Breast Cancer Resource Center (BCRC) invited everyone to deck the halls for the annual tea and fashion show at the Four Seasons Biltmore. It’s always a heart-warming event because the models are breast cancer survivors and we celebrate their battle won over cancer. This year there were eight ladies strutting the runway: Karine Anderson, Debbie […]
Each year, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) holds a design awards holiday gala. This year we gathered in the cozy atmosphere of the University Club for cocktails, dinner, and awards. Robert Ooley FAIA (Fellow) will be president of AIA for the next year. He told us, “Our chapter turns ninety this year and is […]
Every year, Casa del Herrero (House of the Blacksmith) throws a Christmas party for its docents. It’s always after the house is decorated for its annual fundraising gala and the Christmas tours – cider and cookies included. This year it was centered on the loggia with a lovely catered spread of yummy munchies. This was […]
“The Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara (SFSB) has been around for 56 years and has given $108 million to over 50,000 students,” board president Don Logan told the 350 guests at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachside Resort. Every year the Foundation gives a luncheon to thank volunteers and donors for their help. Why does it […]
After 60 years, UCSB Arts & Lectures is still churning out dozens of events a year. One of the latest is “An Evening with Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen” at Campbell Hall. They have performed in Santa Barbara before and the house was packed this time too. Lovett is a four-time Grammy Award winner […]
Christmas is the time this hard working group of women have an event just for their own pleasure – a tea at the Four Seasons Biltmore. Well, not really because they ask attendees to bring an unwrapped toy to be given out to underprivileged children. Nobody makes better tea sandwiches than the Biltmore, especially the […]
You always know when the Christmas season is here when the Channel City Club has its annual Christmas luncheon and program at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort. It began with Gil Rosas playing the piano followed by the Montecito Union School choir conducted by Pam Herzog singing all sorts of Christmas and Hanukkah music. […]
If you like to honor all who served in the military, the place to go on Veterans Day is the Santa Barbara Cemetery just off of Channel Drive. This year was especially poignant because it marked the end of WWI one hundred years ago. The ceremony is put on by the Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation, […]
As Casa del Herrero executive director Jessica Tade said, “This is my favorite night of the year!” She was talking about the annual Christmas party at the Casa. This architect George Washington Smith house built in the early 20s for Carrie and George Steedman from St. Louis, Missouri is decked out in it’s finest “attire” […]
Arts & Lectures from UCSB recently presented a long-time worker for the “Me Too” movement, Tarana Burke. She is from the Bronx, New York and the movement isn’t new to her. She’s been working in the social justice field for 25 years, particularly with girls who are brown and black and have suffered sexual abuse […]
“Remember the past with gratitude. Live the present with enthusiasm. Look forward to the future with confidence.” – St. John Paul II The family, friends, and alumni, 350 strong, of Our Lady of Mount Carmel School gathered at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort for its 35th annual auction and dinner, “An evening of Gratitude.” […]
“The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.” – Coretta Scott King Child Abuse Listening Mediation (CALM) is partnering to build resilient communities throughout Santa Barbara County. For their 7th annual luncheon, the theme was “CALM at Heart: Building Community.” As CEO Alana Walczak said, “We begin […]
Who says you can’t go back? I did and had a fabulous time reminiscing the old and enjoying the new with my husband, Don. That was in Coronado, California, where I was a new bride “a thousand years ago.” My then-husband Cork was a Navy carrier pilot who was stationed at North Island in Coronado. […]
For 30 years, Santa Barbara has been taking care of wildlife. In 1984, 12 people decided to share resources to care for injured and orphaned wildlife. In 1999, Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network (SBWCN) leased a small downtown center that housed songbirds and small mammals. In 1992, June Taylor opened up a seabird pond in […]
The Santa Barbara Historical Museum (SBHM) opened up a delightful exhibit of the fashionistas of the Old West and what they wore. There was the gamut from prairie dresses perfect for a crossing to California in a covered wagon to what the senoritas in Santa Barbara wore for a wedding in the days of the […]
Heal the Ocean (HTO) had a big 20th birthday party at the festive El Paseo Restaurant with 200+ folks who love the ocean in attendance. Executive director Hillary Hauser said this, “When Heal the Ocean came together in 1998, we were a warrior band with nothing but hand-made flyers and bumper stickers. Remember 1998. That’s […]
Storyteller Children’s Center (SCC) held its 30-year black-tie gala in a new place in town – the Hotel Californian at 36 State Street. It was a movable feast with the evening beginning on the rooftop for a VIP reception for patrons. We moved on to the courtyard below for martinis, the silent auction, and a […]
The Santa Barbara Symphony (SBS) took us back to the era of Supper Clubs in a sea of sapphire. The rotunda at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort never looked more beautiful. It was totally draped in royal-blue curtains. The ceiling turned magical as the sun set, the tiny lights looking like we were sitting […]
The Santa Barbara Historical Museum (SBHM) became a movie house for the evening with so many theater-goers that they had to have two showings. The film was a documentary about Riven Rock and the McCormick family. The producer was Frank McGinity, who lived for 27 years in the building that housed the movie theater for […]
For 17 years, the Santa Barbara Rescue Mission (SBRM) has had a fundraiser at the wonderful Dos Pueblos Ranch just north of town. Since one of the founders thought the property looked like a bayou, they have had different bayou themes – this year the Bayou Open, as in golf. Tee-off time was 2 pm […]
A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity just happened in Santa Barbara. That mysterious empty mansion, Bellosguardo, on 23 acres just above East Beach and across from the Bird Refuge, was opened up for the first time in more than 60 years for the party of the century. Five hundred guests dressed in formal Great Gatsby attire – feathers, […]
Youth Interactive has a new home at 1219 State Street – a shiny, contemporary, welcoming place. Mayor Cathy Murrillo was there to cut the ribbon along with a couple hundred spectators who wined and snacked (courtesy of the El Encanto). The Hutton Parker Foundation acquired the building (formerly the Unity Shoppe) in partnership with Youth […]
It really was a Coral (Casino) Sunset when United Way gave its 22nd annual Red Feather Ball. The late Katherine Abercrombie is the honorary chair in perpetuity. She created the Red Feather Ball in 1997 after hearing the story of the Red Feather and how it came to symbolize giving during the Depression Era Community […]
Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation (TBCF) gave its Gold Ribbon Luncheon on the Monte Vista Lawn at the Biltmore Four Seasons Resort in spite of the rain. It was a tad muddy, but with a tent roof hung with beautiful turquoise and gold balloons over our heads, we were all dry and cozy. The luncheon was […]
MontecitoTrails Foundation (MTF) has been working long and hard since the debris flow. Their mission as a nonprofit is to have volunteers and to keep more than 300 miles of trails open to the public. MTF folks want you to know “that thanks to your donations, membership and support the trails are really taking shape.” […]
Girls Inc. of Greater Santa Barbara gave their 17th annual celebration luncheon with the theme “Girls Have the Right!” at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort. The ballroom was packed with folks anxious to hear from speaker Brenda Feigen. Brenda is a feminist activist, attorney, constitutional scholar, and film and television producer. She was an […]
Hearts Therapeutic Equestrian Center (HTEC) at 4420 Calle Real is a special place. As honoree and past president a couple of times, Barbara Toumayan shared, “It was a very small organization when I began fourteen years ago. It brings me total joy.” That will be echoed by thousands of individuals from children to adults since […]
The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum (SBMM) opened its doors to a new exhibit. As executive director Greg Gorga told the visitors, “This is the largest exhibit the museum has ever had. The History of Oil in Santa Barbara Channel has been planned for many years.” As we all know when we come home from a […]
The MClub from Montecito Band & Trust held another Lunch & Learn event at the Santa Barbara Club; this time with author Hattie Beresford speaking about her new book, The Way it Was – Santa Barbara Comes of Age. Hattie has written a local history column for the Montecito Journal for the past 12 years […]
MOXI The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation Museum was the place to be when they held their MOXI Night In Motion to raise funds for the new Community Partners Membership program. “They will be able to provide free and reduced admission for thousands of underserved students, teachers, and families and set curious minds in […]
Deckers Outdoor Corporation generously gave their Rotunda to Habitat for Humanity of Southern Santa Barbara County (HHSSBC) for the Heroes Celebration. Board president Paul Wilson told us, “In the 18 years since Habitat was founded in Santa Barbara, they have built 22 new homes for 84 people, half of which are children, as well as […]
SEE International promised an inspirational afternoon and they didn’t disappoint. We all gathered at the New Vic Theater for a symposium about sight, or as they said, “Seeing the Light.” A friend of ours, the late Dr. Harry Brown, founded SEE International in 1974. Since then, volunteer ophthalmologists have restored sight to more than half […]
Braille Institute Auxiliary of Santa Barbara (BIA) held its 4th annual “Festival of Flavors” at the Braille Institute Santa Barbara Regional Center. It’s a charming venue with its large courtyard in the center of their facility. Event chair Sydney Tredick welcomed everyone by telling us, “The event committee are all the ladies with jewels on […]
The Santa Barbara Center for the Performing Arts (SBCPA) honored three legends in their own time at the 4th annual Granada Theatre Gala. They were singer/song writer Kenny Loggins, philanthropist Sara Miller McCune, and the Santa Barbara Symphony represented by maestro Nir Kabaretti. The gala is always tre elegant with the gentlemen in tuxes and […]
Friendship Center gave its 8th annual Wine Down and Big Heart Awards at its Montecito location. As executive director Heidi Holly said, “Thursday is the new Friday.” That’s because their event was on a Thursday and everyone was wining down. Friendship Center in Montecito and Goleta “share the care” for ageing and dependent adults through […]
In 1938, the Lobero Theatre Foundation was incorporated to maintain, preserve, and present programming for the Lobero Theatre. In 1972, the Associates was founded as a women’s auxiliary to support the theater’s mission. One of those founding members is still with the group, Marilyn Schuermann. The associates hold a seat on the Lobero Theatre Foundation […]
Casa del Herrero gave a tea in the blue and white garden to say “thank you” to its big donors. As executive director Jessica Tade said to them, “We couldn’t do it without you.” The event could have been in another era when hats and gloves were de rigueur. There was fine china, savory finger […]
Hospice of Santa Barbara (HSB) hosted its sixth annual Heroes of Hospice Luncheon at the Coral Casino. It was a perfect venue for the theme “Jewels by the Sea.” A welcome reception was held on the terrace with waves crashing below. One of the reasons we all live in paradise! This luncheon was to honor […]
The Santa Barbara Foundation (SBF) gave its 75th Man & Woman of the Year awards, honoring extraordinary service and volunteerism in Santa Barbara, to Ernesto Paredes and Joni Meisel during lunch at the Coral Casino. The room was packed with friends and relatives of the honorees. Board vice chair Pamela Gann welcomed the crowd and […]
In the desert of vacant store-fronts, at last comes the oasis. Spawned and curated by multi-media artist Metrov, a popup fine art exhibit of six of the leading Santa Barbara artists is on at the Paseo Nuevo Mall, with the grand opening scheduled for this Saturday, September 13, from 5 to 9 pm. Here we […]