In other Maui news, former TV talk-show titan Oprah Winfrey, 69, has teamed up with actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, 51, in committing $10 million to make direct payments to the Hawaiian island of Maui devastated by wildfires. The People’s Fund of Maui will give $1,200 to adults not being able to return to their […]
Our tony town’s party animals were out en masse for Santa Barbara Zoo’s sold-out 37th annual Zoofari “Sparkle & Shine” gala with more than 800 guests converging on the 30-acre hilltop menagerie housing more than 600 animal inhabitants and raising more than $400,000. Like fireflies in the night, the creatively costumed guests unleashed their inner […]
Billionaire Rick Caruso’s Rosewood Miramar went to the dogs when dozens of canines invaded the tony hostelry’s Great Lawn to celebrate its 2nd annual International Dog Day hosted by managing director Rick Fidel. With pet owners paying $250 to enter, all proceeds benefited the local animal shelter, Santa Barbara Humane, which has two locales in […]
The Santa Barbara Channel, better known for its population of Great White sharks, made way for the Great White Way when Hiroko Benko, bubbly owner of the popular whale watching vessel, Condor Express, hosted her 8th annual Broadway Cruise, a two-hour delight featuring music from New York and London’s finest musicals. KEYT-TV chief meteorologist and […]
It was an appropriately magic moment when Magic Castle owner Milt Larsen, who moved to more heavenly pastures in May at the age of 92, was given an Aloha Milt! sendoff at Carpinteria State Beach in a 12-foot replica of a Viking longboat, which was blown up 500 feet offshore as 100 friends and guests, […]
On a personal note, I remember the delightful Irma Jurkowitz, who, with her husband Morrie, was a resident in our Eden by the Beach for more than half a century. The dynamic duo, once the owners of the Granada Theatre and the tower building above it, established the Jurkowitz Center for Community Engagement in honor […]
Meghan Markle’s estranged father Thomas is refuting reports he approves of photographer Ken Larsen’s celebrity sightseeing tours in Los Angeles and Montecito, which will include Prince Harry’s Riven Rock estate. Thomas, 79, blasts the bus tour – $1,400 for a group of six – as “tacky” and says he is not included in any way […]
It’s all systems go for an additional fire station on 3806 Via Real, located between Summerland and Carpinteria! The goal is to open a state-of-the-art firehouse on this site. A new nonprofit, Santa Barbara South Coast Fire Fighter Foundation, has been formed and held its kickoff event at Bella Vista, the sprawling Summerland oceanside home […]
Note even a 5.1 earthquake near Ojai or Tropical Storm Hilary could impact the Ensemble Theatre Company’s annual Curtain Up! gala at the historic Santa Barbara Club, attracting 167 guests and raising around $260,000 for the popular New Vic theater, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary. A 90-minute show preceded the boffo bash hosted by […]
Golf clubs replaced mallets when Santa Barbara Polo Club’s Polo Training Center hosted its 5th annual golf tournament at the Montecito Club with 18 teams raising a hefty $100,000 for the Carpinteria-based facility. Players went round the Jack Nicklaus-designed 18-hole course in foursomes during the Farmers & Merchants Bank-sponsored event, although a BMW donated by […]
State Street Ballet founder Rodney Gustafson is transitioning to founding director, with appointments of Megan Philipp as artistic director and Cecily MacDougall as executive director. “As we approach our 30th year, I am focused on evolving our repertoire toward a new generation of artistic vision,” says Gustafson, a former dancer with American Ballet Theatre in […]
Montecito author and wellness expert Michelle Ebbin got invaluable promotion for her new book The Touch Remedy when she appeared on the top ABC syndicated daytime TV talk show LIVE With Kelly and Mark in New York. She guided the husband-and-wife hosts through reflexology techniques on her segment, which went viral, appearing in People magazine, […]
On a deeply personal note, I mark the passing of Carolyn Amory, who has moved to more heavenly pastures at the age of 101 after spending the last chapter of her glorious and fascinating life at Casa Dorinda. When I first moved to Montecito from my home in L.A.’s Hancock Park in 2007, I would […]
Horrifying news! A celebrity sightseeing jaunt which promises to take royal fans close to the Riven Rock estate of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is in the works. The new guided tour, which will set visitors back $1,400 for a group of six, will take in many of the tony twosome’s hangouts in our rarefied […]
Santa Barbara’s iconic New Vic theater celebrated its 10th anniversary in energetic style with a Play It Forward on-stage gala starring a colorful cavalcade of talent as the resident Ensemble Theatre Company (ETC) prepares for its 45th season in the West Victoria Street venue. After 25 years at the rustic 140-seat Alhecama Theatre and a […]
Social gridlock reigned when society gadabout Rick Oshay hosted a boffo birthday beano at his Montecito home for his longtime companion Teresa Kuskey, founder of the colorful and energized La Boheme dance troupe. Nearly 70 guests turned out for the sunset soirée when Rick and Teresa returned to our rarefied enclave after catching Les Misérables […]
To La Cumbre Plaza to view the new 3,500-square-foot Voice Magazine and Gallery that has been opened by the dynamic duo of Mark Whitehurst and accomplished sculptress Kerry Methner with rotating shows of around 60 artworks each month. Works from Santa Barbara Visual Arts currently adorn the walls to be replaced in due course with […]
Jonathan Fox, who left the Ensemble Theatre Company after 17 years as artistic director, has been spending the summer in Santa Barbara’s sister city Kotor, Montenegro. Jonathan has been presenting a production of An Iliad, a modern-day retelling of Homer’s classic. The opening performance was at the 18th century St. Nicholas Franciscan monastery. The production […]
Oprah Winfrey, who owns more than 2,000 acres on the Hawaiian island of Maui with three different properties, has been helping out at a local rescue center after the catastrophic wildfires killed nearly 100 people and destroyed hundreds of homes. The former TV talk show titan, 69, brought diapers, pillows, and bottles of shampoo to […]
Prince Harry and his actress wife Meghan Markle are planning a production of Canadian novelist Carley Fortune’s romance Meet Me at the Lake. The New York Times bestseller, Fortune’s second novel is a story about two long lost lovers whose paths cross by chance a decade after first meeting. Netflix or the Sussexes paid around […]
George Leis, president of Montecito Bank & Trust, is having a new lease on life! George, who is also a board member of Santa Barbara Zoo, the Santa Barbara Historical Museum, the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, and the Channel Islands YMCA, becomes chairman of the national YMCA in February, succeeding CiCi Rojas, the first Hispanic […]
Montecito’s Music Academy wrapped up its 76th Summer Festival in splendid style when Hannu Lintu conducted the Academy Festival Orchestra at the Granada. The entertaining show featured Richard Strauss’ 1898 “Ein Heldenleben” and Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet” with Lintu, 55, conductor of the Finnish National Opera and Ballet, at the top of his game. The […]
Social gadabout Rick Oshay and La Boheme Dancers founder Teresa Kuskey really put the “ship” in sponsorship as the tony twosome hosted a harborside bash for 75 guests on the 100-foot replica of the 1542 Spanish galleon San Salvador near to the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, which also co-sponsored the visit with Old Spanish Days. […]
It was the perfect spot to view Las Noches de Ronda in the nearby Sunken Gardens when the Courthouse Legacy Foundation hosted a sold-out Fiesta bash for 150 guests that raised around $50,000 in the historic Mural Room. The fab fête, co-chaired by Angelique Davis and Rodney Baker, featured classical guitarist Chris Fossek, the Spirit […]
The party animals were out in force for one of Fiesta’s most popular parties, Celebration de Los Dignatarios, when a record 1,600 guests converged on Santa Barbara Zoo to raise more than $100,000 split equally between Old Spanish Days and the charming 30-acre menagerie. KEYT-TV weather anchor Christa Kurkjian was on hand to do a […]
The lunar-tics were out in force when bubbly Brenda Blalock hosted a two-hour trip aboard the 70-foot cruiser Azure Seas to catch the rare SuperMoon, when the planet is at its nearest point to Earth due to its elliptical orbit, creating an awe-inspiring sight. Thirty friends turned out for the fun coastal fête launching from […]
Musette Profant is the new Women’s Board president for Community Arts Music Association (CAMA), succeeding Deborah Bertling after four years, who is now chair of the organization’s board. Profant continues a proud family tradition as her grandmother Mabel Profant was a founding member of the CAMA Women’s Board and served on the board of directors […]
Jennifer Macdonald is CommUnify’s new director of Children’s Services following the retirement of Lorraine Neenan, who served the organization for more than 20 years. Effective immediately, she will oversee 23 head-start and early head-start campuses, and the 200-plus staff who work at the locations throughout Santa Barbara County. Macdonald has worked in the field of […]
You too can become a neighbor of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle! A 1.52-acre building plot in upper Montecito, just a tiara’s toss or two from the tony twosome’s estate, has just come on the market for $4,100,000. It is being sold by the Marsha Kotlyar Estate Group. Prince of Polo Prince Harry is winging […]
Our tony town’s annual Fiesta fest kicked off at a sold-out La Recepción del Presidente for 300 guests when 17 past presidents with current president David Bolton filled the historic Santa Barbara Club – where in 1924 the idea for Old Spanish Days began. Eight members of the club have served as El Presidente, including […]
It was not so much a night on the tiles as a day on one when society scribe and local historian Erin Graffy de Garcia talked about her book Old Spanish Days: Santa Barbara History Through Public Art during an entertaining hour-long lecture at the Santa Barbara Yacht Club. The 117-page book was originally published […]
The final weeks of the Music Academy’s 76th annual Summer Festival have been the icing on the classical cake! Principal players with the London Symphony Orchestra showed their prowess at Lehmann Hall when they performed chamber works by Britten, Villa-Lobos, Perivolaris, Salzedo, Hahn, and Haydn with flutist Gareth Davies, cellist David Cohen, violinist Clare Duckworth, […]
Heidi Holly, executive director of the Friendship Center in Montecito and Goleta, has retired after 38 years, and 120 friends and supporters gathered at a fun-filled farewell bash at Brass Bear Brewing Uptown to give her a rousing sendoff. Kathryn Cherkas, Heidi’s successor who worked as a program director of the organization as well as […]
Fiesta fever was palpable when Montecito Bank & Trust hosted its annual Viva La Fiesta bash in the picturesque courtyard of the Santa Barbara Historical Museum. More than 250 colorfully costumed guests noshed on tacos, burritos, and all food Spanish as the Spirit of Fiesta Jack Harwood, son of museum director Dacia Harwood, and Junior […]
Adam’s Angels founder Adam McKaig and fellow realtor Melissa Borders have been sole searching! The dynamic duo have just received 200 pairs of new shoes from Deckers, the fashion, lifestyle, and performance brand in Goleta. Adam tells me the footwear will be distributed to homeless recipients, along with young adults transitioning out of foster care. […]
Amada Cruz has been appointed the new Robert and Mercedes Eichholz director and CEO of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, succeeding Larry Feinberg, who is retiring in November after 15 years at the helm. “We are grateful to the more than 100 stakeholders, including members of the community, employees, trustees, and donors who participated […]
Valerie Banks, the dynamic force behind the Dream Foundation’s Flower Empower program, is retiring after nearly 15 years. Since assuming leadership in 2008, Valerie has grown the popular program from humble beginnings at Santa Barbara’s Saturday Farmers Market, forging partnerships with local growers and flower wholesalers, while rallying dozens of volunteers. Today the enthusiastic helpers […]
Music Academy solo piano fellow Priscila Navarro is the $5,000 grand prize winner of the Innovation Institution’s 2023 Fast Pitch competition. Her new venture, Peru Piano, an anthology for inclusive education, was one of eight stellar pitches evaluated by a distinguished jury – Angelica Cortez, Executive Director Suzuki Association of the Americas; Music Academy alumnae […]
Ubiquitous photographer David Bazemore, a shutterbug and videographer in our Eden by the Beach for 26 years, has become an FAA certified unmanned aircraft pilot. The certification means David can used a DJI Air 2S drone, which can film stunning 5.4k video and can snap 20-megapixel photos. “If a client’s imagination is ready to take […]
A bountiful bevy of parasol-carrying anthophiles and phytologists turned out for Lotusland’s sun-soaked sold-out annual fundraiser gala with 500 guests raising a hefty $800,000 towards sustainability and plant conservation programming. The fun fête at the 37-acre botanical paradise dubbed Lotusland Celebrates: Where the Wild Things Grow, organized by Merryl Brown Events and designed by Mary […]