Pages & Process – Authors Ace Atkins and Steven Rowley reflect on craft, the evolving path of storytelling, and the upcoming SB Literary Festival, P.16
Spotlight Coast Village – Cinco de Mayo sangria, spring specials, and more in this month’s snapshot of what’s happening along CVR’s go-to spots, P.20
Sip the Village – Montecito Village’s Sip & Shop returns with wine tastings, bites, music, and a lively, strollable community atmosphere, P.24
As AI expands and techs thirst for energy levels up, the public ratepayer may be on the hook for an already
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Kronos Evolves
At Campbell Hall, Kronos Quartet debuts
Three Bones, a triptych examining overlooked voices through music and multimedia, page 20
The art museum celebrates 75 years of its Ambassadors, page 14
Sat, May 2 / 6 PM (note special time) / UCSB Campbell Hall
“The foremost ambassador of contemporary chamber music.” Polar Music Prize Citation
Philip Glass and The Poets
Featuring Music by Philip Glass (Philip Glass will not be performing.)
Performed by Timo Andres, piano and Taylor Mac, spoken word with special guest appearances by Lucinda Childs and San Francisco Girls Chorus Sun, May 17 / 7 PM / UCSB Campbell Hall
MacArthur Award-winning Choreographer A.I.M by Kyle Abraham
Tue, May 12 / 7:30 PM / Granada Theatre
“Lush movement, infectious music, and magnetic dancers.” The New York Times
Timo Andres Taylor Mac Lucinda Childs
Coast Premiere
9 PAX SBA -NYC-SBA (UP TO 4 PAX FOR NONSTOP) $93,500 ALL IN APRIL - OCT. (UP TO 5 DAYS IN NY)
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Sporting Life – Santa Barbara’s polo season kicks off with world-class players and open arms, while on the ice Olympic skating champions headline a touring showcase
Beings and Doings – Draw a line from Space Food Sticks™ to Matt Dillon and what do you have? Um…a deep Proustian rumination?
Montecito Miscellany – Rick Oshay’s birthday bash, SB School of Squash gala, patriotic couture with the Woman’s Club, and Saint Barbaras unite for a big anniversary
Notes from Les – Architect Ronald Rael brings both artistic intervention and academic insight to the conversation around the border in the Riv In Passing – Remembering the life and impact of Albert Acuña
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Energy Crunch – Behind the promise of artificial intelligence lies a very real and growing appetite for electricity
18
The Writer’s Journey – Best-selling authors Ace Atkins and Steven Rowley talk about the craft and the upcoming SB Lit Fest
Our Town – With most renovations complete, Casa del Herrero reveals progress on its preservation project 14 The Society Edit – Poodle skirts, Corvettes, and cocktails set the tone for the SBMA Ambassadors’ milestone celebration
Stories Matter – SB Literary Festival headliners arrive with new novels spanning romance, mystery, and emotional reckoning
20 On Entertainment – From Kronos Quartet’s multimedia exploration of culture to Hershey Felder’s long-awaited musical autobiography, there’s plenty to entertain you this week Spotlight Coast Village – Specials and highlights along Coast Village Road in this new feature
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Mental Health Awareness – A devastating diagnosis leads to an unexpected conversation about fear, memory, and mental health
23 Meet the Doctor – An introduction to Gastroenterologist Vincent DeRosa, MD
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News Bytes – Sip & Shop in the Village, May events at SYR, Mont Fire helps with a diaper drive, and other tidbits around town
25 Your Westmont – The college celebrates 30 years of student discovery, women’s golf makes history, and baseball comes down to the wire Dear Montecito – From side hustle to Funk Zone staple, Grill and Groove’s got burgers, beats, and belonging
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An Independent Mind – Jeffrey Harding argues State Street’s shift from commerce to promenade is undermining its core purpose
27 Elizabeth’s Appraisals – What looks like a simple maritime painting reveals a story of piracy, war, and American resolve
30 Curator’s Choice – Hand-colored engraving from The Collectors: A Life in Lepidoptera Local News – Three local women leaders are recognized for their impact across public service, journalism, and community advocacy
36 Calendar of Events – Opera SB’s season finale, 10th anniversary for 10 West, soundscapes in Lotusland, and more happenings
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Classifieds – Our own “Craigslist” of classified ads
Mini Meta Crossword Puzzles Local Business Directory
The Sporting Life Another Season in Polo Paradise
by Steven Libowitz
Polo has long been known as the “Sport of Kings,” and while it’s true that Prince William played at the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club (SBPRC) in 2011 to celebrate the 100th anniversary, and then new-Montecito resident Prince Harry played real matches at the club, you don’t have to be royalty, a mover and shaker, or anybody special at all to enjoy the season at the Carpinteria club.
Many locals may not be aware of this “open arms” polo policy, and for good reason. SBPRC’s new posture is a relatively recently development, the club now making a genuine effort to welcome all and trumpeting the fact that the weekend matches at the club are open to the general public. Opening day of the club’s 2026 Polo Season is on Sunday, May 3, kicking off another summer of “Polo in Paradise,” where visitors can enjoy the truly world-class athleticism of an international polo player elite at their collective peak. For the uninitiated we’ll just mention here that this thrilling largesse transpires at a seaside location offering chatty elegance and/or a casual atmosphere touched by ocean breezes –depending on your preference.
It’s no exaggeration to say that the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club is the spot for polo in the summertime. Meaning, our sun-soaked back yard is where most of the world’s best players congregate to play. It’s the same phenomenon that draws artists and entertainers here in numbers that belie our demure terrestrial footprint. The crème des amoureux du soleil are naturally drawn to our spectacular venues and adoring audiences.
There’s a logical reason for that, said Henry Walker, president of the board of directors.
“Santa Barbara attracts the world of polo because it’s Santa Barbara. The American Riviera is a rare place you can go in May-August and not have really hot temperatures and terrible humidity. It’s a great place to finish out the year of polo in a place they like to be, that their wives and families like to be, because… it’s Santa Barbara.”
Walker should know. His family started playing polo in Santa Barbara in 1953. Henry began competing back in 1978 with the team sponsored by his family’s business, Farmers & Merchants Bank.
Say what, now? The team owner plays alongside professionals?
Yes, indeed. Which is another thing that makes polo unique. Unlike, say, baseball (for instance), where the
Opening day for the SBPRC’s 2026 season is on Sunday, May 3 (photo by David Lominska)
Dodgers can win two world series in a row by wildly outspending the competition, each polo team of four players is assembled with the requirement of a total team rating (like a gold handicap) that doesn’t exceed the skill level of the tournament. This ensures that teams of similar overall ability compete against each other, yielding more balanced, competitive matches.
That’s unusual enough to dissuade some people from checking it out, on top of not understanding the sport and why it’s worth watching.
So here are some facts about polo, none of which you need to know to enjoy the game, but still...
There are four players on each team, each competing atop a horse. The object of the game is to move the polo ball down the field, hitting the ball through the goal posts to score. The field is 300 yards long and 160 yards wide, which is roughly 10 football fields. The match lasts about 1 ½ to 2 hours and is divided into periods of 7 ½ minutes called chukkers (don’t ask). Most of the rules are for the safety of the polo players and their ponies with the basic concept that the line of the ball after it’s struck establishes a right-of-way. Crossing it unsafely draws a foul.
They say that hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in sports, but that’s nonsense compared to accurately striking a polo ball, which is made of hard plastic and,
Sporting Life Page 224
Sip wiNe aND sampLe
iN tHe
Beings and Doings Breadth from Above
CHAPLIN
by Jeff Wing
Life is a continuum. From birdsong to bombardiers, from Charlie Bucket to Veruca Salt, from manna to inopportune picnic lightning – our time on the Earth’s surface is a bewildering maelstrom, a crapshoot. When I was but a child (your weekly clenched sigh here, reader) I saw that the world was aswirl with this strangeness. You know in old Hitchcock movies where a guy in a nightmare is shown slowly whirling in a vividly colored spiral vortex, his expression sheer terror, his necktie jerkily adrift as Bernard Herrmann attacks both cowering cochlea with screeching minor chords? Like that.
Space Food
The late ‘60s/early ‘70s was a particularly ripe “transitional life” period whose gyrations often seemed inspired by a caterpillar with a waterpipe. Those decades bridged a tapering Vietnam War and just ahead lay ubiquitous Marlboro Man moustaches, platform shoes, and doomed plutonium tattletale Karen Silkwood. The western world was trying and failing to find its footing. This swing dance on thinning ice still troubles us today, but with scarier stakes.
One result back then was Space Food Sticks , a popular snack item whose subtly graceful brand name bespeaks the intensely engineered crucible that birthed it. When the NASA crewcuts thought it time to give their astronauts solid food to eat in space (early Mercury Program hero John Glenn had been obliged to suck Tang out of a baggie), they turned to Pillsbury. That company’s completely nude mascot “Poppin’ Fresh the Pillsbury Doughboy” could be seen nightly on Pillsbury’s TV ads, having his spongy gut poked and offering an insincere little giggle. How this sycophantic
Mercury’s space capsule: lots of important bits but very little elbow room (wiki commons)
wad of flour moved product we can only wonder. The space agency’s goal was an edible that in zero-gravity orbit wouldn’t foul the already claustrophobic Mercury capsule environs with an undulating cloud of crumbs, and Pillsbury was glad for the contract. Nabisco’s Saltines were sent home without an interview.
Astronaut Scott Carpenter had the distinct pleasure of trying the first Space Food Stick™ prototype aboard the Aurora 7 in ‘62. At that time the form was a Space Food Cube , which seems not to have taken into account the gloved and hungry space adventurer having to manipulate something into his pleading astro-yap in the cramped confines of the capsule. We can imagine a frustrated and hungry Carpenter surrounded by floating cubes as he overshoots Hawaii. When NASA figured out the stick design, an orbital snack era was born.
The public’s avid interest in the space program prompted NASA to commercialize the Space Food Stick™, and the item had about a decade-long run on grocery store shelves. The sticks were sold 14 to a box, were individually wrapped in lightly metalloid paper, and available in “peanut butter,” “caramel,” and “chocolate.” I can personally attest that Space Food Sticks™ were genuinely unearthly as food items, the taste and texture evoking raw cookie dough infused with motor oil.
Half novelty item, half precursor to the modern energy bar, half giggling Pillsbury Doughboy reimagined as a severe little rod of comestible discomfort (yeah: three halves) – Space Food Sticks , were popular for a time, mostly because you felt you were sharing in the astronaut program without the centrifugal rigors and unflattering “suit.” By the ‘80s, Space Food Sticks had disappeared from store shelves. Later NASA would develop relish you could slice, so there may have been some unsung passive aggression in the NASA test kitchen.
Beings & Doings Page 314
Montecito Miscellany Grills Gone Wild
by Richard Mineards & Friends
It was an evening of smoke, spice, and celebration as friends and family gathered for a festive birthday bash honoring Rick Oshay. With a lively Barbecue Cook-Off theme, the event brought together a close-knit community for a night filled with flavor, music, and heartfelt moments.
Guests were treated to an impressive spread of homemade barbecue, with standout contributions from Diego Rivera, Rick Wallace, and Jim Melillo, each presenting their own take on ribs and tri-tip accompanied by closely guarded secret sauces. Wallace, a proud graduate of Alisal Ranch “Barbecue Bootcamp,” reportedly spent days perfecting his recipe, while Melillo’s specialty beef ribs drew particular praise from the crowd.
and memorable tribute to his joyful spirit. “Mikey stole the spotlight – heartwarming and unforgettable!” remarked one guest.
Thank you for your continued generosity. Your support assists patients at Ridley-Tree Cancer Center as they journey with, through and beyond cancer.
The evening’s soundtrack was expertly curated by DJ Joseph Souza, keeping the energy high as guests danced and mingled. Adding to the vibrant atmosphere were performances by the La Boheme Dancers, a beloved local group whose dynamic routines delighted attendees.
The celebration, graciously hosted by Rick’s wife, Teresa Kuskey-Oshay, also marked a jammy joint birthday for family member Mikey Nowak, turning 21, making the night even more meaningful. In one of the evening’s most touching highlights, guests honored Mikey with a special upbeat dishy dance, as the La Boheme Dancers encircled him in a warm
Among the spiffy friends in attendance were Kathryn and Peter Martin, Rochelle Mirabello, Gretchen Lieff, Mike Lewellen, Adam McKaig, Scott and Karen Davis, Luci Rogers, Jane Perrin, Pamela Sillix-Grotstein, Heidi Stilwell, Nancy and Jeep Holden, Beth Amine, Robert Adams and Nancy Caponi, Fred Brander, Roxanna Bina, Allen Green, along with lovely La Boheme dance troupe, who came to celebrate the joyous occasion.
Rick himself addressed the crowd with heartfelt gratitude, sharing, “I’m blown away by so many good friends and loving faces. To each and every one of you – thank you! This is an opportunity to celebrate our beautiful, friendly, loving community.”
With laughter, music, and the unmistakable aroma of barbecue in the air, the glorious evening was a perfect reflection of family, friendships, and the joy of coming together under the stars in Montecito’s magical weather.
by Lisa Duncan
Squash Magic
The Santa Barbara Public Library Plaza glimmered with royal blue velvet tablecloths and lively energy for the Santa
Miscellany Page 334
The night was full of cheer and BBQ (photo by Priscilla)
Teresa celebrating the birthday boy (photo by Priscilla)
Mikey getting the royal bday treatment (photo by Priscilla)
Notes from Les
The Road from Prada Marfa to Montecito
What is the long road from Prada Marfa to Montecito?
It’s the road that runs along the US-Mexico border which the Riv decided to look at because, well, timing is everything. Our border, of course, is a highly complex issue, with as many opinions as there are people and bots. Not to mention that Mexico has its own challenges on its own southern border. It’s going to take some really smart people to resolve this. Fortunately, unlike the internet which is filled with “experts” pontificating about the right way to fix the border from the comfort of their mom’s basement, the all new Riv sought out actual experts who’ve spent their lives
One such expert is Ronald Rael, a professor of architecture at Cal and author of Borderwall as Architecture. In addition, Prof. Rael is a bit of an internet G.O.A.T. in his own right.
Rael is one of the architects (along with his wife Virginia San Fratello) of the iconic Prada Marfa “art intervention” near Marfa which you can read all about in the Riv. Years later, Rael also installed pink border-spanning teeter totters through the US-Mexico border wall, which are as profound as they are visually spectacular. The border seesaws won a slew of design awards and you can/must read about those in the Riv as well.
lbert Acuña, born May 8th, 1923, in Canoga Park, California, passed away peacefully on Sunday April 18th, at the age of 102.
Albert was a WWII Veteran who was honorably discharged following an injury while in service. He earned numerous medals during his time serving his country, including a Purple Heart, WWII Victory Medal, American Theater Ribbon, Air Medal W/L Cluster, Good Conduct Medal, and an EAME Theater Medal.
Albert was the second oldest of nine siblings. He was preceded in death by his mother, Juana Acuña, and siblings Concepcion Garcia, Fred Acuña, Henry Acuña, Manuel Acuña, Rudy Acuña, Mary Acuña, and Ramona Acuña. He is survived by his youngest brother Jesse Acuña and his many nieces and nephews.
Albert grew up in Santa Barbara. Once home from the war, he worked at Hidden Valley Ranch and San Marcos bowling lanes.
Albert was very active in his community and was an active member and volunteer at the Goleta Valley Senior Center and life member at the Elks of Santa Barbara. He will be missed by his family and friends.
YOUR LETTERS MATTER!
The Montecito Journal thrives on community input… Have thoughts on a local issue? Comments on one of our articles? Contact us at letters@montecitojournal.net
Account Managers | Sue Brooks, Tanis Nelson, Elizabeth Scott, Donna Roberts, Joe DeMello, Thomas Mock
Features | Jeff Wing
Proofreading | Helen Buckley
Contributors | Scott Craig, Chuck Graham, Mark Ashton Hunt, Dalina Michaels, Robert Bernstein, Christina Atchison, Leslie Zemeckis, Sigrid Toye, Elizabeth Stewart, Leana Orsua, Jeffrey Harding, Houghton Hyatt
Arts and Entertainment | Steven Libowitz
Gossip | Richard Mineards
History | Hattie Beresford
Humor | Ernie Witham
Our Town/Society | Joanne A Calitri
Health/Wellness | Ann Brode, Deann Zampelli
Travel | Jerry Dunn, Leslie Westbrook
Food & Wine | Melissa Petitto, Gabe Saglie, Jamie Knee
Published by:
Montecito Journal Media Group, LLC
Montecito Journal is compiled, compounded,
Ronald Rael’s border wall teeter totters (courtesy of Rael-San Fratello)
Energy Crunch
Will AI Put Us in the Dark? How artificial intelligence is driving a surge in electricity demand — and what it means for the rest of us.
by Marine Schumann
For years, we’ve talked about “the cloud” as something invisible and weightless. But the cloud has a physical footprint. It lives in massive data centers filled with servers and cooling equipment that run day and night. As artificial intelligence becomes embedded in everything from search engines to medical research, those facilities are multiplying quickly.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: AI doesn’t just compete for talent and computer chips. It competes for electricity. And electricity is not like most resources. When the grid is strained, everyone feels it through higher bills, slower interconnections, and more frequent outages. This isn’t an argument against AI. It’s an argument for awareness.
The scale and speed of this new demand is colliding with another major transition already underway. California is electrifying homes, vehicles, and appliances while relying on an aging power system that was never designed for this level of load. That combination matters. Utilities and grid operators across the country are revising their forecasts upward, largely because of data centers. These facilities draw enormous amounts of power and they do so around the clock. At the same time, state policy is accelerating electrification. Gas furnaces are being replaced with heat pumps. Gas stoves are giving way to induction. Gasoline cars are being swapped for electric vehicles. Individually, each of these shifts makes sense. Together, they represent one of the fastest increases in electricity demand the state has ever seen.
The challenge is timing. Grid infrastructure takes years to build. Substations, transformers, and transmission lines cannot appear overnight. When demand grows faster than infrastructure, the system becomes more fragile and more expensive to operate. You may have heard that major technology companies are lining up massive energy deals. In many cases, this simply means applying for utility service like any other customer, but at a scale of hundreds of megawatts. In other cases, companies are exploring direct connections to power plants, bypassing parts of the traditional grid. Federal regulators are reviewing these arrangements because of concerns about reliability and fairness. At the same time, tech firms are pursuing an
“all of the above” energy strategy. While many continue to invest in renewables, they are also turning to gas to meet immediate, 24-hour needs.
Meeting demand quickly may solve a private problem. But when enormous new loads arrive quickly, who pays for the upgrades and who absorbs the risk?
I was recently listening to “Conversations with Tyler: An interview with Sam Altman,” when something he said stood out. According to Altman, the biggest constraint on AI expansion is not talent or computer chips. It is electrons. In other words, electricity.
That single comment reveals how central power has become to the future of AI. It also helps explain a trend now emerging quietly across the United States. Major tech companies and data-center developers are increasingly building or contracting their own power supplies, often natural gas plants, sometimes paired with solar or batteries. Some observers describe this as a kind of “shadow power grid.” These privately built, behind-the-meter energy systems are designed to fuel AI data centers directly, bypassing traditional grid timelines and constraints. From the tech companies’ perspective, this makes sense. Grid upgrades take years. AI demand is happening now.
From a public perspective, however, this shift raises important questions. When large customers solve their energy needs privately, they may avoid some of the delays and costs of the shared system, while the rest of us remain dependent on aging infrastructure. Meanwhile, utilities still have to plan for rising regional demand, reinforce transmission lines, and maintain reliability. Those costs do not disappear. They are often spread across everyone’s bills. Even more concerning, much of this fast, private power is coming from fossil fuels because gas plants can be built quickly. That risks locking in new emissions just as California is trying to decarbonize and just as households are being encouraged to electrify everything from heating to transportation.
Electricity has always been political. Who gets it, who pays for it, and how it is generated are fundamentally public questions. AI is forcing those questions into the open. And this conversation is happening in a state where electricity is already expensive. California has the second-highest residential electricity rates in the country, behind only Hawaii, with
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Our Town
Casa del Herrero Renovations Update
by Joanne A. Calitri
As 80% of the earmarked renovations for the preservation of Casa del Herrero (CDH) are completed, CDH Executive Director and Head of Curation Natalie Sanderson and Board of Trustees Chair Elizabeth Esrey invited the sponsors and donors who provided the key funding to a reception on Thursday, April 23 for a viewing.
The $750,000 “Save America’s Treasures Grant” received by Casa del Herrero on September 9, 2024 was predicated on receiving matching funds, and that goal was met end of last year. The grant is being used for the restoration of CDH, including tile work, the Lath House, Green House (aka Glass House), Gardener’s Shed and Workshop, all fountains and exedras, and the repair and painting of the exterior walls and main house.
The grant is awarded from the Department of the Interior and National Park Service’s Save America’s Treasures (SAT) grant program and administered by the California Missions Foundation.
Instrumental in securing the SAT grant for CDH are Executive Director and CEO of the California Missions Foundation David Bolton , CDH Trustee Mari McAlister, and Elizabeth Storm McGovern who worked with Bolton on writing the grant.
The event opened with welcoming remarks and introductions by Esrey, who then guided the guests to the renovation of the tile in-ground fountain that is the mid-way point to the back gardens of the property. There, we met the team on the SAT Project, owner and conservator of Anders Arts Conservation, Susie Anders, and Juan Lopez, founder-owner of Santa Barbara Quality Masonry who is the project’s General Contractor. Lopez’s 25 years of work are based in historic preservation including National Historic Landmarks.
For our readers, I asked Lopez to further explain the work. He said, “The materials used for the CDH renovations are compatible with the historic elements already in place. Care is taken to keep all original materials. The original owners of CDH kept all the extra tiles that were not used, along with some
other materials. These are being used to replace areas that cannot be repaired. You will note that some of the terra cotta inlaid steps and flooring around the fountain are chipped, that is to retain the antiquity of the time period.”
on each side of the trough. The trough’s water is continually recycled.
The tour finished with the Lath House and Gardener’s Shed and Workshop which are completed. We returned to the main lawn for refreshments and a Q&A with the team. The Green House renovations have begun and is the last renovation to be completed.
Some attendees included Mari and Patrick McAlister, Heather Biles, Gonzalo Sarmiento, Isabel Wendt, Susan Jackson, Nathan Vonk, and Miles Hartfeld 411: www.casadelherrero.com
WITH SPECIAL REDUCED PRICING FOR 3 DAYS
Opening reception on Thursday May 7, 5pm - 8pm Friday, 11am to 5pm and Saturday, 11am to 5pm Artist Talks at 2pm, both Friday and Saturday
Anders added that she examined and tested the tiles of the CDH fountains. The result of their faded look was found to be water damage that could be safely removed by a special cleaning method and regrouting, thus retaining the original tilework. Chipped tiles were replaced with original unused tiles in storage.
From there we were led to an official ribbon-cutting by David Bolton to a newly made loose gravel path that leads to the South Exedras. The path was mapped from the original CDH grounds’ blueprints. After the ribbon-cutting we walked to the South Exedras which is an area designed by Lutah Maria Riggs. It is comprised of a 13th Century watering trough with an inscription that reads, “Drink and Be Well,” and a tiled rest area with benches
Joanne A Calitri is a professional international photographer and journalist. Contact her at: artraks@ yahoo.com
10 W. Ana pa mu Street
Natalie Sanderson, Juan Lopez, Susie Anders, Heather Biles, Susan Jackson, and Mari McAlister (photo by Joanne A Calitri)
David Bolton cutting the ribbon to the new path with Natalie Sanderson cheering him on (photo by Joanne A Calitri)
EVERY BRILLIANT THING
BY DUNCAN MACMILLAN WITH JONNY DONAHOE
The Society Edit SBMA Ambassadors’ 75th Anniversary Celebration
by Joanne A. Calitri
Hello Loves! It’s been a Society minute with many newsworthy notables coming your way.
This weekend I had the utmost honor to attend the SB Museum of Art’s celebration for the 75th Anniversary Year of its “Ambassadors” (formerly known as the SBMA Women’s Board) on Saturday, April 15 at the SB Cabrillo Pavilion. The celebration is titled, “Mid-Century in Motion: Celebrating 75 Years of Integrating Art and Life with the Santa Barbara Museum of Art.”
Going with the event theme, guests sported their top ‘50s fashion with poodle skirts, bobby socks and saddle shoes, a few Marilyn Monroe classic conservative belted dresses with those feathered hats and matching small handbags. With attendees dressed in 1950s attire and the lineup of vintage automobiles parked in front of the Cabrillo Pavilion, I couldn’t help but wonder… did we just go ‘back to the future with Marty McFly who was seen recently celebrating Lucky’s 25th…?!
Entering the gala, we were greeted by the SBMA team, servers with bites and wine, and an antique phone booth that jetted out four pics on a commemorative strip with the SBMA Logo. For entertainment, The Los Angeles Big Lucky Band played jazz and dance hits, and a few expert swing dancers got everyone up on the dance floor.
Promptly at 6 pm guests were ushered into the dining area for a buffet home style ‘50s dinner, from sliders to shrimp and fries – and the event program itself.
Emcee Claudia Dunn welcomed the guests and thanked all the sponsors. SBMA Ambassadors President Deb Joseph made a brief speech about the Ambassadors, offering heartfelt thankyous to the group.
Next, a fact-filled Legacy Tribute to the Ambassadors was read by Hsiu-Zu Ho, who presented the history of the group, their top accomplishments and directed attention towards the past presidents of the Ambassadors attending, namely, Helene Segal, Jeanne Fulkerson, Julie Blair, Paula Farrington, and Mary Maxwell. Notes from Ho’s speech, “This organization has brought exhibitions to life, expanded education opportunities, welcomed new audiences and opened doors for countless individuals to experience art in ways that inform, inspire and transform. This legacy is defined by people, and our presidents past and present. We are grateful for your enduring legacy. With dedicated sponsors and volunteers you have built something lasting. Here’s to 75 years of vision, community and belief in the power of art, and to all we will create together.” With that, all toasted and applauded.
Ho introduced Amada Cruz, the SBMA Eichholz Foundation director with accolades, while Cruz blushed and took to the podium.
Cruz echoed the love felt in the room for the Ambassadors with her speech. She shared, “It is truly a pleasure for this momentous anniversary, we celebrate 75 years of the Ambassadors. They have supported capital campaigns, gallery renovations, strengthened our education programs, helped the SBMA acquire 82 works of art – that’s amazing...” (she said as a quick, appreciative aside before continuing) – “...sponsored more than 40 exhibitions; and that art is accessible in our galleries and our communities. We are so grateful for that support. This evening’s celebration is a wonderful tribute to your history and your continued energy. On behalf of all of us at the museum we thank you.”
The four item Live Auction was led by Joshua Ramirez, who quipped anecdotes
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The 75th Ambassadors’ celebration co-chairs and event committee (photo by Joanne A Calitri)
The Writer’s Journey
Between the First Sentence and the Last
by Zach Rosen
The first thing Ace Atkins and I discuss is that writing used to be slower. Not the thinking, not the storytelling, but the act itself. Notes taken by hand, facts checked line by line, interviews reconstructed from memory and scribble. Now there are recorders, transcripts, digital trails that can be followed and revisited. The work is faster, cleaner. However, he admits, “there’s something you miss about the good old days too.”
There’s a moment, somewhere between the first sentence and the finished book, where writing stops being an idea and becomes a life. Not a glamorous one, necessarily, but a persistent one. It’s built on curiosity, solitude, and the slow accumulation of experience. Speaking with Atkins and fellow New York Times bestselling author Steven Rowley ahead of the Santa Barbara Literary Festival, it becomes clear that while their paths differ, the shape of that life shares a similar rhythm.
For Atkins, that pace was set early in newsrooms and on the crime beat. Before the bestselling novels, there were long days chasing leads, learning how to listen, and figuring out what made a story worth telling. Journalism, he says, teaches you how to recognize narrative in the raw. It also demands discipline. Facts matter. The line between truth and invention cannot blur.
Still, the work leaves its mark in fiction. Years spent covering murders, disappearances, and cold cases gave Atkins more than research. They gave him a sense of how the past lingers. One case in particular, a decades-old killing that continued to echo through the lives of those connected to it, reinforced that truth. The story may end on paper, but it rarely ends in life.
That understanding carries into his novels, where resolution is often partial and truth feels just out of reach. Crime fiction, for Atkins, is not about restoring order so much as searching for it, if only for a moment.
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Rowley arrived at writing from a different direction, though the impulse began just as early. He describes himself first as a reader, a child shaped by library visits and the quiet discovery that stories could travel far beyond where they were written. Growing up in Maine, writing felt distant at first, something that belonged to other places. But when he became a young fan of Stephen King, the idea of becoming a writer from rural Maine no longer felt so out of reach.
storytelling invites conversation. For a few days, that conversation becomes visible. Authors step out of their routines and into rooms filled with readers, other writers, and people simply curious about how stories come together.
The festival itself moves through the city rather than settling in one place. Events unfold across theaters, galleries, and smaller venues, creating a kind of rhythm that mirrors the act of reading. You pick up an idea in one space, carry it with you, and find it again somewhere else.
His path to publication was anything but immediate. Years of work filled drawers before his first novel found its way into the world. When success came, it carried the label of “overnight,” though it had been decades in the making. Even now, there is a sense of surprise in how he speaks about his career, as if the identity of Writer is still settling into place.
Where Atkins builds from structure and investigation, Rowley often writes toward emotion. His work balances humor with grief, searching for a tone that allows both to exist without mutual cancellation. Too much of one can flatten the other. The process becomes a matter of adjustment, shaping scenes until they hold that tension without breaking.
Panels range across genres and forms, from crime writing to memoir, from journalism to film. Some discussions focus on craft, others on the broader role stories play in shaping how we understand the world. Keynote conversations lean into the emotional side of writing, exploring how tone is built and why certain stories stay with us. What emerges, both from the festival and from conversations with writers like Atkins and Rowley, is a clearer sense of what it means to build a life around writing. There is no single entry point. One path begins in a newsroom, another in a childhood library. Both require time, persistence, and a tolerance for uncertainty.
Despite those differences, both writers circle the same core idea. Writing begins with curiosity. It depends on a willingness to ask questions and to follow them further than is comfortable. Atkins speaks about the importance of continuing to seek truth, even as our information gathering methodologies change. Without that instinct, he suggests, the work loses its purpose.
Rowley approaches the same idea from another angle. He speaks about a human yearning for the perfect sentence, one that feels specific yet somehow universal. It is a distinctly human ambition, tied as much to process as to outcome.
That shared commitment is part of what gives events like the Santa Barbara Literary Festival their particular energy. Writing is solitary by nature, but
The work itself remains largely unseen. Drafts are written and discarded. Ideas shift. Progress is uneven. Even success does not settle things completely. It simply changes the questions.
By the time these authors arrive in Santa Barbara, much of their journey is already behind them, though it never truly feels finished. What they bring with them are not just books, but the accumulation of years spent paying attention. And somewhere between that first sentence and whatever comes next, the life they’ve built on the page continues.
On Sunday, May 3rd, Steven Rowley will be giving a keynote speech and Ace Atkins will be part of the “CrimeTime” panel. Visit www. santabarbaraliteraryfestival.org for more information and tickets.
Steven Rowley’s keynote will be at the Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara on Sunday, May 3, at 3:30 pm (courtesy photo)
Ace Atkins will be part of the CrimeTime panel at Alhecama Theatre on Sunday, May 3 at 1:30 pm (courtesy photo)
‘Ghalen’
The Santa Barbara Literary Festival is loaded with talented bestselling authors descending on Santa Barbara May 2-3. Many of them have new books published this month. For example, one of our keynote speakers, Walter Mosley, has his love story, Ghalen: A Romance in Black A coming-of-age take on Ghalen, a brilliant young Black man, and the epic romance his mismatched parents share. The Devil in a Blue Dress author can really do no wrong in my book and continues to surprise and astound his vast readership
‘The Hope Keeper’
Another SBLF author, Heather Webb is back with The Hope
Stories Matter
SB Lit Fest Picks and More Stories
by Leslie Zemeckis
Keeper – a work of historical fiction set around Evalyn McLean; the owner of the infamous, and possibly cursed, Hope Diamond. A young jeweler is drawn into the glamorous world of socialites in Washington, D.C. in 1919. Webb’s prose is as seductive as the lure of this blue diamond, blending fact and fiction is this page-turning novel with secrets and danger lurking around
every corner – and every fine-boned, diamond-adorned throat.
‘Take Me with You’
Another keynote speaker is Steven Rowley of Guncle fame who has a new one out with Take Me with You. A mysterious disappearance starts this one that involves a 30-year relationship and the questions left behind when one night Jesse’s husband vanishes in the desert. Rowley’s work is filled with humor and heart which makes him a favorite with readers of all ages.
‘Murder Most Delicious’
Danielle Trussoni, writing under the nom de plume Danielle Postel-Vinay is serving up a sumptuous cozy mystery set in Paris and you’ll be delighted with all the crumbs scattered across the 7th arrondissement as the seemingly impossible crime slowly yields its inner workings. An American sommelier is grateful for a momentous second chance – until in the course of a life-changing job interview she finds herself witness to a murder. Murder Most Delicious has all the elements of a cozy, sexy Agatha Christie, with a cast of suspicious characters, a background
that drops you into the heart of Paris, and plenty of questions as to who did it. Grab a glass of wine (or an espresso and croissant) and enjoy.
‘The Mediator’
From authors who will not be present at the festival, we have some exceptional picks. Robert Bailey has a new thriller, The Mediator, teeming with ruthless characters that will do anything to win. Max was a hotshot attorney until an unfortunate accident left her addicted to pain killers. After being fired and doing a stint in rehab, she’s working her way back up, this time as a mediator. During negotiations at her old law firm, she receives the shocking news that her son has been kidnapped –and unless the case goes the way of one of her mediating parties, she won’t ever see him again. What follows are twists and turns to keep you on the edge of your seat.
‘The Young Will Remember’
Eve J. Chung is back with another epic story, The Young Will Remember is set in 1950 during the “forgotten war” in North Korea. We follow a Chinese American journalist, Ellie Chang, who is caught in the mountains of North Korea when the passenger plane on which she’s traveling is shot down. What follows is the stirring story of three women with intersecting lives. Chung is a deeply moving writer; well researched history brims over in this one and I could not put it down. Like her prior novel Daughters of Shandong, the author explores the motives and mettle of women during conflict, and the resiliency that sustains them.
“Last Light in Paradise is drop-dead perfect. In all my years of investigating for the United States and the President–this is the kind of novel you go to for truth, heart, and the deep pleasure of a master storyteller.”
– Richard C. LaMagna
Former Director of Counternarcotics White House National Security Council and former Deputy Chief of Intelligence DEA HQ
– Fannie Flagg
Now available at Chaucer’s Books, Tecolote Book Shop and Godmothers
On Entertainment
Kronos’ Bone to Pick
by Steven Libowitz
San Francisco’s Kronos Quartet has, for more than half a century, been a leader in expanding the environment and extent of what a string quartet can do. The Quartet’s CV now boasts more than 70 recordings, thousands of concerts across the globe, constant collaborations with composers and other adventurous musicians – and a seemingly endless desire to keep growing. At least that’s true of violinist David Harrington, who founded the quartet back in 1973, and recently recruited all new members (cellist Paul Wiancko, violinist Gabriela Díaz, and violist Ayane Kozasa), the last two following the retirement of two longtime members after the 50th anniversary tour.
Now comes Three Bones, Kronos’ latest large-scale project, a multimedia opus that carefully stitches together live performance, original videos, visual art projections, archival recordings and environmental sound to explore three historically subjugated communities in the United States. More than three years in the making, the work is a triptych, each panel featuring an acclaimed guest performer (see page 35) and at least one world premiere in a highly curated compendium. The project’s title follows a suggestion by poet Nikky Finney that zeroes in on three tiny bones in the middle ear that amplify faint vibrations from the outside world, transmitting them to our
minds. That’s also the goal of the new work, which premiered at Carnegie Hall last weekend, and gets its second performance on May 2 at UCSB’s Campbell Hall, a frequent Kronos haunt.
Between plane trips and rehearsals, Harrington shared some insights over the phone from New York on Monday.
Q. I wanted to start with all the personnel changes in Kronos in just the last three years. How did you decide who to add and what flavors or qualities you were looking for in the new members? All of the new musicians grew up with Kronos already a force having shaken up the classical world – which is a radical shift.
Entertainment Page 284
THE INSIDER’S GUIDE TO WHAT’S GOOD
your destination for wine, cocktails, and mocktails before or after dinner.
- Mother’s Day Weekend Spring Wine Release: May 8-10 | Sunstone Wine Lounge is releasing five new wines, including the 2025 Sauvignon Blanc and fan favorite 2025 Linda’s Viognier. All Mother’s Day Weekend long, enjoy savings of up to $15 off per bottle and be among the first to try these new wines.
SHOP
• Belrose Estate Jewelers | Spring Treat: $750 off your purchase of $3,000 | Offer valid on full price items only (excluding watches and handbags). Valid until May 31, 2026.
- Oyster Shucking class: Friday, May 15 | Join us for an event that will feature a wine pairing with our wine director Matt Ahern and an educational session on oyster history and background led by Chef Jacob
• Lilac | Happy Hour: Tuesday through Sunday from 3 to 5 pm | Featuring $10 wines by the glass, including Prosecco, Pinot Grigio, and a GSM blend
• Lion’s Tale | Happy Hour: Monday through Friday from 4 to 5:30 pm All Night Happy Hour | Monday from 4 pm to 12 am Live Jazz | Every Wednesday from 6:30 to 9 pm Live Music | Every 3rd Thursday from 6 to 8 pm
• LOCAL | Happy Hour: Monday through Wednesday from 4 to 6 pm | Thursday through Sunday from 3 to 6 pm
• Monte’s | Happy Hour in the bar and lounge area: Wednesday through Sunday from 3 to 5 pm | Offering a selection of snacks, $10 house martini, discounted select glasses of wine, and $5 Pacifico!
- Farmers Market: On the deck! Friday from 10 am to 1 pm
• Sunstone Wine Lounge | May 5th | Cinco de Mayo Sangria Special: Celebrate Cinco de Mayo at Sunstone Wine Lounge with our exclusive house made Sangria, available all day on May 5th for just $15 a glass. Make us
• Caldwell Snyder Gallery | Saturday, May 2, 4-6 pm | Artist Reception with Kenton Nelson. Live music by Joe Lopiccolo & wines served by Folded Hills. Exhibition runs through June 2nd.
• Daniel Gibbings | May 13 to June 4 | Booking Consultation appointments for Custom Design jewelry with Daniel. Please call or email or secure your appointment time.
• Faherty | Saturday, May 9 | Join us for a Mother’s Day Sip and Shop event! Faherty, located at 1155 Coast Village Road, will offer champagne, light bites, and a free gift with every purchase. Plus, leave a review at the end of your purchase for a discount on your next women’s order!
• Veronica Beard | Wednesday, May 6, from 4-6 pm | Join us for an evening with Kim Busch and Allegra Garcia Velez in celebration of the launch for Madre Wine. Be the first to try the newest product by Folded Hills Winery. Enjoy sips, sweets, and complimentary bouquets. Plus, a 15% donation to Grapes for Glioblastoma with every purchase. Kindly RSVP to MontecitoRSVP@veronicabeard.com
• 27 Miles Montecito | May 3-5 | Custom fitting, design and consultation for your Italian made wardrobe with master tailors, Nicola and Ernesto. Using Loro Piana, Zegna and other elevated Italian fabrics. Appointments encouraged at (805) 698-6060 or Montecito@27milesmalibu.com
- 15% discount for the month of May if you order online at www.27milesmalibu. com and pick up in the store at 1137 Coast Village Road.
• Kathryne Designs | Mother’s Day Promotion, receive 20% off on velvet and linen pillows for the month of May.
BEAUTY
• Drybar Montecito | $10 off your first blowout (must be a new customer to us)
- Mother’s Day Promotion: With any purchase of a $50 gift card, get a free add on treatment.
Straight from Carnegie Hall to Campbell Hall, Kronos Quarter will bring their new large-scale project, Three Bones (photo by Ali Karakas for TUCCA)
Mental Health Awareness
The Diagnosis
by Dale Zurawski
In a bright, spacious room, an oncologist told us my husband’s cancer couldn’t be cured. I felt a shock run through me. With everything else going on, I knew I couldn’t handle it alone. As soon as we left his office, I took out my phone and called Dennis. He was not only a good friend but also a psychiatrist.
After parking at the Sansum Clinic Psychiatric Department, I walked up two flights of stairs. Dennis’s office was softly lit by a few lamps, with the overhead fluorescents off. Three big boxes of Kleenex sat around me as I took my seat.
“Dennis, I don’t think I can handle Geoff dying. I’m not worried about Geoff or the children. I’m worried about myself. My dad died when I was seven… “
I started to cry and shared details about my childhood. I grabbed a Kleenex as I spoke. It felt like a confessional, except there was no wooden knee rest or dark window hiding the priest. I told Dennis how we were poor when I was a child, and things got even harder after
Dale
my dad died when I was seven. I talked about my dad’s bad temper, how scared I was, and how my mom had to raise five wild kids alone. I confessed things from my past. “In college, I screwed anyone in sight, mostly strangers at bars. I had sex night after night. I don’t know how many guys I had sex with…”
The room felt quiet. It reminded me of talking with my grandmother in her parlor, with the soft yellow light making me feel safe.
Dennis stopped me. “So you were promiscuous. Go on.”
When Dennis said ‘promiscuous,’ it sounded almost harmless. It didn’t seem so bad, maybe even normal for someone my age. I was surprised by how calm he was about something I had kept secret for so long. I had never
Mental Health Page 314
unlike a baseball, isn’t tossed out as soon as it gets dirty, but remains in play despite multiple deformations. All you have is a mallet with a wispy rod – with which you must exactingly strike the ball while on top of a horse barreling along at speeds that might get you a ticket on a highway.
“The horse is as much an athlete as the player,” Walker said, pointing out that the sport is so taxing for the animals that they are subbed out every chukker, sometimes even more frequently. “Each polo player oversees their own professional sports team. They just happen to be made up of horses.”
Polo in Paradise’s schedule features tournament play that progresses from a 12 Goal Series in May and June (team total rating [see above] can’t exceed 12), to the 16-Goal Series in July and August – featuring the most highly-rated professionals and the prestigious Pacific Coast Open –before concluding with the 8 Goal Series in September and October. Every week, spectators can enjoy the Friday Happy Hour match at 4 pm with free admission, or attend the Sunday Polo afternoon affairs that are as much about the social scene as they are the sport itself, where you can channel your inner Julia Roberts-Richard Gere in Pretty Woman for the Pony Parade, team introductions, and more festivities preceding the 3:30 pm game.
Guests can sit in the grandstand, spring for a box or cabana, or enjoy the matches from the Polo Grill outside the clubhouse with a midfield view of the action.
Visit https://sbpolo.com for details, club history, team rosters, schedules and tickets
Skating Stars Hit the Ice in Orange County
The Winter Olympics in Italy that transfixed sports fans in February is but a distant memory with basketball, hockey, baseball currently in action, football just completing its annual draft, and the World
Cup heading to North America in just two months. But those still wishing to see some of the stunning ice skaters in exhibition mode can head down to Anaheim in mid-May for the Stars on Ice performance. The 2026 tour brings America’s elite figure skaters to the Honda Center on Saturday, May 16, for a show headlined by newly-minted Olympic Champion, Olympic Team Gold Medalist, and reigning World Champion Alysa Liu, whose historic comeback in Milan culminated in the first U.S. women’s Olympic Gold since 2002. The women’s contingent is rounded out by the other two “Blade Angels” from Olympic February; sister team Gold Medalist and reigning three-time U.S. Champion Amber Glenn, and World Silver Medalist and former U.S. Champion Isabeau Levito, who placed 12th in Milan.
Men’s soloists include reigning threetime World Champion and reigning four-time U.S. Champion Ilia Malinin, the “Quad God,” who anchored the U.S. Team’s second consecutive Olympic Gold, but famously fell (and fell short) in the individual medal pursuit. Also on the roster: Ice dancing’s Olympic Team Gold and Ice Dance Silver Medalists, three-time reigning World Champions, and seven-time reigning U.S. Champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates
Visit www.hondacenter.com/events/stars-onice-2026 for details and tickets
Steven Libowitz has covered a plethora of topics for the Journal since 1997, and now leads our extensive arts and entertainment coverage
with the cover of her book, Bipolar: A Gift of Thorns (courtesy photo)
The 2026 Stars on Ice tour brings America’s elite figure skaters to the Honda Center on Saturday, May 16 (courtesy photo)
Meet the Doctor
A New Series from Sutter Health
What drives someone to spend a life in medicine? In this new Q&A series, a group of leading local physicians share the moments that set them on their path, the breakthroughs shaping their fields, and the realities behind the work. Their answers are candid, occasionally surprising, and grounded in experience. Together, they offer a clear-eyed look at the people delivering care in our community and what continues to motivate them every day.
Meet Gastroenterologist Vincent DeRosa, MD
Q. What inspired you to pursue a career in medicine, and how did you select your specialty?
A. From a young age, I was drawn to science and developed an interest in medicine despite no member of my family working in healthcare. I attended Loyola High School in Los Angeles and embraced St. Ignatius’s core value of being “a man for others.” It was during these transformative years that I made my lifetime commitment to pursue medicine and care for the people in my community.
I chose the field of Gastroenterology because of the vast variety of diseases we treat daily with frequently improving treatments. From gastroesophageal reflux disease to inflammatory bowel disease and from hepatitis to pancreatic diseases, I felt my career would always be intellectually stimulating. I also had a profound interest in procedural medicine and was keen to observe how impactful identifying and removing pre-cancerous polyps was to a person’s life trajectory by avoiding the development of colon cancer.
What’s one misconception people often have about your field?
Many people believe a gastroenterologist should be on the television show, Dirty Jobs . However, by the time patients come to see us in our ambulatory surgery center for a colonoscopy, they have spent hours cleaning out their GI tract. Performing a colonoscopy is thankfully not a dirty experience by any means for our procedural staff.
What is one thing about where you work or the work you do that you believe patients should know more about and understand?
A DNA stool test has been developed that has been able to diagnose colon cancer with a fair degree of accuracy. Unfortunately, it is a very poor test for the prevention of colon cancer. Colonoscopy is the gold standard for colon cancer prevention because it diagnoses polyps before they progress to colon cancer. The stool tests that are frequently advertised on television are poor (<50% accurate) at diagnosing advanced polyps that are close to developing into colon cancer. I feel this test gives patients a false sense of security with a negative
test result. Patients should get a colonoscopy for preventative purposes.
What inspires you to get up every day and take care of your patients?
I am fortunate enough to report I have not missed a single day of work in the 18 years I have been in practice at Sansum Clinic, now a part of Sutter Health. I can’t say my health has always been at its best over this time period, however, I am aware patients rely on me to improve their symptoms or expect me to identify a pre-cancerous polyp or early colon cancer that can be life changing. Simply put, patients go through challenging evenings before a colonoscopy and I could not imagine not being there for them the next morning for their procedure.
Is there a book, movie, or podcast that has deeply influenced you?
One of my favorite books given to me by a dear friend and life mentor is Boys in the Boat . It is an amazingly true story about teamwork, sacrifice, and the coming together of a cast of characters that have different talents and responsibilities with the unified goal of achieving success. This concept is thematic of what I strive to create in our department. I feel blessed with partners, nurses, techs, medical assistants, and patient services representatives who are “in the boat” with me daily, working to provide the best care possible for our community.
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working?
I am an avid golfer. I’m not the best golfer by any means, but I play the game for so many reasons other than my final score. I prefer walking and carrying my golf bag as opposed to riding in a cart. During the summer, when the daylight lasts into the early evening, I try to walk a few holes. Walking to each ball I hit is reflective, calming, and restorative after a long day of work.
As Sansum Clinic begins a new chapter as part of Sutter Health, we remain united by a shared mission: to deliver compassionate, high-quality care to the communities we serve. Together, we are shaping the future of healthcare on the Central Coast.
News Bytes
“Sip & Shop” Returns to Montecito Village
by MJ Staff
Montecito Village invites the community to its lively Sip & Shop event on Thursday, April 30, from 4 to 6 pm, offering an afternoon of local flavors, music, and neighborhood connection. Guests can stroll both sides of Highway 192 while enjoying wine tastings at Montecito Village Grocery and Montecito Gourmet, Prosecco at Imagine, chocolates at Marley’s, and small bites throughout the village.
The event also features live music, family-friendly activities like crafts and games, and appearances from local fire and search and rescue teams. With something for all ages, Sip & Shop highlights the charm and energy of Montecito’s local businesses and community spirit.
May Programming at SYR
San Ysidro Ranch is ushering in spring with a curated lineup of May experiences that blend seasonal elegance with immersive, garden-inspired moments. Highlights begin with a Cinco de Mayo celebration at the intimate Speakeasy on May 5, featuring Código Tequila cocktails and live Latin music.
For Mother’s Day, the Ranch offers a series of refined gatherings, including a Royal Afternoon Tea in the gardens and a three-course Champagne Brunch complete with interactive touches like a flower cart and custom scent bar.
Garden experiences take center stage throughout the month, from the return of the iconic Rose Garden in full bloom on May 3 – paired with champagne, cocktails, and live music – to an exclusive sommelier-led tasting on May 13, showcasing mature Santa Barbara wines alongside artisanal cheeses.
The combined experiences capture the Ranch’s signature blend of luxury, nature, and celebration, offering guests a distinctly Montecito way to welcome the season. 411: www.opentable.com/r/plow-and-angel-speakeasy-montecito www.opentable.com/stonehouse-at-san-ysidro-ranch
Mothers’ Helpers Launches Diaper Drive
Mothers’ Helpers is inviting the community to support local families through its Mother’s Day Diaper Drive, running May 1-31, collecting essential supplies for parents with young children across Santa Barbara County.
Donations of new diapers and wipes can be dropped off at convenient locations throughout the area, including Montecito Fire Station 91 (595 San Ysidro Road) and Fire Station 92 (2300 Sycamore Canyon Road), making it easy for residents to participate in supporting a critical need.
With diapers costing up to $100 per month per child – and not covered by most assistance programs – the drive aims to ease financial strain for local families. All donations will benefit Mothers’ Helpers’ Everyday Essentials Program, helping ensure babies stay clean, healthy, and cared for.
Community members, schools, and businesses are encouraged to contribute and make a meaningful impact this May.
Hudson Grace Montecito Book Signing
Cookbook author Faith Wheeler will be at Hudson Grace in the Montecito Country Mart on Friday, May 1, from 4-6 pm, signing her book, Chickens Don’t Fly
10th Anniversary for 10 West Gallery
10 West Gallery is celebrating a decade of championing contemporary art in Santa Barbara with a 10th Anniversary Celebration Sale, running May 7-9 and kicking off during the city’s popular First Thursday Art Walk.
The three-day event will showcase a diverse collection of original paintings and sculpture by the gallery’s roster of more than 30 artists, with select works offered at special anniversary pricing. Designed as both a celebration and a thank-you to the community, the exhibition invites seasoned collectors and first-time buyers alike to explore and invest in locally created art.
The opening reception begins at 5 pm on May 7, with additional programming including artist talks at 2 pm on Friday and Saturday. Guests can expect a dynamic range of styles – from abstract expressionism to mixed media and sculpture
– reflecting the gallery’s longstanding commitment to innovation and visual dialogue. Founded in 2016, 10 West Gallery has become a cornerstone of Santa Barbara’s downtown arts scene, fostering connection between artists and the community. The anniversary celebration underscores its continued mission to make contemporary art accessible, engaging, and deeply rooted in the local creative landscape.
SBCC Foundation’s “Spring Forward!” Gala
The SBCC Foundation will host its annual Spring Forward! Gala on Saturday, May 30, 2026, transforming Great Meadow at SBCC’s West Campus into a lively, speakeasy-inspired celebration. The evening, running from 5 to 9 pm, invites guests to step into a 1920s-inspired atmosphere complete with entertainment, exceptional local wines, and immersive design touches.
Festivities begin with a reception at 5 pm, followed by a gourmet dinner and program at 6:15 pm. Attendees are encouraged to embrace the theme with period-inspired attire, adding to the event’s playful yet elegant tone.
As one of the SBCC Foundation’s signature fundraisers, the gala brings together community leaders and supporters to celebrate and invest in Santa Barbara City College students and programs. Proceeds help expand educational opportunities, making the evening as impactful as it is festive.
411: www.sbccfoundation.org/spring-forward-gala
Storytelling Workshop with Former Disney Animator
SBCAST will welcome former Disney animator Dave Zaboski for a daylong immersive workshop, The Art and Power of Storytelling, on Saturday, May 9, from 10 am to 4:30 pm. The program explores how storytelling shapes belief, creativity, and the way individuals and communities engage with the world.
Drawing from his book Grimoire: A Storyteller’s Book of Spells, Zaboski will guide participants through three thematic acts – Discovery, Discipline, and Devotion –offering practical tools and insights into crafting meaningful narratives. The workshop is designed for creatives, artists, and professionals interested in using story as a force for connection and impact.
Zaboski brings an extensive background from Disney, Sony, and Warner Bros., with credits including The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin. Attendees can expect an inspiring, hands-on experience focused on developing both craft and personal voice. 411: https://luma.com/vavbpqe9
SBMNH Opens a Butterfly Art Exhibit
The SB Museum of Natural History’s new exhibition of butterflies and moths titled The Collectors, starts April 24 for six months in its John and Peggy Maximus Gallery. This is in preview to the Museum’s annual and ever-popular Butterflies Alive! exhibit. They encourage community to visit their website for tickets to The Collectors and program updates, such as their Star Observation Parties, Science Pub at Dargan’s Restaurant, and summer camps for kids.
411: https://sbnature.org
SYBCI Museum’s One Year Anniversary
The public is invited to the First Anniversary of the Santa Ynez Chumash Museum and Cultural Center, which will feature an artist talk and viewing of their new exhibit. The event is May 15 from 6-8 pm. The evening program features a welcome reception, speakers from the museum leadership and an intimate lecture by renowned artist Christopher Evans, as he delves into the art and inspiration of the new exhibit, Between the Three Worlds: Ceremony and Community in the Paintings of Christopher Evans. Tickets are required.
Cottage Health announces COPE (Cottage Outpatient Program Experience) Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOP) which provide flexible, accessible behavioral health services for individuals seeking treatment for substance use disorders and mental health conditions across the Central Coast and throughout California. With more than 30 years of experience, COPE offers structured, evidence-based outpatient care for individuals in recovery from substance use disorders, those managing mental health conditions, and individuals with co-occurring (dual diagnosis) needs. This approach allows patients to remain at home and continue daily responsibilities during treatment. Services are available in person at COPE’s Santa Barbara clinic and through virtual care options across California, helping to reduce such typical program barriers as travel and scheduling, 411: Call (805) 541-9113
Your Westmont
Celebrating Student Research
by Scott Craig, photos by Brad Elliott
More than 40 students presented posters and explained their fascinating research projects at the 30th annual student research symposium April 16 in Winter Hall.
One of the hallmarks of Westmont’s academic program is the opportunity for undergraduate students to work directly with faculty on research and scholarly projects.
“Research matters because people matter,” said Provost Kim Denu at the celebration. “It’s important to bring scientific investigation and methods to troubleshoot and solve real life problems. I love the fact that you’re probing and asking important questions. Whether you’re doing qualitative or quantitative research, experiments, or you’re testing a hypothesis, it all matters, and it’s important for the greater social good.”
The presenting students have been conducting research with their professors for the past year from the divisions of the humanities, social sciences, and the natural and behavioral sciences.
The 30 research projects included a wide range of topics, including woodpeckers’ use of utility poles, palm trees, ornamental trees or native trees in “Home is where the acorns are: A
multi-year analysis of shifts in acorn woodpecker cavity and granary use across an urban gradient” by Emma Bustamante (‘26). “Families were most likely to change both to and from utility poles,” she said. “It’s possible this was due to wood durability, woodpecker preference, and ease of drilling.”
Lucy Mangum (’27) and Asher Trammel (’27) researched how faith increases patience when contemplating death in an experiment “Afterlife in Forelife: How Religion Modifies Economic Responses to Mortality.”
Carter et al (2012) found that religious individuals were more willing to wait for a larger reward, exhibiting reduced delayed discounting. “They theorized it’s because when people think about their death, they’re thinking about bucket list items: What do I have to do before I die?” Trammel says. “Our findings clarify the study showing that in religious people, this happens even more than less religious people.”
Emily Lindblad (’26), working with history professor Alastair Su, presented “Ali’Aloha ‘Āina: Newspapers as Political Activists in 1890s Hawaii.” She used an archival collection of newspapers in native Hawaiian to evaluate the extent of indigenous agency and political action in
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Dear Montecito
The Entrepreneurial DJ Duo: Grill
and Groove
by Beatrice Tolan
What started as cooking hot dogs for rent money has become Santa Barbara’s favorite food entertainment combination: Grill and Groove. Where there’s Grill and Groove, there’s a grill offering delectable burgers and hot dogs with a DJ busting it down on the deck, operated and managed by Katie Cioth and Emma Edmonson, the lesbian DJ duo LesBPM. Combining their years of service industry knowledge and creative ingenuity, Katie and Emma share how Grill and Groove grew from a humble side hustle to full-fledged business in just a year.
Emma, interested in film, landed in Santa Barbara to pursue a writing degree at UCSB. “I’ve always wanted to be on SNL,” she tells me. But when COVID struck, she turned back to her roots: the service industry. Starting as a pizza waitress at just fourteen in Atlanta, Georgia, Emma’s southern hospitality runs deep. She’s the biggest social butterfly Katie’s met; guests from Emma’s tables at Sama Sama or Potek who spot her off work run up to her like an old friend. It was in 2023 at Municipal Winemakers where Emma unknowingly got the ball rolling for Grill and Groove. She was booking music and food events for them when her bank account came calling. “I just needed to pay rent, like I needed $500 that day. So I sold hot dogs.” Through social media and word of mouth, people gathered around Muni’s picnic tables to enjoy Emma’s hot dogs and the summer sun. Come the next summer, Emma posted a cheeky story on her Instagram announcing the dogs were coming back: round two.
Katie, “unemployed, having time to screw around,” saw Emma’s story and thought she’d stop by. Born and raised in the Bay Area, Santa Barbara was always the goal for Katie. Like Emma, she thrived in the service industry, tending budbars and Sushi by Scratch’s bar program in Montecito. Though the two had never formally kicked it, only knowing each other in passing through Santa Barbara’s club
and lesbian scene, they instantly connected over their shared love for drum and bass music and women.
With Katie now in the fold, Emma was not done cooking on the Grill idea. “I’d always wanted to learn how to DJ, so I said, you know what? Let me teach myself.” While Emma began to put in her 10,000 hours on the deck, she enlisted Katie to station the dogs. “Katie is the only person I trust on the grill.” Their spontaneous collaboration was a massive hit. “That was our ‘oh shit’ moment,” Emma recounts. There was Grill, and there was Groove: thus, the Grill and Groove joint business venture began.
A year later, Grill and Groove partners on a monthly basis with Mary Tattoos for flash tattoo events and weekly at High Seas Mead for trivia in the Funk Zone, serving an average of 80 customers at their events. Integral to Grill and Groove’s exponential success is its constant innovation: from its inception, the entrepreneurs ask themselves how they can diversify their product. It was in Costco that Katie asked Emma, “Instead of just hot dogs, what if we did smash burgers?” Now, it’s their top seller, with folks showing up to their events just for their burgers.
Occasionally, Katie and Emma are too slammed with feeding customers to cook up beats: that’s when it’s up to you to hop on deck. “Bring your flash drive, bring your mom,” they post, encouraging DJs of all levels to come out for their open deck sessions while Emma takes orders and Katie enters a flow state on the grill. Grill and Groove events have hosted local DJs like E. King and Soundlot, serving as a space for local artists and the community to connect over food and music.
Grill and Groove, outside of serving mouthwatering beats and burgers, breathes authenticity and fun. While the two both love to operate the deck and grill, Katie leaves the social media responsibilities to Emma. On their social media page, you can follow the duo as they mob Costco for
Dear Montecito Page 304
Katie Cioth and Emma Edmonson of Grill and Groove
(photo by Jess Carey)
Provost Kim Denu speaks during the symposium
Emma Bustamante
Emily Lindblad
An Independent Mind
The New Old State Street
by Jeffrey Harding
The purpose of commercial streets is to facilitate commerce. That is why commercial streets are lined with commercial buildings rented to commercial enterprises. State Street is a commercial street with commercial buildings. Now it is viewed as a playground, an open space that everyone can use for recreation. That is a commerce killer.
I have been following and writing about State Street since 2013. Back then the issues were rising store vacancies, the homeless, the death of Paseo Nuevo, and the planning and development bureaucracy. It got worse after the Thomas Fire (Dec. 2017). It felt like a pall had been cast over Santa Barbara. Then COVID hit in 2020 and the city closed State Street to automobile traffic declaring it to be a temporary playground (“promenade”) for pedestrians and cyclists. State Street almost died. By Q4 2020 there were 48 storefronts for rent (Radius CRE).
The problems discussed then are still around, some better (homeless), some worse. The bureaucracy is still slow and obstructive. As of Q1 2026 there were still 30 storefronts for rent.
Back then the City’s politicians and planners were unable to decide on what to do with State Street, so they did what politicians always do: hire a consultant and get cover for whatever they eventually want to happen.
In July 2017 the City hired the Kosmont urban consulting firm for
$84,000. To set the scene, I wrote two articles in March and April 2017 (“State Street Glut” and then “From Glut to Prosperity”) in which I analyzed State Street’s problems and then offered solutions. The Kosmont report came out two years later and came to some basic conclusions that were about the same as mine. What did the City do in response to Kosmont’s suggestions? If not nothing, not much.
When State Street was closed there was strong support for the promenade by City Council. They appointed a State Street Advisory Committee to come up with recommendations. In 2022 they entered a contract for $780,000 with another consultant, MIG, to draft a master plan for State Street. After three years of no progress the City fired MIG and in October 2025 hired another consultant, Moule & Polyzoides (M&P), for $343,250 (they had paid MIG $510,00 up to that date). The total cost for the master plan report: $853,250.
On April 16, 2026, M&P presented the City with a two-part 324-page report outlining their recommendations for a State Street Master Plan. I did read it. It’s what you would expect from consultants: beautiful graphics and typography, lots of colorful architectural renderings, images, charts, lots of white space. Lots of consultant-speak. They started out by praising the Chumash.
Much of the report echoed the State Street Advisory Committee’s recommendations to keep the promenade, which is why they were able to get the report out quickly. It is a how-to-do-it rather than a what-to-do. That committee is chaired by former City planning director, Dave Davis and consists of 15 members including three City Council members, four land use planners, two architects, two downtown orgs, a nonprofit rep, and one State Street commercial property owner.
The basic plan for State Street is to keep it as a community park and playground rather than a commercial street. About the same as we have now. The report just fleshes out the details of how to do that. Lots of data and recommendations which is probably why it required 324 pages. They pretty much paid attention to the desires of the various interest groups who contributed to the years-long public planning process. Everybody got something. Except the property owners and businesses on State Street. It isn’t going to work.
and teased guests to bid on the items. The most coveted prize was a VIP pair of Dugout Club tickets for the L.A. Dodgers vs. Boston Red Socks August 2nd game with a stay at the five-star Jonathan Club DTLA. It aptly went to true Bostonian Mark Bradley, who so coolly outbid everyone in the room to the tune of $6,500. And yes, his happy Bostonian wife Susan, who is the SBMA Deputy Director of External Affairs, will be going with him.
The event co-chairs Kirsten Ellis and Emiko Kirshman were assisted by their event committee members Karena Akhavein, Stacey Byers, Linden Doss, Claudia Dunn, Paula Farrington, Tobi Feldman, Kathy Hartz, Deb Joseph, Linda Kollofski, Cathy Milner , Joanne Ohlman , Michèle Profant, Joshua Ramirez, Evie Savage, Karen Tenzer, Martha Townsend, and Jaimie Wight
The 2025-26 SBMA Ambassadors Executive Committee attending were Deb Joseph, President; Kathy Hartz, VP Membership; Kirsten Ellis, VP Development; Emiko Kirshman, VP Development; Linda Kollofski, VP Communications; Diane Pannkuk, VP Social Activities; Paula Farrington, Treasurer and Parliamentarian; and Sally Lecomte, Secretary. Also, the SBMA Ambassadors past presidents attending were Helene Segal, Jeanne Fulkerson, Julie Blair, Paula Farrington, and Mary Maxwell.
The absolutely gorgeous event program featured the history of the SBMA Ambassadors (again, formerly known as the SBMA Women’s Board). It also showcased a few of the art works they raised funds for the SBMA to purchase. Their humble beginnings were founded by their
In those ‘50s sunnies are Deb Joseph, Helene Segal, Jeanne Fulkerson, Julie Blair, Paula Farrington, and Mary Maxwell (photo by Joanne A
first president, Barbara Storke in 1951.
A huge nod goes to all the vintage car owners who, regardless of the unanticipated rain, displayed their cars in the spirit of the evening’s theme. The vintage auto show was curated by none other than Montecito’s Dana Newquist, President of the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA) who attended with his wife Andrea who is on the Montecito Association Board. The cars displayed were:
Alan Porter’s red 1955 Corvette with first Chevrolet V8
Gary Kollofski ’s turquoise/ivory 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air
Leslie Zemeckis’ red 1954 Eldorado
Cadillac
Alma Rose Middleton’s 1955 blue Ford Thunderbird
John Green’s French racing blue 1952 Ferrari 340 America Berlinetta Monte and Maria Wilson’s battleship grey 1954 Jaguar XK120
Bruce Heavin ’s orange/off-white 1956 BMW Isetta 300
Thank-yous went to the event Gold Sponsors: The Coeta and Donald Barker Foundation; William H Bridge and Michèle Profant; James and Kirsten Ellis; Deb and Doug Joseph; Pei Shu; and Martha and Timothy Townsend The event Silver Sponsors were: J. Scott Francis and Susan Gordon of the Francis Family Foundation; Junie and Eddie Jinkins; and Patricia Yzurdiaga
Any my special thanks to Karen Y. Kawaguchi, SBMA Director of Legacy Giving and Membership for all you do BTS for this news reporter!
Till next week Loves! Xx JAC 411: www.sbma.net
Calitri)
Gary Kollofski with his wife Linda and their turquoise/ivory 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air (photo by Joanne A Calitri)
Elizabeth’s Appraisals
Naval Success on the Shores of Tripoli
by Elizabeth Stewart
Our reader’s painting, 20th century, 31.5” x 28”, sent by a former servicemember – U.S. Marine, DF –brought a tear to my eye. This is a painting of a tall ship by an amateur. It is signed in Arabic, rendered in a talented copyist style, and depicts the USS Philadelphia, a warship built between 1788 and 1799. She was a 1,240-ton, 36-gun frigate commissioned in April 1800 under the command of Stephen Decatur Sr.
Here’s why this painting is important to DF, and why it is a fine example of the power of a work of art to fuse the past, present, and future into one image. DF is a Marine who knows what historical event transpired on the “Shores of Tripoli,” understands that the battle for this ship and its crew marked the first time the American flag was raised over foreign soil – the very first battle and victory by the U.S., executed by the fledgling Marine Corps. The conflict was America’s first foreign engagement. Waged against the Ottoman Empire’s state-sponsored piracy, it was a war fought over the free flow of commerce, with bad actors seizing money, men, and ships on the seas between Gibraltar and Turkey.
Here’s why this ship became a symbol of endurance for both the Marines and the United States. In 1801, the Ottoman Empire’s ruler, Pasha Yusuf Karamanli, demanded a large tribute from the third U.S. President, Thomas Jefferson, in exchange for protecting commerce and preventing the enslavement of sailors trading along the Barbary Coast, primarily in northern Libya. Jefferson refused and sent the USS Philadelphia. This action marked the beginning of the First Barbary War (1801–1805). Much tragedy ensued, but the result was that the Regency of Tripoli, under the Ottoman Empire, was defeated by the U.S. Navy – remarkably in just the 25th year of the United States’ formal recognition as a country (the U.S. declared independence in 1776; the Treaty of Paris recognized it in 1783). Thus, this painting of the ship represents, to DF, the fledgling U.S. Navy and Marine’s first show of bravery and strength.
Here’s why this frigate holds much the same status as a fallen U.S. war hero. Sailing close to Tripoli Harbor in 1803, the frigate was captured by Barbary Coast (North African) pirates along with 307 U.S. Navy sailors and officers on board, with the intent to enslave them and seize the vessel. Pursued, the frigate ran aground on a reef, where
Commander William Bainbridge ordered holes drilled into her hull, magazines flooded, and weapons thrown overboard in an attempt to sink her. The ship was too fine to become a spoil of war for the Ottoman Empire.
Three days later, Tripolitan pirates managed to refloat the damaged vessel. The captured U.S. Navy sailors vowed to recapture the frigate. Escaping imprisonment, they captured a local North African ketch and, with only 83 Marines, stealthily boarded the USS Philadelphia under cover of darkness, burning her to nothingness in Tripoli Harbor. From England, Lord Horatio Nelson wrote that the destruction of the captured Philadelphia in Tripoli Harbor by Lieutenant Stephen Decatur and his crew was “the most bold and daring act of the age.”
So brave were the 83 Marines that the Ottoman Empire was ultimately forced to sign a treaty of peace between the United States and the subjects of Tripoli of Barbary, ruled by the Ottoman Empire
since 1551. Marine officers to this day carry a ceremonial weapon modeled after the sword given to Marine officer Presley O’Bannon by Hamet Pasha in recognition of his bravery – the Mameluke sword. No longer would North African corsairs roam the Barbary Coast seizing treasure and enslaving captives.
DF, a Marine who served for nine years, was asked why this painting was so precious. He wrote: “This story is near and dear to me. The Libyan people, during the Barbary Wars beginning in 1801, fought beside the U.S. Navy. They fought against the Ottoman warlords alongside American forces to free themselves from piracy and to free the 307 men of the USS Philadelphia. The Libyan people buried our dead and, to this day, stand guard over them. Throughout their own 220 years of a troubled past, they have protected those U.S. graves. They are an honorable and hospitable people. To have a work of art depicting that history, painted by an artist born and raised in Tripoli in the 20th century – and to have that artist paint this frigate on those very shores… well, it doesn’t get much better than that.”
Nobly written, DF.
DF would like to offer this painting to another lover of U.S. maritime history. If any of my readers are interested in a purchase, please email me at elizabethappraisals@gmail.com.
Elizabeth Stewart, PhD is a veteran appraiser of fine art, furniture, glass, and other collectibles, and a cert. member of the AAA and an accr. member of the ASA. Please send any objects to be appraised to Elizabethappraisals@ gmail.com
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This painting depicts the USS Philadelphia, responsible for the very first foreign engagement and victory by the U.S.
First, the whole closed-street-as-mall concept has failed nationwide. From about 200 back in the day to maybe six today are left that are economically viable. Like I said, it kills commerce. The report praises the few that are left but they don’t mention the 194 or so that failed.
The cost of this thing is huge, up to $90 million or more. They say the funding can be obtained through bond issuances, federal and state grants, and private investment. It’s obvious that it won’t be so easy to fund. The City says it’s broke. So is the State. The federal government’s deficit is starting to drag the economy down. The report is not realistic and their data is stale. This is why consultants consult rather than govern or build or own property. It’s easy to write it, not so easy to do it.
The question not asked in the Draft Plan is: Why are the Funk Zone and Coast Village Road (it is in the City’s boundaries) the most successful commercial areas in the City? They didn’t have consultants or a master plan to guide them, but they thrive. There are no vacancies on CVR and very few in the Funk Zone.
The answer to that question is, they thrive because their success was
organic. The City just let them be. No master plans from years of meetings. Entrepreneurs saw opportunity, took the initiative, and transformed them to what they are today. The lesson for the City: Get out of the way. But that’s not what our City Council wants.
After all the commentary on the report settles down, the result will be that things are pretty much going to remain as they are now. Nothing really new here. The purpose of the Report was to justify what the majority of City Council members wanted to happen. The result of all that money and planning effort is that the report is a very expensive fantasy wish list to placate people who like to plan things and serve their personal interests. Too bad for the property owners and businesses whose taxes fund the City.
Jeffrey Harding is a real estate investor and long-time resident of Montecito. He previously published a popular financial blog, The Daily Capitalist. He is a retired SBCC adjunct professor.
A. In searching for another violinist and a violist, the first question that we needed answered was about the sense that we want Kronos to be the activist musical group. Not only being a conscience in our field but also finding ways of bringing important information and issues to the stage – and to this world that has been carefully cloistered from some of the important realities. One of the powers of the world of the string quartet is how deeply it can impact listeners right to their hearts and very core. Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert – the four founding fathers of the string quartet – they understood that and they made works that are still important. Throughout the history of the string quartet, composers have poured some of their most personal thoughts into this medium. It was paramount to me to keep Kronos vital and responding to current things, to make music that can reach deeply into the consciousness of our listeners. Gabriela, Ayane, and Paul did grow up knowing about Kronos. Ayane tells a story of first encountering us when she was eight, when Kronos played on Sesame Street. It made her think that somebody who played an instrument like she played could do that. Paul first encountered Kronos when a sister played (the 1990 Kronos album) Black Angels (the 1970 George Crumb composition for electric string quartet that inspired Harrington to found Kronos three years later), which starts right out with that piece. I always wanted our listeners to have to encounter it the same way I did when it just came out of the radio one day and completely floored me.
I’m imagining that process was rewarding and validating for you.
It feels incredibly rewarding and it makes me very happy. We’d like to make a TV series that young people can relate to. That’s in the future for us, for sure.
When Carnegie Hall asked you about creating a piece for America’s 250th anniversary, you immediately came up with the concept for Three Bones. Why a triptych and why these three communities to focus on?
My favorite visual triptych is “The Garden of Earthly Delights” by Hieronymus Bosch. One of my favorite musical triptychs is Black Angels and another one we played last night, Different Trains, which was written for Kronos by Steve Reich There’s something about the power of three views and I wanted to tap into that. When I think about our country, there are three main groups of Americans that have had the toughest time here: the indigenous community; the African American, specifically Gullah Geechee people; and Chinese Americans. Almost selfishly, I wanted to focus on those three groups – their music and their culture, trying to learn everything we can to make something that can be fun. My goal was for people to come away from the concert thinking, “I had no idea.” Which is what it was like for me to dive in.
Our education system is lacking in using what has happened in the past to hopefully create a future that might be better for others. That is the driving force of Three Bones. Paul, Ayane and Gabriela jumped into this in such a powerful, beautiful way, excavating it and molding it and unlocking what had been in my brain for years.
There are a lot of stories I can tell. But come to the concert to find out firsthand.
SUNDAY THRU THURSDAY AM - PM 7:0010:00 FRIDAY AND SATURDAY AM7:0012:00AM
SUNDAY THRU THURSDAY 7:30 AM - 10:00 PM FRIDAY AND SATURDAY 7:30 AM - 12:00 PM
D’ANGELO BREAD
1890s Hawaii. “I was surprised at the amount of newspapers for a country that had only recently adopted a written language,” she says. “The true imbalance in news was the content the people in the U.S. were reading.”
One chemistry project, “Enhanced Fluorescence of Naphthalene and Biphenyl Overlayers,” included student researchers Blake Bush (‘29), Jena Fujitaki (‘29), Maxwell Fuller (’28), Vanessa Kragelund (’29), Alan Lopez (’26), Brandon Moses (’27), and Caleb Tobey (’28) with Allan Nishimura, emeritus distinguished professor of chemistry.
Golfer Swings to a Championship
Hannah Camara , a junior from Rancho Murrieta, won the 2026 PacWest Women’s Golf Individual Championship, the first in college history. She led from start to finish, shooting a three-day total of 216 (E) with scores of 68, 74 and 74 at the Aliante Golf Club in Las Vegas.
“I am proud of Hannah,” said Westmont’s head coach Leo Maes. “She has worked hard for this. This semester was a good experience for her leading up to the conference championships. Everything was a preparation and it showed what she has worked on all semester.”
As a team, the Warriors finished fourth (914) behind Hawai’i Hilo (895), Point Loma (897) and Dominican (907). For the first time in program history,
the women have been selected as an at-large participant in the NCAA DII West Regional at the Pueblo Country Club in Colorado.
As for Westmont men’s golf, the team far exceeded tournament seeding and improved in each round. In the final round, the Warriors posted a score of 281, the lowest single-round score by any team in the tournament. Westmont, which tallied a team score of 876, finished in third place, one stroke behind Menlo (875). Hawai’i Hilo posted a team total of 857 to win the tournament by 18 strokes.
Three Warriors were honored for top10 finishes in the conference meet. Jose Licon tied for third with an even-par 216, Nicholas Rocha tied for sixth (218) and Fernando Jimenez tied for eighth (219).
Baseball Down to the Wire
Westmont baseball (25-19, 21-17) looks to secure a top-four PacWest spot and a berth in the conference tournament, which the Warriors host May 6-8.
Westmont finishes its regular season against conference foe Menlo (17-25, 15-24) in back-to-back double headers on Friday, May 1, and Saturday, May 2, both beginning at 11 am at Carr Field.
Westmont sits in fifth, trailing Fresno Pacific (27-13, 22-16) by one game and Hawaii Pacific (25-19, 23-15) by two. Point Loma, the regular-season champions, and Concordia have clinched berths.
prices close to double the national average. Those bills already reflect the cost of wildfire hardening, undergrounding power lines, modernizing aging infrastructure, and building new solar, wind, and battery systems to replace fossil fuels.
For everyday customers, the impact shows up in three ways: cost, reliability, and climate.
In regulated utility systems, major grid upgrades are often paid for collectively through rates. Even when new infrastructure is driven by concentrated demand, the costs can be spread across millions of customers. California’s ratepayer advocates have already warned that serving large new loads could require billions in transmission upgrades. They also point to a planning problem that rarely makes headlines. Developers sometimes submit multiple interconnection applications while intending to build only one site. This can inflate demand forecasts and trigger investments that may not be needed right away. When planning is based on inflated projections, households risk paying for infrastructure long before it delivers real benefits.
One of the downsides often cited about renewable energy is intermittency. But traditional energy systems are not immune to disruption either. Global energy markets remain deeply exposed to geopolitical risk. Ongoing tensions involving Iran, including uncertainty around the Strait of Hormuz – a critical passage for a significant share of the world’s oil supply – are a reminder of how quickly fuel prices can shift. Even if California generates much of its electricity locally, global oil and gas volatility still influences energy markets, infrastructure decisions, and ultimately the cost of power. In other words, the system we rely on today is not inherently stable, it is simply familiar.
This is all happening in a state where electricity is already expensive. In other words, Californians are already paying for a grid in transition. Now layer rapid AI-driven demand growth on top of that, and the cost issue becomes immediate. If new transmission lines, substations, and generation must be built quickly, and if those investments are spread across ratepayers, households could feel additional pressure on their monthly bills.
Reliability may be the more immediate concern. California is asking residents to rely on electricity for nearly everything, including heating, cooling, cooking, driving, and water heating. Wildfire mitigation already includes planned outages, and extreme heat increasingly strains the system. Add AI-driven demand growth on top of that, and the reliability stakes rise sharply. If grid expansion cannot keep pace, utilities are left managing scarcity through emergency measures, delayed interconnections, and demand
restrictions. Outages become more likely. Restoration takes longer. Communities at the far ends of transmission lines, like Santa Barbara, feel it first. Electricity is becoming more central to daily life just as the system supplying it is under greater stress. That is not a theoretical risk. It is structural.
There is also a climate dimension. When new demand arrives quickly, the fastest power to deploy is often fossil based. If AI growth leads to a new wave of gas infrastructure, it could lock in emissions at precisely the moment we need to accelerate clean energy.
None of this means we must choose between innovation and stability. We can support technological progress and protect the public interest, but only if the rules evolve with reality. Large new loads should pay their fair share of grid upgrades. Planning should be transparent and based on credible commitments. Reliability standards for private power arrangements must protect the broader system. Clean energy additions should be real and additive, not accounting exercises.
Oversight from agencies like the California Public Utilities Commission and grid operators such as the California Independent System Operator will be critical in getting that balance right.
For households, the takeaway is practical. Expect continued volatility in electricity rates and infrastructure debates. Expect resilience to matter more. Solar paired with battery storage is no longer just about environmental values. It is about stability. It is about keeping the lights on when outages happen. It is about protecting your household from systemic uncertainty as we electrify our lives.
AI does not have to put us in the dark. But if we do not pay attention to how power is being secured, financed, and allocated, everyday customers could end up subsidizing a private race for electricity while living with a grid that feels harder to rely on. We can build intelligent systems and resilient communities at the same time. But it starts with paying attention, because electrons are now shaping not just technology, but the everyday security of our homes.
Marine Schumann, a renewable energy professional and co-founder of Brighten Solar Co., writes about solar, climate resilience, & the evolving electric grid, helping households & communities navigate the rapidly changing energy landscape.
Hannah Camara and teammates
Goleta’s Isaac Veal leads the Warriors at the plate
ingredients and film the logistics behind running a small business. Emma’s comedic chops shine as she pairs live action footage of the two creating their secret sauce with chaotic parallel scenes from SpongeBob SquarePants, hiding Grill and Groove’s secret formula, an homage to Gen-Z and Millennial internet humor. What keeps Grill and Groove alive is community. “Grill and Groove is heavily dependent on the community, and while we make bank doing corporate and private parties, we love being out and doing our pop-ups.” Katie says. Whether it’s together or separately, they both appreciate meeting fans who chat them up in the streets. “People at the Costco in Goleta have begun to recognize us as the Burger Girls,” Emma says. “Santa Barbara is such a great place to start a small business. I know some businesses leave for San Diego or Los Angeles to get into the market there, but I feel like we really tapped into a very special part of being in a small community.”
Check out Grill and Groove’s Instagram @grillandgr00ve for updates on their monthly partnerships. For private event inquiries, email grillngroovesb@gmail. com. Scan the Spotify Code above to check out a playlist packed with Katie and Emma’s favorite DJ artists. Scan here for a Grill and Groove playlist
Curator’s Choice
This elegant hand-colored engraving is now on display in The Collectors: A Life in Lepidoptera at Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. It’s one of many antique natural history prints that collectively depict how the science of entomology has been furthered by the passion of collectors and the skill of artists. The butterflies pictured here were pinned in the 1700s by Dru Drury, a prosperous British silversmith with the most magnificent insect collection of his age. He paid collectors abroad to send him exotic species. Drury asked artist and fellow collector Moses Harris to “rescue his collection from oblivion by delineating them on paper.” This plate of lifelike poses – Female and Male Indian Fritillary Butterflies – was published in Drury’s Illustrations of Natural History (London, 1770–1782). The Collectors is included with Museum admission and runs through September 7 in the John and Peggy Maximus Gallery.
Local News 37th District Women of the Year Awardees
by Joanne A. Calitri
On Friday, April 24, 37th Assembly District CA Assemblymember Gregg Hart honored the 2026 California Woman of the Year, Primitiva Hernandez, at the County Administration Building in Santa Barbara, along with two others recognized as 37th CA Assembly District’s 2026 Women of the Year: Mona Miyasato and Claudia Cáceres. Hernandez’s Woman of the Year 2026 ceremony was held in Sacramento, March 17. For that ceremony Hart stated, “I was proud to honor Primitiva Hernandez of Lompoc at the 2026 California Woman of the Year ceremony at the State Capitol. Primitiva serves as executive director of the 805UndocuFund, one of the largest grassroots mutual aid organizations in California, serving families up and down the Central Coast. Primitiva is a proud immigrant from Mexico, a DACA recipient, and daughter of farmworkers. I first encountered Primitiva’s leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the 805UndocuFund worked to distribute aid to families left out of government economic relief programs. Today, Primitiva is on the front lines supporting our immigrant neighbors who face unprecedented threats. California is a better place because of the efforts of leaders like Primitiva. Next month, Primitiva will be joined by other phenomenal leaders in a celebration of women’s leadership on the Central Coast.”
At the April 24 ceremony for the 37th Assembly District 2026 Women of the Year, in addition to Hernandez, Hart’s honorees were:
Claudia Cáceres, who shared when she received her award, “Thank you for your love, kindness and solidarity, to receive the recognition of the Woman of the Year 2026 represents our Latin and Mixed Community; they are the rock of the economy. The journalism and activism that I perform is an equity tool that breaks isolation and builds bridges of
understanding, social change, and commitment to the Latino and Indigenous Community. We will continue to work, inform and, above all, stay united in LOVE AND KINDNESS! I will continue to be that trusted messenger and community organizer putting my talent and gift that God gave me at the service of others. And I am above all committed to social justice and leadership.”
Cáceres’s press release states, she, “… is the Founder and CEO of Tu Tiempo Digital, a Santa Maria-based Spanishlanguage news outlet working to keep communities informed about local news. Claudia’s reporting spans topics including public health, immigration, education, and more. Her work has included promoting vaccine clinics and health resource fairs, as well as partnering with a Mixteco parent group in the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District to address social isolation and language access for families connected to Indigenous Mexican culture. Claudia is a trusted messenger in our region and has had a tremendous positive impact as a community organizer.”
Also awarded, and soon to retire, is Mona Miyasato, the County Executive Officer for the County of Santa Barbara. Her press release states, “Over her distinguished career in public service, Mona has strategically led cities and counties in meeting the ever-changing needs of the communities they serve. Serving as the CEO of the County of Santa Barbara since 2013, Mona has worked to modernize and transform the delivery of public services while providing steady leadership through natural disasters, a global pandemic, and periods of significant change. Mona is one of the longest-serving top administrators across California’s counties and is retiring from the County of Santa Barbara in June 2026. Mona is passionate about advancing the municipal management profession and serves on the boards of organizations that support the professional development of tomorrow’s city and county administrators.”
The three Women of the Year 2026 for the 37th CA Assembly District, Claudia Cáceres, Mona Miyasato, and Primitiva Hernandez (courtesy photo)
Macramé, Namath, the Wild West
In the early seventies: my mother threw herself at the macramé plant holder craze and our home began to feel like a stalactite-crowded cave, elaborately knotted slings in their dozens cradling wilted ferns my mom’s loving but inept botanical attentions would hurry along to fern Valhalla. During this period my dad flushed my tiny pet turtle down the toilet while he was sleeping (while my turtle was sleeping, you understand), NY Jets great Joe Namath pitched Hanes’ Beautymist pantyhose on TV, and pixieish actress Sandy Duncan was revealed to have a glass eye. It was a time of madness during which the desperately questing tween mind could find no purchase.
Class time began to focus on the early explorations of the Wild West. While our stifling teachers thrilled us with state-mandated recitations and endless illustrations of covered wagons, the facts beckoned from afar.
Open Space: The Final Frontier
The opening and mapping of the Western United States was a nearly science-fictional plunge into the unknown for the European stock who undertook the endeavor, but our classrooms and ‘70s television programming painted a different picture. The word ‘frontier’ stirred in the explorers of the 18 th and 19 th centuries a feeling of awe and mystery, a vast unknowable gulf that may as well have been deep space. To Boomer kids, though, the once-unimaginable American ‘frontier’ was presented as buckskin with fringes, future vintner/hotelier Fess Parker as Daniel Boone splitting a tree with a hurled tomahawk, Sheriff Matt Dillon and his desiccated Gunsmoke sidekick Festus, Chuck Connors as The Rifleman, and cavalry outposts whose remote defenses were long upright logs and sometimes the hapless Ken Berry. The barbarians who 1,200 years before had brought down the Western Roman Empire would have walked through our Wild West Lincoln Log Forts like a hot coal through margarine.
So the Actual New World was in many ways a foal on shaky legs; soon to exhibit real horsepower but in the meantime a timorous newbie whose wide-open spaces really screwed with the frontier imagination and scared most people witless. The westerns on TV didn’t really play this up, choosing instead to sell cereal by glamorizing gunfights, coquettish ladies in huge dresses, and a bottle of whiskey that could be bought for a single largish cowboy coin.
Jackanapes
In the ‘70s, whether a show was set in space or 19th century Stockton, the writers would soon run out of steam and that TV convergence would begin. Two or three seasons in and the Space Family Robinson’s spat aboard the Jupiter II would be more or less indistinguishable from the Big Valley’s Barkley family bitch-fest around an evenly burning, smokeless campfire in the middle of an airless set of glimpsed maroon concrete.
Kids notice when the Robinsons on the way to Alpha Centauri are saying the same dumb scripted junk as the Barkleys of 1874 Stockton. Soon enough the old tropes emerge to sully prime time. The TV worlds which to the writers, entertainment lawyers, and industry “leaders” were the stuff of P & L, were to we preteen couch-cripples habitable ur-environments we urged into realness between fistfuls of Screaming Yellow Zonkers ®. We didn’t care about Will Robinson’s argument with his dad. We wanted to see that giant exoplanetary Cyclops throwing boulders at the Robinsons’ six-wheeled space chariot.
Today, of course, the hurled boulders seem distasteful (though the Benson & Hedges® theme still swings). It’s all part of growing up, I suppose.
Jeff has updated his byline photo to more accurately reflect his current state of vibrant good health. You’re no more shocked than Jeff himself to see this stooped and wizened figure.
Jeff Wing is a journalist, raconteur, autodidact, and polysyllable enthusiast. He has been writing about Montecito and environs since before some people were born. He can be reached at jeff@ montecitojournal.net
gotten over the shame it brought my family. After his comment, I didn’t have much more to say.
In the end, I met Geoff in graduate school, we got married, had kids, and now he was dying. Dennis already knew that last part.
“I guess I came to see you because I’m sad, but more than that, I’m scared.” I pulled another Kleenex out of the box and blew my nose. I didn’t look up at Dennis.
I let out a long breath and relaxed in my chair.
I felt relieved. Even before Dennis said bipolar, I knew something wasn’t right.
Then Dennis started asking me a series of questions.
“How long have you had this feeling of being scared and not able to handle life?” he asked.
“Since Geoff’s diagnosis,” I answered. The room felt quiet. It reminded me of talking with my grandmother in her parlor, with the soft yellow light making me feel safe.
Dennis asked, “Do you ever feel like killing yourself?”
“No, never.”
“Does anyone in your family have a history of mental illness?” he continued.
“I’m not sure. I don’t know the details. It was just a rumor that circulated through our family, but I think my father spent time in a mental hospital. He might have just worked there, but he had been to one while in the military. My mother once said he was never the same after he came back. But, of course, my family didn’t speak openly about it, like so many things surrounding my father.”
“Are you sleeping at night?”
Quaalude, and after that, the depression was gone. That’s when I started sleeping with guys…” I said, sobbing and blowing my nose.
Dennis stopped asking questions and said, “Dale, I am pretty sure you have a Bipolar II Disorder. Do you know what that means?”
“Not really. I’ve heard the word before,” I said.
I let out a long breath and relaxed in my chair. I felt relieved. Even before Dennis said bipolar, I knew something wasn’t right. I could never put my finger on it, because I didn’t have a word for it. There was a balloon filled with air inside me, and Dennis had popped it – by knowing what was wrong and giving it a name. Years would go by before I knew all the implications of being bipolar. But at that moment, I was happy.
“First, let’s get you a good night’s sleep. You should be sleeping 7.5 to 8 hours every night. I’m prescribing Klonopin. Take it three times a day; when you first get up, at noon, and at bedtime. I want you to come back in a month.”
He offered me a yellow three-byfour-inch piece of paper. More sleep sounded good. I thought he was giving me something like an antibiotic that cured bipolar disorders.
When I swallowed my first orange Klonopin tablet, I hoped I’d “get well” from being bipolar. But having a bipolar disorder is part of me.
I stood, took the prescription from him, and noticed his illegible writing, “How long do I take it, ten days, two weeks?”
“I usually sleep about five or six hours. I wake up around two in the morning from a nightmare. Sometimes I sit up screaming, and Geoff reassures me it was just a dream, so I go back to sleep. I have the same nightmare every night.” I paused to think about his question. “In the mornings, I feel anxious and full of nervous energy. I don’t let myself get up before five. If I get up at four forty-five, the next day I wake up even earlier, like four thirty. It’s hard for me to stay in bed. Something deep inside is bothering me.”
“Were you ever depressed while in college?” he asked.
“I was only depressed once. I remember going to a house party, taking a
“Well, let’s just see how things go,” he answered, standing and walking me to the door.
I didn’t realize all this after my first meeting with Dennis. I also didn’t know I had a life sentence of daily medication. When I swallowed my first orange Klonopin tablet, I hoped I’d “get well” from being bipolar. But having a bipolar disorder is part of me. No matter what medication I took, how long I took it, or how deep I went into therapy, being bipolar remained.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. The following is an excerpt from Dale Zurawski ’s Bipolar: A Gift of Thorns
Matt and Festus. Guess which one is Sheriff? (public domain)
NOTICE OF INTENT TO ADOPT A MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATION MONTECITO WATER DISTRICT
583 San Ysidro Road Santa Barbara, California 93108
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN the Montecito Water District (District; Lead Agency) has prepared a Draft Initial Study -Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS-MND) for the project listed below pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) State Guidelines §15000 et seq. Anyone desiring to comment on the IS-MND may do so in writing within the 30-day public review period commencing April 22, 2026 and concluding on May 22, 2026. All written comments must be received by 5:00 p.m. on May 22, 2026.
Project Title: Bella Vista Highline Water Main Repair Project
Project Location and Project Description:
The proposed project consists of repairs to the existing Highline Water Main Pipeline at two locations along 2500 East Valley Road in the community of Montecito in unincorporated Santa Barbara County. The project would remove and replace two damaged pipeli ne segments within two ravines above East Valley Road that were exposed and displaced by landslides during a January 2023 storm event. Repair locations include the Eastern Pipeline Replacement (34.447927°, - 119.587045°), involving approximately 245 linear feet of pipeline, and the Western Pipeline Replacement (34.448116°, -119.587860°), involving approximately 110 linear feet. Project components include installation of an approximately 450 foot temporary aboveground byp ass pipeline to maintain water service during construction, removal and underground replacement of damaged pipeline segments to meet current engineering and seism ic standards, installation of geocells filled with native soil above the pipeline alignments to reduce future erosion, and installa tion of blowoff piping at both repair locations for future maintenance needs. Construction access would utilize one or more temporary routes via Cima Del Mundo Road or neighboring private properties, with limited vegetation clearing, and staging would occur at existing clearings near Romero Creek, near Cima Del Mundo Road, and adjacent to the work areas as coordinated with property owners. Construction would include trenching, temporary access road grading, management of onsite earthwork, pipeline dewatering and disinfection, and implementation of erosion control measures. Work activities would occur over an approximately three m onth period during daytime weekday hours.
Environmental Determination: Pursuant to the requirements of CEQA, an Initial Study was prepared, which describes the environmental impacts of the project and concludes the project will not generate a significant adverse impact on the environment with the incorporation of mitigation measures BIO-1 through BIO10, CR-1, GEO-1, and TCR-1 through TCR-3. Based on this assessment, a Mitigated Negative Declaration has been prepared.
Public Comments/Review: In accordance with Section 15073 of the State CEQA Guidelines, the Draft IS-MND is available for public review for 30 days from April 22, 2026 to May 22, 2026 online at www.montecitowater.com or at the District office (583 San Ysidro Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93108) during normal business hours. Written comments must be submitted no later than 5:00 p.m. on May 22, 2026 to:
Montecito Water District
Attn: Adam Kanold, Assistant General Manager 583 San Ysidro Road Santa Barbara, CA 93108 Or by email to: akanold@montecitowater.com
Published April 30, 2026, Montecito Journal
LEGAL NOTICE
MONTECITO UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT BUDGET
The proposed 2026-2027 budget for the Montecito Union School District will be available for public inspection at the Montecito Union School District Business Office, 385 San Ysidro Road, Santa Barbara, California on June 5, 2026 during regular working hours. The public hearing on said budget will be held on June 9, 2026 at 9:10 a.m. at the Montecito Union School District, 385 San Ysidro Road, Santa Barbara, California, Board Room D -17. The budget adoption meeting will be held on June 16, 2026 at 9:40 a.m. at Montecito Union School District, Board Room, D-17, 385 San Ysidro Road, Santa Barbara, California.
Published April 30, 2026 – Montecito Journal
MONTECITO GROUNDWATER BASIN GROUNDWATER SUSTAINABILITY AGENCY NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING
TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2026 9:30 A.M.*
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that, at a special meeting of the Board of Directors of the Montecito Groundwater Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency (Agency) to be held on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at 9:30 A.M.*, the Board will hold a public meeting to consider adoption of the following Resolution:
1. Resolution No. 24: Resolution of the Montecito Groundwater Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency Continuing a Groundwater Sustainability Fee for Fiscal Year 2027.
The Agency is proposing to continue the existing parcel fee as it was established by Resolution No. 4 in June 2020, with no increase in the fee or change in the methodology by which the fee is calculated. The Agency will continue to collect the fee on the property tax rolls, as in previous years.
The purpose of the fee is to fund the costs of the Agency’s groundwater sustainability program, including the implementation of a Groundwater Sustainability Plan adopted under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. Information concerning the fee is available for public review at www montecitogsa.com
At the public meeting oral and written presentations may be made and/or heard concerning the fee
*The public meeting will be conducted in person at the Agency office located at 583 San Ysidro Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93108. Remote participation information will be available on the meeting agenda posted at the Agency office, on the website www.montecitogsa.com, and by calling 805.324.4207
###
Published April 23 & 30, 2026, Montecito Journal
Barbara School of Squash (SBSOS) annual gala. Guests savored delicious fare from SB Courthouse Distillery while the entertaining and fun emcee Geoff Green drove a spirited paddle raise and live auction for over 150 attendees.
Since 2006, SBSOS has grown from six students to over 30, offering squash lessons and competitions, academics, mentoring, and community service, even while currently operating on just one YMCA squash court. Executive Director Robert Graham encourages students to maintain grades of “Bs or better,” fostering excellence both on and off the court. Student speakers stole the spotlight:
San Marcos High School senior Samuel Valencia called SBSOS his “second family,” while Dos Pueblos High School junior Daphne Miranda-González shared how SBSOS fueled her confidence to aim for Caltech. Volunteers were honored too with David Farber receiving warm recognition, and a gift bag of chocolates, for his after-school tutoring and “wicked” math skills.
Founders Mike Lewis and Robert Graham reminded guests of the program’s resilience and shared their exciting vision for a permanent squash center. Each year, I am impressed by the poise and confidence of every SBSOS student
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS
NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: STEVIE ACUNA GRAPHIC DESIGN, 218 SANTA YNEZ CT., Santa Barbara, CA 93103. STEVIE R ACUNA, 218 SANTA YNEZ CT., Santa Barbara, CA 93103. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on April 10, 2026. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that
this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2026-0000935. Published April 16, 23, 30, May 7, 2026
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS
NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ELECTRICIRQUE ENTERTAINMENT LLC, 522 W CARRILLO ST APT 3, Santa Barbara, CA 931015450. ELECTRICIRQUE ENTERTAINMENT
I meet, and that’s the Magic of Squash! SBSOS supporters included Lynne Tahmisian, Cliff Wyatt, Peter Hilf, Houghton Hyatt, Geof and Laura Wyatt, Joan and Jerry Rocco, and Mark Flores. by Maria McCall
Patriotic Panache
The Santa Barbara Woman’s Club was positively twinkling with patriotic panache as it hosted its New Members’ Fashion Show – an affair themed “Stars, Stripes, and Style,” and, by Jove, a proper good show of it. With America’s 250th anniversary on the horizon, the fête struck a stylish salute to both national pride and the Club’s storied history – no
LLC, 522 W CARRILLO ST APT 3, Santa Barbara, CA 93101-5450. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on March 6, 2026. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2026-0000547. Published April 16, 23, 30, May 7, 2026
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS
NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: RECOVERY AND STRENGTH, 522 W CARRILLO ST APT 3, Santa Barbara, CA 931015450. MOORE STRATEGIC VENTURES LLC, 522 W CARRILLO ST APT 3, Santa Barbara, CA 93101-5450. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on March 9, 2026. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the
small feat, and executed with flair.
Serving as emcee, the ever-effervescent Rachel Bishar kept proceedings at a merry clip, her wit as sharp as a Savile Row seam. Behind the scenes, Celeste Barber, Bishar, Stephanie Ingraham, Cevin Cathell, and Pat Hooser orchestrated the occasion with admirable aplomb, while auction aces Valerie Banks and Margaret Lloyd ensured spirited bidding.
The runway – right on stage – was a delightful display of individuality, with ensembles plucked from personal closets: casual, creative, and charmingly eclectic. Taking their turns with poise were Ellen Thermos, Cynthia Hofmann, Kathryn
Miscellany Page 344
County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2026-0000565. Published April 9, 16, 23, 30, 2026
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS
NAME STATEMENT: The fol -
lowing person(s) is/are doing business as: ROSEBOPS FLORAL, 602 LITCHFIELD LANE, Santa Barbara, CA 931091228. JESSICA M PERSHE, 602 LITCHFIELD LANE, Santa Barbara, CA 93109-1228. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on March 24, 2026. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2026-0000789. Published April 2, 9, 16, 23, 2026
Robert Graham and David Farber proudly pose with students of SBSOS (photo by Adam McKaig)
Brimful Beauties - Tara Ball, Renee Crawford, Margaret Lloyd, Barbara Burkpile, and Janet Bullock (photo by Priscilla)
A glamorous evening with the Santa Barbara School of Squash (courtesy photo)
Members taking center stage in patriotic posh form (photo by Priscilla)
Daphne MirandaGonzález, Samuel Valencia, Robert Graham, and Peter Martin (photo by Adam McKaig)
Posies and poses with the fashion runway models (photo by Priscilla)
Padgett, Mary Pat Hogan, Linda Brown, Renee Crawford, Marianne Wetzel, Cheryl Kelmar, Laura Kate McHugh, and Phyllis Grey – a lineup as lively as it was stylish. Think Riviera chic meets red, white, and blue bravado – less haute couture, more heartfelt couture.
Among those spotted soaking in the sartorial splendor were board members Linda Alderman , Valerie Banks , Mary Benard , Cindy Gracey , Dee Jones , Maureen Killian , Barbara LaPlante , Julie Morrow , Barbara Shaw , Bonnie Tanase-Cairns , and Coleen Van Nostrand
And then, the hats – oh, the hats! A final flourish of frivolity, the room bloomed with grand Kentucky Derbystyle creations, each more magnificent than the last.
In short, this fantastic fundraiser proved a stylish salute to sisterhood, history, and star-spangled swagger – simply smashing. by Lisa Duncan
Saintly Soirée
Montecito does adore a milestone, and few were marked with more pomp, pageantry, and panache than the recent
anniversary fête hosted by Reina del Mar Parlor No. 126 of the Native Daughters of the Golden West, celebrating both the 125th anniversary of the parlor’s founding and the 100th anniversary of its first “Saint Barbara” portrayal. Not bad for a society founded before sliced bread.
More than 60 members and guests gathered at The Leta Hotel, where heritage, history, and a healthy helping of fizz flowed freely. The afternoon also featured an official visit from NDGW Grand President Heidi Altamirano Dillon, who journeyed from Northern California for the festivities, co-hosted with Tierra de Oro Parlor No. 304.
Naturally, the gathering paid tribute to the women who have kept the tradition twinkling through the decades. Past presidents of Reina del Mar and former “Saint Barbaras” were fêted with affectionate fanfare, while Grand President Dillon presented membership honors to four devoted dames – one for a gobsmacking 50 years of service and three for 25 years of loyalty. Frankly, that’s more commitment than most marriages manage.
Special recognition was also bestowed upon Mary Louise Days , longtime
member, historian of the Order, and former Grand Officer, whose devotion to preserving California’s colorful past has made her something of a local legend in lace.
Founded on April 20, 1901, Reina del Mar Parlor has long championed patriotic programs, early California history, traditional dance, and social affairs including its annual Pre-Fiesta Tea. Since 1926, the group has selected one member each year to portray Santa Barbara’s patron saint during Old Spanish Days Fiesta – a cherished tradition this year carried forth by Julie Herrera Foley, the 2026 “Saint Barbara.”
A century of saints, 125 years of sisterhood, and by all accounts, the fiesta flame is flickering fabulously. by Lisa Duncan
Sightings
Goop Eats – Gwyneth Paltrow in NYC this month to launch the first East Coast location of her proper good cafe, Goop Kitchen. This one’s in Midtown West Manhattan, and a little birdie told us this will be the first of several kitchens to open across the city in 2026…
Shearing Chanel – Julia Louis-Dreyfus also making headlines in NYC at Jazz at Lincoln Center, for the warm and wooly premiere of her latest film, the animated adventure, The Sheep Detectives
Sham Shenanigans – Cameron Diaz looking smashing in a sophisticated red carpet return at Lincoln Square Theatre NYC. Her slinky semi-sheer
black ensemble, designed by the luxury brand FFORME, was paired with her signature bold red lip, and smoking hot ruby red pointed toe stilettos from the Paris label Jude…
Muddy Modern – Kimberly WilliamsPaisley, the lovely lass of superstar country lad, Brad Paisley, was spotted on ABC’s GMA3 having a good old chinwag about her current leading role as Cammie Raleigh in 9-1-1 Nashville, with new episodes just dropped…
From Richard and friends to all of you… Pip! Pip!
Richard sends his thanks for your many cards and good wishes, they are deeply appreciated. He reports that he’s improving every day, though there’s plenty of therapy ahead. Please continue sending your news and updates to his ever-helpful sidekick, Priscilla (805city@gmail.com).
Photo courtesy of Olio Pizzeria® and Kevin Steele kevsteele.com
Members of the Reina del Mar Parlor No. 126 and Tierra de Oro Parlor No. 304 (photo by Priscilla)
Karen Stupak, Nancy Phipps, Heidi Altamirano Dillon, Lisa Osborn, Heidi Stilwell, and Mary Louise Days (photo by Priscilla)
There are three distinct segments, but it’s still a limited time. How did you distill the wealth of information, music, new and archival material, the multimedia and all the different ways you’re approaching things. How did you find the balance?
That took a whole team of people. Those of us on stage are just the face of Three Bones, including our powerful guest artists – the Apache violinist and composer Laura Ortman, percussionist Quentin Baxter from South Carolina; and Wu Man, the great Chinese pipa player that Kronos has worked with for the past 34 years. They bring real depth of experience and guidance. We try to get the most incisive, accurate information we possibly can, and then use it in a way that feels right to us.
When we premiered it at Carnegie Hall two days ago, someone told me that it felt like the audience became a different one for each of the bones. The response at the end was absolutely incredible. I was incredibly encouraged and proud to be a part of this. And we hope our audience can get there and experience what we’ve spent years putting together… Our music is becoming newer all the time and it’s getting refreshed. That’s a wonderful feeling and our audience is cheering us on… I think it does say something about our country that a work like this can be made at this time with everything going on.
Speaking of which, you’re already on to another project, having been appointed the first ever Doomsday Clock Artist-in-Residence.
We’re playing our first concert for them at Carnegie Hall tonight, for a United Nations delegation. I’m kind of on the edge of my chair because it’s such a thought-provoking situation. I’m heading off to rehearsal to see if we can get it together to play a new piece about the effects of sound and decibels, starting with very minute sounds going up to the point of 200 decibels which is totally destructive. It kills life, and that’s what nuclear bombs do. So as long as I have breath in my lungs and energy in my body, I’m going to try to bring issues like that to the forefront. Visit https://artsandlectures.ucsb.edu for more information and tickets
The Sweet, Moving Story of Hershey
Hershey Felder has spent a good part of the last 30 years portraying musical geniuses from Tchaikovsky, Debussy, and Rachmaninoff to George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, and Leonard Bernstein in his ongoing solo composer series. Now with his latest musical play, Felder is revealing the life and musical experiences of someone he knows much more intimately: himself. With The Piano & Me, the pianist-composer shares his story of growing up in Montreal as the child of Polish and Hungarian immigrants, discovering the piano that has remained a lifelong passion, dealing with adversity and triumph, and the inspiration behind his chosen career path. The play features performances of beloved compositions by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, and Bartók – but that’s where the similarities with his previous portrayals end.
Sketches Strung ‘Blue’
Moving from the subterranean sublime to the ridiculously over-the-top in the space of one week, the Broadway in Santa Barbara Series closes out its 2025-26 season at the Granada this week. Hot on the heels of the regional professional debut of Hadestown – the mesmerizing folk opera musical that reimagines the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice in 1900s industrial America – comes the return in short order of the Blue Man Group, the long-running performance art troupe who always appear on stage in groups of three with their skin painted blue.
Where Hadestown incorporates the clever use of language, Blue Man’s buffet is delivered wordlessly. The men remain mute on stage while employing ever-evolving state-of-the-art technology to elevate the art, music and comedic touches. The mission is to dig more deeply into our consciousness, to celebrate our human curiosity and creativity, and to reconsider our cultural norms and quirks from a new and often wondrous perspective.
First founded nearly 40 years ago in New York City, Blue Man Group became part of the Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group in 2017. The show ended its run at the off-Broadway Astor Place Theatre in 2025, after almost 34 years and more than 17,000 performances. Fortunately, the touring company is still on the road, integrating its iconic drumming, paint, comedy and audience interaction with new music, fresh stories, custom instruments – and, for the first time, a brand-new character. The Rockstar is a dynamic female DJ and drummer who performs live onstage. Visit www.granadasb.org for tickets to the May 5 & 6 shows.
Free Show of the Week: Dance Me to the Edge of Hope
“I had been asked for some 30 years to tell this story – people have been interested in how these characters came to life on the stage and want to know what I put into it to make that happen,” Felder said in an email interview. “I refused because I didn’t think it would be interesting. But I was pestered so much that I finally caved. Once I did, the story started to unravel, and I realized that my story is relevant to more than just the few who might be interested in how I got to where I got.”
Indeed, audiences in the initial performances in Northern California greeted the piece with standing ovations and critics have raved about The Piano & Me, which is headed to off-Broadway soon after its Santa Barbara run at the New Vic from April 30-May 10. Despite his familiarity with the story, it’s been a process bringing the story to stage, Felder said.
“I put it together by putting all the stories in, and then stepping back with clarity to understand which ones advanced the narrative and which ones didn’t,” he said.
Then there’s the vulnerability factor of sharing one’s own story vs. constructing a set piece around a world-famous composer, even given the painstaking research that is the core of Felder’s character plays.
“It’s the one piece that I can’t ‘act out,’” The others are character constructs. With this one, I have to remove all of that and allow the story to tell itself. In fact, the gravest danger is to try and “act” something like this. It would turn into a false nightmare. So the hard work is the constant presentation of honesty.”
The piano in the title is a primary character in the play just as the instrument has been in Felder’s life.
“The piano is able to express things I cannot say in words,” Felder said. Visit https://etcsb.org for more information and tickets
UCSB’s theater and dance department is sneaking in a small production of Dancing at Lughnasa, Brian Friel’s haunting and captivating exploration of memory and longing. Set in a small Irish village in 1936, five unmarried sisters live together in the fog of poverty but still evince hope and resilience in the face of their crushingly sad circumstances. The women are raising the play’s narrator, Michael, the illegitimate son of one of the sisters – who reminisces on one fateful year amidst the celebrations of the festival of Lughnasa –with the family exploding out in moments of music and heat and the frenzy that comes with long-denied desires. Julie Fischel directs the student-centric presentation of Friel’s Tony and Olivier Award-winning 1990 play May 1-3 at TDW 1507 on campus, which has a mere 100-person capacity. Admission is free, but registration is required. Visit www.theaterdance.ucsb.edu
Sold Out Show of the Week: Pat Metheny’s Side-Eye III+
Innovative guitarist-composer Pat Metheny brings the latest edition of his SideEye project, created to elevate young musicians and offer the mentorship he once received via working with a handpicked rotating cast of today’s most exciting players. Metheny continues the evolution – with Chris Fishman on piano/keyboards, Joe Dyson on drums, Jermaine Paul on bass, and percussionist/vocalist Leonard Patton – with music from his first album in six years, and the first from his newly-formed label. The May 5 Lobero concert represents Metheny’s return to a favored venue.
Uptown Funk (Zone)
Eleven artists whose home-based working studios are located in the upper State Street environs – including Stephen Holland, Hugh Margerum, and Eric Saint Georges –are coming together for the 2026 Santa Barbara Uptown Artists Open Studio Tour this weekend for the first time in three years. With media spanning painting, sculpture, photography and more, the free self-guided tour offers a unique opportunity to visit working studios, view original artwork, and connect with the artists in a relaxed atmosphere. Expect them to open up about technique, process, inspiration, and passion. With two days to visit the closely grouped locations, visitors can explore at their own pace. Visit www.instagram.com/uptownopenstudiosb for details, a map of the studios, and artist information for the 11 am to 4 pm event on May 2-3.
Hershey Felder shares a piece of himself at the New Vic (photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade)
The inimitable Blue Man Group comes to the Granada on May 5 & 6 (photo by HFP Live)
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Calendar of Events
by Steven Libowitz
THURSDAY, APRIL 30 & FRIDAY, MAY 8
Acoustic Alchemy in the Valley – Two musical stars long associated with the Santa Ynez Valley are performing separate benefit concerts a week apart at Solvang Festival Theater. Ryan Bingham, of the unmistakable rugged voice and raw emotion-bearing songwriting, came seemingly out of nowhere to win both an Academy Award and a Grammy for his song “The Weary Kind,” the theme of the film Crazy Heart (which also provided Montecito’s Jeff Bridges his lone Oscar to date). Also well-known to many for his role as Walker on Yellowstone, Bingham is back in town for his first stripped-down acoustic performance in the area since his appearance at the Maverick Saloon for Tales of the Tavern shortly before winning his Best Original Song Oscar in 2010. The former rodeo star’s concert supports Los Adobes de los Rancheros in preserving the Santa Ynez Valley’s ranching heritage and advancing youth and community programs… Eight days later, P!NK – the Valley-based singer-songwriter who headlined One805’s 2024 bash at Yellowstone star Kevin Costner’s Summerland seaside spread – serves as Voices of the Valley’s host and offers an intimate acoustic performance herself. She’ll be joined by guests Sky Lakota-Lynch and Emma Pittman, both of Broadway’s The Outsiders. Proceeds benefit three cornerstone arts organizations that enrich the cultural life of the region in Arts Outreach, Elverhøj Museum of History & Art, and Solvang Theaterfest.
WHEN: 5:30 pm April 30 (Bingham); 7 pm May 8 (P!NK)
WHERE: Solvang Festival Theater’s garden, 420 2nd Street, Solvang
COST: $175-$375 (Bingham); $500 (P!NK)
INFO: (805) 686-1789 or https://solvangtheaterfest.org
THURSDAY, APRIL 30
Bridge Building with Lucía – UCSB Arts & Lectures continues its laudable tradition of introducing young but already decorated emerging voices in contemporary jazz. Lucía Gutiérrez Rebolloso was just 20 when she became the first Mexican artist to win the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition four years ago. The vocalist (who uses only her first name professionally) lands at Hahn Hall with a luminous blend of tradition, innovation and personal storytelling in a bilingual program that bridges cultures and generations and closes the gaps between jazz, Latin, and pop music. Lucía sings both soulful interpretations of jazz standards like “What a Difference a Day Makes” and classics from the Latin American songbook – as seen on her eponymous debut album, which features jazz greats Antonio Sánchez and Larry Grenadier, and showcases her singular voice and deep musical roots. The prestigious Monterey Jazz Festival exclaimed “Lucía represents the global evolution of jazz, where cultures from all over the world can dance together in harmony.” It’s unlikely we’ll hear her in a 300-seat venue in town again.
WHEN: 7 pm
WHERE: Hahn Hall, Music Academy of the West campus, 1070 Fairway Road COST: $48
INFO: 893-3535 or www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu
FRIDAY, MAY 1 & SUNDAY, MAY 3
Elmer’s Funk – Opera Santa Barbara’s tagline is “Life set to music” and that certainly describes its current season of three fully-staged operas at the Lobero, each of which pits a pair of strong central characters against each other in works full of drama and marvelous melody. After presenting Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana in November and Handel’s Caesar and Cleopatra in February-March, OSB ends its century-spanning season with another familiar story in Elmer Gantry Robert Aldridge and Herschel Garfein’s opera pairs the music with Sinclair Lewis’ satirical story set in small-town America in the early 1900s when greed, lust, and old-time religion burst into flames in a gospel-infused tale. Evan Bravos stars as the title character, the magnetic but often malevolent evangelist who is both charismatic and a charlatan. Christina Pezzarossi Ramsey portrays Sharon Falconer, the passionate revivalist preacher full of both spiritual intensity and vulnerability who serves as the catalyst for the collision of faith, love and ambition. OSB CEO & artistic director Kostis Protopapas conducts for the California premiere.
WHEN: 7:30 pm Friday, 2:30 pm Sunday
WHERE: Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St.
COST: $69-$199
INFO: (805) 963-0761 or www.lobero.com
SATURDAY, MAY 2
Pole Dancing at Paseo – Santa Barbara Revels welcomes the community to its 18th annual May Day Celebration, a free, music-filled tradition that brings the spirit of spring to life in downtown Santa Barbara. Guests are invited to sing along to lively seasonal songs, learn traditional English country dances, take part in hands-on activities that celebrate renewal, including creating traditional nosegays and posies with fresh flowers, and join in the tradition at the heart of the celebration. The Maypole dance, a swirling ritual where participants interweave colorful ribbons into intricate patterns as they counter-circle the pole in opposite directions, brings color, ceremony and celebration to center court at the outdoor mall.
WHEN: 11 am
WHERE: Paseo Nuevo Shopping Center, 651 Paseo Nuevo COST: free
INFO: (805) 364-4630 or www.santabarbararevels.org
Fiesta’s La Primavera – Santa Barbara Old Spanish Days Fiesta tales place mid-summer every year, lighting up early August with a huge swath of events that are meant to honor and preserve Santa Barbara’s history, spirit, culture, heritage and traditions. But there is a plethora of pre-festival events, including the one that translates to Spring and supports all of the free public events in August. It’s also your first chance to join El Presidente 2026, Colin Hayward and the entire Fiesta family for an unforgettable evening at the El Paseo Restaurant, the historic downtown establishment with the retractable roof. The evening features authentic Mexican cuisine, mariachi music, and live flamenco dancing performances, including the first official terpsichore from the newly crowned Spirit and Junior Spirit of Fiesta, Jenna Ramirez
THURSDAY, MAY 7
Ten Years at 10 West – For ten years, 10 West Gallery has served as a creative home for local abstract artists and a destination for art lovers seeking innovative, high-quality work in a welcoming space. The gallery’s decade of downtown thriving speaks volumes about its robust commitment to the SB arts scene’s specific gravity – including participating monthly in 1st Thursday since its inception. 10 West Gallery will celebrate its decade in the fine art trenches with a special three-day event featuring (among other things) special pricing on original paintings and sculpture from artists who have helped shape the gallery since it opened in 2016. The opening reception on 1st Thursday will be followed by artist talks at 2 pm on both Friday and Saturday.
WHEN: 11 am-5pm (reception 5-8 pm Thursday)
WHERE: 10 West Anapamu St.
COST: free
INFO: (805) 770-7711 or www.10westgallery.com
and Penelope Hernández . This year’s official Fiesta poster will also be unveiled as part of the fundraising auction.
WHEN: 5-10 pm
WHERE: El Paseo Restaurant, 813 Anacapa St. COST: $150
INFO: (805) 962-6050 or www.sbfiesta.org
Broadway Brunch – Longtime Santa Barbara radio personality, actor, director, playwright and author Ed Giron serves as emcee for a musical matinee at SOhO from “The Three Sopranos.” The singers in question are the operatically-trained sopranos Anikka Abbott, best-known as the Chief Weather Forecaster for NewsChannels 3-1112 and, more recently, several lead actress roles in our professional theater companies; Deborah Bertling, the actress, former Opera Santa Barbara singer, and current board chair of CAMA; and Vivian Vega-Rangel, also known for her OSB performances. Since debuting in Fiesta 2023, the trio of singers have appeared in evening shows at SOhO. Their daytime/afternoon debut will lean into music with more of a Broadway bent, including, we’re told, some singalongs. WHEN: 8 pm
WHERE: SOhO Restaurant & Music Club, 1221 State St., upstairs in Victoria Court COST: $25
INFO: (805) 962-7776 or www.sohosb.com
SATURDAY, MAY 2-SUNDAY, MAY 3
Literary Festival Launches – The inaugural Santa Barbara Literary Festival has the lofty goal of bringing together readers and writers of multiple genres and generations for a two-day celebration of storytelling and inspiration. Much as the now 40-plus year old Santa Barbara International Film Festival did for putting the city on the cinematic map, the event has drawn a huge swath of accomplished authors and writers to the American Riviera, including such recognizable and emerging names as Walter Mosley, Kim Michele Richardson, Susan Orlean, Dawn Tripp, Matthew Weiner, Mike Bender, and many many others. The brief two-day fest is packed with events including author keynote addresses, panels, one-off workshops, social gatherings, Q&A sessions and more at venues all over the downtown area – an immersive experience that aims to foster community centered around a shared love of the literary arts. Get all the details, schedule, descriptions, bios and passes online to be part of the first festival weekend.
WHEN: Saturday & Sunday
WHERE: Various venues
COST: free-$400
INFO: www.santabarbaraliteraryfestival.org
THURSDAY, MAY 7
Soundscape Settles into Lotusland’s Landscape – Live music returns to the Theatre Garden at Ganna Walska Lotusland for the first time in more than a decade this afternoon, when internationally acclaimed Steinway artist Katya Grineva offers an open-air performance. Grineva in a special open-air performance. Known for her poetic, expressive interpretations, Grineva will perform a program designed to harmonize with the surrounding landscape, creating a unique sensory experience where music and nature meet. Known for her poetic, expressive interpretations, Grineva – the most frequent female solo pianist in Carnegie Hall’s history – will play a program designed to harmonize with the lush surroundings in the intimate natural amphitheater, creating a unique sensory experience where music and nature meet. True to the beauty of nature, each composition selected by Grineva as part of the Music in Paradise series is designed to transport listeners into realms of wonder and a reflective, quiet awe – much as the unrivaled Lotusland often does on its own.
WHEN: 3-5 pm
WHERE: Lotusland, 695 Ashley Rd., Montecito
COST: $100-$175
INFO: www.lotusland.org/calendar
NOTE TO READERS
This entertainment calendar is a subjective sampling of arts and entertainment events taking place in the Santa Barbara area for the next seven days or so. It is by no means comprehensive. Please also see my feature stories elsewhere in this issue for more events. In order to be considered for inclusion in this calendar, please submit information – including hi-res photos –by 12 noon Wednesday eight days prior to publication date. Email: slibowitz@yahoo.com.
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