A Grace-ful Evening 

Most folks in town are familiar with Grace Fisher, the Santa Barbara native who contracted a virus that spread to her spine and left her paralyzed from the neck down in her senior year in high school in 2014. The story bears repeating, especially at this time of year, as Fisher quickly turned her tragedy into an opportunity to pay forward the healing that music therapy and adaptive art brought her by creating a foundation as a pathway through the arts, therapeutic movement, and creativity to help bring joy to those with physical and cognitive disabilities. The Grace Fisher Foundation’s 6th Annual Winter Music Showcase, set for Sunday, December 10, at the Granada, continues her already favorite local music tradition that presents music, dance, and art from some of the best local performers each December – raising both awareness and critical funds. The diverse roster boasts the Santa Barbara Folk Orchestra, pop-classic guitarist Jackson Gillies, flamenco guitarist Chris Fossek, Selena Valencia from Flamenco Santa Barbara, participants of the Grace Fisher Foundation’s own programs and, as always, original art and compositions by Fisher herself. Find more info about the concert and the foundation’s work at www.gracefisherfoundation.org/donate.