Cloud Gate Dance Theatre’s 13 Tongues at the Granada brought the sights and sounds of Taiwan’s legendary night markets to life in all their human and spiritual dimensions. Mixing traditional storytelling with futuristic imagery and shifting between folk, classical and electronic music sources, the energized production, part of the popular UCSB Arts & Lectures series, […]
Camerata Pacifica’s latest show at the Music Academy of the West’s Hahn Hall was an absolute gem with works by Fukushima, Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky, and Schoenberg. Flutist Yoobin Son playing “Mei, for Solo Flute” opened the concert with Rachmaninoff’s “Moments Musicaux.” Stravinsky’s “Three Pieces for Solo Clarinet” with Jose Franch-Ballester was the penultimate performance, with Schoenberg’s […]
Prince William and his younger Montecito-based brother Prince Harry have now found themselves on opposite sides of a media rivalry. The Prince of Wales’s latest initiative, focused on tackling homelessness, is the subject of a British ITV documentary, marking a significant step in his efforts to bring awareness to social issues. Slated to air in […]
State Street Ballet kicked off its 30th anniversary season in grand style with an impressive colorful double bill, Scheherazade and The Firebird performed with the Santa Barbara Symphony under maestro Nir Kabaretti at the venerable Granada. Scheherazade, with choreography by Autumn Eckman and music by Rimsky-Korsakov, was first envisioned by State Street’s managing director Tim […]
Peripatetic Montecito accountant and Art Foundation of Santa Barbara president Frank McGinity opened the gates of his historic Riven Rock estate – just a tiara’s toss from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex – for the third year for 80 guests at the fun fête, An Artful Affair, organized by the Art Foundation of Santa […]
It was a real gem of an event when supporters of Lotusland descended on the Belmond El Encanto for a lecture on the exquisite jewelry of Cartier, the international bling emporium. If the late opera singer Ganna Walska liked anything more than the plants and flowers at her 37-acre Montecito estate it was jewelry, and […]
Red tape caused major problems for the kickoff concert of CAMA’s 106th season with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra at the Granada when singer Thomas Bauer was unable to make the event because of visa issues. Baritone and three-time Grammy winner Dashon Burton came in as a last-minute replacement, singing Mahler’s “Songs of a Wayfarer” […]
The Duke of Sussex, 40, has beaten actor Bradley Cooper and soccer ace David Beckham in Harper’s Bazaar’s list of the hottest men of all time. Riven Rock resident Prince Harry beat out strong competition, including actors Channing Tatum and Matthew McConaughey. Actress Meghan Markle’s husband ranked 25th out of 50, just four years after […]
Miller McCune Executive Director Celesta Billeci, the longest serving director of UCSB Arts & Lectures, is retiring after 25 seasons. Though Celesta’s next chapter will take her beyond the Santa Barbara campus, her legacy of leadership will continue to inspire the community. She is the third director of the organization, following in the footsteps of […]
Social gridlock reigned at Villa & Vine, the State Street eatery just a tiara’s toss from the Granada when 2020 Nobel Prize winning biochemist Dr. Jennifer Doudna – who alongside Emmanuelle Charpentier developed CRISPR gene editing, a genome engineering technology – spoke on “The Future of Human Health” at a dinner before the fascinating lecture. […]
The lunar-tics were out in force for a night on the tiles at the Kimpton Canary hotel rooftop, when Girls Inc. of Greater Santa Barbara hosted a Full Moon, Full Potential bash, their first in-person event since 2019, to coincide with the night’s Super Moon, with 215 guests helping raise around $175,000. After a cocktail […]
A triple tribute celebration launched Santa Barbara Symphony’s new season at the Granada with Tchaikovsky Immersion featuring the Russian composer’s majestic Fourth Symphony. The event marked the return of renowned classical guitarist Pablo Sáinz Villegas performing the greatest of all guitar concertos – Rodrigo’s haunting “Concierto de Aranjuez” as part of his weeklong artist residency […]
Santa Barbara Symphony conductor Nir Kabaretti and his wife Gaia are beaming over their 14-year-old son Adam’s golfing prowess, as well they should. Adam, a freshman at San Marcos High School, was selected among 60 applicants to compete in the Tiger Woods – TGR Jr. Invitational golf tournament last weekend. The 30 girls and 30 […]
Carpinteria photographer Christie Jenkins launched her new polo men’s calendar with a bijou bash at Tecolote, the bustling bibliophile bastion in the upper village. Polo: Man & Horse 2025 features 44 lavish shots of players in the barns with their favorite horses. The calendar benefits 16 equine charities across America, with the players choosing the […]
Ricardo Calderon and his wife Dinah hosted a champagne-fueled bash at the Coral Casino for international interior designer Veere Grenney and his new coffee table tome Seeking Beauty. It took the New Zealand native, a longtime friend of the tony twosome, two years to write, with photos by Francesco Lagnese from his three beautiful residences […]
For the eighth consecutive year Atherton, California – 94027 – is America’s most expensive zip code while our rarefied enclave – 93108 – ranked Number 5 with a median property price of $5,052,000. The Hamptons’ Sagaponack and Water Mill ranked number two and three with median property prices just shy of $6 million, according to […]
The Junior League of Santa Barbara, which is celebrating its centenary, hosted its 14th annual gala “Dazzling Though the Decades” at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara with 135 guests raising more than $100,000. Martha Townsend, former president of the organization, was among the tony triumvirate of speakers with current president Jenni-Elise Ramirez, and president-elect Jessica Hawley looking […]
Records were broken at the 16th annual Domestic Violence Solutions lunch when 264 guests descended on the Hilton helping raise $135,000 for the charity. The frenetic fête was chaired and emceed by Dr. Mark Juretic, who moved to our Eden by the Beach in 2017 to practice internal medicine at Sansum Clinic, and included a […]
One of the world’s most historic orchestras, the London Philharmonic, founded in 1932 by the legendary conductor Sir Thomas Beecham, showed off its talents at the Granada, part of the popular UCSB Arts & Lectures program. Led by principal conductor Edward Gardner the entertaining performance featured “Raices, (Origins),” a new piece by Pulitzer Prize-winning Cuban […]
Ensemble Theatre Company opened its latest season at the New Vic with Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors, directed by veteran actor Jamie Torcellini and written by Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen. The five-member cast played a variety of characters with the blood-sucking count portrayed perfectly – not to mention amusingly – by muscle-bound hunk Adam […]
Montecito philanthropist Anne Smith Towbes hosted a decidedly chilly reception at her Birnam Wood home when she organized an ice cream social for John Daly’s Key Class which helps to support and educate at-risk youth with basic life skills, including social etiquette, resume building, and the basics of dining. The curriculum is taught from eighth […]
Prince Harry has revealed daughter Princess Lilibet has inherited her mother Meghan Markle’s “thick hair” and it is now so long “she can almost sit on it.” The Duke of Sussex, 40, made the rare comment while attending the WellChild Awards in London. “Archie and Lilibet have been blessed with their mother’s thick hair,” he […]
Everybody was seeing red when United Way of Santa Barbara County hosted its 27th annual Soirée en Rouge at the Montecito Club. The Red Feather Ball attracted 215 guests who raised around $400,000 to fund educational programs and initiatives which serve thousands of local children and their families each year. The boffo bash, created by […]
A sea of blue swept over Bella Vista, the sprawling Summerland estate of polo playing hotelier Pat Nesbitt and his wife Ursula, with 500 guests raising around $300,000 with the annual Fun with the Force bash for the Santa Barbara Police Foundation. The popular organization provides financial support for ill police personnel. The bustling bash, […]
Retired psychologist Margaret Wilkinson recently returned from Edinburgh, Scotland, after participating in a historical reenactment of a centuries old tradition, The Riding of the Marches. More than 200,000 spectators were in the Scottish capital for a day of pageantry, tradition and community spirit as the event, dating back to the 16th century, which reaffirms the […]
Montecito author David Gersh, a Harvard Law School graduate and retired attorney, just launched his ninth book – and the third in his comic novel series Unleashed: A Comic Relief – with a bijou bash at the bustling bibliophile bastion Tecolote in the upper village. “It poses the existential question of whether people can trust […]
The Music Academy of the West launched the third season of its Mariposa concert series at Hahn Hall in truly majestic fashion with a recital of new arts songs celebrating the history and legacy of seven African queens The unique program, with piano accompaniment from Kevin Miller, offered historical narrative with 11 songs, each about […]
Peter Martin is launching his third children’s book The Mystery of Trash Island, with a distinct environmental message. Peter – husband of Santa Barbara Symphony president Kathryn Martin – took a year to write the colorful issue with illustrations by local artist Danuta Bennett. He says it is also an introduction to geography teaching as […]
Lotusland, the enchanting 37-acre Montecito gardens founded by the late opera singer Ganna Walska, is adding to its collection of fragrances. Three years ago, as I revealed in this illustrious organ, they launched Osmanthus; a scent inspired by the delicate blossoms of Osmanthus fragrance found in the estate’s Japanese Garden, while Lemon Arbor, launched last […]
U.S. Navy veteran and medical director Rupa Dainer, M.D., has joined the board of directors of the Dream Foundation. Dainer has been a member of the organization’s Dreams for Veterans advisory council since 2023. She will continue to work closely with the program, raising awareness about veterans’ needs, concerns, and dreams as they face the […]
UCSB Arts & Lectures kicked off its 65th latest entertaining season with a concert by Snarky Puppy, the North Texas instrumental band, at the Arlington. Rousing solos from the powerhouse ensemble showed why they enjoy the justifiable reputation as proponents of jazz funk. Dueling drummers and a rotating roster of elite solo musicians showed why […]
The Association for Women in Communications Santa Barbara has announced three student, next-generation journalists as the recipients of the 2024 Founder’s Award in recognition of their work. Next month Lois Phillips will present the annual awards to the journalists – Joyce Chi, Rosie Bultman, and Cebelli Pfeifer – at WorkZones in our Eden by the […]
Prince Harry, after trips to New York and London, has been on a solo trip to South Africa, just a month before his older brother Prince William’s own private visit to the same country. The Duke of Sussex, 40, visited Johannesburg following a series of engagements in Lesotho where his charity Sentebale is located. It […]
State Street Ballet’s 30th anniversary gala at the Music Academy of the West was full of eastern promise! More than 200 balletomanes descended on the picturesque Miraflores oceanside campus for the boffo bash, co-chaired by Alex Nourse and Dr. Nicole Callahan, which featured music from the UCSB Middle East Ensemble and the ballet company’s professional […]
The Breast Cancer Resource Center was thinking pink when it hosted its 26th annual Pink Lounge gala at the Rosewood Miramar that attracted 200 guests and raised $350,000 for the popular nonprofit. The fun fête, co-chaired by Dr. Priti Gagneja and Vince Caballero, featured a live auction conducted by Sotheby’s International realtor Dusty Baker, who […]
Victoria Kastner, historian at William Randolph Hearst’s San Simeon for 38 years, gave a captivating lecture at the Santa Barbara Club to Montecito Bank & Trust’s MClub, focusing on the publishing magnate’s trailblazing architect Julia Morgan who designed more than 700 buildings in California. Morgan, who died in 1957 at age 85, was the first […]
Susan Keller’s Santa Barbara Revels threw a Revels Equinox concert in the Lobero Theatre Courtyard, celebrating the changing seasons. In December, the group – under new musical director Dauri Kennedy – will host its 9th annual equinox concert, The Ghosts of Haddon Hall, at the Lobero (which I last saw 11 years ago). Music to […]
Santa Barbara Symphony, under maestro Nir Kabaretti, previewed its latest season with a champagne reception at the Lobero Theatre. One of the highlights is a two-day Mozart Marathon with eight masterworks, a two-concert performance by the legendary violinist Gil Shaham with Pink Martini singer Storm Large, and Brahms’ “Requiem.” “It’s a rich and culturally empowering […]
Social gridlock reigned at the Carriage and Western Museum for the 60th anniversary barbecue bash for the Montecito Trails Foundation – the first one in six years – having previously been held at the Coffin estate at the Montecito Valley Ranch. More than $100,000 was raised by the 175 guests, including the Montecito Community Foundation […]
The Santa Barbara County Office of Arts and Culture has recognized UCSB Arts & Lectures Miller McCune Executive Director Celesta Billeci with a 2024 Leadership in Arts Individual Award. Celesta, a good friend, joined Arts & Lectures as executive director in 2000 from UCLA Live. She is the previous recipient of the Jerry Willis Leadership […]