It wasn’t quite Monte Carlo, but roulette wheels, blackjack and craps tables abounded on the hallowed Holden Field at the Santa Barbara Polo Club as the lush Carpinteria equestrian facility held Casino Night for nearly 100 guests. “As the NetJets Pacific Coast Open, the biggest polo match on the West Coast, looms large, we try […]
After four years as manager of the tony 92-cottage Belmond El Encanto, Janis Clapoff, has passed the torch to new manager Pedro Dias, who is moving to our Eden by the Beach after running the hotel group’s 113-room Cap Juluca in Anguilla. Janis is taking over as manager of the historic California Club, founded in […]
Prince Harry and his actress wife Meghan Markle, now back in our rarefied enclave after a four-day quasi royal tour to Colombia, certainly got the VIP security the Duke of Sussex has so publicly craved. More than 3,000 police, snipers and even a bio-terrorism van trailed their every move, despite hardly anyone turning out to […]
Social gridlock reigned at the Ensemble Theatre Company’s New Vic when it staged a sold-out Play It Forward: Legends of Broadway which raised more than $50,000 for the theater’s education and outreach programs. The celebratory concert, featuring the music of the greatest musical theater composers of our time, and veterans of the Great White Way […]
Democracy has spoken. Montecito comic Steve Martin, 78, has been deemed the perfect person to portray Vice President Kamala Harris’ recently appointed vice president candidate Minnesota governor Tim Walz, 60, on NBC’s Saturday Night Live this fall, when it celebrates its 50th anniversary. Social media was instantly abuzz noting the physical resemblance of the two […]
To the Ritz-Carlton Bacara to indulge in an evening of culinary delight at Angel Oak, the tony hostelry’s oceanside eatery, with my trusty shutterbug Priscilla. In the fall Costa Rican chef Diego Seitour is introducing a new three-course tasting menu for a nominal $95. Although wine is at extra cost, I chose a Far Niente […]
Two new members have joined the board of the Santa Barbara Choral Society – Dr. Lawrence M. Schecter and singer Susan Renehan. Schecter, a teacher, mentor, innovator and humanist, has added coaching and consulting to his impressive career in the healthcare industry. He was chief medical officer in hospitals in Santa Monica and an associate […]
Ellen DeGeneres and actress wife Portia de Rossi have sold their sprawling Carpinteria spread for a hefty $96 million. The dynamic duo purchased the 20-acre property in 2022 for $70 million, at the time one of the largest real estate deals in Santa Barbara County. Property records obtained by the Wall Street Journal show they […]
The 100th anniversary of Fiesta came to a glorious close with the 25th anniversary of the Fiesta Finale when 170 guests descended on the historic El Paseo restaurant raising around $100,000 for the John E. Profant Foundation for the Arts which helps musicians, dancers, artists, actors and authors chart their career paths. More than $250,000 […]
Santa Barbara winemaker Doug Margerum celebrated the launch of his new sauvignon blanc with a boffo bash fieldside at the Santa Barbara Polo Club where the new label is being sold. His “all white” party for 150 guests at the weekend, featured all of his labels, including his popular Rhône varietal M5 and a host […]
It’s a wrap! The Music Academy of the West marked the finale of its 77th Summer Festival with the Academy Festival Orchestra at the Granada under Finnish conductor Hannu Lintu playing Mahler’s “Symphony No. 6 in A Minor, ‘Tragic.’” Lintu, 56, graduated the Sibelius Academy in 1996 and took up the baton as chief conductor […]
In search of the ‘shibui’ in life, Montecito author William Dalziel touches upon inspirational musings and insights while doodling and sketching his way through observations, life lessons, and experiences in his latest book, Ink & Inklings. Bill portrays life with its many twists and turns, through colorful portraits, daily renderings and fantastical graphic designs as […]
The party animals were out in force for one of Fiesta’s most popular parties, Celebración de los Dignatarios: DIGS!, when a record 1,600 guests converged on Santa Barbara Zoo to raise more than $130,000 split equally between Old Spanish Days and the charming 30-acre menagerie. KEYT-TV weatherman Evan Vega joined in the fun with a […]
No wonder Condor Express owner Hiroko Benko is smiling. Inside Hook, a lifestyle magazine, has just named her to the Top 7 as one of the best places globally to see dolphins. Writer Hudson Lindenberger says Hiroko’s 75 ft. vessel, which plies the waters around Santa Barbara and the Channel Islands – around 1,430 miles […]
The Music Academy of the West has awarded its 2024 Duo Competition winners to cellist Shengyu Meng and pianist Yoshino Toi, with each receiving $5,000 cash and digital assets for career promotion. Meng, from Shanghai, is earning her bachelor’s degree at the Colburn Conservatory of Music. She was former principal cellist at the California Young […]
Meghan Markle took a private jet with entrepreneur Jamie Kern Lima to attend a one-day business summit in the oh-so tony Hamptons. The Duchess of Sussex, 42, was in attendance at the G9 Ventures Summer Summit hosted by Amy Griffin, wife of billionaire hedge fund founder John Griffin, at their $13 million home. The Riven […]
A positive profusion of creative and colorful tony tête toppers packed the stands and cabanas as the Santa Barbara Polo Club celebrated its 17th annual Ladies Day. As usual I had the onerous task of judging the mélange of magnificent millinery, including the largest, most colorful and most creative, and the day couldn’t have been […]
Our tony town’s annual Fiesta fest kicked off with the La Recepción del Presidente for 220 traditionally garbed guests, including 18 past presidents and current incumbent Brian Schwabecher, in the Hilton’s Plaza del Sol. After a blessing from fun loving Franciscan friar Larry Gosselin, the dancing entertainment – emceed by the ubiquitous KEYT-TV reporter John […]
After more than 50 years as a journalist and TV commentator, I took on one of my most unusual assignments when the Polo Training Center hosted its 10th anniversary Denim and Diamonds benefit dinner, raising more than $50,000 from the 120 guests in a giant fieldside marquee at the Carpinteria-based polo club. Club president Rhys […]
The Music Academy of the West celebrated the penultimate week of its 77th summer festival with a performance at the Granada of the Academy Festival Orchestra under conductor David Robertson, who was chief director of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and formerly led the St. Louis Symphony from 2005 to 2018. Robertson, who is also director […]
Social gridlock reigned at the 500-acre San Ysidro Ranch when billionaire Beanie Baby owner Ty Warner threw a launch bash for more than 150 guests for his new tequila SYR x Código Ty Warner Reserve. The new heady libation, produced in Amatitán, Jalisco, is aged in French white wine barrels from one month to six […]
For once Hollywood actor Matthew McConaughey wasn’t the center of attention when he came to Montecito. McConaughey, 54, was one of 13 groomsmen at the lavish wedding of Matthew DeVorzon, son of Oscar nominated composer Barry DeVorzon and his wife Jelinda, to Crystal Daly at their charming estate, just a tiara’s toss from Our Lady […]
Santa Barbara Meals on Wheels has a new executive director, Tracy Pfautch. She brings 30 years of experience with various companies and nonprofits and has expertise in finance, people management, marketing and fundraising. Having lived in our Eden by the Beach since 1998, she will elevate the profile of the charity and expand its outreach, […]
Prince Harry is set to receive a hefty payment when he celebrates his 40th birthday on September 15. The Duke of Sussex will get the substantial payout thanks to a bequest from the late great-grandmother, the Queen Mother. The widow of King George VI put $90 million in a trust fund for her family and […]
Polo patriarch and former U.S. ambassador to Jamaica, Glen Holden, who died in April at the age of 96, was honored with a memorial service at the Santa Barbara Polo Club on the eponymously named Holden Field with 600 guests flying or driving in to honor his memory led by his son Jeep Holden at […]
Lotusland’s annual gala is undoubtedly one of the social highlights of the year with the 500 tickets sold-out months in advance. This year’s 30th annual bash Lotusland Celebrates: The Way of the Lotus, co-chaired by the tony triumvirate of Merryl Brown, Ashley Adelson, and Lisa Bjornson Wolf, raised a whopping $1 million for critical support […]
Yours truly marked the 21st anniversary of his half century with a dinner garden party for 12 hosted by company chairman Susan Josephson at her East Valley Road home, just a tiara’s toss from Pierre Lafond. The Gala-catered surf and turf bash featured a160-pound bluefin tuna caught off the coast of Catalina the day before […]
Society gadabout Rick Oshay and Teresa Kuskey, bubbly founder of the La Boheme Dance Company, hosted their fifth annual Viva La Fiesta at Casa de la Guerra, with more than 200 guests. The fab fête featured Teresa’s colorful dancers who led our Eden by the Beach’s summer solstice parade, and festive dancers including 2020 Jr. […]
Montecito rocker Adam Levine and his wife Behati Prinsloo celebrated ten years of marriage at the weekend with family and close friends in Mexico. The 45-year-old Maroon 5 singer and former model Behati, 36, marked the milestone with 150 guests at the Flora Farms in San Jose del Cabo where they were married. The tony […]
Oenophiles and gourmands were out in force when the sold-out California Wine Festival, which was comprised of two different events, celebrated its 20th anniversary with a rare and reserve wine tasting at the Hilton’s Plaza del Sol, kicking off the event for 350 guests sampling 200 wines from more than 70 vineyards and 30 eateries […]
After a two-week lull, Santa Barbara Polo Club’s high goal season launched in luxurious style with the Ferguson Robert Skene Trophy tournament, the local bath, kitchen and lighting gallery hosting a fieldside lunch featuring Petrossian Beluga caviar and Lanson vintage champagne – founded in 1760 and holding a Royal Warrant from the time of Queen […]
Carmen, Bizet’s classic opera, never loses its entertainment value. Having last seen it when it was staged by Opera Santa Barbara a year ago, the latest production at the Granada, courtesy of the Music Academy of the West’s Summer Festival, was a decidedly contemporary twist on the Spanish love story conducted by Daniela Candillari, principal […]
Broadway veteran John Rubinstein was a true tour de force in the New Los Angeles Repertory Company’s Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground by Richard Hellesen, presented by the Ensemble Theatre Company at the New Vic. Directed by multi-award winner Peter Ellenstein, the two-hour show, with simple but effective scenic design by Michael Deegan and Sarah […]
Mother Nature forced the cancellation of a flyover by the Italian Air Force’s answer to the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels – the 63-year-old Frecce Tricolori aerobatics team. The occasion was a Festival Italiano held at the Cabrillo Pavilion marking the first visit of the Los Angeles-based Italian Consul General Raffaella Valentini to our Eden by […]
For the first time in its 238-year history Old Mission Santa Barbara hosted a car show. The Old Mission Motor show had a cavalcade of vintage to modern vehicles gathering on the lawn in front of the iconic image of Old Mission Santa Barbara. A friar’s blessing kicked off the colorful event that was sponsored […]
One805 has announced that 13-time Grammy Award nominee and Grammy Award-winner, recording artist, songwriter, musician, and record producer Alan Parsons will be the musical director for the One805Live! fall concert at Kevin Costner’s oceanside Carpinteria estate. Headlining the event in September are Pink and Dallas Green performing as the duo Me + You, with additional […]
More than 130 MClub members and other guests converged on the historic Santa Barbara Club for an art exhibit presented by the Art Foundation of Santa Barbara. Speaker Jean Stern, former director of the Irvine Museum, presented an eye-opening and informative talk on famous art forgers in history. Trustee Keith Moore was honored for his […]
Santa Barbara warbler Katy Perry appeared topless in a new image shared on social media last week. The former Dos Pueblos High student was debuting her new album cover and announcing it is titled 143, revealing that the release date is September 20. 143 is code for “I Love You” after being used in the […]
For more than 25 years, uber philanthropist Leslie Ridley-Tree and her husband Paul generously supported the Santa Barbara Museum of Art in its mission to “integrate into the lives of people.” Leslie, who moved to more heavenly pastures two years ago at the age of 98, served on the board of trustees for 15 years, […]
Animal activist and winemaker Gretchen Lieff hosted a pre-Independence Day bash at her charming Arcady estate for 60 guests, including her ex-husband, international legal eagle Robert Lieff, who is also an award-winning vintner with his Rutherford cabernet. Among those hovering around the barbecue to snaffle the burgers and hotdogs while quaffing Gretchen’s La Lieff vino […]