It’s a Jungle Out There
By Richard Mineards   |   September 3, 2024

Our tony town’s party animals were out en masse for Santa Barbara Zoo’s sold-out 38th annual Zoofari “Jungle After Dark” with more than 750 guests converging on the 30-acre hilltop menagerie housing more than 600 animal inhabitants and raising around $700,000. Like fireflies in the night, the creatively costumed guests – covert camouflage, jungle jewels, […]

Royal Treatment
By Richard Mineards   |   September 3, 2024

Prince Harry and his former-actress wife Meghan Markle have done a new CBS TV interview about cyber abuse, with the Duke of Sussex paying homage to first responders. During the interview with Jane Pauley, the Riven Rock twosome spoke about how parents need to protect children from online harm – reflecting on their experiences with […]

 

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More from Montecito

Howlin’ Good Time at the Miramar
By Richard Mineards   |   August 27, 2024

Billionaire Rick Caruso’s oceanside hostelry, the Rosewood Miramar, went to the dogs at the weekend when it hosted its third annual Best in Show event with 50 cuddly canines of all shapes and sizes strutting their stuff with their proud owners on the blue carpeted runway on the Great Lawn! Judging the entrants were The […]

Broadway on the ‘Condor’
By Richard Mineards   |   August 27, 2024

The Great White Way was on the great blue wave when Condor Express owner Hiroko Benko hosted her eighth annual Broadway musical cruise at the weekend for more than 70 guests. The two-hour coastal cruise featured soprano Deborah Bertling, now president of the Community Arts Music Association, and baritone Brian Hotchkin, accompanied by pianist Renée […]

Bettin’ on Holden
By Richard Mineards   |   August 27, 2024

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 […]

Meeting Managers Past and Present
By Richard Mineards   |   August 27, 2024

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 […]

Local Couple Returns Home
By Richard Mineards   |   August 27, 2024

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 […]

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  • Broadway Legends at the New Vic
    By Richard Mineards   |   August 20, 2024

    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 […]

    Local Home Sold
    By Richard Mineards   |   August 20, 2024

    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 […]

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    Fiesta’s Centennial Finale
    By Richard Mineards   |   August 13, 2024

    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 […]

    All White and Blanc
    By Richard Mineards   |   August 13, 2024

    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 […]

    A Finnish Finit
    By Richard Mineards   |   August 13, 2024

    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 […]

    Think Ink
    By Richard Mineards   |   August 13, 2024

    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 […]

    Can You DIGS it?
    By Richard Mineards   |   August 13, 2024

    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 […]

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