21 Jan 2025
Damask Banqueting Tablecloth
My daughter-in-law Meredith asked for the gift of an early 20th century white Damask banqueting tablecloth that had been owned by my great-aunt. Perhaps your family set tables this past season using the “canvas” of a fine tablecloth for the “artwork” – the meal prepared at home. The history of the tablecloth involves art history, […]
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The Healing Power of Community
Dear L.A. neighbors, friends, and loved ones, If you’re up here during this tragic and traumatic moment for our beloved Los Angeles, welcome. If you’re reading this from afar, I hope you’re somewhere safe with the support of friends and loved ones. If your home has been destroyed, or you’ve suffered any other meaningful loss, […]
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Montecito Organizations Aid L.A. Fire Evacuees
From Sunday, January 12, through Wednesday, January 15 – Crane Country Day School and All Saints-by-the-Sea Parish Montecito held a donation and pick up drive for the L.A. Fire evacuees staying in the area. Donations were received at All Saints-by-the-Sea Parish Hall and outside grassy areas, and a private area was provided where L.A. Fire […]
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Montecito Schools & YMCA Aid Children of L.A. Fire Evacuees
Cold Spring School, Montecito Union School and the Montecito YMCA preschool at the time of this report have initiated their educational response for the L.A. fire evacuee children who are staying with Montecito friends and families, at Montecito hotels, and temporarily renting Montecito housing. Over the weekend through Monday, I started an email thread with […]
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One805’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Firehose
Richard Weston-Smith is a co-founder & COO of One805 – alongside cofounder/CEO Kirsten Cavendish Weston-Smith and cofounder/CFO John J. Thyne III. What exactly did these folks cofound? It’s a fair question. The nearly indescribable One805 can rightly be called First Responder to our First Responders. Like many nouns in the English language, though, First Responder […]
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Bullock Is Back, and Going Baroque
Although the Baroque ensemble Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE) was founded in 1986, it’s taken nearly four decades for the London-based ensemble – which employs period instruments to offer historically accurate performances of the much-beloved repertoire – to make it to Santa Barbara. OAE’s local debut is set for January 21 at the […]
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Baroque Continues to Beckon
Baroque lovers have an earlier chance to hear even more surprising music from the era as Camerata Pacifica launches its third mini-series of Baroque concerts with Friday’s concert at Hahn Hall featuring series music director-curator and flutist Emi Ferguson, a 2023 recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant, and jazz/Baroque keyboard specialist Dan Tepfer, who […]
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Symphony’s ‘Mozart Marathon’ with Members Soloing
The Santa Barbara Symphony kicks off the new year with a weekend pair of performances January 18-19 boasting entirely different programs each concert. The beloved and prolific composer Mozart is the focus for the concerts that boast a total of four concertos featuring different instrumental soloists drawn from the ensemble’s impressive principal players, encompassing flute, […]
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Miró Makes Its Way to Mary Craig
The Austin-based Miró Quartet, long considered one of America’s most celebrated and dedicated string quartets, marks its 30th anniversary with a return to the Santa Barbara Museum of Art’s laudable chamber music series on January 19. The Miró, which in 2005 became the first ensemble ever to be awarded the coveted Avery Fisher Career Grant, […]
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Chopin for (Not) a Change
Closing out a crowded week in classical music, Garrick Ohlsson returns to CAMA Masterseries at the Lobero in a full-circle concert. The highly praised pianist, whose early triumph at the 1970 Chopin Piano Competition launched his career, will play an all-Chopin program on January 23. Ohlsson, whose half-century-plus of performing has put him at the […]
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Dance Dimensions: ‘Palermo!’ Premieres
Meredith Ventura’s Selah Dance Collective is performing the world premiere of Palermo! (Sure Shot Comedy! Bang Up Fun!) over three shows at Center Stage Theater January 17-18. The piece continues Ventura’s choreographic exploration of early 20th-century performance, building on her acclaimed research project Sound and Smoke, which examines the aesthetics and social undercurrents of 1920s […]
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An Unlikely Duo Maps Out Their Vision for Santa Barbara County
At last week’s Board meeting, there was an Honor Guard, the La Colina HS Jazz Band, and even a bit of soaring keynote rhetoric from Montecito’s own Gwyn Lurie. It was as Supervisor Steve Lavagnino described — a “celebration of democracy” — where Roy Lee took his place on the dais and Supervisor Laura Capps […]
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Good Governance & Speeches
I picked up the MJ this morning and read your [Gwyn Lurie] editorial, the transcript from last week’s BOS meeting. I loved it. It captures what I hold as the essence of the expectation – the hope, to borrow from you – of good governance. I also delighted in the eclectic choices of sources and […]
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Supervisors Lead the Way on New Cannabis Odor Regulations
The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the Cannabis Odor Abatement and Proposed Amendments Plan at their meeting on Tuesday, September 14th. Chair Laura Capps and Vice Chair Bob Nelson spearheaded the initiative to amend Chapter 50 of the county’s Code of Ordinances to address ongoing odor concerns related to cannabis cultivation. The […]
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Art at the Casa
Cadillac margaritas topped with Grand Marnier and burritos added to the decided Mexican theme when award-winning food writer and author Betty Fussell, 97, recipient of three James Beard Awards, welcomed her Mazatlán-based daughter Rosalind “Tucky” to Casa Dorinda for a joint exhibition of their artwork. Betty, who moved to our Eden by the Beach from […]
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Good ‘Mean Girls’
Mean Girls The Musical certainly hit the right note when presented by the American Theatre Guild at the Granada. The hilarious hit musical from 30 Rock actress Tina Fey and her husband, three-time Emmy winner Jeff Richmond, Legally Blonde lyricist Nell Benjamin, and Book of Mormon choreographer Casey Nicholaw, is the story of a naive […]
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Celebrating Donald McInnes
The life of Donald McInnes, Camerata Pacifica’s first principal violist, was celebrated at the Music Academy of the West’s Lehmann Hall. McInnes, who studied at the academy from 1954 to 1956 and was a member of the faculty from 1982 to 2012, died in October at his home in Rancho Mirage aged 85. The UCSB […]
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In the Forums
Fest Forums, the signature three-day event for festival producers in the U.S., takes place at the Mar Monte Hotel next month from Feb. 12 to the 14th. The popular event, celebrating its 9th year, will host an impressive lineup of industry leaders, innovators, and creatives from across the festival landscape, with industry topics including sustainability, […]
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