22 Mar 2018
American Irish Historical Society
In this St. Patrick’s Day month, it seemed appropriate to attend a meeting of the American Irish Historical Society at a private club. The founder and president of the California branch Frank McGinity had invited me. The speaker was a notable Irishman Hugh Kelly, who brought his book Honest John Kelly Truth or Satire. Hugh […]
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BASSH One Giant Dance Party for All
Hector Sanchez appeared in so many of the pieces performed at last year’s BASSH – the theatrical showcase for local dance professionals and their protégés to show off their choreography in a wide variety of social dance genres – that one was thinking they might have to change the name of the two-decades old production […]
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Singular Symbols
Here is a little quiz for you: What country is represented by (a) a part of a tree? (b) a whole tree? The part of a tree is a leaf, and the maple leaf has been the symbol of Canada for centuries, though it did not get onto the national flag until 1965. A key […]
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Lobero Ghostlight Society
What is a ghostlight? As described in the program: “Ghostlight is named for a theatrical tradition dating back to Shakespeare’s old globe, the ghostlight is a bare bulb atop a rudimentary pole which stands at center stage, lit by the last person to leave the theater each night and extinguished by the first to arrive […]
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The Spring Market
I am enjoying the sound of rain dancing on the roof of my home in the upper village, and for the first time this winter, I am not concerned nor have I been ordered to evacuate. I attribute my current comfort level to the teams of experts, engineers, truckers, and laborers who are helping bring […]
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15 Mar 2018
On the Money
Santa Barbara Museum of Art hosted the 39th annual Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara art scholarship exhibition featuring works by 29 winning students, who each receive $2,500 toward future education. Seventy youngsters submitted works – sculptures, collages, oils, and other media – judged by City College lecturer Anthony Askew, art author and mosaic artist Patti […]
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Crane Respond-A-Thon
Next Friday, March 23, Crane students will take part in a Spirit Day and “Respond-A-Thon”, an all-school jog-a-thon to raise money for organizations that supported Santa Barbara and Montecito during the Thomas Fire and Montecito Debris Flow. The school has a goal of raising $5,000, and a generous donor is offering to match up to $10,000 […]
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Opening Day Ceremonies
For the 146th time, the Santa Barbara Yacht Club celebrated the inauguration of their sailing season. Members and guests who came from far and near were greeted by red, white, and blue balloons and buntings all about the clubhouse. At the “helm” of the receiving line was commodore John Koontz, vice commodore Scott Deardorff, and […]
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Dance Stance
Superlatives are not sufficient to describe the Spanish National Dance Company’s performance of Swedish choreographer Johan Inger‘s Carmen at the Granada. The 39-year-old Madrid-based troupe, who last dazzled us six years ago, showed why the quintessentially Spanish work has become one of the most talked-about new ballets of the decade with Japan-born Kayoko Everhart dazzling […]
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Anniversaries Abound at Grand Granada
Social gridlock reigned at the venerable Granada for a 20/10 celebration, marking the 20th anniversary of the first Santa Barbara Center for the Performing Arts board meeting and the 10th anniversary of the iconic theater’s grand re-opening with founding, former, and current board members. The McCune Founders Room was packed as Hal Conklin, Frank Goss, […]
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I Can See Kinda Clearly Now…
“Have you seen my glasses?” “Unbelievable. You’re always losing them!” It’s true. I have three pair and some days I can’t find any of them. “Here they are,” Pat said, returning from the back patio. “Those are my reading glasses. I need my distance glasses if I have to go… I mean, because I want […]
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Riven Rock
The Santa Barbara Club turned into a mini film festival when there was a preview screening of a new documentary called The Romancing & Reaping of Riven Rock. The executive producer was Frank McGinity. He told me, “I went to some of my Riven Rock neighbors and said that I needed $500 from each to […]
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Violinist Awarded Guild Scholarship
Violinist Bryan Kaleta, a senior at Canyon Crest Academy in San Diego, earned top honors at the sixth annual Music Guild Competition on March 3, where seven high school seniors competed for Westmont music scholarships. He received the $10,000 Music Guild scholarship (up to $40,000 over four years), plus awards for private music instruction and […]
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Feeling Lear-y: 4Q’s with a Kingmaker
Rubicon Theatre Company (RTC) is making no bones about comparing Shakespeare’s tragic King Lear to the current American president. “Timely and trenchant,” the press release states, “Lear the story of a narcissistic ruler who craves adulation, casts out those who doubt his decisions, and neglects those on the fringes of society…. A haunting and epic […]
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Santa Barbara’s Poet Laureate (2007-2009)
Some people you meet in life by pure coincidence and others are put in your path. I do believe Perie Longo was not only put in my path for a reason but changed the course of my life forever. I was a painter when I met Perie, and now I am a writer; more about that […]
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Dancing with a Star
Alan Bersten was just 10 years old when the first season of Dancing with the Stars (DWTS) aired on television. He’d watch the athletes and movie stars partner with professional ballroom dancers, fantasizing about matching their grace and power as they glided across the floor. But when his grandmother told him, “One day, you’re going […]
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Jewish Film Fest’s New Math: 11 = 3
The Santa Barbara Jewish Film Festival (JFF) got its start back at the turn of century, when Barbara Greenleaf and her husband, Jon, decided Santa Barbara needed its own fest devoted to Jewish films to add to the cultural community after attending a similar one in San Francisco. The fest ran for more eight years […]
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Score by Four
Rather than decomposing, the four musicians featured in Camerata Pacifica’s latest concert at the Music Academy of the West’s Hahn Hall were very much alive and well. Normally, the classical music troupe’s monthly repertoire includes one or more famous past composers, but Irish founder Adrian Spence decided a more contemporary program was needed with a […]
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Government Must Pay If It Wants to Stop Us from Rebuilding
A few days before the mudslide, my neighbor Curtis Skene moved his 104-year old mother out of their home on East Valley Lane. Around 4 am on the day of the mudslide, he heard crashing sounds, looked out the bedroom window, and saw giant boulders fly by. He hopped out of bed and ran outside. […]
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Belated Christmas Party
Beverley Jackson gives an annual Christmas party with all the guests bringing an unwrapped toy to be donated to needy children. This year she had to postpone it twice because of the fire and floods. About 100 folks gathered at her cozy condo in Montecito Shores armed with precious stuffed animals, games, and books that […]
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