UCSB Arts & Lectures was on a roll at the Granada last week with two major productions within 48 hours. Kicking off the impressive program was Japanese violinist Midori and the Festival Strings Lucerne, under artistic director Daniel Dodds. Founded in 1956, the Swiss company is now considered one of the world’s most distinguished chamber […]
A tsunami of supporters turned up at the FisHouse for a Heal the Ocean sunset soirée to thank donors for helping raise a most impressive record $350,000 from its fourth consecutive imaginary Silver Anniversary gala. “It’s the perfect kind of event,” enthused Hillary Hauser, president and executive director of the popular charity. “Very little overhead […]
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Former TV talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres, who used to live near the Montecito botanical paradise Lotusland before selling the estate to Google honcho Eric Schmidt, has come to the 37-acre estate with 55 mature Koi for the Japanese Garden lake. Rebecca Anderson, executive director, tells me Robert Riskin of Riskin Partners Estate Group contacted the […]
What a difference a year makes! Last year, CALM at Heart’s lunch was only saved from deluging rain with the erection of a large tent preventing the gardens at Los Sueños, the Montecito home of international lawyer Robert Lieff, becoming a quagmire. This year, as Lieff has just put the George Washington Smith estate on […]
Kristin Chenoweth had one of the hottest concerts of her career at the Granada when the theater’s fire alarms went off three times during her highly entertaining, 90-minute show! Fortunately, they were all false alarms, allowing the 4’11” dynamo from Oklahoma – dressed in a silver pantsuit even more sparkling than her personality – to […]
Pomp, pageantry, and ceremonial reigned when the Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation hosted its 26th annual military gala at the U.S. flag festooned Elks Lodge in Goleta with 240 guests, many in uniform, helping contribute to military charities. Belgian philanthropist Pierre Claeyssens initiated the ball, now called the Veterans Day Gala, in 1996 as a way […]
An old friend, Jonathan Fox, who was artistic director of the Ensemble Theatre Company (ETC) for 17 years, has been honored for his sterling work at the New Vic. First District Supervisor Das Williams has proposed a resolution marking Jonathan’s many contributions to Santa Barbara’s art and culture. Under his supervision, ETC acquired and renovated […]
Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle joined Cameron Diaz and her husband, Benji Madden, and Avatar actress Zoe Saldana on a private plane from Santa Barbara to Las Vegas to watch one of local singer Katy Perry’s last concerts of her two-year residency at the Resorts World Theatre. They were joined in the venue’s VIP […]
Uber party planner Merryl Brown hosted a garden party at her East Valley Road antebellum-style home for former international event producer John Daly’s 12-year-old Key Class, which mentors at-risk and other students in learning important life skills, including social etiquette. With a $120,000 annual budget, it has taught more than 10,000 students, mostly from the […]
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Montecito actress Gwyneth Paltrow is looking for a quiet life on the British coast, according to reports. If so, the Oscar winner will be following a whole host of celebrities, including Cate Blanchett, Jason Statham, Jamie Dornan, Stanley Tucci, and Jason Momoa who have snapped up properties in the picturesque southwestern county of Cornwall. While […]
As it prepares to celebrate it 30th anniversary, State Street Ballet staged one of its biggest productions ever at the Granada with its premiere of the hauntingly beautiful two act production, Giselle. New artistic director Megan Philipp, who has taken over from retiring founder Rodney Gustafson, excelled – helming the two-hour show with Ryan Lenkey […]
Millinery madness took root at Montecito’s 37-acre botanical Eden Lotusland when it launched a new exhibition Madame’s Millinery Masterpieces: Hats Through History focusing on the wardrobe of the late owner, Polish opera singer Ganna Walska, who died in 1984 aged 96. The six-times-married diva was acquisitive with an impressive jewelry collection, a large selection of […]
Artist and gallery owner Ralph Waterhouse, who just celebrated this 80th birthday with a boffo bash at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, hosted his first solo exhibition in 25 years at his new gallery on Coast Village Road, just a tiara’s toss from Ca’Dario. “My wife Diane thought it would be a good […]
To the charming Danish community of Solvang, just 45 minutes north on the 101, for Santa Barbara artist Mara Abboud’s latest exhibition at the Wildling Museum of Art and Nature. Mara, sister of menswear designer Joseph Abboud, in 2014 designed the Granada Theatre’s 90th anniversary celebration poster and in 1980 was named Artist of the […]
