary display of period instruments including theorbo, baroque guitar and bassoon, viola da gamba, and harpsichord, the musicians, led by founder Clay Zeller-Townson […]
It was certainly a family affair when Los Romeros, a guitar quartet featuring family members – Celin, Pepe, Angel, and Lito Romero – performed at the Lobero, part of the CAMA Masterseries. The family was celebrating its 60th anniversary and the historic theater its 150th birthday. The dynasty settled in Santa Barbara after legendary Spanish […]
It has been a long, long time, eight years to be exact, since Chinese piano legend Lang Lang has played at the Granada. But it was clearly worth the wait as the man, described by The New York Times as “the hottest artist on the classical music planet,” mesmerized the sold-out audience at the concert, […]
After the Soweto Gospel Choir and Step Afrika! at UCSB’s Campbell Hall, courtesy of the Arts & Lectures program, it was time for the venerable Lobero, celebrating its 150th anniversary, to host Ladysmith Black Mambazo, a nine-member Durban-based South African male choral group, who have won five Grammy awards. The highly entertaining troupe, founded in […]
To Gala, a new Anacapa Street eatery, formerly known as Pacific Crêpes, where I would eat regularly when I first came to Santa Barbara in 2007 and churned out a column for the Santa Barbara News-Press, just a tiara’s toss away. Now it has gone from a decidedly French theme to Spanish-owned by chef Jaime […]
My congratulations to Montecito-Based former world champion surfer Shaun Tomson, who is receiving the Community Hero Award in San Diego next month at the 25th anniversary gala of Boys to Men Mentoring. For nine years, Shaun, 67, has participated in the 100 Wave Challenge as an ambassador, an event I have covered annually in these […]
Elizabeth (Betty) Webb Woodworth died of natural causes on Feb. 20, 2023, in Santa Barbara, Calif. She was born on Aug. 17, 1921, in Hamden, Conn., to Anne Pinkney Webb and Paul Webb. Betty was a people person who loved life, no matter the moment or the environment. Betty’s early years were spent in Spring […]
Read more...
The Montessori Center School held its annual soirée benefit at the Santa Barbara Woman’s Club on March 4. The theme, “The Golden Age of Jazz,” brought more gold lurex to this side of the Nile that could rival the rate of inflation. Men in pinstriped, wool zoot suits to tuxedos with bowler hats escorted their […]
Dunn School’s Kalyan Balaven, head of school for the private co-ed college prep boarding and day school in Los Olivos, had no idea of the floodgates that would open when he decided to find a way to help a student from the Ukraine who early last year was initially only seeking a few extra days […]
Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network is battening down the hatches as “baby season” kicks off! Executive Director Ariana Katovich says that since the New Year the nonprofit, based in the Goleta foothills, has had 222 “patients” of 62 different species, 70% of them birds, like herons and pelicans, and 30% mammals, including bush rabbits. But […]
Having written about the sale of uber philanthropist Leslie Ridley-Tree’s Birnam Wood home and her extensive couture wardrobe in last week’s illustrious organ, now it’s time for her amazing collection of bling to hit the market. John Moran Auctioneers in Monrovia is selling 85 lots, including necklaces, earrings, bracelets, brooches, and rings featuring fine gemstones, […]
Planned Parenthood California Central Coast (PPCCC) is one of scores of affiliates across the country that share a vision of a future where everyone has an equitable opportunity to experience health and wellness – including high-quality sexual and reproductive health care provided with respect and without judgment. Founded in 1964, PPCCC might be best known […]
