Tag archives: Hiroko Benko

It was a case of High Cs on the high seas when bubbly Condor Express owner Hiroko Benko hosted her fourth annual two-hour opera cruise on the popular whale-watching vessel. The sell-out floating fest had 127 guests, with Hiroko putting it down to the growing popularity of opera and the need to get out on […]

In its heyday, Santa Barbara’s Channel City Club hosted some of the biggest names in the country. Senator Fred Thompson, for example, then considering a run for president of the United States, addressed a crowd of some 400 or so at the old Miramar. The event was memorable in that “Mr. Santa Barbara,” the late […]

Montecito philanthropist Michael Hammer‘s wife, Misty, was feted at a bridal shower hosted by Dolores Johnson at the home of Condor Express owner, Hiroko Benko. After lunch overlooking the ocean and the Channel Islands, a tea ceremony presented by Tom Craveiro and Yuki Nakamura, wife of Nobel Prize winner Shuji Nakamura. Guests included police chief […]