Mallets were changed for golf clubs when the Santa Barbara Polo Club’s Polo Training Center hosted its fourth annual golf tournament at the Montecito Club with a record 80 participants raising $20,000 for the Carpinteria-based facility. Players went round the Jack Nicklaus-designed course in foursomes during the Farmers & Merchants Bank-sponsored event, although a truck […]
It’s no accident that Rodney Gustafson landed in Santa Barbara to launch his State Street Ballet dance company almost three decades ago. The company’s executive and artistic director had targeted returning to town ever since he’d performed as a dancer with the famed American Ballet Theatre (ABT) at the Arlington Theatre many years before. “I […]
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It wasn’t all Montecito all the time, but there were plenty of Montecito folks who joined a grab bag of Santa Barbarans, Carpinterians, Goletans, Noletans, Mesa denizens, and adventurous tourists, on owner Hiroko Benko’s seventh annual “Broadway Cruise” that took us from Santa Barbara Landing on West Beach – home port of Condor Express – […]
Lynda Millner has represented Montecito Journal at myriad nonprofit events all over the Santa Barbara area for almost as long as Montecito Journal has been around, which is 27 years and counting: the paper was launched in the summer of 1995 and Lynda joined us shortly thereafter. She announced her retirement from “Seen Around Town” […]
Montecito animal activist Gretchen Lieff, who has been making wine for 17 years, has opened her first La Lieff tasting room in the Funk Zone. The 1,000-square-foot Gray Avenue locale, formerly a storage facility for the late Pierre Lafond, had a sneak preview for Tama Takahashi’s 10-year-old Inside Wine club with 37 guests to show […]
Scott and Kohanya Groff opened the doors of their delightful Riven Rock estate for a garden party for the 22-year-old Rona Barrett Foundation with 70 guests raising more than $20,000, its first ever event in Montecito. The monies will go towards the construction of a 60-unit extension to the former Good Morning America gossipeuse’s Golden […]
Montecito globetrotting accountant Frank McGinity has just published his latest 246-page work chronicling nearly 40 years of the California branch of the American Irish Historical Society from its creation in 1983 through the first quarter of the 21st century. Riven Rock-based founder Frank says his work serves not only as a historical document of the […]
Dr. Rebecca Aldoretta is the new Director of Veterinary Services at the Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network. She has vast experience in veterinary care, including wildlife and exotic pet medicine, companion animal general practice, and emergency medicine. After earning her veterinary degree from Kansas State University in 2015, she worked all over the U.S. including […]
The Santa Barbara Woman’s Club gave the first La Merienda since the pandemic. Merienda translates to “snack,” but it was much more than a snack. It was a full-on Mexican dinner with tacos, guacamole, chicken, beef, and salad. Event chair Sue Ziliotto told us, “This event has been going on for 92 years.” All the […]
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Many folks don’t realize there is a group that looks after the preservation of our Santa Barbara Courthouse called the Courthouse Legacy Foundation. During Fiesta they gave their annual party in the Mural Room and adjoining balcony where guests could look over into the Sunken Garden to view the Noches de Ronda show going on […]
Over 27 years ago I walked into the Montecito Journal’s offices and told the founder of the new paper, Jim Buckley, that he didn’t have a society column. He replied, “Write one and if we like it, it’s yours.” Seen Around Town was born and my life changed forever! I always had liked to dress […]
A record 160 guests turned out for the fourth annual Compassionate Care of Carpinteria lunch at the Rincon Beach Club raising more than $40,000 for the nonprofit that deals with end-of-life care. The fête, chaired by Marybeth Carty, was emceed by brothers Ed and Winfred Van Wingerden, with Virginia Benson Wigle, who lost her husband […]
Teresa Kuskey Nowak’s birthday bash at the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum may have had an Under the Sea theme, but there was not a flipper or snorkel to be seen when 112 guests descended on the harborside institution for the fun fête hosted by social gadabout Rick Oshay. After margaritas and comestibles on the museum’s […]
The John E. Profant Foundation for the Arts hosted its 22nd annual Fiesta Finale gala for 144 guests at the historic El Paseo restaurant, raising around $100,000. The fun fête featured myriad entertainers, including the Martinez Brothers, Marco Labastida, Guillermo De Fazio and Giovanna Dan, soprano Camila Lima and pianist Ruy Folguera, and flamenco dancers […]






