C ALENDAR OF Note to readers: This entertainment calendar is a subjective sampling of arts and other events taking place in the Santa Barbara area for the next week. It is by no means comprehensive. Be sure to read feature stories in each issue that complement the calendar. In order to be considered for inclusion in this calendar, information must be submitted no later than noon on the Wednesday eight days prior to publication date. Please send all news releases and digital artwork to slibowitz@yahoo.com)
THURSDAY, MAY 16 Views and Velocity – The Amgen Tour of California hasn’t started or stopped in Santa Barbara for a couple of years, but that doesn’t mean the important bicycle race that is just a tier or two below Le Tour de France skips our community altogether. Stage 5 is a hilly trek that begins and ends in two iconic beach towns – Pismo and Ventura – the latter just about our neighbor. In between, the peloton tours the best of Santa Barbara County in a 138-mile journey through undulating hills and nearly 10,000 feet in overall elevation gain before a last-minute short but steep climb within the last three miles. After hitting the county line, the path passes through Guadalupe, Nipomo, Orcutt, Los Olivos, and Santa Ynez before racing down the San Marcos Pass via Hwy. 154 all the way to Foothill Road. That’s where the course turns left and continues meandering through the Montecito foothills – streaking past the pink walls of Lotusland and by historic estates – and past picturesque Toro Canyon, then almost halfway to Ojai via Casitas Pass before heading downhill toward Ventura and the ending just steps from the ocean. The finish line is where the daily festival takes place, with tons of sponsor booths, food, and gear available at the site on the edge of the Ventura Fairgrounds. Most of the riders, many of whom compete on
the grueling international circuit, will be in attendance – including those awarded the yellow (for overall leader) and other jerseys – before heading off for a good night’s sleep before the start of Stage 6, the penultimate day, just before 12 noon all the way down in Ontario. WHEN: 10 am stage start time, estimated finish for the first riders at 3:43 pm WHERE: see online map for full stage course COST: free INFO: www.amgentourofcalifornia. com/route-2019/mens-stage-5may-16-2019 Quilts, Cigarettes & Dirt – Exhibition titles, like rock and roll band names, are opportunities for witty and wonderful examples of personal expression. This new show from artist and prolific filmmaker James Benning is subtitled Portraits of America, a nod to Benning’s 40plus years exploring the film medium, engaging with history, memory, and documentary traditions, often encompassing a rigorous treatment of the American landscape and its people. Following tonight’s opening reception at the Museum of Contemporary Art featuring tunes by DJ Val-Mar Records, interactive art activities, and drinks on the terrace, the exhibit will host a series of additional activities connected to Benning, who pioneered the notion of “figurative narrative” via films that explore notions of time and perception and their relationship to space, and
FRIDAY, MAY 17 Golden Boys – Baby Boomers will be doing a lot of reminiscing tonight at the Chumash Casino, taking a collective trip down memory lane with former teen stars-nowseptuagenarians Frankie Avalon (age 79), Bobby Rydell (77) and Fabian (76), three of the most popular teen idols from the late 1950s and early ’60s. The showcase spotlights each of the performers and their greatest hits individually, including Fabian’s “Turn Me Loose,” “Tiger,” and “I’m A Man”; Avalon’s “Venus,” “De De Dinah,” and “Bobby Sox to Stockings”; and Rydell’s “Volare,” “Wild One,” and “Kissin’ Time.” The three stars also combine their talents on several songs as well as perform a tribute to their late contemporaries Elvis Presley, Bobby Darin, Rick Nelson and Bill Haley. The “Golden Boys” have been touring as a trio and made countless television appearances including a PBS special that introduced their music to new generations, but it’s still their peers who largely populate their shows, meaning there should be a lot of open slot machines in the joint from 8-10 pm tonight. WHEN: 8 pm WHERE: Chumash Casino Resort’s Samala Showroom, 3400 Hwy. 246, Santa Ynez COST: $38-$69 INFO: (800) CHUMASH or www.chumashcasino.com
42 MONTECITO JOURNAL
EVENTS by Steven Libowitz
SATURDAY, MAY 18 Bell Curve – Local art museums are celebrating the 10th Annual Art Museum Day offering free admission and special programming at several locations around the area. Participating institutions include the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Historical Museum, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, and the Wildling Museum of Art and Nature, joining more than 150 similar institutions across the country. Each museum has special events or offers, led by SBMA’s “Ensemble: A Day of All Possible Music,” celebrating the opening of “Chris Kallmyer: Ensemble,” and featuring the artist and special guests activating the sculptural instrument in the exhibition, a handmade carillon. All are invited to drop in to see avant-garde musicians, new age practitioners, traditional performers, and an experimental rock drummer collectively create music on the device created specifically for the exhibition comprised of raw timber and handmade bells that functions as a communal bell-ringing instrument. Employing a method of making music that blends collective listening with lively communal rituals and meditation practice, Ensemble offers a fun, experiential space to look, listen and engage. Other activities include interactive family guides featuring musical scores and recipes, bell-inspired art activities in the Family Resource Center, pop-up musical moments, and refreshments. WHEN: 1-4 pm WHERE: 1130 State Street COST: free INFO: (805) 963-4364 or www.sbma.net
approach the concept of place from autobiographical, cultural, political and historical viewpoints. Benning’s latest film Readers – which confronts viewers with four long takes of four individuals silently reading a book of their selection for nearly 30 minutes each – will be screened from 3-5 pm this Sunday, May 19, while Benning himself will be on hand to speak about the works on view followed by an additional screening of Readers at 5:30 pm next Thursday, May 23. Twenty Cigarettes, which finds Benning improvising on the canon of Andy Warhol’s screen tests by leaving each of his 20 friendssubjects alone with the camera using the cigarette as a device to distract from the inherently self-conscious action of being filmed, will be shown next Sunday, May 26. Other films featured in “James Benning: Quilts, Cigarettes & Dirt (Portraits of America)” will be screened at multiple Santa Barbara venues throughout the duration of the exhibition. Visit www. mcasantabarbara.org/upcomingevents for dates and times. WHEN: Reception 5-8 pm tonight; exhibit through July 14 WHERE: 653 Paseo Nuevo, upstairs in the shopping center (Chapala St. entrance) COST: free INFO: (805) 966-5373 or www. mcasantabarbara.org FRIDAY, MAY 17 Funk Zone Art Walk – The Long Game, an exhibition of sculpture, installation, textile, and printmaking
“I like my coffee with cream and my literature with optimism.” – Abigail Reynolds
that embodies the concept that choices we make today can connect to intentional desired outcomes, has its opening reception tonight at The Arts Fund Gallery (205-C Santa Barbara St.), where curator Charles Donelan mounted the flipside show “Unintended Consequences” where the artists’ work incorporated chance and flux in response to a rapidly changing world. The Long Game will feature work by Claudia Borfiga, Inga Guzyte, Barbara Parmet, and Blakeney Sanford. You can also get a sneak preview of The Arts Fund’s Teen Arts Mentorship Program “Self-Expression Through Painting” class at Studio One Eleven (111- Santa Barbara St.)… The monthly walkabout in the sea adjacent neighborhood, started five years ago to highlight the area’s vibrant artistic community and support local businesses, also features “Motility” at MichaelKate Interiors and Art Gallery (132 Santa Barbara St.), with new work from its former curator, Brad Nack, as well as pieces by Tom Post, Rick Doehring, and Douglas DaFoe… A collection of local artists will be showing and selling their work in the taproom at Topa Topa Brewing Co. (120 Santa Barbara St.) where Nyrus will spin music all evening…. “Psyche & the 4th Estate” is the latest interactive art experience at Funk Factory (208 Gray Ave.), just across the street from “One Famous Hole,” featuring new visual and audio works by One Famous Hole, at Gone Gallery, 16 – 23 May 2019