Tag archives: Ellen

Hike Through History
By Richard Mineards   |   June 7, 2022

A new exhibit at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum celebrates the region’s hiking trails and public lands through historic photographs, paintings, and historic items from the museum’s collections. Take a Hike, Save the World is a visual journey through our Eden by the Beach’s most scenic areas, as seen by artists and photographers beginning in […]

New Book by Bower
By Richard Mineards   |   May 31, 2022

Former actress Meghan Markle “came from nothing” and “trampled on others to get to the top” like a politician or a tycoon, her acid-penned biographer has revealed. “Victims” of the Duchess of Sussex, 40, are telling all in a new book by British investigative journalist Tom Bower, 75, he claims. Bower, speaking to GB News, […]

Honoring Hope
By Richard Mineards   |   May 10, 2022

Munificence reigned supreme when the Santa Barbara Education Foundation held its annual Hope Awards at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum honoring Montecito uber philanthropist Sara Miller McCune and Frank Stevens, who has been involved with the organization for its entire 37-year history. Tributes were paid to the dynamic duo by Barbara Keyani, former executive director […]

Clapping to the Sound of Four Hands
By Richard Mineards   |   May 3, 2022

It was certainly a hands-on performance when Berlin-based piano twosome Sivan Silver and Gil Garburg sharing the keyboard performed the world premiere of 62-year-old Austrian Richard Dunser’s composition derived from the work of Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms with the Santa Barbara Symphony for Romance in a New Key at the Granada. Dunser dedicated his […]

A Winn-ing Needlepoint Gallery
By Richard Mineards   |   April 12, 2022

Montecito entrepreneur Ann Winn, who with her husband, Alastair, recently bought Santa Barbara’s Public Market with partners for $7.65 million, has opened Village Needlepoint in the former premises of bling king Bob Bryant, just a tiara’s toss from Tecolote. Her love for the art started in her early 20s and she started building her influential […]

Little Book Brings Big Crowd
By Richard Mineards   |   March 29, 2022

A boffo bunch of bibliophiles descended on Tecolote in the Upper Village to mark the publication of Steven Gilbar’s Little Book of Montecito Writers, a 160-page paperback including more than 60 authors, which derived from a talk he gave at the village library last summer. The book signing, which benefitted the Montecito Library, also featured […]

Falling for Lillian
By Richard Mineards   |   March 15, 2022

David Cale’s Lillian, which just opened at the Ensemble Theatre Company’s New Vic, is a wonderful one-woman show about love, life, and loss. The 75-minute production about a bookish middle-aged British woman, who falls for a man half her age, taking her on a whirlwind adventure, stars Nancy Travis, who co-starred with Tim Allen in […]

Flying High
By Richard Mineards   |   February 22, 2022

Horsepower of a very different kind was on display at the Santa Barbara Polo Club when four newly imported Bentley Flying Spur hybrid cars were trucked up from the O’Gara Coach Company in Westlake for three days for members to test drive. The 536 horsepower cars, which have a top speed of 177 mph, run […]

Super Bowl LVI Marks Another Touchdown for David Bolton
By Richard Mineards   |   February 15, 2022

When the Los Angeles Rams take the field against the Cincinnati Bengals at the $5.5 billion SoFi Stadium in the Big Orange on Sunday, Santa Barbara producer David Bolton, director of the California Missions Foundation, will be handling the live international Spanish language broadcast for Fox Sports for the seventh consecutive year. David’s company, Cultural […]

Slice of Life
By Richard Mineards   |   February 1, 2022

The Broadway run of the show Waitress may have ended prematurely because of COVID, but the American Theatre Guild’s touring production at the Granada served up a highly entertaining show. With music and lyrics by Grammy winner Sara Bareilles, the production, based on a 2007 comedy-drama film of the same name, is about a young […]

Breaking Bread
By Richard Mineards   |   November 9, 2021

Gourmands and oenophiles were out in force when the Fund for Santa Barbara hosted its 28th Annual Bread and Roses event for 500 guests at Elings Park, a new venue after years at the QAD headquarters in Summerland. The bountiful bash, co-chaired by Gloria Soto and David Moore, raised $165,000 for the 41-year-old nonprofit that […]

The Dogs are Heading Out
By Richard Mineards   |   September 14, 2021

Billionaire developer Rick Caruso’s Rosewood Miramar resort has gone to the dogs! The tony Montecito hostelry hosted its first annual dog adoption event to coincide with National Dog Day, partnering with a number of local shelters, including Apollo’s ARC, Spark Rescue Santa Barbara, and the Aussie Rescue Networking Group on the Great Lawn. Pampered pooches […]

A Royals Record
By Richard Mineards   |   June 17, 2021

I went to the historic Rockwood Woman’s Club to speak to a record turnout of 80 guests for a Royal Tea. After British-born Janet Bullock, who served finger sandwiches and clotted cream scones on her Royal Crown Derby china, alongside dainty cups of Earl Grey tea, I regaled the club members — many wearing colorful […]

Concerto Cream Rises to the Top
By Richard Mineards   |   June 3, 2021

During a year when the performing arts faced challenges beyond measure, the Santa Barbara Youth Symphony held its Concerto Competition virtually, featuring some of the county’s finest young musicians. Participation allows students to showcase their best efforts and hard work in performances scheduled for next season, with one lucky musician winning the opportunity to perform […]

‘Fiesta Has Definitely Returned’: La Primavera Kicks Off Summer-Long Party
By Richard Mineards   |   May 27, 2021

After Old Spanish Days was all but cancelled last year because of the pandemic, Fiesta fever was palpable at the Carriage and Western Art Museum with La Primavera, as the unveiling of the colorful festival’s new poster and pin helped kicked off the festivities in front of nearly 100 guests, led by gloriously attired La […]

Toasting a Visionary: Dozens Celebrate Kostis Protopapas’ 50th Birthday
By Richard Mineards   |   May 20, 2021

It was all Greek to many when Kostis Protopapas, general director of Opera Santa Barbara, celebrated his half-century with a delightful evening of music and song at the University Club. Kostis, who was born in Athens and moved to the U.S. in 1993 on an Onassis scholarship to study piano at The Boston Conservatory and […]

A Royal Farewell
By Richard Mineards   |   April 29, 2021

As expected, I was much in demand over the weekend for the somber and muted funeral for Prince Philip at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, built in the 14th century by King Edward III. Most of it was spent on Fox News where I sat for three hours at the CBTV studio downtown with New York […]

Does Money Grow on Trees? Asking for a Friend.
By Richard Mineards   |   April 22, 2021

Forbes’ 35th annual “World’s Billionaire List” includes a record-breaking 2,755 billionaires, with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos topping it for the fourth consecutive year. This year’s billionaires are worth a combined $13.1 trillion, up $8 trillion from last year. “The very, very rich got very, very richer,” says Forbes chief content officer Randall Lane. Needless to […]

Poof! The Magic Castle Cabaret is Gone
By Richard Mineards   |   April 8, 2021

Two years after it opened, the owners of Montecito’s Magic Castle Cabaret Milt and Arlene Larsen are moving on, I can exclusively reveal. “The Cabaret has been closed for a long year and we are not getting any younger,” laments Arlene. “When we started, we seemed a lot younger. “After talking it over for many […]

It’s for the Birds
By Richard Mineards   |   April 1, 2021

Santa Barbara’s Wildlife Care Network has just broken ground on its new state-of-the-art $6 million, 5,400-square-foot hospital in the Goleta foothills. “It will allow us a greater capability to save and serve thousands of wild lives,” says Ariana Katovich, executive director. “Current conditions have staff working out of old, meager facilities. Diets are prepared in […]