What’s that cliché? “If at first you don’t succeed try, try again.” And that’s what this year’s winner of Teen Star singing contest did. Seventeen-year-old Daniel Geiger from Pioneer Valley High School won the title Teen Star after his third try. Judges loved the confidence that he had acquired over the years and his songs […]
Everyone says we live in paradise, but there is another paradise in Goleta at the state-of-the-art ice skating rink called Ice in Paradise. It’s located not far from Costco at 6985 Santa Felicia. The rink’s main donor (more than $1 million) was Ed Snider, who owned the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League. In […]
The Ritz-Carlton, Bacara was the site of the 10th Santa Barbara Wine Auction given by the Santa Barbara Vinters Foundation (SBVF) to benefit Direct Relief. The charity has many supporters, with 530 of them showing up in black tie for this every two-year event. The foundation is the charitable umbrella under which the Santa Barbara […]
“The Queen of Hearts Tea Party” was the theme for Friendship Center’s 19th annual Festival of Hearts at the Fess Parker. It was to benefit H.E.A.R.T (Help Elders At Risk Today), which allows Friendship Center’s programs to remain available to all in need, regardless of income limitations. It’s always a fun luncheon, and this year […]
February not only includes Valentine’s Day, but it’s also a heart-healthy month with the “Go Red for Women” luncheon sponsored by the American Heart Association (AHA). Emcee Kelsey Gerckens told the sold-out audience at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara, “Heart disease is the biggest killer of women, more than all cancers combined. One woman dies every 80 […]
Now that the Santa Barbara International Film Festival ((SBIFF) red carpet is rolled up and put away for another year, it might be fun to turn the clock back and remember how it was. Long before there was a SBIFF, Santa Barbara was the first film capital of the west and the largest in the […]
The Santa Barbara Historical Museum (SBHM) just opened a new dual exhibit titled “Displaced: The Detention & Internment of Santa Barbarans During World War II” and “Only The Oaks Remain”. The show opened on First Thursday and will be followed by two lectures: “The Road to Tuna Canyon” given Thursday, February 22, at 5:30 pm […]
A special preview reception was held at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA) for exhibition sponsors, sustaining trustees, legacy society, benefactors circle, director’s patron, PhotoFutures, and special guests. This was followed by a reception for all of the members. The new exhibition titled “Brought to Light” is drawn from the 28,000 works of art […]
Besides being able to furnish your digs at Cabana Home, you can find interesting art for the walls. Caroline and Steve Thompson, who own the business, continually hold openings for various artists from up and down the coast. The latest wine reception was for Robert Stone, who was raised in Santa Barbara and is now […]
Coast2 Coast Collection in La Arcada Courtyard and its owner, Holly Murphy, invited the public to an artist’s reception of Mara Abboud’s paintings and tile works. Twenty percent of all sales benefited the Santa Barbara Museum of Art Women’s board. The board president Fran Morrow told me, “We use our funds to help the museum […]
Remember December? Or better not. Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church (OLMC) had scheduled a Christmas concert for December but had to cancel it because of the Thomas Fire. So, there was Christmas in January. The church and concert were free and open to the public. The poinsettias still filled the altar area, and […]
It was time to celebrate mayor Helene Schneider’s 14 years of public service (eight years as mayor) and hundreds showed up at the Community Arts Workshop (CAW) on Garden Street to do so. Besides celebrating at the carnival-themed part, they honored the first responders who bravely battled the Thomas Fire, and funds were also raised […]
As many times as I’ve been to Palm Springs and the desert towns, I’d never heard of the General Patton Desert Museum. It’s located off Interstate 10 about 30 miles east of Indio at Chiriaco Summit, which was the entrance to Camp Young command post for the Desert Training Camp (DTC). It was the largest […]
Advice from a tree: Stand tall and proud, remember you roots, reflect the light of your true nature, drink plenty of water, enjoy the view! My son Dane and daughter-in-law Alli live in Three Rivers, California. Where is that, you ask? Head for Bakersfield and Visalia, turning toward the right following the signs to get […]
Deck the Halls! It was time for the Lobero Theatre Associates’s annual Holiday Tea at The Four Seasons Biltmore. I saw more sparkling wine than tea, but never mind. It’s the season to sparkle. And no one makes better tea sandwiches than the Biltmore, especially the lobster ones. Fredrik Rosvall was at the piano, as […]
Breast Cancer Resource Center (BCRC) board president Rose Hodge and executive director Silvana Kelly welcomed everyone to the Four Seasons Biltmore Loggia Room. “This is our 10th annual tea and fashion show and our 20th anniversary.” Prior to lunch, the ladies had been busy shopping and choosing which pot to put their free raffle tickets […]
Every year, the Casa del Herrero staff gives a “thank you” Christmas cocktail party for its docents and volunteers. It follows a few days after the gala fundraiser so the house is decorated for that soirée and for the upcoming Christmas tours – a truly special time to visit the Casa. As they say, “It’s […]
Casa del Herrero Board of Trustees invited one and all to Christmas at the Casa, a celebration of preservation. This 11-acre estate was completed in 1925, the day of the great Santa Barbara earthquake. It sustained no damage, and Carrie and George Steedman moved in. It is now a National Historic Landmark and preserved for […]
The twenty-sixth annual Catholic Charities Mistletoe Ball took over the Biltmore Coral Casino for a night of wining, dining, and dancing. We began on the terrace and ended in the beautiful ballroom totally decorated with the walls draped in forest-green fabric and the ceiling hung with hundreds of peach-colored balloons with silver milar strings. Co-chairs […]
The Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara gives a Community Leaders Luncheon to thank its donors and volunteers. This year, there were 350 folks attending at the Fess Parker – many to be thanked. Board chair Don Logan told the group, “This year we gave $8.44 million in scholar ships to 2,688 students and helped 25,000 […]
We flew from Miami to the eastern edge of Cuba to Holguin and transferred by bus to Santiago de Cuba, one of the first European settlements in Cuba dating to 1514. It is said that all wars started in Santiago and ended there. A poet, essayist, and revolutionary, one of Cuba’s heroes is Jose Marti, […]
Salsa and cigars, rum and mojitos, music and the Tropicana nightclub, 1950s cars. Icons of Cuba. Christopher Columbus is touted to be the first tourist in 1492, but I don’t think he found a nightclub or cigars. My husband, Don, and I went to Cuba on our honeymoon in 2002 with the Museum of Art […]
Una Noche de Estrellas (A Night of Stars) was the benefit theme for the Santa Barbara Trust For Historic Preservation’s (SBTHP) soirée at Casa de la Guerra. It was an evening of all things Spanish and where I lived for seven years. One must always start with food, and there were tapas including my favorite, […]
Opera Santa Barbara just opened the season with their most elaborate production ever — Massenet’s Manon. It was sung in French with English subtitles. When I went to my first opera it was the Opera House in Naples, Italy there were no subtitles. We would read our book that told all the stories before we […]
UCSB Arts & Lectures is at it again! They have brought the cutting-edge comedian Samantha Bee from New York to appear at the Arlington Theatre for a conversation with our own local bombshell writer Starshine Roshell, who is also wise and witty. Samantha is known for her comedic voice on her late night show Full […]
“To be killed in war is not the worst. To be lost in war is not the worst. To be forgotten is the worst.” – Pierre Claeyssens The 21st annual Military Ball was held for more than 700 people – veterans, active-duty service members, their families, and friends at The Fess Parker, the biggest ever. […]
The Alzheimer’s Women’s Initiative (AWI) Committee gave its fourth annual “Your Brain Matters’ Luncheon” at The Fess Parker. This was obviously on people’s minds (pun intended), since there was a crowd of 500 attending and looking forward to the speakers and some Alzheimer’s education. Co-chairs were Katina Etsell and Gerd Jordano, who was also a […]
The United Nations Association (UNA) of Santa Barbara and Tri Counties has awarded its inaugural 2017 Santa Barbara Peace Prize to environmental leader Rinaldo Brutoco, founding president of the World Business Academy, now in its 30th year. Friends and nominees gathered at Moby Dick restaurant for a wine reception and dinner and to congratulate Rinaldo. […]
“Love begins at home and it is not how much we do, but how much love we put into that action.” – Mother Teresa CALM (Child Abuse Listening Mediation) knows all about that. They are there for abused children. Today was their sixth Fostering Love event. That is in addition to the CALM Authors luncheon […]
It’s not about Halloween! When you see a luminescence in the pitch of the night in theatres across the land, it’s the Ghost Light. According to the Ensemble Theatre program, “The haunting bulb stands (a bulb on a stick) bare-bones and aglow defying the inky darkness and beckoning spirits to come hither and play.” Many […]
This was a long-awaited occasion when the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) appeared on the Arlington Theatre stage. The orchestra was so large, there was barely room to get the conductor Zubin Mehta on stage and onto his platform. The theatre was filled as well. UCSB Miller McCune executive director Celesta M. Billeci had many sponsors […]
La Casa de Maria is a special place for many of us. I discovered it walking in Montecito many years ago. Who knew that I would eventually be married in its chapel? These 26 acres spell peace in the best way. The Chumash were the first residents to tend the spirit and beings of this […]
More than 100 of Gloria and Peter Clark’s friends gathered at the University Club to celebrate their wedding, which took place a month before. As they said on the invitation, “Nobody Saw This One Coming!!” John J. Thyne III officiated with best man Barry DeVorzon and two matrons of honor, Jelinda DeVorzon and Nina Terzian. […]
Longtime friend Andy LoRusso just came out with a new book, Sing & Cook with Andy LoRusso The Singing Chef. It’s the 25th anniversary of his career singing and cooking. Friends and fans met at Tecolote bookstore for his book signing. With the tome you not only cook, you can sing along at the same […]