Tag archives: Christmas

Reining in the Reindeers: Nack Puts Paintings on Paper
By Steven Libowitz   |   December 17, 2020

Three years ago, a few of us attended Brad Nack’s 21st annual 100 percent Reindeer Art Show – a perpetually packed reception at Roy where folks jostle each other to get first dibs at the new paintings – decked out in N95 respirator masks to shield against inhaling smoke and particles from the then still-growing […]

The Christmas Tree Has Arrived
By Sharon Byrne   |   December 17, 2020

Hospice Santa Barbara has installed our Christmas tree in the Upper Village for the third year in a row, and Light Up A Life takes place December 16 at 6 pm. We will be well into Hanukkah, and closing in on the Winter Solstice on December 21, the longest night of the year. Light Up […]

Honing in on ‘Home for the Holidays’
By Steven Libowitz   |   December 17, 2020

A cabaret for Christmas might seem like the mixing of metaphors, but the idea made a lot of sense for PCPA as a way to produce something during the pandemic. That was partly because a show that’s akin to a revue could be done from people’s homes during lockdown without damaging the storyline. But it […]

PCPA’s Holiday Cabaret
By Steven Libowitz   |   December 10, 2020

PCPA’s 2020 Christmas-season treat is called Home for the Holidays, with the subtitle of “… because where else are you going to be?” Fair enough. With the coronavirus raging all over again, the Central Coast conservatory keeps its virtual programs flowing with a holiday cabaret featuring its resident artists. The free streaming event will be […]

Ho! Ho! Holidaze!
By Leslie Westbrook   |   December 10, 2020

Santa’s elves have been working hard to prepare Summerland emporiums with festive atmosphere and sparkling gift choices for the holiday season. In fact, most places were already sporting Christmas trees and décor the weekend before Thanksgiving and more than 45 flocked wreaths had already flown out the door like hot cakes at Field + Fort, […]

Christmas Fest Launches with ‘Healing in His Wings’
By Scott Craig   |   December 10, 2020

The 16th annual Westmont Christmas Festival, “Ris’n with Healing in His Wings,” presents a special online event this year due to the pandemic. The Westmont Music Department, led by Michael Shasberger, Adams professor of music and worship, has creatively recorded the 100 members of the Westmont Orchestra and College Choir, Chamber Singers, and Choral Union […]

Rubicon Streams a New Christmas Show
By Steven Libowitz   |   December 3, 2020

Rubicon Theatre in Ventura has done a lot of great work, from classic musicals to heart-rending dramas to serving as a home for developing new works. But over the years one show has stood out as qualifying for all three of those categories: Little Miss Scrooge, subtitled “A Dickensian Christmas Story,” which was conceived by […]

For Christmas, Mi Casa Es Su Casa
By Lynda Millner   |   November 26, 2020

Christmas at the Casa: From Our Casa to Yours” will be a new experience this year. Usually Casa del Herrero is decorated with all the traditional trees and twinkling lights and is one of my favorite holiday events. This year it will be an amazing online Christmas boutique silent auction that opened November 1 and […]

Christmas Memories
By Lynda Millner   |   January 16, 2020

As the holiday season winds down it reminds me of when we lived in Naples, Italy with our four-year-old daughter Kim and baby son Dane. At Christmas time many families put up a crèche in their homes but these were extra charming. Some would be an entire Italian village with tiny houses, markets, villagers at […]

Noël at the Nesbitts’
By Richard Mineards   |   January 2, 2020

Summerland was turned into a winter wonderland with real snow when polo playing hotel magnate Pat Nesbitt and his wife, Ursula, threw a spectacular holiday bash for 200 guests at Bella Vista, their sprawling polo ranch. The bustling beano, catered once again by the Biltmore, featured ballerinas from Los Angeles dancing to the Nutcracker, eight […]

Montecito Schools’ Holiday Concerts
By Joanne A Calitri   |   January 2, 2020

The Montecito schools held their holiday concerts throughout December celebrating both religious and secular seasonal greetings. Here is the round up from me and Santa. Our Lady of Mount Carmel Our Lady of Mount Carmel School Christmas Program on December 5 at St. Joseph’s Church in Carpinteria showed full on spirit with chorus, band, and […]

Having a Holly Jolly Time?
By Ernie Witham   |   December 26, 2019

I looked over my shoulder at the car behind me to see if he would kindly backup. The driver of that car was looking over his shoulder at the car behind him with the same thought. The third driver back started to reverse but stopped when another car pulled in behind him. Ahead of us […]

Montecito Meditation for Solstice
By Steven Libowitz   |   December 19, 2019

Celebrate the Winter Solstice with meditation with Sarah McLean – the 25-year veteran contemporary meditation and mindfulness teacher who co-founded the new Montecito Meditation Center. Participants will be guided into a solstice meditation practice to welcome the dark on the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and let go of what doesn’t […]

The Steedman Silver
By Lynda Millner   |   December 19, 2019

The “Christmas at the Casa” gala this year was all about silver. Silver cloths on all the tables with greens sprayed silver and lighted cabinets on display filled with pieces of silver George Steedman had made in the ‘30s and ‘40s. He’s known to have made about one hundred pieces between 1927 and 1940, when […]

Pickle Tree Festivities
By Scott Craig   |   December 12, 2019

Hundreds of alumni and community members attended the 18th annual Westmont Pickle Tree Lighting on December 3 at Kerrwood Lawn. Santa Claus posed for pictures inside Kerrwood Hall as the Cold Spring School Choir and the Ahh-Men, Westmont’s talented a cappella group, kicked off the event singing Christmas carols. Students donned festive attire while enjoying […]

Letters to the Editor
By Montecito Journal   |   December 12, 2019

An Incumbent Issue Why have so many of us suddenly and recently received political campaign solicitations from Das Williams? And why are people who didn’t sign up to get official county updates from him now suddenly receiving them? Is he co-mingling his official taxpayer funded work with his campaign? It appears so. When one signs […]

Santa Barbara Rescue Mission
By Zach Rosen   |   December 3, 2019

Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, this time of year is when giving is on the mind. The winter season brings with it thoughts of donated gifts or providing hot meals to those in need or without a home. Since 1965 the Santa Barbara Rescue Mission has been giving to the homeless of the area, acting as […]

Brickman’s Christmas Celebration
By Richard Mineards   |   November 26, 2019

Jim Brickman’s new album is a Christmas record – what else? – the seventh in his career that actually name checks the holiday in its title. Christmas Celebration is just that, a joyous journey through the carols, both classic and composed by the modern romantic piano sensation, pretty much like most of its predecessors. “I […]

Trees a Crowd
By Richard Mineards   |   November 21, 2019

Caroline Doiron, owner of the Village Gardener, is going to have her hands full over the next few weeks. Caroline, who regularly decorates the Christmas tree at the Four Seasons Biltmore with thousands of ornaments, has also taken on the daunting task, along with her team of eight designers, of installing and decorating Yuletide trees […]

Snapping Species
By Richard Mineards   |   October 24, 2019

Cliff and Crystal Wyatt opened the doors of their charming Montecito home to host a bash for National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore, who spoke at Campbell Hall, part of the UCSB Arts & Lectures program. His talk Building the Photo Ark focused on a multi-year initiative to document every living creature in the world’s zoos […]