The Santa Barbara Museum of Art Women’s Board decided to do their signature event, Off the Wall, for their annual fundraiser and to pay tribute in memoriam to one of its co-founders, Cecia Hess, who started this lively auction in 2007 with Peggy Odgers. This is the 7th time it has been held since inception […]
First stop, the Innovation Lounge for AI with an immersive speaker system by Genelec and hosted by GPU Audio. I went to the Neural Synthesis machine learning (ML) music-making demo by CJ Carr, head of audio research at Harmonai and band member of DADABOTS. He did live ML sampling, and to make it real he […]
The SB Museum (SBMA) of Art’s Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Director Larry J. Feinberg hosted his Director’s Dialogue with Michael G. Wilson, renowned and accoladed screenwriter and producer of the James Bond film series since 1979 with his sister Barbara Broccoli. Both were recently promoted from OBE to Commander of the Order of the British […]
The SB Woman’s Club at Rockwood hosted a Fiesta fashion show-luncheon on April 19th. The Profant Foundation for the Arts donated their Vintage Fiesta Costume Collection and the models were members of the SB Woman’s Club. During the luncheon and reception, a slide show depicting the history of the Profant family and their involvement in […]
The NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Foundation stepped up to the plate on diversity, equity, and inclusion by acknowledging, awarding, and celebrating Hip Hop music “from the lens and expertise of its musicians, engineers, music brands, and gear used to create Hip Hop” during its NAMM Show (April 13-15) at the Anaheim Convention Center. […]
The Alzheimer’s Association California Central Coast Chapter is hosting their annual Women’s Initiative Inspire luncheon on April 26 at the Hilton Beachfront Resort. Tickets are selling fast, as Emmy and Golden Globe winning actress Jane Seymour is the keynote speaker. When I spoke with Katina Zaninovich, Board Chair and Alzheimer’s Women’s Initiative Committee Chair, about […]
A society news reporter goes where the news is, and this week the spotlight is on fitness. Get those sneakers on kids! April 5th marked the annual American Heart Association’s (AHA) National Walking Day—and the start of your new exercise goals during April walking month. To celebrate it in true California-Girl style is fitness icon […]
The repurposed Santa Barbara store fronts at 4020 Calle Real, Suite 2, are serving our city’s homeless two meals a day – and a place to call home from 9 am to 3 pm. This is the Fr. Virgil Cordano Center (FVCC), conceived by the Daughters of Charity at St. Vincent’s and the Franciscan Friars […]
This is the motto of Girls Inc, founded in 1864 as a movement called the Girls Club of America in Waterbury, CT, and tasked itself to help young women migrating from rural areas to find a job after the Civil War. Fourteen charter clubs were joined into a national organization [1945] by Rachel Harris Johnson, and changed […]
The beloved annual Tiara Ball held by the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital Foundation (CHF)is as glamorous as it is dedicated to raising funds to continue supporting and expanding its latest health care services, and its top rank in the country – in 2020, Newsweek ranked the leading hospitals in 21 countries, listing Santa Barbara Cottage […]
This week we visited with Kerri Burns, CEO of SB Humane and her team of CFO Paige Van Tuyl, and COO Dori Villalon at the Santa Barbara location on Overpass Road. The four-acre property holds a veterinary clinic and surgery center, food, lodging and training of dogs, a cat hotel, and offers shelter during local disasters […]
To celebrate local women of history, this column dedicates the month of March to them – their contributions, their stories, their inspiration, and opportunities to support. This week we are talking with our town’s women barbers. While the barber profession began over 6,000 years ago in Egypt, pushing the bar upward are women barbers who […]
To celebrate local women of history, this column dedicates the month of March to them – their contributions, their stories, their inspiration, and opportunities to support. “Anywhere there is a woman, she is creating impact.” This is the quote of a most accomplished woman whose career spans 26 years with the County of Santa Barbara […]
Clay Studio, founded by Patrick Hall in 2012, held its first exhibition to honor women in ceramics as part of Women’s History Month at its new facility in Goleta. The show, titled Women Makers, Then, Now, Here, opened on March 8, drawing 300 visitors to its three-year-old 24,000-square-foot facility. The showcase is on view through […]
To celebrate local women of history, this column dedicates the month of March to them – their contributions, their stories, their inspiration, and opportunities to support. As a Black woman born in Jamaica, West Indies, growing up in Queens, New York City, and deciding to make Santa Barbara home 15 years ago, Leonie H. Mattison, […]
The Montessori Center School held its annual soirée benefit at the Santa Barbara Woman’s Club on March 4. The theme, “The Golden Age of Jazz,” brought more gold lurex to this side of the Nile that could rival the rate of inflation. Men in pinstriped, wool zoot suits to tuxedos with bowler hats escorted their […]
After receiving a report of five cameras being placed around the Montecito Hot Springs areas and several agencies unaware of their presence, Montecito Journal reached out to local authorities for answers regarding the cameras. The response received was concerned with the current mandatory closure of the local forests, trails, and recreation areas to the public, […]
On Feb. 21, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA) Women’s Board held its annual New Members luncheon at the Santa Barbara Club downtown. The event was chaired by board Vice President Karen Tenzer and the event committee was President Paula Farrington, Jean McCourt, and Linda Wortham. The private gala was artfully done with fresh […]
Uncredited inventors in science, math, aeronautics, architecture, music, and art, women have made numerous contributions to everyday life. Heralding causes from suffragettes, No Kid Hungry, health care, truth in cosmetic ingredients, and redefining beauty – women strive to change the patriarchal narrative. Take notes, Almar Latour, the hemline index, rather the long and short of […]
As we near the end of Black History Month, hopefully all of us have given ourselves the opportunity to explore and experience Black history, culture, contributions, and successes. The Association for the Study of African American Life and History, Inc. writes, “Carter G. Woodson and his co-workers were many, ranging from college presidents and government […]
Black History Month (BHM) is an annual national celebration during February that commenced with Negro History Week (February 1926) initiated by Carter G. Woodson, founder of Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH). Later in the 1940s, Blacks in West Virginia began to celebrate February as Negro History Month, and by 1960 […]
Lauris Rose, board president of the SB International Orchid Show, Inc. (SBIOS),is unstoppable in her quest to keep orchids healthy, thriving, and in the public’s view. Their annual showcase event on March 10-12 at the Earl Warren Showgrounds is once again in bloom. Known as the all-things-orchids global expert, she and her husband have more […]
Feb. 4 saw the 24th annual Festival of Hearts Friendship Center fundraiser at the Rosewood Miramar Beach Resort Montecito. The theme this year was Kentucky Derby Style, with guests dressing in colorful hats and retro-outfits. It was a fun (and fashionable) time for event co-chairs Kathy Marden and Sue Adams: “We have a particular fondness […]
At her “Off the Record” event on Feb. 4 at the El Encanto Hotel, Julie Weiner, Chief Development Officer of CommUnify, stated that she hopes it will be an annual fundraiser. The event is a novel approach by the organization – this speaker engagement series features some of our town’s finest top stars with an […]
On Saturday January 28, the Summerland Elementary School held a community-wide reception to celebrate the re-opening of the school. After being closed since summer 2021, this re-opening signifies a complete rebuild from the soil on up to new classrooms, a multi-purpose room, a library, an office and an outdoor playground funded by Measure U at […]
Director of Conservation and Research for The Los Padres ForestWatch Bryant Baker has announced their new phone app for the public to find real time information on forest and trail closures and conditions. Baker says: “Due to damage caused by severe winter storms earlier this month, many trails and roads have been closed to public […]
Society News is pleased to share the 2023 Legacy Award Winners of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History (SBMNH), which were announced at a private Leadership Circles of Giving soirée last week. The Legacy Awards went to philanthropists Elisabeth and Greg Fowler; Renee Grubb,owner of Village Properties; andornithology supporter, John O’Brien. In his speech […]
Get your popcorn and astronaut ice cream ready for some rare astral entertainment. The famous Comet C/2022 E3 ZTF – at its peak February 1 and 2 – can be viewed at NNE, 23 to 40 degrees above the horizon, from 9 pm to sunrise, with amateur telescopes and possibly your 10x binoculars. The significance […]
We are most honored to have spent time doing an in-depth interview with Eik Kahng PhD, Deputy Director, and Chief Curator of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA). Preferring to concentrate on work minus the accolades, she graciously accepted to do it between curation, establishing new high-caliber art education programming for our town at […]
The best time to join the Santa Barbara Audubon Society is at its annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC), where anyone from hobbyist to serious ornithologist can contribute data locally that is then forwarded nationally to track the various bird species, their migratory paths, and population findings. Birds have long been regarded as a barometer for […]
California Governor Gavin Newsom visited the Randall Road Debris Basin on Friday, January 13. The visit from Governor Newsom comes after a National Guard unit was deployed from Chico, CA, on January 12, 2023, to assist in clearing out rubble from the Randall Road Debris Basin in preparation for the upcoming storm. As a special […]
On a cold, windy, rainy New Year’s Eve afternoon, Adam McKaig texted me that he would be doing the Santa Barbara Polar Dip on New Year’s Day to benefit his nonprofit, Adam’s Angels. The event was founded by Hugh Margerum and Julie DeAngelis seven years ago with a single mission: “To bring people together by […]
Your Montecito Journal news correspondent is happy to report and welcome our town’s first babies of 2023, starting with Rose Peters, a girl and first child to parents Por Soua and Grayson Peters of Goleta. Born at 3:33 am on January 1 at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, Rose weighed in at 6 pounds and was […]
It was indeed a magical day for our 2nd Annual Montecito Holiday Car Parade, and the weather was most excellent after weeks of rain. Kids from 1 to 92 lined the streets of the parade route, cheering on the brightly-lit decorated cars and some with pets including Shetland ponies, holiday music, and more! Leading the […]
The Santa Barbara Rescue Mission (SBRM) Women’s Auxiliary (WA) held its annual Christmas Tea for its Bethel House women in recovery on Wednesday, December 14 at the home of Susan Hughes. The Women’s Auxiliary, led by President Pamela Dillman Haskell, supports the SBRM through prayer, fundraising for its programs, and community outreach. One such program […]
Carpinteria-Summerland Firefighters, the Local 3368 International Association of Firefighters, held their 2nd Annual Santa Run on Friday, December 16, with routes through Carpinteria and Summerland respectively. Founded two years ago by Firefighter (FF) Pat Cockrum, Vice President of Carpinteria-Summerland Firefighters, the event is a community favorite with the entire crew and fire engines from 1926 […]
The Montecito Journal is pleased to announce the wedding of Jessikah Moran and Jacob Fechner. The couple was married in a private ceremony on Friday, December 16, by an officiant at the Santa Barbara Courthouse, where they read their wedding vows that they wrote for each other. The bride wore a long, white lace-over tulle […]
A pertinent historical and classical portrait exhibition is on view at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum titled, “Clarence Mattei (1883-1945), Portrait of a Community,” curated by the museum staff in conjunction with Santa Barbara historian Erin Graffy. Mattei’s portraits feature local to international luminaries, politicians, film stars, and the elite. His father Felix founded Mattei’s […]
A wet and windy evening did not derail the annual Christmas at the Casa fundraising event at Casa del Herrero on December 10, as guests were chauffeured from the El Montecito Church parking lot to the event. There we were greeted with elegantly dressed staff who escorted us with umbrellas to the host desk and […]
On Sunday, December 11, the 36th Annual Parade of Lights Boat Show was held at Stearns Wharf and seen along the city beachfront from West to East beaches. The parade was founded by Captain Don Hedden, a former president of the Stearns Wharf Business Association, in 1985 and has since become a holiday favorite. The […]