That’s a Rhapsody

Santa Barbara Symphony, under veteran maestro Nir Kabaretti, kicked offs its 65th season in fine style at the Granada with an intoxicating Rhapsody in Blue concert, featuring pianist Jeffrey Biegel, playing George Gershwin’s 1924 classic.

The entertaining show kicked off with Hungarian Ernst von Dohnanyi’s folk and gospel-infused American Rhapsody, wrapping with Hector Berlioz’s epic Symphony fantastique.

A cracking start to the season.

True Love

This week, business owners across the Central Coast will be kicking up their heels and dancing to celebrate recovery and resilience for a music video.

From the New Year disasters – the Thomas Fire and the catastrophic mudslides – a new initiative was formed called “I Love Local Business,” a collaborative of dozens of local organizations, chambers of commerce, and local businesses.

The campaign, facilitated by Women’s Economic Ventures, has been filming music video dance scenes with local business owners in Santa Barbara, Montecito, Carpinteria, and Ventura.

The project even has a custom song with the chorus line “I Love Local Business in the 805” to the tune of local warbler Katy Perry‘s “California Gurls.”

Emmy-nominated local song writer Molly-Ann Leikin produced the parody lyrics, and the song was professionally recorded.

Wedding Bells

Just a week after Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos‘s tribal pow-wow at the Biltmore, it was almost the same again when store heiress Hayley Bloomingdale tied the knot with lighting designer Dada Stileman in a lavish ceremony.

The tony twosome married in a traditional service at Our Lady of Mount Carmel church before the glittering reception at Beanie Baby billionaire Ty Warner‘s impressive Butterfly Beach hostelry, where security was airtight.

Hayley, 32, a London-based communications director, who just the week before had attended the nuptials of Queen Elizabeth‘s granddaughter Princess Eugenie to Jack Brooksbank at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, was walked down the aisle by her father, Robert Bloomingdale, in a stylish ivory gown with a full chiffon skirt decorated with intricate floral designs.

I used to know Hayley’s late grandmother, the irrepressible Betsy Bloomingdale, having met at publisher Malcolm Forbes’s legendary three-day 70th birthday bash at his Palais Mendoub in Tangier, Morocco, in 1989 with good friend, New York socialite Pat Buckley, wife of columnist Bill Buckley.

Betsy, a close friend of late First Lady Nancy Reagan, left us for more heavenly pastures two years ago.

A small world.

Sightings: Mad Men actor Jon Hamm at the Biltmore… Oscar winner Michael Keaton noshing at Olio Pizzeria… Dennis Miller at Starbucks on CVR

Readers with tips, sightings and amusing items for Richard’s column should email him at richardmineards@verizon.net or send invitations or other correspondence to the Journal.

To reach Priscilla, email her at priscilla@santabarbaraseen.com or call 969-3301.