Local view
BY CALEB WISEBLOOD
DreamHome
The local branch of the Photographic Society of America has been around for almost a century. Getting its start in 1938, the Santa Maria Camera Club hosts monthly competitions for its members—many of whom are retired professional photographers. But the club accepts shutterbugs of all ages and skill sets and even hosts field trips for photo fun. Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood spoke with club members about the contests, photography, and camaraderie [20]
This week, you can also read about the latest hiccup in Guadalupe’s quest to revamp its theater [4]; whether the vampire flick Salem’s Lot is worth the watch [24]; and what Salty Bagel has in store for your doorstep [25]
Camillia Lanham editor
photographer Jim McKinniss
first place for his monochrome piece, titled Holding Mirror, at the Santa Maria Camera Club’s monthly photography competition in January 2023.
Luxury Condos
• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) celebrated the launch of California’s first federal home energy rebates program to help lower utility bills and home energy costs for Central Coast residents, according to an Oct. 8 statement from Carbajal’s office. The rebate program will make it cheaper for California residents to install heat pumps, electrical panels, and insulation. The Inflation Reduction Act, the landmark climate law, helped launch the program. “My No. 1 priority in Congress is lowering the cost of living for Central Coast residents. That’s why I worked in 2022 to pass a landmark cost-savings law, the Inflation Reduction Act, to provide both tax incentives and direct rebates for Central Coast families looking to lower their energy costs,” Carbajal said in the statement. “We are already seeing the impact these incentives are having on the Central Coast, and the new programs launching today will help more families not only bring down their monthly bills, but also improve their quality of life and cut harmful pollution while they’re at it.” These rebates are projected by the U.S. Department of Energy to save American households up to $1 billion annually in energy costs and support an estimated 50,000 U.S. jobs in residential construction, manufacturing, and other sectors.
• U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) celebrated the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) designation of the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary—which will be the third largest in the national sanctuary system and the first tribally nominated sanctuary in the United States. The Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary was originally proposed by the Northern Chumash Tribal Council in July 2015, and the Commerce Department moved the proposed sanctuary into the designation phase in November 2021. NOAA wrapped up the final public comment period in October 2023 and issued their final environmental impact statement (EIS) last month. As part of their recent final EIS for the Sanctuary, NOAA announced a preferred alternative boundary that will protect 4,543 square miles, encompassing 116 miles along the coastline and up to 60 miles from the shore to support environmental and tribal priorities off the Central Coast while supporting state and national offshore wind development goals. “After years of advocacy, today’s announcement finally honors the Chumash people’s sacred waters as a National Marine Sanctuary and safeguards a vibrant and diverse Central Coast ecosystem. This sanctuary designation marks a hard-fought victory for the Chumash people, our conservation priorities, and the responsible development of offshore wind as California strives to meet its ambitious clean energy goals,” Padilla said in the Oct. 11 statement. “Thanks to this designation and sanctuary management plan, the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians will play an active role in preserving their traditions and managing these important cultural and ecosystem resources. I’m glad to have worked alongside NOAA officials, tribal leaders, local stakeholders, and my House colleagues to ensure these vital marine and cultural resources can thrive for years to come.”
• Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that more than 11.5 million California households will automatically see savings on their October electricity bill through the California Climate Credit, funded by the state’s Capand-Trade program, according to an Oct. 2 statement from Newsom’s office. The Cap-and-Trade program collects funds by requiring companies to pay for climate pollution and is managed by the California Air Resources Board. Electricity bill credits this month will range from approximately $32 to $174. More than 1 million small businesses are also expected to receive the credit. Including credits that went out in April, Californians will receive an average of $217 in bill credits during 2024. Since 2014, California households have already received an average of $971 in combined automatic April and October climate credits on their utility bills, totaling more than $14 billion statewide.
“Thanks to our state’s Cap-and-Trade program, millions of Californians will see an average credit of $71 on their electric bills this month,” Newsom said in the statement. “Not only does this credit provide muchneeded relief for families, it’s helping Californians make the switch to cleaner energy.” m
Guadalupe Royal Theater project design changes spark resident frustration with city
Chasing deadlines and a need to cut costs continue to haunt the Royal Theater renovation project.
Most recently, Guadalupe city staff submitted redesign changes for a grant it received through the federal Economic Development Administration (EDA) before getting the City Council’s approval.
“Staff had to submit documents to meet deadlines next week without council approval but did so with complete understanding that if the council didn’t support staff action, that it’s easy to tell the EDA to forget about it,”
Guadalupe City Attorney Philip Sinco told the council on Oct. 8.
The City Council unanimously approved the project’s conceptual changes, allowing staff’s submission to go before the EDA during its next meeting (scheduled for Oct. 16), but residents advocated for more communication about the project moving forward.
“I’m very disappointed, dismayed, and angry at how the Royal Theater has been managed and handled,” Guadalupe resident Melanie Backer said during the Oct. 8 Guadalupe City Council meeting. “Since January 2024, huge mistakes have been made, large communication gaps—no communicating with residents and businesses in this town until things are too late.”
The project proposed a theater and a performing arts center for hosting live stage productions, musical events, educational and cultural programs, and a meeting space for local organizations to revitalize the historic site.
It received about $10.5 million in state and federal grant funding, but the project turned out to be about $3 million more expensive than what the city could cover. Guadalupe has been scrambling to find alternative funding sources while still moving the project forward— including a ballot measure that was rushed through the public hearing process, but it ultimately failed with a 3-2 City Council vote before it could go to voters.
“I know people have talked about capital campaigns and donors, but that is really a lot easier said than done. The problem underlying all of this is the EDA—the Economic Development Administration,” Sinco said. “That’s half the money we raised from grants … there’s great concern that if we don’t meet those deadlines, it could result in the loss of the project.”
Andrew Goodwin Designs, the contracted architect, had a “brainstorming session to help with this shortfall,” he added, and came up
with a new conceptual design that eliminates an estimated $1.5 million in construction costs by changing the performing arts center from a three-story building to a single-story building. The funding gap’s other half would be covered by pushing back construction of project alternatives—the commercial kitchen and enhanced audio and visual facilities—to a later date.
“I might have the numbers wrong, but the project with the new design has enough funding to go forward without the project alternatives— those the city fully wants to construct at some later time—which is why the city wanted to do a capital campaign,” Sinco said. “Initially it was probably going to be for operating expenses and ongoing maintenance for the theater, but now we need to raise funds for the alternatives.”
Backer, who is also the Guadalupe Business Association secretary, said during public comment that it would have been great to get deadlines ahead of time to present them to the business association in an effort to get more community dollars in the mix.
“The manager has known about this funding gap, and we as locals, who are passionate about this project tonight, we need to get in front of the right donors to make this happen,” Backer said.
Project Manager Tom Brandeberry said that he’s been using the Royal Theater’s Facebook page to make announcements about updates.
“I haven’t done anything at this point because the council hasn’t approved it and the EDA hasn’t approved it, but I will certainly blast it out there,” Brandeberry said. “I will also say that as those plans go along … those plans will go to council for review as we did for other plans.”
Councilmember Christina Hernandez said that she liked social media but she didn’t think it was the best avenue for community updates and discussions. She added that there should be plans for public informational sessions for updates following the Oct. 16 EDA meeting.
“It’d be nice if we do have messaging coming from the city of Guadalupe, and it’s one message, just because I’ve seen forums where they get everything rattled up,” Hernandez said.
—Taylor O’Connor
Pioneer Valley High faculty rallies against principal’s administrative leave
Cries to keep Pioneer Valley High School Principal Shanda Herrera on staff echoed during an October school board meeting—continuing efforts to protect the principal who started earlier this year.
“It’s spiteful and vindictive that we are back
here again, and we need to stand up for people who work so incredibly hard for students in this community,” Pioneer Valley special education teacher Amber Barnard told the school board during its Oct. 8 meeting. “She’s just created a culture that is beyond reproach; her megawatt smile is felt beyond the campus. I’ve never felt so supported in my life as I have with Shanda.”
Santa Maria Joint Union Public Information Officer Kenny Klein told the Sun in an email that Herrera was placed on administrative leave pending the results of an investigation.
“Given this involves a confidential employee matter, I cannot provide any further details,” Klein said. “The decision to be placed on administrative leave does not reflect any determination about the merits of the allegations. The allegations will be promptly investigated by a third-party investigator to ensure that the process is fair, thorough, and as prompt as possible and that the process respects the rights of all involved.”
While Herrera is on leave, Paul Robinson, the district’s director of career technical education, is Pioneer Valley’s acting principal. Herrera could not be reached for comment before the Sun’s deadline.
In June, Herrera told the Sun that she received a warning letter that she would be terminated after 45 days, but she did not disclose a reason why. The termination’s notice sparked a flurry of action by Pioneer Valley students and staff, with several coming to a June 12 special board meeting to advocate that the district keep Herrera on staff.
The 45-day notice, which KEYT published in early September, claims that Herrera sent an email to district staff to not accept certain groups of students to return for a fifth year of high school—including English language learners and students with individualized education programs—so there wasn’t an impact on the 2024 graduation rate, according to the notice, which cited an April email from Herrera. As a result of the district releasing the notice to KSBY, KEYT, and the Santa Maria Times, Herrera sued the district for privacy rights violations.
“In making the determination to disclose her personnel file documents, [the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District] advised Herrera that she ‘has impacted the confidentiality of such records by providing staff and community members with selected and misinformation about the contents of the 45-day notice,’” according to the complaint. “This is both false and irrelevant and does not remove or waive Herrera’s right to privacy in her personnel records.”
California provides a right to privacy, which extends to documents contained in personnel files “similarly to the right to privacy over your medical records,” Kristi Rothschild, Herrera’s attorney, told the Sun in an email.
The complaint states that not every claim of misconduct contained in a personnel file is substantial or well-founded and shouldn’t be disclosed. The lawsuit was resolved in August, with the court and both parties agreeing to release “certain redacted documents” in response to California Public Records Act requests, Rothschild said.
Pioneer Valley High School Activities Director Lisa Walters spoke during the Oct. 8 meeting in defense of Herrera and called for changes at a district level to better support its sites.
“I’m tired of seeing great people who’ve given their lives to this district being pushed into retirement, be demoted, or put on administrative leave because they have the courage to speak out against how this district is being run,” Walters said. “It’s clear you are the bosses of this district; it’s your leadership that should keep this district strong. You’re the ones to blame for this toxicity.”
—Taylor O’Connor
CUTTING COSTS: The City Council unanimously approved conceptual design changes to the Royal Theater Renovation Project in order to close the $3 million funding gap.
Joseph Nunez, M.D.
Shane Rostermundt, D.O.
Michele Kielty, D.O.
Ryan Leachman, D.O. Lynn Peltier, C.P.N.P. Jessica Prather, C.N.P. Geronna Leonards, N.P.
Pumpkin Smashing! Pumpkin Smashing!
Don’t TRASH ’em... Come out and SMASH ’em!
Don’t send your tired old pumpkins and gourds to the landfill—bring them to our Pumpkin Smashing event for a fun way to recycle. It’s free, and all ages are welcome. Come on down for a smashing good time!
Solvang City Council cracks down on unpermitted newspaper racks
Graffiti and chipped paint on the outside. Headlines and classified ads on the inside.
City leaders singled out several news racks across Solvang as eyesores due to poor maintenance.
During the Solvang City Council’s Oct. 14 meeting, Public Works Director and City Engineer Rodger A. Olds said staff realized during a fee program consultation that the city has not enforced its newspaper rack permitting program since 2017.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2024
1:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m.
Town Center West Parking Area
Downtown Santa Maria
Additional pumpkins will be available. For more information, call (805) 925-0951 ext. 7270.
According to the staff report, there are 16 different publications with racks placed in Solvang’s public right of way, including spots in front of the Solvang Visitors Center and Post Office, and sidewalk space on Mission Drive, Copenhagen Drive, and Alisal Road.
Some racks’ city permits are long expired, while many were installed without any oversight from the city to begin with.
“Only five or six of them were ever permitted at all. So, they just kind of showed up over the years,” said Olds, who asked the council for direction on staff’s proposal to either restore or revise its news rack enforcement policy and require those who renew their permits to replace damaged or vandalized racks and keep future racks well maintained.
After Olds’ presentation, Councilmember David Brown suggested a stricter solution.
“Why do you feel there’s a need to perpetuate these stands even being there?” Brown asked staff.
City Attorney Chelsea
O’Sullivan said the city can remove unpermitted news racks and enforce restrictions on where they can be installed but must afford the opportunity for approved news racks to have space “in the public forum,” specifically the sidewalk.
“A sidewalk is a public forum, and that is a space that has the most protections for free speech,” O’Sullivan said. “You can walk around on the sidewalk and say your piece. … We have to allow it; allow the speech to happen, but we can regulate it. … Case law surrounding news racks does not support the city just banning them in the city altogether, going forward.”
Brown said that a possible ban on news racks in the public right of way wouldn’t stop someone from picking up a newspaper or magazine inside a store or business, and questioned whether or not the First Amendment protects publications centered on advertising.
“There’s free speech and then there’s marketing,” Brown said. “Most of these that I’ve seen are for marketing purposes.”
O’Sullivan pointed out that case law “treats commercial speech—what we would call ads and advertisements—the same as a newspaper for this context.”
“It’s still speech,” O’Sullivan said, “even though it’s asking for a contract or proposing a sale, … or offering a product.”
The City Council ultimately greenlit staff’s request to resurrect the permit enforcement program and research potential amendments to revise and improve the policy. Olds said that staff will return with an update on the issue within the next couple of months. m
—Caleb Wiseblood
ATTENTION all former SMJUHSD
Special Education Students born 2000!
All records for any Special Education student that was born within the year 2000 and attended a Santa Maria Joint Union High School District school, your physical special education records are available for pick up at no charge from the District Office. All 2000 not picked up by June 1, 2025 will be destroyed.
If you have any questions, or to arrange a pickup date/time, contact:
Sandra Hernandez/ Dept. of Special Education
Santa Maria Joint Union High School District
2560 Skyway Dr. Santa Maria, CA 93455
805-922-4573 ext. 4311
ATENCION estudiantes anteriores de SMJUHSD nacidos en 2000!
Todos los registros de cualquier estudiante de Educación Especial que haya nacido dentro del año 2000 y asistió a una escuela del Distrito Escolar de las escuelas preparatorias de Santa Maria, sus registros físicos de educación especial están disponibles para recoger sin cargo en la Oficina del Distrito. Todos los registros del 2000 que no hayan sido recogidos para el 1 de junio de 2025 serán destruidos. Si tiene alguna pregunta, o para programar una fecha/hora de recogida, comuníquense con:
Sandra Hernandez/ Dept. of Special Education
Santa Maria Joint Union High School District
2560 Skyway Dr. Santa Maria, CA 93455
805-922-4573 ext. 4311
The
Santa
Maria Joint Union High School District
Special Education - Child Find
The Santa Maria Joint Union High School District (SMJUHSD) seeks to identify, locate, and evaluate high school age students suspected of having a disability who may be eligible for special education services designed to meet their educational needs at no cost to families. This includes students that are highly mobile, migrant, experiencing homelessness, students that are wards of the state, and students attending private schools located within SMJUHSD boundaries. If you suspect your child has a disability, contact the school special education department or district office Special Education Department.
Staff | Special Education | Santa Maria Joint Union High School District (smjuhsd.k12.ca.us)
El Distrito Escolar de las Escuelas Preparatorias de Santa Maria Educación Especial - Búsqueda de Estudiantes
El Distrito Unificado de Escuelas Preparatorias de Santa Maria (SMJUHSD) busca identificar, localizar y evaluar a los estudiantes en edad de escuela preparatoria sospechosos de tener una discapacidad que puede ser elegible para servicios de educación especial diseñados para satisfacer sus necesidades educativas sin costo alguno para las familias. Esto incluye a los estudiantes que son altamente móviles, migrantes, sin hogar, estudiantes que están bajo la tutela del estado, y los estudiantes que asisten a escuelas privadas ubicadas dentro los limites de SMJUHSD. Si sospecha que su hijo tiene una discapacidad, comuníquese con el departamento de educación especial de la escuela u oficina de Educación Especial del distrito SMJUHSD.
Staff | Special Education | Santa Maria Joint Union High School District (smjuhsd.k12.ca.us)
PET WASTE = STORMWATER POLLUTION
Diaper drives
Santa Barbara County nonprofit holds diaper drives to help parents keep up with child care costs
BY TAYLOR O’CONNOR
Families can spend up to $100 a month or more on diapers alone, and parents felt that cost pressurize during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lori Goodman said.
“Having a baby is really expensive. I feel like it’s those first few years—child care is really expensive, diapers, all of those things you need with a baby,” said Goodman, the executive director for LEAP: Learn Engage Advocate Partner—a Santa Barbara County nonprofit that provides high-quality, trauma-informed child care to its community members.
“LEAP launched its diaper bank in January 2021, this was deep in the pandemic times, we were serving families with basic supplies—food, COVID tests—and what we saw over and over again was: Diapers were expensive,” she said.
centers, we are hoping we can get diapers out to more people.”
In Lompoc—a city where LEAP identified it could have a big impact—the nonprofit partnered with Trinity Nazarene Church for its diaper drives and eventually hopes to establish a child care center, Goodman said.
“We are a private nonprofit, nonreligious, but we have a lovely partnership with the church to think about how we provide services to the community, and the diaper bank is probably the first thing besides the children’s center that we will bring to Lompoc,” she said. “We would love to provide child care and our resource center and diaper bank in Santa Maria, and there hasn’t been a magical opportunity to find space there yet.”
To combat this expense, an individual donor started a diaper bank, which took off quickly and led LEAP to distribute 5,000 diapers a month to families during the pandemic. The nonprofit has given more than 200,000 diapers to South County and Lompoc families since it launched.
During the last week in September, LEAP celebrated Diaper Need Awareness Week by hosting a diaper drive, which collected 11,331 diapers, and continues its efforts to support this need throughout the year.
Families can come in twice a month yearround to pick up diapers. Parents with older children in size 6 can get a pack of 20 diapers, and those with younger children—who go through diapers faster—can get a 30-pack.
“A newborn will easily go through seven to eight diapers a day. We’re definitely not covering that full cost, but we’re making a little bit of a dent,” Goodman said.
LEAP primarily caters its services to South County families—with a 50-year-old presence in the area—but it’s striving to bring its services to Lompoc and eventually more North County communities. Partnerships, Goodman said, are the avenues LEAP is exploring in order to provide greater services to these areas with high child care needs.
“There’s no reason why people should have to come all the way to Goleta; we should be able to do that intake and support and find those resources in the community,” Goodman said.
“If we partner with some of our local family resource
Any resident can host a diaper drive with LEAP’s help and support. Visit leapcentralcoast. org/donate to make a financial donation to purchase diapers, or call (805) 685-6900 to schedule an appointment to pick up diapers or to coordinate a diaper drive.
Highlights
• The Lompoc Public Library invites youth up to 18 to participate in a book character pumpkin contest. Real or fake pumpkins or gourds will be accepted into the contest, and the decoration should be inspired by a book character. Real pumpkins should not be carved or punctured, but they can be painted, and small, non-food accessories may be pasted or glued on. One submission can be made per library patron up to age 18, and decorated pumpkins must be turned in to the library—501 E. North Ave.—by Oct. 23. Patrons can then vote in-person from Oct. 24 to 31; the winner will be announced on Nov. 1. The winner will receive a certificate of achievement and a prize.
• Santa Barbara County received a $4.7 million California Energy Commission grant to develop electric vehicle charging infrastructure. This was the second highest recommended grant award given, which will support the county with its zero-emission vehicle transition by installing 114 level-2 and 36 level-3 charging ports at 14 locations throughout the county. The project requires a $2.3 million match from the county in staff time and capital investment. m Reach Staff Writer Taylor O’Connor at toconnor@ santamariasun.com.
HIGH COSTS: Knowing that families can spend as much as $100 a month on diapers, Santa Barbara County nonprofit LEAP: Learn Engage Advocate Partner, launched monthly diaper distributions to help alleviate some costs, with the most recent led by Executive Director Lori Goodman (left) and Wendi Ostroff, director of the California Learning Center.
Should the county have created a moratorium and overlay for senior mobile home parks?
50% Yes! It’s needed and necessary.
20% Yes. The community’s advocacy paid off.
20% Not sure. It’s a positive step, but it may not work.
10% No. It’s unfair to change some regulations like that.
Reelect Jenelle Osborne
She’s the only nonpartisan candidate running for Lompoc mayor
BY RON FINK
Recently the Canary pointed out regarding the upcoming election that “this year feels like a rerun in some parts of Northern Santa Barbara County,” (“Deja vu?” Sept. 19).
10 Votes
Vote online at www.santamariasun.com.
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That is especially true with the Lompoc mayor’s race. Two seasoned veterans and a newcomer are vying for the center seat on the council dais. The Lompoc City Council is supposed to be a nonpartisan political body, but in this election, there is only one nonpartisan candidate.
Three-time loser Jim Mosby hosts the election headquarters of the Republican Party in one of his poorly kept empty commercial properties, and newcomer Lydia Perez is strongly supported by the Democratic Party.
Current Mayor Jenelle Osborne is a true nonpartisan and isn’t beholden to either of the major political parties’ agendas. This enables her to carefully consider all the opinions of other council members equally and then help create a consensus among the group when crafting public policy.
But to be fair, let’s examine the public record of her challengers.
Lydia Perez is a newcomer to Lompoc and has some grand, large-scale ideas on her website, none of which are achievable in a two-year mayor’s term. It would take a massive infusion of revenue to accomplish any of those goals. One example is improving the roads; some people in city government who are familiar with the cost to upgrade roads to minimum national standards estimate it would take more than $75 million.
And, since she is currently employed by People’s Self-Help Housing in Goleta, a nonprofit that develops low-income housing and provides housing assistance to its clients, she would likely have to recuse herself from all housing assistance and/or lowincome housing discussions.
Former Councilmember Mosby has many issues as explained in the Sun article “Mosby tries again” (Sept. 19)
and the aforementioned Canary’s editorial. According to reliable sources, he was delinquent in paying his agricultural water pump taxes for five years. These taxes go to the Santa Ynez River Water Conservation district. He just recently paid them, probably hoping no one would notice, but people might think twice about voting for someone to manage the city budget if he won’t even pay his own tax bills.
Probably the most serious and damaging thing he strongly supported during his tenure on the council was to cut the public safety positions in 2019. The immediate result was that the Lompoc Police Department lost a third of its full-time officer allocation. This action plus budget cuts added to equipment failures, which hindered immediate responses, causing “an unrelenting upward trend in violent crime,” according to the 2021 Santa Barbara County grand jury report, “Lompoc Police Department: Moving Toward a Safe and Proud Community.”
Mosby also worked feverishly to divert a 1 percent sales tax increase, which was overwhelmingly approved by voters to make tangible improvements in public safety, to pay down the retirement debt. Unfortunately, that debt isn’t controlled by the city, so it didn’t work as planned, leaving voters with none of the things the tax measure promised.
In contrast, Mayor Osborne is well respected on regional boards, including the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments and the Northern California Power Agency. As a nonpartisan, she has the ear of both conservative and liberal elected officials, which is of great benefit to our city.
During her tenure as mayor, she has been a constant cheerleader for Lompoc.
Speak
Send us your views and opinion to letters@santamariasun.com.
According to her website, she says, “I have worked to restore our General Fund Reserve; upgraded JM, Thompson, Beattie, Ryon, Pioneer, and soon, College Park. To address our public safety needs, I voted to replace 30-year-old firetrucks with
two new trucks while adding a second brush firetruck; modernized the Police Department’s radios, added body cameras and new dispatch system as well as new lighting on H Street.”
All these contributions helped improve the quality of life for every man, woman, and child in our city.
Her competitors may claim that “change is needed,” but newcomer Lydia Perez’s plans are grandiose, and Mosby’s mode of operation has proved destructive in the past. In contrast, Mayor Osborne has delivered and continues to deliver the needed changes.
Reelect Lompoc Mayor Jenelle Osborne; she is the only nonpartisan candidate for mayor and has demonstrated beyond a reasonable doubt that she is the most qualified person to be mayor. m
Ron Fink writes to the Sun from Lompoc. Send a letter for publication to letters@ santamariasun.com.
Trump
presidency would end American freedom as we know it
I’m replying to a letter that was supporting Trump with statements that have been proven to be false (“Reelect Donald Trump, the champion of ‘we the people,’” Oct. 10).
1. Successful business people do not file for bankruptcy six times
2. World peace would mean Putin can run rampant and take over any country he wants.
3. He did not solve the border problem. His “walls” were a joke.
4. He wants to destroy NATO, the EPA, Medicare, and the Justice Department. This would end freedom as we know it in America! Alyx Michell Nipomo
Richards Ranch annexation is not an even playing field
Orcutt finds itself in an odd position with this annexation. We have to forward our concerns to the city, not the county. We have to rely on the city to support us even though they may hold other interests. Not an even playing field.
This annexation process has been compared to a hostile takeover. I’ve heard one city official blame Orcutt for its water situation and another for not developing the site sooner. Officials ask why Orcutt isn’t working successfully with the investors. Yet, the city, which has the discretion to provide supplemental water needed for this project to proceed in the county, will not provide it. I’ve listened to another claim to be connected to and care about Orcutt say he would invoke “builder’s remedy” (700-plus units) if annexation is denied.
The city of Santa Maria Planning Commission during their October hearing credited Richards Ranch for time, effort, and money spent. Nothing was said about Orcutt residents’ time and effort spent despite lacking the resources, expertise, and money of Richards Ranch.
At that hearing, Richards Ranch objected to how long the EIR took to complete. Orcutt residents did what government officials ask of residents—we participated. The EIR took longer simply because we submitted constructive comments.
Does this preview how Orcutt residents surrounding this site will be treated if the property is annexed? Are local governments competing?
We could focus on how we all agree to build housing on this site. The groundwork is laid. The EIR is complete (can be used in the county).
The city can break a decades-old cycle of resentment and pull together Richards Ranch and the county and all work together to build this needed housing in the Orcutt community.
Susan Bryant Orcutt
Sidewalk talk Opinion
If you’re a newspaper rack in Solvang, it might be time to clean yourself up.
The city’s about to crack down on cracked paint and collect overdue permit fees to keep sidewalk free speech alive and well.
At least one City Council member thought it might be best to just do away with the racks altogether.
“Why do you feel there’s a need to perpetuate these stands even being there?” Councilmember David Brown asked.
Yeah, why should magazines, advertising publications, and newspapers just be allowed on the street? It’s not like it’s a public space or anything. Oh wait. It is!
“A sidewalk is a public forum, and that is a space that has the most protections for free speech,”
City Attorney Chelsea O’Sullivan said. “You can walk around on the sidewalk and say your piece. … We have to allow it, allow the speech to happen, but we can regulate it.”
But, Brown said, people can just go into a private business and pick one up.
Can they? Private businesses have the right to determine what kind of speech happens in their establishments—which means if they don’t like what your publication has to say, they can ban it—and who’s allowed to frequent their businesses—at least in some ways: “No shirt, no shoes, no service.”
But, Brown wondered, what about advertising publications?
“There’s free speech and then there’s marketing,” he said.
Someone needs to brush up on the First Amendment! Advertising is free speech, bud. Duh!
Folks in Guadalupe are practicing their free speech by asking the city’s government why it can’t keep them in the loop when it comes to the Royal Theater renovation plans.
This is the same project that the City Council wanted residents to pay for via bond measure. In a last-minute failed effort to get it on the ballot before the deadline, the city was chastised for not giving the public time to weigh in.
Now, City Attorney Philip Sinco is blaming a federal agency Guadalupe received a grant from for its latest last-minute shenanigans. City staff submitted theater redesign changes for its Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant before asking the City Council to approve it. Why? The deadline was too close, according to Sinco.
“The problem underlying all of this is the EDA,” he said. “That’s half the money we raised from grants … there’s great concern that if we don’t meet those deadlines, it could result in the loss of the project.”
But why can’t the city seem to identify the deadlines until it’s almost too late?
“I’m very disappointed, dismayed, and angry at how the Royal Theater has been managed and handled,” Guadalupe resident Melanie Backer told the council on Oct. 8. “Since January 2024, huge mistakes have been made, large community gaps—no communicating … until things are too late.”
Becker’s not wrong. She criticized the project’s manager for not doing a better job of sounding the alarm about funding and raising local dollars to help pay for the theater renovations funding gap. Project Manager Tom Brandeberry said he was using Facebook to make announcements about the project.
Sounds like a valiant outreach effort. Not. Maybe he should try putting something in the public forum—the sidewalk. m
Grooming Team: Colette Florey, Dzi, Janae Amador & Isabella Moreno Grooming Externs: Cody Dugan & Holly Prewitt Groomers Assistants: Brandi Janke & Ryleigh MacLean
Hot Stuff
ARTS
SANTA MARIA VALLEY/LOS ALAMOS BALLROOM, LATIN, AND SWING DANCE
CLASSES Social ballroom, Latin, and swing lessons for all ages. Beginner and advance classes. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, 7-9 p.m. $45-$55. 805-928-7799. Kleindancesarts.com. KleinDance Arts, 3558 Skyway Drive, suite A, Santa Maria. CASUAL CRAFTERNOON: ORIGAMI
MAGIC CIRCLE FIDGET Paper and patience combine during this interactive art experience. This workshop is free and all materials are provided. Registration is required; for patrons 18 and older. Oct. 21 4-5:30 p.m. Free. 805-9250994. cityofsantamaria.org/services/ departments/library. Santa Maria Public Library, 421 S. McClelland St., Santa Maria. COMMUNITY ARTS FAMILY DAY The first free Community Arts Family Day will be held at the Allan Hancock College Campus in Santa Maria. Hosted by the Ann Foxworthy Gallery, Hancock College, in collaboration with One Community Action. Enjoy a free day of art, kids activities, music, car show, booths, and more. Oct. 19, 1-4 p.m. Free. 805-694-8894. hancockcollege.edu/ familyartsday/index.php. Allan Hancock College, 800 S. College Drive, Santa Maria.
DANCE CLASSES: EVERYBODY CAN
DANCE Classes available for all skill levels. Class sizes limited. Everybody Can Dance, 628 S. McClelland St., Santa Maria, 805-9376753, everybodycandance.webs.com/.
LEARN CALIFORNIA’S OFFICIAL DANCE: WEST COAST SWING Learn west coast swing in a casual, friendly environment, taught by Texas state swing champion, Gina Sigman. Free intro from 6:30 to 7 p.m. Beyond the Basics ($10) is 7 to 7:45
p.m. $10 entry includes social dance (7:45 to 8:15 p.m.). Tuesdays, 6:30-8:15 p.m. 832-884-8114. Cubanissimo Cuban Coffee House, 4869 S. Bradley Rd., #118, Orcutt. NOVEL NIGHTMARES BOOK CLUB A book club for lovers of horror. This group meets on the fourth Wednesday of each month to discuss a creator of creepy tales. The author for October is Guillermo del Toro. Registration is required; for ages 18 and older. Oct. 23 5:15-6:15 p.m. Free. 805925-0994. cityofsantamaria.org/services/ departments/library. Santa Maria Public Library, 421 S. McClelland St., Santa Maria. NUESTRA VIVA EN EL ARTE (OUR LIFE IN ART): CHICANO ART EXHIBIT FROM THE SANCHEZ ART COLLECTION A collection of artworks from many of the iconic artists who were a quintessential part of the beginnings of the Chicano art movement as it has become an influence on popular culture and social issues. Through Dec. 13 Free. 805-694-8894. hancockcollege.edu/ gallery/index.php. Allan Hancock College, 800 S. College Drive, Santa Maria. RAINBOW READS BOOK CLUB Join every month to read and discuss literature that focuses on LGBTQIA+ authors, characters, and themes. The book for October is Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth. See sm.blackgold.org for available titles. Registration is required. Oct. 18 4:30-5:30 p.m. Free. 805-9250994. cityofsantamaria.org/services/ departments/library. Santa Maria Public Library, 421 S. McClelland St., Santa Maria.
SAVANNAH SIPPING SOCIETY A hilarious journey of friendship, laughter, and sweet tea sipping Through Oct. 27 my805tix. com/. Santa Maria Civic Theatre, 1660 N. McClelland St., Santa Maria.
STRAWBERRY PICKER: ARTIST TALK AND FILM SCREENING Allan Hancock College welcomes the community to a
free screening of the short film Strawberry Picker. The film will be followed by a Q-and-A with the director and producer of the film, and artist Juan Fuentes. Original artwork will be on display at the event. Oct. 18 6-7:30 p.m. Free. 805-922-6966. hancockcollege.edu. Allan Hancock College, 800 S. College Drive, Santa Maria.
VALLEY ART GALLERY: ROTATING
DISPLAYS Featured artists of Santa Maria’s Valley Art Gallery frequently display their works at the airport. Check website for details on monthly exhibits and full list of the gallery’s artists. valleygallery.org. Santa Maria Airport, 3217 Terminal Drive, Santa Maria.
VALLEY READS BOOK CLUB A monthly book club for adults featuring coffee, snacks, and lively discussion. The book selection for October is Help Wanted by Adelle Waldman. Please call the reference desk to reserve a seat. Oct. 19, 2-3 p.m. Free. 805-9250994. cityofsantamaria.org/services/ departments/library. Santa Maria Public Library, 421 S. McClelland St., Santa Maria.
SANTA YNEZ VALLEY
A DEEPER LOVE: NEW PAINTINGS
INSPIRED BY CORAL REEFS A vivid duo exhibition that highlights a collection of paintings by husband and wife team David Gallup and Nansi Bielanski Gallup. Through Feb. 1, calnatureartmuseum.org. California Nature Art Museum, 1511-B Mission Dr., Solvang.
THE LION HAS TO BE HAPPY:
CONTEMPORARY DANISH CERAMICS A showcase of ceramic artworks by featured artisan Marianne Steenholdt Bork. Through Oct. 27 elverhoj.org. Elverhoj Museum of History and Art, 1624 Elverhoy Way, Solvang, 805-686-1211.
MICHELLE JULIET FELDMAN: SOLO
EXHIBIT An exhibition of local artist
exhibit includes unique landscapes that captures the hills, oaks, and light that is a special part of the Santa Ynez Valley as well as abstract seascapes. Through Nov. 10 thegivingink.com/. Los Olivos General Store, 2900 Grand Ave., Los Olivos.
THE VISUAL FEAST OF ROLAND
PETERSEN Enjoy viewing a collection of Petersen’s vivid, colorful paintings. Oct. 26 -Jan. 5 elverhoj.org. Elverhoj Museum of History and Art, 1624 Elverhoy Way, Solvang, 805-686-1211.
WOODLANDS II AT GALLERY LOS OLIVOS
Deborah Breedon, Kris Buck, and Chuck Klein are the featured artists for the month of October at Gallery Los Olivos. Titled Woodlands II, this exhibit is a blend of pastels including landscapes, abstracts, florals, and fine woodworking. MondaysSundays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. through Oct. 31 805-688-7517. GalleryLosOlivos.com. Gallery Los Olivos, 2920 Grand Ave., Los Olivos.
LOMPOC/VANDENBERG
LOMPOC FRIGHT FEST The first annual Lompoc Fright Fest is coming to Lompoc. With more than 40 vendors, artists and crafters, DIY classes, a costume contest, photo booth, special guests, and more. Oct. 19 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Free event. 805742-9644. lompocfrightfest.com. Lompoc Veterans Memorial Hall, 100 E. Locust Ave., Lompoc.
LOMPOC VALLEY ARTS COUNCIL
MEETING The Lompoc Valley Arts Council will hold its regular meeting, but the “Business and Art” forum component of the October meeting has been postponed until the January 2025 meeting. The group welcomes ideas from the public for the Lompoc arts community. Oct. 17 6-7:30 p.m. Stone Pine Hall, 210 South H St., Lompoc, 805-736-3888, lompocmuseum.org.
COLOR MY WORLD
The Elverhoj Museum of History and Art in Solvang will debut its latest solo exhibition, The Visual Feast of Roland Petersen, on Saturday, Oct. 26, with an opening reception from 4 to 7:30 p.m. Petersen’s vivid paintings, including this colorful piece titled The Rains Came, will remain on display through Jan. 5, 2025. Visit elverhoj.org to find out more about the new showcase.
—Caleb
SOUTH COAST SLO COUNTY
DANCE FITNESS ART AND CULTURE FOR ADULTS Discover dance as a form of artistic expression and exercise, using a wide range of styles and genres of music (including modern, jazz, Broadway, ethnic). Tuesdays, 4-5 p.m. $10 drop-in; $30 for four classes. 510-362-3739. grover.org. Grover Beach Community Center, 1230 Trouville Ave., Grover Beach.
THE EXPRESSIVE FIGURE WITH DAVID LIMRITE This four-day workshop will approach mixed media figure drawing and painting as a creative, expressive activity. Find out more and register online. Oct. 24 , 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Oct. 25, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Oct. 26, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Oct. 27 10 a.m.-5 p.m. $1,015 includes lunch daily. 805-5506399. willowpondslo.com. Willow Pond SLO, 1250 Judith Lane, Arroyo Grande. MUSEUM Tina Howe’s Museum is a sharp, comedic play that humorously explores human behavior through the reactions of diverse visitors to an art museum. Come enjoy this absurd yet insightful commentary on art, culture, and identity. Oct. 17 7-9 p.m., Oct. 18, 7-9 p.m. and Oct. 19 7-9 p.m. $12-$17. 805-489-9444. clarkcenter.org/shows/aghs-museum/. Clark Center for the Performing Arts, 487 Fair Oaks Ave., Arroyo Grande.
RM ART STUDIOS WELCOMES THE PUBLIC Local artists Rosemary and Mike Bauer welcome you to their home studio/ gallery during the Open Studios Art Tour. More than 50 paintings will be on display. The artists paint both outdoors and in the studio to capture expressive interpretations of Central Coast scenes. Open year-round by appointment. Oct. 19 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Oct. 20, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. 805-390-2497. slocountyarts.org/osat. RM Art Studios, 831 Robin Circle, Arroyo Grande.
VOLVER 2 (“THE COMEBACK 2”) Led by award-winning singer Guillermo Fernandez and maestro Lautaro Greco, this electrifying production promises an unforgettable evening, featuring top musicians, singers, and dancers from Argentina and Uruguay. Recognized as Cultural Ambassadors of Uruguay, this show beautifully balances traditional and modern tango. Oct. 18, 7:30-10:30 p.m. $49-$74. 805-489-9444.
clarkcenter.org/shows/volver-2/. Clark Center for the Performing Arts, 487 Fair Oaks Ave., Arroyo Grande. WATERCOLOR WORKSHOP WITH GEOFF ALLEN Acclaimed artist Geoff Allen’s expertise will guide you in creating and enhancing your artwork, over an intensive three-day workshop. Recommended for all levels. Oct. 21-23 9 a.m.-4 p.m. $390. ccwsart.com/geoff-allen-workshop. Nipomo Community Presbyterian Church, 1235 N Thompson Rd., Arroyo Grande, 805-219-0133.
WEREWOLF OF ARROYO GRANDE Enjoy the Melodrama’s Halloween-spirited show. Through Nov. 9 Great American Melodrama, 1863 Front St., Oceano.
SAN LUIS OBISPO ALL AGES SCULPTING WITH JOHN ROULLARD John a retired school teacher who patiently guides potters of all ages to sculpt and work on details and design. Saturdays, 1:30-3 p.m. $40. anamcre.com. Anam Cre Pottery Studio, 1243 Monterey St., San Luis Obispo.
ARTIST NICK WILKINSON: ARCHIVED WORK ON DISPLAY Multidisciplinary artist Nick Wilkinson’s early works (20152018) will be on display through the end of November. Wilkinson is a graduate of San Diego State University with honors. His paintings and drawings “exist in a world between investment-grade abstraction and dirty doodles on the back of a notebook.” Through Nov. 30, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Free. 805-439-1611. mylrbookstore.com. MYLR Gallery, 1238 Monterey St., San Luis Obispo.
ARTIST RIKI SCHUMACHER AT ART CENTRAL GALLERY Schumacher’s work is pensive and introspective, inspiring one to take a solitary walk on a cloudy day. Wander in to reflect on her “delicious, wistful landscapes.” Mondays-Saturdays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sundays, 12-4 p.m. Free. 805-747-4200. artcentralslo.com/galleryartists/. Art Central, 1329 Monterey St., San Luis Obispo. ARTIST TALK The Bunker SLO will be hosting an artist talk with political artists and activists Robbie Conal, Mark Bryan,
Michelle Juliet Feldman, of The Giving Ink. The
Wiseblood
WEDNESDAY,
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER
THURS-SAT,
Hot Stuff
Lena Rushing, Carol Paulsen, and more. The artists in the controversial show “What Could Possibly Go Wrong?” want a chance to share their experiences. Oct. 20 12-7 p.m. 805-203-6301. thebunkerslo.com. The Bunker SLO, 810 Orcutt Road, San Luis Obispo.
BEYOND THE BASICS OF WATERCOLOR WITH VIRGINIA MACK
This is a class for those who love imagining ways to further their visual expressions. A watercolor-based course, but one that branches out into other media. Fourth Thursday of every month, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. $35 per class. 805-747-4200. artcentralslo.com. Art Central, 1329 Monterey St., San Luis Obispo.
CERAMIC LESSONS AND MORE Now offering private one-onone and group lessons in the ceramic arts. Both hand building and wheel throwing options. Beginners welcomed. ongoing 805-835-5893. hmcruceceramics.com/. Online, See website, San Luis Obispo.
CLAY BABY
BOTTLE BASH
The 40th annual Santa Barbara Vintners Festival will hold its grand tasting event at Vega Vineyard and Farm in Buellton on Saturday, Oct. 19, from 1 to 4 p.m. Attendees can look forward to enjoying wine selections from more than 50 participating winemakers, plus multiple food options, live music, and more. For tickets and more details, visit sbvintnersweekend.com.
HANDPRINTS Offers a unique experience of pressing your baby’s hand/foot into clay so parents can cherish this time forever. Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Sundays $55. anamcre.com/babyhandprints. Anam Cre Pottery Studio, 1243 Monterey St., San Luis Obispo.
COLLEEN GNOS’ OCEAN SCENES AND MORE Colleen Gnos invites you to go behind the scenes in her SLO studio as part of the Open Studios Art Tour. Explore her various works, including painted surfboards, hula dancers, tiki art, landscapes, ocean scenes, mermaids, murals, and more. Saturdays, Sundays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. through Oct. 20 Free admission. 805-441-8277. colleengnos. com. Gnos Art Studio, 141 Suburban Road, Unit C4, San Luis Obsipo.
CREATIVITY DAYS WITH THE SILK ARTISTS OF CALIFORNIA CENTRAL COAST An opportunity to work on your own projects and materials while picking up new skills among friends. Note: this event is held mostly every third Monday (attendees are asked to call or email to confirm ahead of time). Third Monday of every month $5; first session free. artcentralslo.com. Art Central, 1329 Monterey St., San Luis Obispo, 805-747-4200.
FAMILY FRIENDLY WORKSHOP: LARGE PLATTER CLASS Fun for all ages. Instructors will guide you in creating large platters and decorating them. Create pieces together for your home. Saturdays, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. $50. anamcre.com. Anam Cre Pottery Studio, 1243 Monterey St., San Luis Obispo.
FORBES ORGAN SERIES: CAMERON CARPENTER PLAYS NOSFERATU Known for his formidable technical prowess and the athletic showmanship of his performance, Cameron Carpenter will be performing his own original score on the Forbes Pipe Organ, for a live-to-picture screening of the 1922 original vampire thriller, Nosferatu, presented by Cal Poly Arts. Oct. 24 7:30 p.m. 805-756-4849. calpolyarts.org/20242025-season/ cameron-carpenter. Performing Arts Center, 1 Grand Ave., San Luis Obispo. GINI GRIFFIN: SOLO SHOW OF POTS AND PAINTINGS Showing during the month of October at SLO Provisions. Email ginizart@aol.com for more info. Through Oct. 31 SLO Provisions, 1255 Monterey St., San Luis Obispo, 805-439-4298.
HALLOWEEN HORROR MOVIE NIGHT
A screening of Scream Oct. 25 6:30 p.m. my805tix.com/. The Secret Garden at Sycamore Mineral Springs, 1215 Avila Beach Dr., San Luis Obispo, 805-595-7302.
MARIA MOLTENI: CELESTIAL
ANTIPHONY Celestial Antiphony creates a cycle of beats on the fingers and illustrates a childhood shortcut for praying the Rosary when beads have gone missing. The artist has returned to the modular, rhythmic orb-based practice of prayer, which transcends boundaries of faith and constructs of time. Through Nov. 11 Free. 805-543-8562. sloma.org/ exhibition/maria-molteni/. San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, 1010 Broad St., San Luis Obispo.
OPENING RECEPTION AND ARTIST
TALK FOR JAMIL HELLU: FACE TO FACE
A free reception for Jamil Hellu’s solo exhibition, Face to Face. Enjoy music, refreshments, and art viewing from 4:30 to 6 p.m., followed by an artist talk from 6 to 7 p.m. Oct. 24 4:30-7 p.m. Free. 805-546-3202. cuesta.edu/student/ campuslife/artgallery/2024-2025exhibits/jamil_hellu.html. Harold J. Miossi Gallery, Highway 1, San Luis Obispo.
SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY OPEN
STUDIOS ART TOUR Free to the public, fine artists and crafters open their studios to showcase their art and share their processes. Visitors create their own self-guided tours using the catalog. See website for full list of participating artists and locations. Oct. 19 and Oct. 20 slocountyarts.org/osat. SLO County, Various locations countywide, San Luis Obispo.
SATURDAY FAMILY POTTERY CLASS
This family-friendly open studio time is a wonderful window for any level or age. Saturdays, 11 a.m. & 1:30 p.m. $40. Anam Cre Pottery Studio, 1243 Monterey St., San Luis Obispo, anamcre.com.
SCARY HALLOWEEN CAT WITH MISS
KESHET Enjoy a fun-filled afternoon painting the most adorable and scary Halloween cat with acrylic paints. Beginners are welcome and no experience is necessary. Oct. 19, 1-2:30 p.m. $25. 805610-1821. artcentralslo.com. Art Central, 1329 Monterey St., San Luis Obispo.
TESSA LARK, JOSHUA ROMAN, AND EDGAR MEYER Perhaps today’s bestknown bass virtuoso, Grammy-winner
Edgar Meyer will be joined by Tessa Lark (violin) and Joshua Roman (cello) for a new collaboration including works by Bach and Edgar Meyer, presented by Cal Poly Arts. Oct. 22 7:30 p.m. 805-756-4849. calpolyarts.org. Performing Arts Center, 1 Grand Ave., San Luis Obispo. VIRGINIA MACK: BEGINNING WATERCOLOR This is a watercolor class designed to let you jump in and try out this engaging medium through experimentation. It’s designed for beginners and those with watercolor experience who wish to expand their knowledge of painting in watercolors. To enroll please contact Mack via email: vbmack@charter.net Wednesdays, 1:303:30 p.m. $35. 805-747-4200. artcentralslo. com/workshops-events/. Art Central, 1329 Monterey St., San Luis Obispo.
WHOSE WATERS? This Gray Wing exhibition will build upon the photojournalistic work of Southern California artist Gabriella Angotti-Jones whose I Just Wanna Surf book highlights Black female and non-binary surfers and other unseen or outright ignored communities that ride the waves off the Golden State. Through Oct. 20, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. 805-543-8562. sloma.org/ exhibition/surf-show/. San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, 1010 Broad St., San Luis Obispo.
NORTH COAST SLO COUNTY
COASTAL WINE AND PAINT PARTY
Listen to music while enjoying an afternoon of creativity, sipping, and mingling. The party includes a complimentary glass of wine and canvas with materials. Saturdays, 12-2 p.m. $55. 805-394-5560. coastalwineandpaint.com. Harmony Cafe at the Pewter Plough, 824 Main St., Cambria.
COSTA GALLERY SHOWCASES Features works by Ellen Jewett as well as 20 other local artists, and artists from southern and northern California. Thursdays-Saturdays, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. and Sundays, 12-4 p.m. 559799-9632. costagallery.com. Costa Gallery, 2087 10th St., Los Osos.
DRAWING/PAINTING GROUP CCA holds still life drawing/painting sessions in the Green Room at Cambria Center for the Arts. You will need to bring your own supplies, including an easel if you
Theater, Morro Bay
Shaun of the Dead, 20th Anniversary:
Film Society Fundraiser
OCTOBER 23 Bay Theater, Morro Bay
SupSup with Dracaena Wines
OCTOBER 23 Dracaena Wines, Paso Robles
Trivia Wednesday Night with Brain Stew Trivia
23 Bang The Drum Brewery, SLO
An Exclusive Evening of Appreciation with Dave Ruffner
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24 Puff ers, Pismo Beach
& The Law of A raction
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19
YSLASH Carocha’s Gallery & A Studios, Morro Bay
Haunted Manor: Presented by The Benedict FRI-WED, OCTOBER 18-30
Taste of Old Town Orcu SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19 Old Orcu
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19
Scrapbooking
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19
5CHC Warming Center, Arroyo Grande
Chismosas y Mimosas Drag Brunch
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19 A Mi Manera Mexican Cuisine, Santa Maria
Breast Cancer Fundraiser Featuring Nice & Swell
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19 Blast 825 Brewery, Orcu
Hot Stuff
LICENSE TO QUILT
The Central Coast Quilters will host its fifth annual Fall Boutique festivities at the Arroyo Grande Community Center on Friday, Oct. 25, from 4 to 7 p.m., and Saturday, Oct. 26, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be a plethora of quilts and fiber art pieces for sale, as well as a quilt raffle. Ten percent of the proceeds will benefit Woods Humane Society. For more info, visit centralcoastquilters.org.
ARTS from page 14
choose to paint. Fourth Thursday of every month, 1-3:30 p.m. through Feb. 25 $10. 805-927-8190. cambriacenterforthearts. org. Cambria Center for the Arts, 1350 Main St., Cambria.
FINE ART PAINTINGS BY ATUL PANDE Gallery at Marina Square presents Atul Pande featuring his acrylic paintings, both representational and nonrepresentational. A marvelous exhibition of his talents as a painter. Through Oct. 29, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. 805-772-1068. galleryatmarinasquare.com. Gallery at Marina Square, 601 Embarcadero suite 10, Morro Bay.
FINE ART PAINTINGS BY CAROL ROULLARD Showcases both her abstract acrylic paintings and her micro-crystalline photography. Through Oct. 29, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. 805-772-1068. galleryatmarinasquare.com. Gallery at Marina Square, 601 Embarcadero suite 10, Morro Bay.
FOREVER STOKED PAINT PARTY Join us at the gallery, for a few hours to travel on a creative paint journey. You will receive as much or as little instruction as you prefer. No artistic experience is necessary. Saturdays, 7-9 p.m. $45. 805-772-9095. foreverstoked.com. Forever Stoked, 1164 Quintana Rd., Morro Bay.
GETTING HIGH ON NATURE: FEATURING KARL DEMPWOLF The Cambria Center for the Arts Gallery presents “Getting High on Nature,” featuring Karl Dempwolf. Opening night includes a reception with music by Tom Bethke, treats, and more. TuesdaysSundays, 12-4 p.m. through Oct. 27 805927-8190. cambriaarts.org. Cambria Center for the Arts, 1350 Main St., Cambria.
THE LIGHTHOUSE AT PIEDRAS BLANCAS
A picnic and horror film night at the Piedras Blancas Light Station. An outdoor showing of The Lighthouse directed by Robert Eggers. Bring a picnic and enjoy the sunset prior to showtime at 8 p.m. Bring your own lawn chairs/blankets. Reservations required. Oct. 26, 7-10 p.m. Free; suggested donation $5-$10 per person. 805-927-7361. piedrasblancas.org/ movie-night-the-lighthouse.html. Piedras Blancas Light Station, 15950 Cabrillo Highway, San Simeon.
THE OUTSIDER A timely and hilarious comedy that skewers politics and celebrates democracy. Through Oct. 27 my805tix.com/. By The Sea Productions, 545 Shasta Ave., Morro Bay.
THE PLEIN AIR TEAM Acrylic artist, Nancy Lynn, and husband, watercolorist, Robert Fleming, have an ongoing show of originals and giclee prints of Morro Bay and local
birds. ongoing 805-772-9955. Seven Sisters Gallery, 601 Embarcadero Ste. 8, Morro Bay, sevensistersgalleryca.com.
ROD BAKER’S GLASS ART Visit Baker’s fascinating glass studio as part of the Open Studios Art Tour, at Central Coast Glass Blowing and Fusing. See new glass masterpieces, home-garden décor, and glass jewelry. Saturdays, Sundays, 10 a.m.5 p.m. through Oct. 20 Free admission. 805-551-6836. Central Coast Glass Blowing and Fusing, 1279 2nd Street, Los Osos, RodBakerGlass.com.
ROSEY AND BARBARA ROSENTHAL’S BAYSIDE STUDIO AND GARDEN GALLERY Printmakers Rosey and Barbara Rosenthal invite you to their bayside studio and outdoor gallery as part of the Open Studios Art Tour. Explore their inspiring comic book art, original paintings, prints, jewelry, art books, and cards. Oct. 19 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Oct. 20 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free admission. 805-5284946. rosenthalart.com. Rosenthal Art Studio, 743 Santa Lucia Ave., Los Osos. SHAUN OF THE DEAD: 20TH ANNIVERSARY A Central Coast Film Society Fundraiser. Prizes awarded to attendees with the best costumes. Oct. 23 5:30-9 p.m. my805tix.com/. Bay Theatre, 464 Morro Bay Blvd., Morro Bay.
SLOFUNNY COMEDY SHOW AT THE MORRO BAY EAGLES Lineups are subject to change, but always include five headliners. Oct. 26 7 p.m. my805tix.com/. Morro Bay Eagles Club, 2988 Main St., Morro Bay, 805-772-1384.
SMALL WORKS BY CAROLE MCDONALD
Features her small acrylic paintings as well as her knitted and wool scarves and bags. Through Oct. 29, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. 805-772-1068. galleryatmarinasquare. com. Gallery at Marina Square, 601 Embarcadero suite 10, Morro Bay.
SPECIAL FILM SCREENING: CLUE South
Bay Women’s Network is presenting a special screening of the 1985 classic film based on the popular game. Oct. 21 5:30 p.m. my805tix.com. Bay Theatre, 464 Morro Bay Blvd., Morro Bay.
SPOOKY FILM PREMIERE AND OPEN GATHERING You’re invited to the premiere of Maven’s latest film collaboration with Room For Cream Films. Enjoy multiple locally-made short films, live music by Wildflower, and Chooch’s funky record collection. Located above the Maven storefront in a private art studio. With refreshments, wine, a raffle, and more. For ages 21 and over. BYOB. Oct. 18 , 7:30-10 p.m. Free. 805-308-4446. mavenleather.com/for-every-occasion. Maven Gallery and Leather Studio, 146 North Ocean Avenue, Suite B, Cayucos.
CULTURE & LIFESTYLE
SANTA MARIA VALLEY/LOS ALAMOS
EXPLORING THE TRAILS OF ORCUTT Join the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County and enjoy some of Orcutt’s best trails. Oct. 19 9-11:30 a.m. Free. 805-4488012. eventbrite.com. Orcutt Community Park, 4854 S. Bradley Road 109, Orcutt. FEEL GOOD YOGA Tuesdays, Thursdays, 8:30-9:30 a.m. 805-937-9750. oasisorcutt. org. Oasis Center, 420 Soares Ave., Orcutt. GROUP WALKS AND HIKES Check website for the remainder of this year’s group hike dates and private hike offerings. ongoing 805-343-2455. dunescenter.org. Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center, 1065 Guadalupe St., Guadalupe. KIWANIS BINGO BOONANZA Proceeds benefit the Kiwanis of Santa Maria Valley Foundation Charities. Oct. 27 noon my805tix.com. Elwin Mussell Senior Center, 510 Park Ave., Santa Maria. SANTA MARIA CEMETERY LOCAL HISTORY PRESENTATION Come see a presentation about the Santa Maria Cemetery headstones and the history of local pioneer families. Oct. 19 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Free. 805-922-3131. Santa Maria Valley Historical Society Museum, 616 S. Broadway, Santa Maria.
SANTA MARIA TOASTMASTERS Develop your public speaking skills at this club meeting. Fourth Tuesday of every month, 6:30-8 p.m. 805-570-0620. Santa Maria Airport, 3217 Terminal Drive, Santa Maria. WELCOME PROJECT HERO CYCLISTS Come out and help welcome the Project Hero Cyclists to Orcutt. Please wear red, white, and blue. Flags will be available. Show support for these heroes. Oct. 17 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. 805-298-2968. American Legion Post 534, 145 W. Clark Ave., Orcutt.
WELLNESS BASICS: QPR SUICIDE TRAINING Learn how to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis and how to question, persuade, and refer someone to help. Training is provided by Transitions Mental Health Association. Registration is required; for patrons 18 and older. Oct. 19, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Free. 805-925-0994 ext. 8562. cityofsantamaria.org/services/ departments/library. Santa Maria Public Library, 421 S. McClelland St., Santa Maria.
SOUTH COAST SLO COUNTY
ASTROLOGY 101 BEGINNER CLASSES
Have you always been curious about astrology and your horoscope but don’t know where to start? Local professional astrologer Lori Waters will be teaching a five-week Astrology 101 course that will lead you through the basics of astrology by covering western astrology’s history and more. Thursdays, 6-7:30 p.m. through Oct. 18 $20. 805-270-3192. Shell Beach Veterans Memorial Building, 230 Leeward Ave., Pismo Beach, pismobeach.org.
BEGINNING BALLET FOR ADULTS Enjoy the grace and flow of ballet. No previous experience needed. Wednesdays, 5:15-6:15 p.m. $12 drop-in; $40 for four classes. 510-362-3739. grover.org. Grover Beach Community Center, 1230 Trouville Ave., Grover Beach.
BODY FUSION/EXERCISE AND FITNESS
CLASS Do something good for yourself and stay fit for outdoor sports, while enhancing flexibility, strengthening your core to prevent lower back issues, improving your posture through yoga, and more. Tuesdays, Thursdays, 9-10:30 a.m. Free. 970-710-1412. Avila Beach Community Center, 191 San Miguel St., Avila Beach, avilabeachcc.com.
CAT ADOPTION EVENT WITH CAL POLY
CAT PROGRAM Meet adorable cats and kittens in needs of loving homes, chat with Cal Poly Cat Program staff, and browse the bookstore’s cozy collection. Come support this wonderful cause and possibly find your new best friend. Oct. 19 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Free. 805-668-6300. monarchbooks805.com. Monarch Books, 201 E. Branch St., Arroyo Grande.
CENTRAL COAST QUILTERS STITCHIN’
SISTERS AND BROTHERS FIFTH
ANNUAL FALL BOUTIQUE Features
100 quilts and many unique and fun handmade items for sale. Proceeds go to making quilts for the community in need.10 percent of funds will go to Woods Humane Society. Oct. 25 4-7 p.m. Free. 949-433-6348. Arroyo Grande’s Community Center, 211 Vernon Street, Arroyo Grande, centralcoastquilter.org.
CREATIVE MOVEMENT A dance-filled morning with Charlotte Ritter who has more than 50 years of expertise. Creative Movement is a wonderful opportunity for parents and children to connect through movement and imagination. Oct. 19 11 a.m.-noon Free for event. 805-481-1421. Exploration Discovery Center, 867 Ramona Ave., Grover Beach.
EMBROIDERER’S GUILD OF AMERICA
The Bishop’s Peak Chapter of the Embroiderer’s Guild of America invites you to attend its meeting on the third Saturday of each month. For more information, follow on Facebook at Bishop’s Peak EGA or visit the EGA website. Third Saturday of every month, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. through Nov. 16 Free. egausa.com. Grover Beach Community Center, 1230 Trouville Ave., Grover Beach, 805-773-4832.
FALL HARVEST GALA A fundraiser to support the Nipomo Action Committee. All profits go to supporting legal fees in fighting the development of the Dana Reserve Development. Includes appetizers and dinner, live music, dancing, silent auction, and no-host bar. Oct. 24 5-9 p.m. $75 single ticket; $135 for two tickets. 805-722-9232. Cypress Ridge Pavilion, 1050 Cypress Ridge Parkway, Arroyo Grande.
FULL MOON YOGA, MEDITATION, AND SOUND BATH Upcoming events include programs in October, November, and December. Visit site for tickets and more info. Oct. 17 my805tix.com/. Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort, 1215 Avila Beach Dr., Avila Beach.
MULTICULTURAL DANCE CLASS
FOR ADULTS
Experience dance from continents around the earth, including from Africa, Europe, and more. Described as “a wonderful in-depth look at the context and history of cultures of the world.” Tuesdays, 5:30-6:30 p.m. $10 drop-in; $30 for four classes. 510-3623739. grover.org. Grover Beach Community Center, 1230 Trouville Ave., Grover Beach.
QI GONG FOR LESS STRESS AND MORE ENERGY Experience the energy of Qi Gong through simple standing movements promoting flexibility, strength, relaxation, and increased energy. Suitable for all ages and fitness levels, Qi Gong revitalizes and enriches your life. An outdoor class overlooking the ocean. Wednesdays, 4-5 p.m. $14 per class or $55 for 5-class card with no expiration. 805-440-4561. pismobeach.org. Margo Dodd Gazebo, Ocean Park Blvd., Shell Beach.
SAN LUIS OBISPO
14TH ANNUAL CENTRAL COAST CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE SHOW AND SWAP MEET This is a judged classic motorcycle show and swap meet. Food trucks on-site. Fun for whole family. See full list of classes on website. There is a $5 discount for early registration. Oct. 19, 9-3 a.m. $10. 805-440-4511. central-coastclassic-motorcycle-club.square.site/. Arise Central Coast, 1775 Calle Joaquin, San Luis Obispo.
BEYOND MINDFULNESS Realize your potential through individualized meditation instruction with an experienced teacher via Zoom. This class is for those who wish to begin a practice or seek to deepen an existing one. Flexible days and times. Certified with IMTA. Email or text for information. Mondays-Sundays, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Sliding scale. 559-9059274. theartofsilence.net. Online, See website, San Luis Obispo.
BUILDING RESILIENCE IN A CLIMATE CHANGING WORLD: PRESENTED BY LAURA ALBERS, SLO CLIMATE COALITION Climate change is happening, and there is evidence all around us. While the current trajectory of how we will experience our world can be frightening, learn about the resources and actions available here on the Central Coast to help you find ways to create resiliency. Oct. 21 7-8:30 p.m. Free. 805-772-1991. morrocoastaudubon.org. Online, See website, San Luis Obispo.
CAL HOPE SLO GROUPS AT TMHA Visit website for full list of weekly Zoom groups available. Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays calhopeconnect.org. Transitions Mental Health Warehouse, 784 High Street, San Luis Obispo, 805-270-3346.
DAILY QIGONG PRACTICE For the early riser or commuter, every weekday morning. Maintain or improve concentration, balance, and flexibility. Includes weekly Friday 3 p.m. class with more practices. Led by certified Awareness Through Movement teacher. Mondays-Saturdays, 6:10 a.m. and Fridays, 3 p.m. $35/week or $125/month. 646-2805800. margotschaal.com/qigong. Online, See website, San Luis Obispo.
FREE TOURS OF THE MISSION Tour San Luis Obispo’s Spanish Mission, founded in 1772. Come learn its history and about the development of this area. Tours, led by docents, are free at 1:15 p.m Monday through Saturday, and 2 p.m. on Sundays. Sundays, 2-3 p.m. and MondaysSaturdays, 1:15-2:15 p.m. Free. 657-4659182. missionsanluisobispo.org. Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, 751 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo.
FREE VIRTUAL QPR SUICIDE
PREVENTION TRAINING For participants to learn about community resources in Santa Barbara County and be able to recognize the warning signs of suicide for parents and adults (ages 18 and over) who work or live with youth between ages of 12-18. Offered in partnership with Family Services Agency of Santa Barbara and thanks to a grant from SAMHSA. Oct. 19 10 a.m.-noon Free. 805-770-1593. youthwell.org/mental-health-first-aid. Online, See website, San Luis Obispo.
GUIDED ENERGETIC MEDITATION
Are you energetically sensitive? This reoccurring weekly class will be a guided Introduction to Energetic Meditation Techniques that will assist you to: clear your energy field, improve energy flow and energy boundaries, quiet and focus your mind, and be clearer about “Who You Really Are.” Mondays, 6:30-8 p.m. through Nov. 30 $22. 503-929-6416. elohiacupuncture.com/classes/. Online, See website, San Luis Obispo.
HAMMOCK SOUND HEALING This transformative experience will help you release stress, embody peace, and navigate difficult emotions. Oct. 20, 7-8 p.m. my805tix.com. SLO Yoga Center, 672 Higuera St., San Luis Obispo.
HEALING DEPRESSION SUPPORT
GROUP A safe place to share life experiences with those who have depression or have had and recovered from the devastating effects of depression. Mondays, 6-7 p.m. through Dec. 30 Free. 805-528-3194. Hope House Wellness Center, 1306 Nipomo St., San Luis Obispo.
HISTORY CENTER GALA: WORKING
HANDS An annual fundraiser to celebrate the work of the History Center. Get an exclusive preview of the History Center’s Working Hands exhibit and enjoy a dinner inspired by the cultures represented in the exhibit. Oct. 19, 4-8 p.m. $150. 805543-0638. historycenterslo.org. Octagon Barn Center, 4400 Octagon Way, San Luis Obispo.
HISTORY PODCAST: DOOR KEY’S 2024
SPOOKTACULAR To celebrate Halloween, all episodes of the history podcast Door Key will have a spooky theme to the history. You can find Door Key anywhere you stream podcasts. Through Oct. 31 Free. doorkey.buzzsprout.com. Online, See website, San Luis Obispo.
METAPHYSICAL/SPIRITUALITY BOOK
DOWNSIZING MADE EASY Learn five easy steps to downsize. Simplifying your life should bring you joy not overwhelm. This fun and lively event promises to deliver. Oct. 17 10 a.m. my805tix.com/. Villages of SLO, 55 Broad St., San Luis Obispo.
EFFLORESCENCE: EMBODIMENT WORKSHOP FOR WOMEN You are invited to not only discover the three substructures to sexually thriving, but to embody them. Please bring a yoga mat and comfortable clothing. Oct. 18 , 6:30 p.m. my805tix.com/. Crows End Retreat, 6430 Squire Ct., San Luis Obispo.
FIFTH ANNUAL STORIES MATTER In collaboration with The Reboot: Storytelling ReImagined, R.A.C.E. Matters presents a live storytelling showcase featuring local storytellers with special guest Diane Amos. Doors open at 6 p.m. for mingling, a live band, and delicious food and drink for purchase. This event is family-friendly. Oct. 19 7 p.m. $12. racemattersslo.org/ stories-matter. Bang the Drum Brewery, 1150 Laurel Lane, suite 130, San Luis Obispo.
CLUB A weekly book discussion, on a wide variety of titles from the general subject of metaphysics, spirituality, and comparative religion. By invitation. For more information, contact David Higgins, email: davidhiggins67@gmail.com. Location revealed to those invited. Wednesdays Free. rationalmetaphysics.com. Private location, TBA, Location not to be published.
MINDFULNESS AND MEDITATION
(ONLINE) Zoom series hosted by TMHA. Thursdays, 10:30 a.m.-noon Transitions Mental Health Warehouse, 784 High Street, San Luis Obispo, 805-270-3346.
OPEN HOUSE AT CENTRAL COAST
ARCHERY The 10th anniversary Open House Celebration will include free shooting with instruction for kids and adults, giveaways, finger food, and music. Central Coast Archery is a professionally staffed archery pro shop and indoor range. Oct. 19, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Free. 805-439-1570.
Central Coast Archery, 12334 Los Osos Valley Rd., San Luis Obispo.
PLUG-IN TO LOCAL CLIMATE ACTION
Get inspired by local action, connect with others, and discover more ways to get involved with the SLO Climate Coalition. Attend virtually or in-person. Sustainable snacks and childcare will be provided. Third Thursday of every month, 6-8 p.m.
Booty Church - Shawna Mox
Feel My Love - IMVA
I Don’t Know Why - Big Sierra Infinite Surrender - Elysian Moon
Maybe This Time - Cate Armstrong
OG Funk -
One Eyed Ghost - Ynana Rose
Overboard - Walk the Whale
Put Me On A Train - Noach Tangeras
Sailing Around Nassau - Little Tyme
Sirens Over Gravesend - Jovian Queen
Sky Blue - Carbon City Lights
The Coast - Gehrig Kniffen
What A Year - Gehrig Kniffen
Wish For You - Azere Wilson
Hot Stuff
sloclimatecoalition.org/events/. Ludwick Community Center, 864 Santa Rosa, San Luis Obispo.
Q YOUTH GROUP (VIRTUALLY VIA ZOOM) This is a social support group for LGBTQ+ and questioning youth between the ages of 11-18. Each week the group explores personal, cultural, and social identity. Thursdays, 6-8 p.m. Free. galacc.org/events/. Online, See website, San Luis Obispo.
QIGONG ONLINE Register now for QiGong Online with Gary West, of San Luis Coastal Adult School. Great practice for balance, wellness, mindfulness, and vitality. Wednesdays, 9:30-10:35 a.m. through Dec. 12 $115 per semester. 805-549-1222. ae.slcusd.org. Online, See website, San Luis Obispo.
SLO FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY BOOK
SALE With more than 10,000 books, CDs, and DVDs for adults, teens, and children. All proceeds benefit the SLO Library. Oct. 17-18 , 9 a.m.-6 p.m. and Oct. 19 9 a.m.-5 p.m. 916-847-8987. slofol.org. San Luis Obispo Library, 995 Palm St., San Luis Obispo.
SLO LEZ B FRIENDS (VIRTUALLY VIA ZOOM) A good core group of friends who gather to discuss topics we love/ care about from movies, outings, music, or being new to the area. We come from all walks of life and most importantly support each other. Transgender and Nonbinary folks welcome. Third Friday of every month, 6:30-9 p.m. Free. sloqueer.groups.io/g/ lezbfriends. Online, See website, San Luis Obispo.
SUNDAY EVENING RAP LGBTQ+
AA GROUP (VIRTUALLY VIA ZOOM)
Alcoholics Anonymous is a voluntary, worldwide fellowship of folks from all walks of life who together, attain and maintain sobriety. Requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. Email aarapgroup@gmail.com for password access. Sundays, 7-8 p.m. No fee. galacc.org/events/. Online, See website, San Luis Obispo.
TEEN MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT
Join Central Coast Wood Carvers in Morro Bay at St. Timothy’s. Open for beginners, intermediate, or advance. Learn a wide range of techniques and skills. Tuesdays, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Free. St. Timothy’s Catholic Church, 962 Piney Way, Morro Bay, 805772-2840, sttimothymorrobay.org.
CO-DEPENDENTS ANONYMOUS MEETING Co-Dependents Anonymous (CoDA) is a Twelve Step recovery program for anyone who desires to have healthy and loving relationships with themselves and others. Meeting is hybrid (both in person and on Zoom). For information, call 805-900-5237. Saturdays, 1-2:15 p.m. Free. thecambriaconnection.org/. Cambria Connection, 1069 Main St., Cambria, 805-927-1654.
DISCOVER THE DEEP Explore the haunted depths of the deep sea. Wear your Halloween costume and paint glowin-the-dark jellyfish as guests uncover the mysteries of the ocean. No reservations required. This event is free and for all the family to experience. Oct. 19, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. 805-801-0773. Coastal Discovery Center at San Simeon Bay, CA-1 and SLO San Simeon Road, San Simeon.
MORRO BAY METAPHYSICIANS
DISCUSSION GROUP A group of metaphysically minded individuals that have been meeting for many years now in the Coalesce Chapel. Club offers a supportive metaphysical based community. Members discuss a different topic each week. All are welcome to join. Fridays, 12:30-1:30 p.m. Suggested donation of $10-$15. Coalesce Bookstore, 845 Main St., Morro Bay, coalescebookstore.com/.
SOCRATES: DISCUSSION GROUP Group members present interesting and thought provoking topics of all sorts. Topics are selected in advance and moderated by volunteers. Vaccinations are necessary. Enter through wooden gate to garden area. Wednesdays, 10 a.m. 805-528-7111. Coalesce Bookstore, 845 Main St., Morro Bay, coalescebookstore.com/.
GROUP Learn more about mental health and coping skills to help you through your journey towards wellness and recovery. Thursdays, 4:30-6 p.m. Free. 805-5406576. t-mha.org. Hope House Wellness Center, 1306 Nipomo St., San Luis Obispo.
TRANS* TUESDAY A safe space providing peer-to-peer support for trans, gender non-conforming, non-binary, and questioning people. In-person and Zoom meetings held. Contact tranzcentralcoast@gmail.com for more details. Tuesdays, 7-9 p.m. Free. GALA Pride and Diversity Center, 1060 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, 805-541-4252.
TRANS* YOUTH PEER SUPPORT GROUP
This group is a safe place for trans* and gender non-conforming people, as well as those questioning, from ages of 11 to 18. A facilitated emotional support group to be heard, share your story, and hear stories that may sound surprisingly like your own. Fourth Tuesday of every month, 6-8 p.m. Free. GALA Pride and Diversity Center, 1060 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, 805-541-4252.
VICTORIAN MOURNING TRADITIONS AT THE JACK HOUSE Step back in time and experience the customs and rituals of the Victorian Mourning Traditions at the Jack House. In collaboration with the History Center of San Luis Obispo County, this unique historical experience invites you to explore the fascinating ways people honored their loved ones. Oct. 27, 1-4 p.m. Free; donations welcome. slocity.org/ JackHouse. The Jack House, 536 Marsh St., San Luis Obispo.
SLO COUNTY
NORTH COAST
ANNUAL CAMBRIA SCARECROW FESTIVAL 200 scarecrows will line the streets of Cambria and San Simeon. The festival is full of photo opportunities and happy discoveries at every turn. Perfect for all ages. Through Oct. 31 Free. cambriascarecrows.com. Cambria (various venues), Citywide, Cambria. CENTRAL COAST WOOD CARVERS Learn the art of wood carving or wood burning.
elements of rock, funk, and R&B. Bring chairs and blankets for amphitheater seating. The venue will be serving wine by the glass or bottle, while food trucks will offer delicious eats. Oct. 25, 6-9 p.m. $25 general admission; $20 wine club members. 805-937-8110. presquilewine. com/events/presquile-live-pete-muranoin-concert/. Presqu’ile Winery, 5391 Presqu’ile Dr., Santa Maria. PRESQU’ILE WINERY: WINE CLUB Call or go online to make a reservation to taste at the winery or find more info on the winery’s Wine Club offerings. ongoing presquilewine.com/club/. Presqu’ile Winery, 5391 Presqu’ile Dr., Santa Maria, 805-937-8110.
SIPPIN’ SUNDAYS Every Sunday, come cozy up inside the tasting room and listen to great artists. Sundays, 1-4 p.m. Free. 805-937-8463. cottonwoodcanyon.com. Cottonwood Canyon Vineyard And Winery, 3940 Dominion Rd, Santa Maria. TACO TUESDAY Tuesdays, 5-8 p.m. Wine Stone Inn, 255 W. Clark Ave., Orcutt, 805332-3532, winestoneinn.com/.
A TASTE OF OLD TOWN ORCUTT Get a “taste” of more than 20 participating businesses that include wine tasting rooms, breweries, restaurants, and retail. Oct. 19 1-4 p.m. my805tix.com/e/orcutt. Historic Old Town Orcutt, S. Broadway and Union Ave., Orcutt.
THURSDAY EVENING BAR TAKEOVER Call venue or visit website to find out about featured vintners. Thursdays stellerscellar.com. Steller’s Cellar, 405 E. Clark Ave., Orcutt. WINE AND DESIGN CLASSES Check Wine and Design’s Orcutt website for the complete list of classes, for various ages. ongoing Varies. wineanddesign.com/ orcutt. Wine and Design, 3420 Orcutt Road, suite 105, Orcutt.
SANTA YNEZ VALLEY
FOOD & DRINK
SANTA MARIA VALLEY/LOS ALAMOS BREAST CANCER FUNDRAISER AT BLAST825BREWERY FEATURING NICE & SWELL Includes a fun battle between the Blast 825 Brewery Blast and Brew, Me n Eds, and Beso bartenders. With live music from Nice & Swell. Oct. 19 noon my805tix.com. Blast 825 Brewery, 241 S Broadway St., Ste. 101, Orcutt, 805-934-3777.
CHISMOSAS Y MIMOSAS DRAG BRUNCH
Hosted by Juicy CW, this brunch will be full of tricks and treats, with the spook-tacular Pam Cakez, Veronica Blanco, Nova Cane, and beats by DJ Suz. Oct. 19 11 a.m.-2 p.m. my805tix.com/. A Mi Manera Mexican Cuisine, 1701 N. Broadway, Santa Maria.
FOOD TRUCK FRIDAYS AT COSTA DE
ORO Featured vendors in the series include Cali Coast Tacos, Cubanissimo, Danny’s Pizza Co., Chef Ricks, and more. Call venue for monthly schedules. Fridays 805-922-1468. costadeorowines.com.
Costa De Oro Winery, 1331 S. Nicholson Ave., Santa Maria.
FOOD TRUCK FRIDAYS AT WINE STONE
INN Fridays, 5-8 p.m. Wine Stone Inn, 255 W. Clark Ave., Orcutt, 805-332-3532, winestoneinn.com/.
FRIDAY NIGHT FUN Karaoke with DJ Nasty. With Beer Bucket specials. Kitchen stays open late. Come out and sing your favorite song. Fridays, 9 p.m.-2 a.m. Roscoe’s Kitchen, 229 Town Center E, Santa Maria, 805-623-8866.
ORCUTT HALLOWEEN BLOCK PARTY
Enjoy drink specials, enter the event’s costume contest for a chance to win prizes, and more. Oct. 26 5 p.m. my805tix. com. Historic Old Town Orcutt, S. Broadway and Union Ave., Orcutt.
PRESQU’ILE LIVE: PETE MURANO IN CONCERT Come hear New Orleans-based musician Pete Murano who has developed a sound all his own that combines
THE 40TH ANNUAL SANTA BARBARA VINTNERS FESTIVAL Taste wines from more than 50 wineries while you meet winemakers and owners who share the details of why their wines are among the most elegant and sophisticated. Savor gourmet food from more than 25 regional restaurants and local food businesses. Oct. 19, 1-4 p.m. $125. 805-688-0881. sbvintnersweekend.com/. Vega Vineyard and Farm, 9496 Santa Rosa Road, Buellton. PAINTING IN THE VINEYARD AT VEGA VINEYARD AND FARM Looking for something unique to do in Santa Barbara County Wine Country? Spend the afternoon sipping delicious wine and capturing the beauty of the landscape on canvas. Oct. 27 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. $89. 805-325-8092. artspotonwheels.com. Vega Vineyard and Farm, 9496 Santa Rosa Road, Buellton.
SOLVANG WINE AND TRUE CRIME TOUR
Each Friday and Saturday of October, the Solvang Wine and True Crime Tour will host groups of 12 or less at various time slots. Open to ages 21 and over. The tours kick off at Final Girl Wines in Solvang and proceed to various tasting rooms and bars in town. Fridays, Saturdays. through Oct. 31 thehauntghosttours.com/tours/solvangwine-tour/. Final Girl Wines, 485 Alisal Road, unit 152, Solvang.
LOMPOC/VANDENBERG
HEAD GAMES TRIVIA AND TACO
TUESDAYS CLASH Don’t miss Head Games Trivia at COLD Coast Brewing Company every Tuesday. Teams can be up to 6 members. Earn prizes and bragging rights. Kekas will be serving their local fare. Fun for all ages. Tuesdays, 7-9 p.m. Free. 805-819-0723. coldcoastbrewing. com. COLD Coast Brewing Company, 118 W Ocean Ave, Lompoc.
SOUTH COAST SLO COUNTY
EMPTY BOWLS PICK-UP PARTY 2024 Empty Bowls benefits families who are homeless or are facing homelessness. Pop in to pick out a beautiful hand-crafted bowl and grab special pick-up party goodies. Oct. 19 10 a.m.-noon my805tix. com. 5CHC’s Warming Center, 1023 East Grand Ave., Arroyo Grande.
FOOD & DRINK continued page 19
TITTIES AND TEA PARTY Hosted by Women Making Waves. An afternoon tea party and celebration of women’s strength and resilience, especially for those who have been touched by breast cancer. This event will support the Butterfly Strong Foundation. Oct. 20, 4-6 p.m. my805tix. com/. Location revealed to attendees, Private address, Grover Beach.
SAN LUIS OBISPO
OKTOBERFEST BEERS AND BRATS IN THE SECRET GARDEN The perfect day to enjoy great beer, delicious food, and live music. Oct. 19 3 p.m. my805tix.com/. The Secret Garden at Sycamore Mineral Springs, 1215 Avila Beach Dr., San Luis Obispo, 805-595-7302.
QUEER TRIVIA Sip some cider, test your LGBTQ trivia knowledge, and learn new fun facts. Topic themes and hosts rotate each week. Prizes for winners. BYO food. Third Friday of every month, 6-8 p.m. Free. 805-292-1500. Two Broads Ciderworks, 3427 Roberto Ct., suite 130, San Luis Obispo, twobroadscider.com.
NORTH COAST SLO COUNTY
WINEMAKER’S DINNER FEAT.
CUTRUZZOLA VINEYARDS Enjoy wine pairings from Cutruzzola Vineyards during this signature wine dinner event. Features a five-course meal accompanied by hand-selected Cutruzzola wines. Oct. 19, 5:30-8 p.m. $130. 805-924-3353. cambriapineslodge.com/events/onsite. Cambria Pines Lodge, 2905 Burton Dr., Cambria.
MUSIC
SANTA MARIA VALLEY/LOS ALAMOS
FESTIVAL MOZAIC: JOHN NOVACEK IN RECITAL A free pre-concert lecture on the stage at 1 p.m. Join the 2024 Artistin-Residence, pianist John Novacek, for a solo recital in the Boyd Concert Hall at Allan Hancock College. Oct. 19 2 p.m. Single tickets start at $40 plus $5 fee. 805-781-3009. festivalmozaic.org/showdetails/john-novacek-in-recital. Allan Hancock College, 800 S. College Drive, Santa Maria.
HAPPY HOUR MUSIC SERIES Enjoy live music at the winery most Friday evenings. Check site for concert schedule. Fridays presquilewine.com. Presqu’ile Winery, 5391 Presqu’ile Dr., Santa Maria, 805-937-8110.
JEFF ELLIOTT AT COSTA DE ORO WINERY Live in Santa Maria. Oct. 26, 3-5 p.m. pismojazz.com/schedule-jazzfest/. Costa De Oro Winery, 1331 S. Nicholson Ave., Santa Maria, 805-922-1468.
LADIES NIGHT OUT Music by DJ Van Gloryious and DJ Panda. Features delicious daiquiri specials. Thursdays, 8 p.m.-midnight Roscoe’s Kitchen, 229 Town Center E, Santa Maria, 805-623-8866.
LIVE MUSIC AT STELLER’S CELLAR Enjoy live music most Fridays at the venue. Call venue or check website to find out who’s performing. Fridays stellerscellar.com. Steller’s Cellar, 405 E. Clark Ave., Orcutt.
MUSIC AT ROSCOE’S KITCHEN Live DJ and karaoke every Friday and Saturday night. Featured acts include Soul Fyah Band, DJ Nasty, DJ Jovas, and more. Fridays, Saturdays, 9 p.m.-2 a.m. Roscoe’s Kitchen, 229 Town Center E, Santa Maria, 805-623-8866.
MUSIC LESSONS AT COELHO ACADEMY
Learn to play piano, drums, guitar, base, ukulele, or violin, or take vocal lessons. ongoing 805-925-0464. coelhomusic.com/ Lessons/lessons.html. Coelho Academy of Music, 325 E. Betteravia Rd., Santa Maria. OLD TIME GOSPEL SING-ALONG All are welcome. Call for more details. Last Saturday of every month, 5-6 p.m. 805478-6198. Roscoe’s Kitchen, 229 Town Center E, Santa Maria.
SUNDAY NIGHT FUN End the weekend with some good vibes. Music by DJ Van Gloryious. Sundays, 8 p.m.-midnight Roscoe’s Kitchen, 229 Town Center E, Santa Maria, 805-623-8866.
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED
The Harold J. Miossi Art Gallery in SLO presents Face to Face, an exhibition of works by visual artist Jamil Hellu, who will take part in an artist talk event and opening reception on Thursday, Oct. 24, from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Hellu’s pieces challenge conventional notions of gender expression and will remain on display through Sunday, Dec. 8. Visit the gallery tab at cuesta. edu for more info.
SANTA YNEZ VALLEY
DAVID NAIL LIVE With opening act Logan Livermore and the 154. Oct. 20, 4:30 p.m. my805tix.com/. Maverick Saloon, 3687 Sagunto St., Santa Ynez, 805-686-4785.
LIVE MUSIC SUNDAYS Sundays, 2-6 p.m. Brick Barn Wine Estate, 795 W. Hwy 246, Buellton, 805-686-1208, brickbarnwineestate.com.
WINE DOWN WEDNESDAYS Wednesdays, 4:30-5:30 p.m. Brick Barn Wine Estate, 795 W. Hwy 246, Buellton, 805-686-1208, brickbarnwineestate.com.
LOMPOC/VANDENBERG
THE TRAVELING WILBURYS REVUE
Tributes to Harrison, Dylan, and other legendary Wilburys. Oct. 20 6 p.m. my805tix.com. FCB, 110 W. Ocean Ave., Lompoc, 805-810-0714.
THE U2XPERIENCE A U2 tribute. Oct. 19, 7 p.m. my805tix.com/. FCB, 110 W. Ocean Ave., Lompoc, 805-810-0714.
YOUTH OPEN MIC NIGHT A fun, welcoming environment for first time performers and an opportunity for kids and teens to showcase their talent. Prizes awarded every month for Outstanding Performer. Last Friday of every month, 6-8 p.m. certainsparks.com/. Certain Sparks Music, 107 S. H St., Lompoc.
SOUTH COAST SLO COUNTY
IN THE AIR TONIGHT A concert tribute to Grammy award-winning artist Genesis and Phil Collins. This concert extravaganza will take you on a journey back to their heyday. Oct. 19, 7:30-10:30 p.m. $39.50$65.50. 805-489-9444. clarkcenter.org/ shows/in-the-air-tonight/. Clark Center for the Performing Arts, 487 Fair Oaks Ave., Arroyo Grande.
JAZZ JUBILEE CENTRAL COAST The Basin Street Regulars Hot Jazz Club presents Jazz Jubilee Central Coast 2024. This festival will feature local jazz bands, venues, and swing dancers across the Central Coast. For updates about the festival, check the website Oct. 22-28 Free and ticketed events. pismojazz.com/ schedule-jazzfest/. Pismo Beach Veterans Memorial Hall, 780 Bello St., Pismo Beach.
JJCC PRESENTS DAVE RUFFNER JAZZ QUARTET With Dave Ruffner – trombone; Dawn Lambeth – piano; Sam Roche – bass; and Jim Stromberg – drums. A
special intimate show in the 40 capacity room. Oct. 24 , 5-8 p.m. $45 for members. pismojazz.com/schedule-jazzfest/. Puffers of Pismo, 781 Price St., Pismo Beach.
JJCC PRESENTS NEW ORLEANS NIGHT
KICK OFF PARTY With the West Coast Gumbo Band and special guest Dave Ruffner. At the Pismo Beach Hotel, located right next to Harry’s. New Orleans cuisine is included with your ticket. Oct. 23 7-10:30 p.m. $25. Harry’s Night Club & Bar, 690 Cypress St., Pismo Beach, 805-773-1010.
RIPTIDE BIG BAND ON THE RANCHO Riptide Big Band and the Dana Adobe Cultural Center present this event as part of the Jazz Jubilee-Central Coast series of musical performances (featuring local jazz musicians from the Central Coast). Proceeds to benefit the Dana Adobe Cultural Center. Oct. 27, 2-4 p.m. $20-$25. 805-929-5679. DANAAdobe.org. DANA Adobe Cultural Center, 671 S. Oakglen Ave., Nipomo.
SAN LUIS OBISPO
CARMEN BY GEORGE BIZET Widely accepted as the most famous opera of all time. Opera San Luis Obispo’s grand production of the timeless work promises to land far above expectations with an internationally acclaimed cast of opera stars, expansive ballet, spectacular twostory sets, vivid costumes, and more. Oct. 19, 2-4 p.m. and Oct. 20, 2-4 p.m. $30-$80. 805-756-4849. operaslo.org. Cal Poly Performing Arts Center, 1 Grand Ave, San Luis Obispo.
CANDLELIGHT: A HAUNTED EVENING OF HALLOWEEN CLASSICS Fever’s live, multi-sensory musical experience features themes from popular horror movie soundtracks and other Halloween selections. Oct. 23 6:30 p.m. and Oct. 24 , 8:45 p.m. $37. feverup.com/en/san-luisobispo-ca-us. La Lomita Ranch, 1985 La Lomita Way, San Luis Obispo. LIVE MUSIC WITH MATT CROSS Cross plays a mix of rock, reggae, and country, and takes requests. Wines available by the glass and bottle. No tastings during the performance. Admission is complimentary with a minimum $10 purchase per person. Oct. 20 3-5 p.m. 805-946-1685. cromavera.com/blogs/news/events-atthe-tasting-room. Croma Vera Wines, 3183 Duncan Road, Suite D, San Luis Obispo. m
ARTS BRIEFS
Righetti High School drama department presents The Outsiders
Performances of The Outsiders —the Righetti High School drama department’s latest production—will be held on campus in room 403, aka the Black Box Theatre, on Oct. 17, 18, 24, and 25, at 7 p.m. each evening.
Adapted from S.E. Hinton’s beloved novel, The Outsiders follows a group of teenagers grappling with the challenges of young adulthood and maintaining friendships while dealing with life and loss, according to press materials.
“I remain impressed by the far-reaching impact of The Outsiders,” Righetti High School drama teacher Elesa Carlson said in a statement. “I continue to hear from so many, old and young, who were deeply touched by this story at a pivotal age because it connects so deeply to the teen experience. Our talented actors feel it, too, and are so ready to share its message with the community.”
The show’s cast and crew are made up of 26 Righetti students. Additional students from the high school’s ag mechanics and welding department and art club assisted the drama department with building the show’s set.
To find out more about Righetti High School’s production of The Outsiders or purchase tickets in advance, find the drama department’s tab at onthestage.tickets. Righetti High School’s Black Box Theatre (room 403) is located at 941 E. Foster Road, Santa Maria.
Ann Foxworthy Gallery hosts Community Arts Family Day
In conjunction with its ongoing Nuestra Vida en Arte exhibition, Allan Hancock College’s Ann Foxworthy Gallery will host its inaugural Community Arts Family Day event on Saturday, Oct. 19, from 1 to 4 p.m.
“This is an opportunity for families to come together and celebrate creativity and the arts in our valley,” Ann Foxworthy Gallery Director Laura-Susan Thomas said in press materials. Hosted in collaboration with One Community Action, the free public event will include live music, kids art activities, a car show, a gallery scavenger hunt, and more. Attendees will also be able to tour the Nuestra Vida en Arte exhibit—a showcase of Chicano artworks curated by renowned collector Tomas Sánchez. The show features works by Patssi Valdez, Frank Romero, Diane Gamboa, Roberto “Tito” Delgado, and other quintessential artists in the Chicano art movement.
The pieces on display reflect segments of the movement between 1965 and 2000, according to Thomas.
“This movement encompassed a wide range of societal, cultural, political, economic, gender, regional, and religious issues relevant to Chicanos during this period,” Thomas said. Visit hancockcollege.edu/gallery for more info. m
Viewfinders and their keepers
Santa Maria Camera Club fosters competition and camaraderie between local shutterbugs year round
BY CALEB WISEBLOOD
For budding photographers, gaining exposure is virtually synonymous with raking in Instagram likes nowadays.
Among the online platforms where photogs can freely showcase their portfolios, Zoom doesn’t stand out as an obvious go-to. But it’s the place to be for local lensmen hoping to bump up their résumés with a nationally recognized accolade.
Each month of the year, the Santa Maria Camera Club—a branch of the Photographic Society of America—hosts a juried photography competition over Zoom. While the local chapter’s in-person programs date back to 1938, its monthly contest took on a virtual format in 2020.
Club members are allowed to submit up to three photos per month, and prospective participants or anyone curious about the historic club can tune in to these Zoom meetings for free and get a taste of the judgment proceedings.
Every submission gets screen time during the Zoom call and receives remarks before getting scored. The virtual format allows the group to recruit professional photographers from both near and far—whether they’re local or from across the country—to serve as judges.
“The judge will go through one [photo] at a time [live on camera],” club member Heidi Gruetzemacher said. “I have to appreciate people willing to do that, because it’s exhausting. … I remember feeling a little pressure.”
Gruetzemacher has been on both sides of the bench. A retired portrait photographer, she was approached by the Santa Maria Camera Club to judge a handful of in-person competitions during the 1990s—decades before she became a club member herself.
She decided to start competing in the club’s monthly contests earlier this year, after embracing a more abstract approach with her work, although she still shoots traditional portraits on occasion, and she received an honorable mention in February for one of them.
“Now that I’ve retired, if I do a portrait, it’s only because I want to do it. It’s not about pleasing a client,” Gruetzemacher said. “It’s almost like I had to let my brain forget … that mindset.”
Some of Gruetzemacher’s abstract long-exposure pieces, amplified with a neutral-density filter, look more like paintings than photographs upon a first glance. Several club members specialize in similarly surreal photos, and many use Photoshop and other software to manipulate their images.
This must be the place Visit santamariacameraclub.org to find out more about the Santa Maria Camera Club, which holds juried photography competitions over Zoom on the third Wednesday of each month. For info on how to participate or attend the club’s additional inperson programs, email santamariacameraclub@gmail.com.
to her whimsical wildlife scenes, often focused on pelicans, spoonbills, hawks, and other avians. Sometimes she’ll play with a photo’s background or the sky, for example, and add—or obliterate—a few clouds here and there.
“Most of our people are doing something in Photoshop to enhance [their work],” said Sparks, who specified that many club members play with lighting and saturation levels. “But the camera records a lot more levels of detail than it may actually show you right off the bat, so you just tell it to make those levels show up better.”
While a majority of Santa Maria Camera Club members use digital cameras, there are two active members who frequently shoot with film, Sparks said. There are also members who occasionally enter photos taken on their phones, while at least one member solely does so, she added.
The Santa Maria Camera Club accepts altered and unaltered photographs alike, as long as they’re wholly original images, created from scratch by their respective artists, club President Jeanne Sparks explained.
“There’s people who do composites quite often, … and some just keep it pretty close to how it came out of the camera,” Sparks said. “We allow anything as long as it’s your own image.”
A former photojournalist and Santa Maria Times columnist, Sparks enjoys membership with multiple photography collectives, some of which hold competitions with journalistic categories that don’t allow manipulation.
“With those, you can’t manipulate. … You can’t take anything out or bring anything in that wasn’t there,” said Sparks, who’s credited with several photos that adhere to this criteria, including images of decimated roadways and other destruction in the aftermath of California’s January 2023 storm.
On the other hand, she’s no stranger to adding subtle flourishes
Some club outsiders may assume that the group leans toward old-school photography practices, or only caters to older demographics. Neither is true, Sparks said. But the club’s headquarters doesn’t help dispel those misconceptions.
“Don’t be deterred by it being a retirement home,” Sparks said.
Thanks to a generous perpetuity instated by
PHOTO COURTESY OF KENNY KLEIN
COURTESY IMAGE BY PATSSI VALDEZ
STREET SPIRIT: Prolific street photographer and Orcutt resident Jim McKinniss is among the Santa Maria Camera Club’s members who regularly submit monochrome photos into the group’s monthly juried competitions.
COURTESY PHOTO BY JIM MCKINNISS
COURTESY PHOTO BY JEANNE SPARKS
BOX OF RAIN: Jeanne Sparks is the president of the Santa Maria Camera Club and co-executive director of the Santa Barbara County Action Network (SBCAN). Her work with the latter often involves photography, such as her pursuit of documenting glimpses of local storm damage in early 2023.
COURTESY IMAGE BY CHUCK UEBELE
LEARNING TO FLY: Chuck Uebele once photographed a horse with “all four feet off the ground,” in the same vein as The Horse in Motion sequential photo series (1877), a crucial precursor to the origin of cinema.
late philanthropist, eye surgeon, and club alumnus Dennis Shepard (1932-2016), the local group is able to hold its in-person gatherings without rental dues at Merrill Gardens, a senior living community in Santa Maria.
It was known as Arbor View when Shepard owned it, before selling the facility to Merrill Gardens in 2006. Unlike the facility’s residence requirements, the Santa Maria Camera Club’s membership is open to all ages. Currently, the club’s youngest members are in their 30s, while its oldest are in their 70s, Sparks said.
“Although we are heavily represented on the older side, … we have some younger people, and we’d be happy to have some more younger people,” Sparks said. “I think that they would find that we’re keeping up with the technology, and we’re doing things in Photoshop and Lightroom that are new and exciting.”
Fieldwork and field trips
2024 marks Sparks’ third year serving as the Santa Maria Camera Club’s president and 21st year as a member. Based on her body of wildlife and outdoor landscape work, her overall aim as a photographer comes as no surprise: “to inspire people to love nature; to protect and enhance it.”
Over the years, she’s found many ways to intersect her two passions— photography and the environment— including her habitat advocacy work with the Santa Barbara County Action Network (SBCAN). She and her husband, Ken Hough, are the nonprofit’s co-executive directors.
Uebele’s former career entailed a much more intimate look at Vandenberg’s rockets, however.
feet off the ground,” said Uebele, whose trotting horse subject echoed the iconic stance found in 1877’s The Horse in Motion sequential photo series—frequently regarded as the dawn of cinema among historians.
After the shoot, Uebele used a customized script on Photoshop to create “random thickness lines” within his horse photo, with a gradient applied to each line, he said.
The Grover Beach expedition was a chance for Uebele and other participating Camera Club members to tackle a mutual subject with varying approaches and later compare results with one another and discuss their respective decisions made behind the lens and in the editing process.
Orcutt resident Jim McKinniss, for instance, made a conscious effort that day to ensure his monochrome horse rider photos invoked a distinct, haunting aura.
“I used the slow shutter,” said McKinniss, who became a club member in 2016.
The slow shutter speed, which is well known among photographers as a tool to blur motion, gave McKinniss the otherworldly result he was after.
“The horses were distorted,” he said. “They looked more like ghosts.”
Welcome to the darkroom
When digital cameras became mainstream in the late 1990s, McKinniss was initially committed to going against the grain, simply by sticking with film.
Today, his digital portfolio amounts to more than four terabytes of images.
“I was pretty dead set against digital. I was always going to be a film guy,” said McKinniss, who eventually succumbed to buying a digital camera after observing a friend use one.
“There’s just so many advantages [with digital] for someone like me,” McKinniss said, “and it’s less expensive.”
and while studying photography during his college years.
“All my roommates were photographers, so we turned one of the rooms [in the apartment] into a darkroom,” Uebele said with a laugh.
Despite moments of childhood and young adulthood nostalgia, Uebele said he felt relieved when digital cameras became prominent during the latter part of his career.
“Until digital came up, I spent a lot of time in the darkroom on my feet,” Uebele said. “When digital came out, it was like I could finally sit down. So I didn’t miss working in the darkroom at all.”
One lasting impact of Uebele’s darkroom days is he’s become rather indifferent to whether his lights are on or off.
In early October, Sparks participated in the first entry of a new lecture-style seminar series with the Santa Maria Camera Club that allowed her to showcase photos she took as part of her duties with SBCAN.
“We’ve been getting involved in some projects where I get to use my photography to help educate on what’s going on,” said Sparks, who discussed some of her drone photos that document reconstruction efforts in the Santa Maria Riverbed after it flooded in early 2023.
Sparks isn’t the only Santa Maria Club member whose career and art outputs often align, since many members are either active or retired professional photographers.
Originally from Los Angeles, Avila Beach resident and club member Chuck Uebele is a veteran of the aerospace industry whose past roles include photographer positions at Vandenberg Space Force Base.
“I used to cover launches; now I shoot them for fun,” said Uebele, a member since 2017. “Whenever there’s a launch and it’s somewhat clear, I try to take pictures of it.”
“They required that we take pictures of every single component and how each thing was fabricated and put together in case there was a failure after they launched it,” recalled Uebele, who meticulously photographed every inch, nook, and cranny of the rockets he was assigned to. “[Then] they could go back to the pictures and try and troubleshoot things.”
Uebele was retired by the time he joined the Santa Maria Camera Club, which he embraced simply as a way to meet new people who shared his interest. One of his favorite aspects of the club is that members often coordinate group field trips.
Past destinations include the historic Preston Castle in Ione and The Getty Center in LA, while other expeditions stick with Central Coast settings, requiring less travel but occasionally more elaborate planning.
One day in Grover Beach, the club arranged for a group of professional horse riders to gallop along the shoreline for members—and lucky passersby— to enjoy photographing if they wished.
Uebele fondly remembers the golden hour glow during the sunset shoot.
“I got one with the sun behind them and all four
Like McKinniss and the majority of Santa Maria Camera Club members, Uebele exclusively shoots on digital but began as a film photographer, entranced by film from a young age.
“My parents were very into photography, and I loved looking into the viewfinder of their cameras,” Uebele recalled.
Some of Uebele’s earliest memories stem from his household’s darkroom, where his father would process photos taken during family outings and vacations.
“My dad used to print his own blackand-white, so I was fascinated by that and would sit in the darkroom with him,” Uebele said. “I don’t remember the first time [being in a darkroom], but I definitely remember just being fascinated by how the image came up on the paper. That really intrigued me.”
He found himself in darkrooms for a while from then on, between a yearbook class he took in high school, his first assistant photographer job as a teen,
“I got to the point where you get really used to working in the dark,” he said. “My wife always tells me to turn the lights on.” m
Flip a switch and reach Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood at cwiseblood@santamariasun.com.
COURTESY
ROCKET MAN: Avila Beach resident Chuck Uebele loves to photograph the rockets that launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base, where he formerly worked as an aerospace photographer before retiring.
I’VE JUST SEEN A FACE: One of the Santa Maria Camera Club’s newest members, local photographer Heidi Gruetzemacher, received an honorable mention at the club’s juried contest for this portrait back in February.
COURTESY PHOTO BY JIM MCKINNISS
WILD HORSES: Jim McKinniss used a slow shutter speed to give some of his monochrome photos of galloping horses a ghostly effect. He shot this piece in Grover Beach during a Santa Maria Camera Club field trip.
Enroll NOW to dance in the Nutcracker!
Thanksgiving Weekend
Sat & Sun Nov 30th & Dec 1st
TICKETS: ADULTS $25 · CHILDREN $20
Clark Center for the Performing Arts 487 Fair Oaks Ave, Arroyo Grande
Tickets available online, by phone or at the box office ClarkCenter.org 805-489-9444
PUBLIC NOTICE
UNMET TRANSIT NEEDS
Santa Maria Regional Transit (SMRT) is inviting the public to a workshop on Unmet Transit Needs.
WHAT: Unmet Transit Needs Meeting
WHEN: Thursday December 5, 2024. First meeting will be held from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. Second meeting will be held from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
WHERE: Santa Maria Public Library Shephard Hall, 1st Floor 421 S. McClelland Street, Santa Maria, CA 93454
If you cannot attend the workshop, but would like to provide comments, please mail comments to the City of Santa Maria at 110 S. Pine Street, Suite 221, Santa Maria, CA 93458. Comments may also be emailed directly to smrtcomments@cityofsantamaria.org with subject “Unmet Transit Needs.”
You can also call (805) 925-0951, ext. 2170 for more information or to provide comment. The last day to submit comments is Friday, December 6, 2024.
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), individuals needing special accommodations to participate in the meeting should contact SMRT at least three working days prior to the meeting at (805) 928-5624.
The meeting will be Spanish and Mixteco language accessible if requested. Las reuniónes serán accesibles en Español y Mixteco si se solicita. Favor de llamar a SMRT al (805) 925-0951 ext. 2170, para más información de la reunión o para solicitar un intérprete.
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I vant to suck
Writer-director Gary Dauberman (Annabelle Comes Home) offers this new adaptation of Stephen King’s 1975 novel about author Ben Mears (Lewis Pullman), who returns to his childhood home of Jerusalem’s Lot to research a new book, only to discover a vampire called Barlow (Alexander Ward) has settled in the community and is turning the townsfolk into bloodsuckers. (109 min.)
Glen: This is a quintessential vampire story. A European gentleman, R.T. Straker (Pilou Asbæk), moves to a quaint, sleepy town, opens an antique shop, and arranges to have a large wooden crate transported from a seafaring vessel to an eerie hilltop home, at night, straight into the cellar.
Spooky. It’s such an iconic setup it feels cliché. Ben has a meet-cute moment with his love interest, Susan Norton (Makenzie Leigh). We also meet the story’s real hero, brave little school kid Mark Petrie (Jordan Preston Carter), a new kid in town who stands up to the school bully, impressing classmate Danny Glick (Nicholas Crovetti). The schoolyard brawl is broken up by teacher Matt Burke (Bill Camp). Other characters become important to the plot, including Father Callahan (John Benjamin Hickey); Susan’s bitchy mom, Ann Norton (Debra Christofferson); Dr. Cody (Alfre Woodard); and Sheriff Gillespie (William Sadler). There’s a reason previous adaptations
What’s it worth, Glen? Stream it
Where’s it showing? Max
of King’s sprawling narrative have been threehour miniseries. This story feels condensed and telescoped into a two-hour runtime. Anna: This is King through and through. Sleepy villages and out-of-town strangers bringing in evil—it’s a plotline he’s used again and again, and for good reason: It’s a successful setup for a story. Sometimes King’s work can come off as hokey on-screen. His gift for weaving terrifying monsters on the page doesn’t always translate well. However, this rendition of Salem’s Lot had a lot going for it in its casting. Pullman is great as author Ben, who has returned to his childhood home after leaving years ago following the tragic loss of his parents at age 9. He’s there to find himself and maybe do a bit of escaping as well. Susan is a wonderful distraction in the small town, and the two could have had a lovely season of romance had vampires not come to burn it all to the ground. Camp was also great here as was Prescot Carter as bravehearted Mark. The film may not have the formula exactly right, but this King tale is a perfect addition to this year’s spooky season watch list. Glen: I was entertained enough, and I too thought Pullman with his hangdog demeanor fit the character well, but holy moly, there were too many characters and too few transitions for the film to feel like anything but abbreviated and disjointed. I know you’re a huge King fan, and this novel—just his
second—is considered a masterpiece of horror, but honestly, I’d rather this film version had been given the time and space it needed to fully tell the tale. I think the 1979 miniseries with David Soul as Mears did a better job of creating the slow-burning tension at the heart of King’s novel. I will say this: Dauberman’s version doesn’t give you much time to be bored. It races to its inevitable conclusion. Anna: I don’t know that I’ve seen the early versions. If so, they’ve long since been
HOLD YOUR BREATH
What’s it rated? R When? 2024
Where’s it showing? Hulu
Karrie Crouse and William Joines co-direct this screenplay by Crouse about Margaret Bellum (Sarah Paulson), a mother living on a devastated Oklahoma farm at the height of the Dust Bowl. Her husband’s away, leaving Margaret alone to care from their daughters, Rose (Amiah Miller) and deaf Ollie (Alona Jane Robbins). Another daughter, Ada, died and is buried in the yard, casting a pall over the home.
The psychological horror film threads the needle between madness and the paranormal, thanks to a book the girls are reading about the Grey Man, who disappears into the dust. If someone breaths him in, he makes them do “terrible things.”
The entire affair is rich with atmosphere. The plains are desolate, and Margaret’s increasing paranoia puts her at odds with her community. She’s having trouble sleeping, has horrible dreams when she does, and sleepwalks, imagining a false reality. Has she breathed in the Grey Man or is she crazy? Things become more complicated when a drifter, Wallace Grady (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) shows up, claiming to be a preacher and healer and offering to help around the farm.
Oklahoma
Paulson is fantastic in the role, playing Margaret with a remarkable nuance. Likewise, Moss-Bachrach vacillates between compassion and menace. Dark stuff! (94 min.)
—Glen
WILL & HARPER
What’s it rated? R When? 2024
Where’s it showing? The Palm Theatre of San Luis Obispo and Netflix
TV writer Harper Steele and actor Will Ferrell met at Saturday Night Live Back then, Will knew Harper by her dead name, Andrew. Unbeknownst to Will, Harper’s life was a complicated web of secrets and desires to dress and live as a woman. Finally, in her early 60s, she sent Will and other friends letters informing them of her transition to live as a woman.
In this tender and heartwarming buddy road trip film, Ferrell and Steele reconnect after years apart. Harper loves the innards of America, the small towns and Midwest and deep South and everything in between. Now, she isn’t sure if the places she loves are going to be willing to love her in return. With Will as a travel partner, she’s ready to dip her toes back into the heart of America.
What the two find is general kindness and compassion, and sometimes, frustratingly, ugliness and othering. This film pulled at my heart in all the best ways. Both Ferrell and Steele are genuine and hilarious and grumpy old friends. This one will bring
forgotten. Like I said, King can be tough to tell on-screen. His works are sprawling, and his stories tend to have a ton of characters, especially these small-town tales. I think this one benefited from a good lead and supporting cast—it’s worth curling up on the couch for a watch. m
New Times Senior Staff Writer Glen
and freelancer Anna
write Sun
Comment at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com.
Starkey
Starkey
Screen.
STRANGE OCCURANCES: After a mysterious stranger occupies a long-vacant mansion on a hill, the townsfolk of Jerusalem’s Lot begin to suspect sinister goings-on, in Salem’s Lot, streaming on Max.
smiles and tears and affirm hope in a world that can feel very scary, especially for the most vulnerable. (109 min.) m —Anna
PHOTO COURTESY OF SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES
TERRIBLE THINGS: Set in 1930s
at the height of the Dust Bowl, Hold Your Breath tells the story of Margaret Bellum (Sarah Paulson), who struggles to keep her daughters alive in a dangerous environment, streaming on Hulu.
TRUE FRIENDS: In Will & Harper, transgender writer Harper Steele and her longtime friend Will Ferrell set off on a cross-country road trip to explore the varied and sometimes troubling ways Americans feel about transgender people, screening in The Palm Theatre of San Luis Obispo and streaming on Netflix.
Eats On the rise
Central Coast start-up Salty Bagel’s gluten-free goodies can be delivered from Orcutt to Paso Robles
BY CHERISH WHYTE
Local baker Michael Milch may have celiac disease—a serious autoimmune reaction to gluten—but that hasn’t cramped his diet or his sense of humor.
The disorder, which also afflicts his 10-year-old daughter, has propelled him on a professional journey to make gluten-free goodies not taste “shitty,” he said.
His Los Osos-based registered cottage kitchen, launched as Salty Bagel in 2022, has exceeded Milch’s wildest expectations and now has him dreaming of opening his own brick-and-mortar shop one day.
“The scale of [the business’ growth] really trips me out sometimes,” Milch said.
“When I first started, I’d do prepaid drops here and there in different parts of the county. I’d post where I was going to be a week or two in advance, and people would preorder. I’d bake everything in the morning, then I’d loiter in front of some unsuspecting business for a while with a little folding table, a sign, and a crate full of orders. In a busy week, I’d go through something like 30 pounds of bagel dough.
“By contrast, I’m now in three markets a week plus Harvestly, and I’m looking for more,” he said.
“At the height of tourist season this summer, I would go through 150-ish pounds of bagel dough in a week—enough for about 475 bagels—plus 30 pounds of cookie dough, and 10 pounds each of muffin and banana bread batter,” Milch continued, noting that he’s also started making flatbreads that are not only gluten free but vegan. “They’re quickly becoming best-sellers.”
Milch’s bakery now includes a commissary spot at The Kitchen Terminal SLO, helping him to keep up with demand while he juggles stay-at-home-dad and “trophy husband” duties for his two middleschoolers and his wife, who owns a dental practice in Atascadero.
“Between school pickup and drop-off hours on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, my assistant, Sara Sydnor, and I prep at Kitchen Terminal for the week’s markets,” he said. “We bake during the day on Thursdays after I drop my kids off at school, then I pick them up, bring them to the kitchen with me for a while, drop them at dance class, then I return to the kitchen to clean before heading to [Downtown SLO Farmers’ Market].
“On Fridays, I get up stupid early to bake at home for the Cambria market and to fill my Harvestly orders. I bake everything for Harvestly the same day it gets delivered because the idea of someone getting stale bagels makes me physically uncomfortable.”
Thanks to Harvestly, Milch’s wares can be delivered to locals’ doorsteps from Orcutt to Paso Robles.
The week ends with him getting to the Kitchen Terminal by 5 a.m. on Saturday to bake for the Morro Bay downtown market.
Milch’s sweet and savory baked goods use only the
The hole story
“awesomest ingredients,” he boasts, including organic products and King Arthur gluten-free all-purpose flour, which kicks the price up a bit. But he won’t skimp. He also likes to experiment with recipes, keeping the menu fresh and interesting.
“There are always new flavors coming down the pipeline,” he said, “but they’re usually pretty spontaneous. We started selling Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Bagels a few weeks ago, the same day it occurred to us.
“We’ve [also] been putting a lot of creative energy into expanding our vegan flatbread offerings. This past week we had garlic and herb, heirloom tomato and basil, another one that had golden potatoes marinated in gluten-free Bachan barbecue sauce … and the newest one was rainbow carrots, Japanese sweet potato, drizzled gochujang, and lemon tahini. Sounds complicated; tastes awesome.”
Nipomo, Santa Maria, and Orcutt residents can get their Salty Bagels delivered through Harvestly at harvestly.org. Customers can learn more about Salty Bagel and order online at saltybagelslo.com. Other vendor sites and locations include farmers markets in Cambria, Morro Bay, and San Luis Obispo. Follow the bakery on Instagram and Facebook @saltybagelslo.
I was something of a journeyman writer,” he explained. “I’d been a speechwriter and unproduced screenwriter. I worked at Mindbody for three or four years leading up to the pandemic, first as a [userexperience] writer, then as a marketing writer.”
Then he got laid off.
Milch’s culinary career was born of a series of setbacks, beginning with his celiac diagnosis in 2016.
“Before Salty Bagel,
However, he added, “the real inflection point came after the pandemic, when my dad died in June 2021 of a metastatic cancer that seemed to come out of nowhere.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF SALTY BAGEL
FLOUR POWER: Salty Bagel whips up 100-percent gluten-free bagels, muffins, cookies, and flatbreads. The key to making them “zero-percent terrible,” according to owner Michael Milch, is using specialty flour and organic milk and eggs.
EATS continued page 26
PHOTO BY CHERISH WHYTE
A BANNER YEAR: Salty Bagel’s Michael Milch and his niece, Sophie Glodzik, visiting from Buffalo, New York, lured passersby with samples and clever signage at Downtown SLO Farmers’ Market on Oct. 3. Preorder pickup from the booth is forthcoming.
GUT
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“I was lucky in the sense that I got to spend his last few weeks with him in Buffalo, where I grew up,” he continued. “But when the autumn came around and my kids were back in school and I still didn’t have a job, I didn’t really know what to do with myself.
“Baking was my escape. I first made bagels that October just to make them, but they came out much better than I would’ve expected. The whole thing kind of crystallized there.”
Milch says long-term he hopes to help establish the Central Coast as “a glutenfree culinary destination, similar to the way it’s a destination for wine.”
Ten Commandments of (Salty) Bagel Preservation
I. Thou shall NOT let thine bagels go stale, for they are bagels and bagels are good.
II. Thou shall
“There’s a huge, untapped market for that kind of experience,” he said. “Travel is extraordinarily stressful for celiacs and gluten-intolerant folks; it’s not a given that you’ll find a safe place to eat out anywhere, let alone a place that’s safe and delicious.”
He added that he’s happy to say that’s all starting to change.
“Bit by bit, more and more businesses are [opening] on the Central Coast that [are] gluten free and excellent … from small-scale bakers like Katie Bug Bakes and Rainbow Poppy to established businesses like Hidden Kitchen,” he said.
“I’d like to think Salty Bagel is part of that,” he added, but he’s just getting started. Ultimately, he hopes to “open a place that’s bagels by day and pizza by night,” noting that before it was Salty Bagel, “it was almost Grumpy Pizza.” m
Share tasty tips!
Send tidbits on everything food and drink to cwiseblood@santamariasun.com.
Contributor Writer
Cherish Whyte will be hitting Salty Bagel again for tasty treats and witty wordplay. Reach her at cwhyte@newtimesslo.com.
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