Marketing Enlightenment – A new book explores marketing through the lens of yoga in this upcoming Tecolote talk, P.18
Spring into Solstice – The Spring Soirée offered an early taste of feathers, fire dancers, giant puppets, and summer magic, P.22
The Pearl Posse Champagne flowed and pearls shimmered as the MClub gathered for an afternoon of heirloom strands and sparkling conversation, page 8
Hattie’s Wild Ride
A journey along Route 66 uncovers giant tiki heads, Harvey Houses, roadside legends, and unapologetic Americana, page 14
Lemonade Futures – The Country Mart’s lemonade stand program helps young entrepreneurs turn citrus into charitable giving, P.10
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Spring Soirée – Summer Solstice excitement was already in the air as guests gathered in Montecito for an afternoon of art and revelry
Giving List – Melinda Cabrera is bringing decades of nonprofit leadership experience to the United Boys & Girls Clubs
Body Wise – Tai chi offers a simple, accessible path to better balance, reduced stress, and a deeper sense of daily well-being
Spotlight Coast Village – Specials and highlights along Coast Village Road
Elizabeth’s Appraisals – Yellow glass lamps open a surprisingly rich story about design trends, color history, and 20th-century craftsmanship
Curator’s Choice – The chambered nautilus shell slice
of Events – 1st Thursday happenings, Sam Grisman jams on, Opera in the Park, SOhO gets brassy, and more
Classifieds – Our own “Craigslist” of classified ads, in which sellers offer everything from summer rentals to estate sales
Mini Meta Crossword Puzzles
Business Directory – Smart business owners place business cards here so readers know where to look when they need what those businesses offer
On Entertainment Combatting Depression with Delightful Things
by Steven Libowitz
Every Brilliant Thing, the interactive, one-person play by Duncan Macmillan and Jonny Donahoe, traces the narrator’s lifelong journey which, from age 7, includes managing both their mother’s bouts with depression and her various attempts at suicide. The child comes up with the idea of cheering up his mom in the hospital by compiling an ever-growing list of “every brilliant thing” in the world that makes life worth living. The list expands and evolves as the unnamed narrator uses it to navigate his own struggles with mental health, moving from childish things like “laughing so hard you shoot milk out of your nose” to more adult pleasures, although most of them simple and pure.
The play inhabits subjects of great gravity by means of the three H’s –humor, honesty, and hope – never dismissing the issue, but rather attempting to deconstruct and recast the pain through genuine connection, and by forever finding authentic joy in everyday things, in glowing moments and, perhaps most importantly, in other people. Every Brilliant Thing has been performed in 80 countries and is currently a smash on Broadway. The show starred Daniel Radcliffe in a Tony-nominated performance through the end of last month, with Mariska Hargitay now taking over the role. But while Ensemble Theatre is mounting its full-run theatrical debut in June, the play isn’t new to Santa Barbara. The nonprofit New Beginnings, which offers low-cost counseling services, brought co-creator Donahoe to town twice over the last four years to perform the narrator role at Center Stage Theatre as a benefit, recognizing a major theme of the play is the concept that we don’t have to bear the burden of life alone – the shared human experience in the interaction with the audience is what repeatedly alleviates moments of despair for the narrator character.
Nicholas Mongiardo-Cooper, who stars in the ETC show, absolutely agrees.
“I think of Every Brilliant Thing as less of a play and more of a community event, because everybody who comes into the space is part of it,” he said. “The show relies on the interaction, not just the actor and the audience, but the interaction we all have with our communities to lift one another up and to notice these positive, brilliant things about our lives.”
Those aren’t empty words. Mongiardo-Cooper’s interaction with the audience begins well before the lights go down at the New Vic, as he spends time in the lobby to greet people as they enter, welcoming them, distributing numbers for them to shout out a scripted “brilliant thing” when called upon, and seeing who might want to do more.
“While I’m interacting with folks I get to see who might be game to play with me, people who I think might be an excellent scene partner for various characters,” he explained.
“So that helps to make my choice of audience members to play the various characters as spontaneous as possible.”
While almost everything is scripted, there’s a lot of opportunities for the actor to bring who he is to the story, Mongiardo-Cooper said.
“There are a lot of contingencies and possible changes so that it can be very easily adapted to any performer, any space or location. It’s not for a specific gender, age or
Entertainment Page 274
A DREAM GOLF EXPERIENCE
Nicholas Mongiardo-Cooper delivers Every Brilliant Thing to the stage in ETC’s upcoming run of the iconic show (photo by Jeff Lorch)
Beings and Doings
Bright Golden Haze: Commencement 2026
by Jeff Wing
Dear Wised-Up Teenagers –
We’ve had a good year. We so trounced our football rivals it made us momentarily sad, and Mr. Fauntleroy’s well-attended production of the classic musical Oklahoma! – or “the cringe cowboys,” to quote one of the more delicate critiques scrawled on
the drama room door – was the talk of the town.
And now it is my honor to stand before you this evening on this truly momentous occasion. The world awaits with its birdsong and credit default swaps. Let’s tenderize that steak.
You’ve been in public school, most of you, since you were 5 or so. By the time you were in 2 nd grade, the loving and well-meaning adults in your life (recent 2 nd graders themselves) had begun a program of guidance. Scarcely had you entered the world when your future was stood up before you as a fraught, complicated, and shadow-casting edifice. Gentle adult course corrections were routinely offered like capitalized Zen Koans. Examples include “You are capable of amazing things,” “You can do much better than this,” and “All this hard work will pay off when you get into the right college.” Tonight these bromides ring in your cranial anteroom like campfire singalongs. “Have a great day, sweetheart!” is in there, too – a piercing talisman to which you’ll one day return in dreams.
But tonight, This. You thought it would never get here. Beginning junior year, there have been moments when –in deep conversation with your bestie in a remote, lamplit corner of this or that raucous gathering – you harbored a foolish hope that this day would never arrive, so precious were those stunned seconds, even as they flew. You’ve felt the strange melancholy of forward motion.
Now you gaze about you at a scene made surreal by its deafening actuality. Is your faltering smile sufficient camo? All the billowing muumuus have gone matte in the wan blast of stadium light. The pomp; the tassel-switching; the startlingly emotional congrats from Mrs. Petrie, the Attendance Clerk; the Principal’s earnest handshake in the hallway, eyes locked – these past several weeks have rattled you, yes. It’s as if the theme park ride you’ve been lazily preparing to board reveals itself suddenly to be a widebody jet to Timbuktu.
Your knowing grin this evening is tempered. The laughing, fist-bumping pals who’ve defined this high school epoch now surround you, barely recognizable in their ridiculous gowns and mortarboards. These goofballs have for several years been as familiar and without moment as your own forearms. Now you see them ablaze in their fleeting glory. They’ll be visited in dreams, too. In a sense, tonight is the birthplace of mortal time and stinging clarity.
The once stymying mystery of adulthood – its mortgage payment and business dress and scotch rocks – has been made translucent by the slouching amateurs wielding the levers of power. They are as old as your grandparents and as wise as an incoming freshmen, incapable even of the garden variety stealth cheating requires. In your short time on Earth the “grownup” has been obsoleted. You know what to do.
I know. “Blah blah blah!” BELIEVE ME, I know. It’s important, though, that you understand that what lies ahead is not a “path,” not a “journey,” not a thing over which you have absolute agency. It is a mad stochastic brouhaha. It’s the wind. And you’re both the kite and the mortal at the earth-end of the string.
Cyclonic
First up is Tomorrow – not in the grand H.G. Wells or Fritz Lang sense, but as in “the day after today.” If you’re taking tonight’s ceremony with something more than a grain of salt, tomorrow the inklings – a slow head rush of adult independence – will fill you with heat and light. Before the Goals descend, you’ll feel a world of raw transcendence, an almost spatial sense of possibility, a
We commend thee, graduate. Climb!!
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2026
Play ITFORWARD
Play it forward.
Join us for a festive evening celebrating the power of play and possibility.
Together, we can open doors for thousands of children and families, expanding access and igniting a lifelong love of learning.
Come play with us. Become a sponsor.
Sponsor MOXI@Night to secure your tickets and champion vibrant local education. Explore opportunities at moxi.org/give/moxi-at-night or contact development@moxi.org. Special thanks to Co-Chairs Lily Hahn Shining + Belle Hahn.
Montecito Miscellany Pearls of Wisdom
by Richard Mineards and Friends
The elegant parlor of the Santa Barbara Club shimmered this week as ladies of the MClub gathered for “Champagne & Pearls,” an afternoon lecture celebrating beauty, history, and the enduring allure of pearls.
Organized by Maria McCall and Beverly Cavaliere, the gathering glowed with the luminosity of a Vermeer painting – if Vermeer had served champagne. Guests first mingled in the club’s rosefilled garden before drifting indoors to admire tables laden with pearl jewelry displays. Women in creams, pearl greys, and heirloom strands lent the afternoon the air of a Park Avenue tea party by the sea. Cavaliere, renowned for her splendid tablescapes, transformed the room with elegant jewelry displays, pearl place cards handwritten by Juliette Castagnola, and a host of thoughtful pearl-themed touches. Assisting throughout the afternoon was a cheerful “Pearl Posse” of Susan Yamamoto, Susan Day , Kathleen Campbell , Linda Rosso, and Diane Pannkuk
The featured speaker was Laura Givertz, founder of Fibula Jewelry and our Eden by the Sea’s own pearl doyenne, who divides her time between her shop in our rarefied enclave and its sister boutique
on Deer Isle, Maine. With warmth and wit, Givertz traced pearls through the centuries – from the tears of Venus in Roman mythology to the mysterious “orient” luster prized by ancient civilizations.
“Beauty is a bridge,” she reflected. “A bridge to the beauty of who we are becoming.”
Guests listened, utterly captivated, as Givertz described pearls as the only gemstone born from a living creature – formed slowly through irritation, patience, and transformation.
“Like pearls, we are shaped over time,” she observed. “We are always becoming more of who we are meant to be.”
Among those attending were Marianne Strange, Brenda Blalock, Alix Rabinowitz, Peggy Wiley, Hiroko Benko, Ruth Rubin, Dana Mancini, Annie Hoffman, Patricia Chidlaw, and Nancy Newquist-Nolan, who departed with an elegant pearl bracelet – proof that the afternoon’s lessons were not entirely academic.
A little wisdom, a little luster, and a very fine afternoon indeed. by Lisa Duncan
Miscellany Page 284
The afternoon’s ladies showing off their pearls and pearly whites (photo by Priscilla)
Beverly Cavaliere with the table of glistening pearls (photo by Priscilla)
Maria McCall and Lisa Duncan (photo by Priscilla)
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News Bytes
Calling all Kid Entrepreneurs!
MCM Lemonade Stand
by Joanne A Calitri
Time to sign up online for your child’s weekend slot at the Montecito Country Mart’s Annual Community Lemonade Stand. Weekend schedule is for July and August.
MCM’s hosting of your child’s lemonade stand is said to teach entrepreneurship while supporting a cause you (or your children) are fond of. How it works: MCM provides the venue, the stand, the cups, the dispenser, and the promotion. You (and your friends, family, kids, or whomever you wish) work the stand and provide your favorite lemonade recipe. After a nominal fee, all proceeds from the sale of lemonade are yours to donate to the charity of your choosing. 411: www.montecitocountrymart.com/community-lemonade
Rotary Club of Montecito Names New President
The Rotary Club of Montecito has selected Peter Buehler as its next president, with his term beginning July 1. Buehler succeeds a legacy close to home—his late wife, Kati Zeller Buehler, served as the club’s president in 2020 and was known for her passion for Rotary’s international mission.
A retired Presbyterian minister, Buehler spent four decades serving congregations in Santa Cruz, Sacramento, and Santa Barbara before retiring from First Presbyterian Church of Santa Barbara in 2018. He brings a lifelong commitment to community service, leadership, and relationship-building to his new role.
Looking ahead, Buehler hopes to expand the club’s service efforts and strengthen its community presence as the organization approaches its 75th anniversary in 2028. The Montecito chapter is known for initiatives ranging from disaster relief efforts to scholarships supporting SBCC Career and Technical Education students. As Buehler notes, Rotary’s guiding principle of “service above self” remains as relevant as ever.
Library Night Live Debuts
More than 200 guests gathered at the Michael Towbes Library Plaza for the inaugural Library Night Live, a sold-out celebration that transformed the heart of the Santa Barbara Public Library into an immersive evening of storytelling, performance, and community. The event raised more than $160,000 to support literacy programs serving children, families, and adults throughout Santa Barbara.
Designed to make the library itself the star of the evening, the fundraiser featured literary-themed cocktails from The Good Lion, wines from several local wineries, cuisine by Duo Catering, and interactive performances by Carpinteria Improv and Santa Barbara Improv. Creative installations by librarians and San Marcos Theater students, along with dramatic lighting and event design, transformed the Plaza into a vibrant cultural gathering space.
A highlight of the evening was a keynote address by Award-winning Author Matt de la Peña, whose reflections on storytelling, belonging, and the power of libraries drew both laughter and emotion from attendees. Guests also heard moving testimonials from participants in the Library’s literacy programs, underscoring the life-changing impact of reading and education.
Funds raised will directly support adult literacy services, early childhood reading programs, and outreach initiatives that expand access to learning opportunities across the community. Organizers hope the success of the inaugural event establishes Library Night Live as a signature annual celebration of literacy, creativity, and lifelong learning in Santa Barbara.
OSK Highlights Growing Nutrition Crisis
As the cost of housing, healthcare, and groceries continues to climb, Organic Soup Kitchen is drawing attention to a growing challenge facing local residents: nutritional insecurity. The Santa Barbara nonprofit reports increasing demand for its medically-tailored meal programs, which provide nutrient-dense Soup Meals to low-income seniors, cancer patients, and individuals living with chronic illnesses.
Founded in 2009, Organic Soup Kitchen focuses on the connection between nutrition and health, particularly for vulnerable populations. According to the organization, more than 25,000 people in Santa Barbara County are living with cancer, and many face heightened risks of malnutrition during treatment.
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, calibrated, cogitated over, and coughed up every Wednesday by an exacting agglomeration of excitable (and often exemplary) expert edifiers at 1206 Coast Village Circle, Suite G, Montecito, CA 93108.
How to reach us: (805) 565-1860; FAX: (805) 969-6654; Montecito Journal, 1206 Coast Village Circle, Suite G, Montecito, CA 93108; EMAIL: tim@montecitojournal.net
Evening filled the Michael Towbes Library Plaza with literary fun and support (photo by Shannon Jayne)
SUMMER SPECIAL SERIES
BONUS:
Our Town Artist Tom Pazderka Curates New Mural Exhibit
by Joanne A Calitri
On Thursday, May 14, I had a one-on-one tour with artist and SB County Arts and Culture Curator, Tom Pazderka, of their latest exhibit titled, Scaling the Walls The show spans two public spaces, the Channing Peake Gallery and the City Hall Gallery, both on Anacapa Street. As these are located in government buildings, there is an entrance security check point. We met at the Channing Peake Gallery which has the bulk of the art:
- Corazón del Pueblo Culture and Creative Arts Center of the Santa Maria Valley: Artists Elizabeth Lerena, Chantal Medina, Marlin Olea, and Tommy Ruiz – Indigenous Migrant Youth, 2026, acrylic on panel 7’x16’
- Allan Hancock College Fine Arts Department: Artists Kristi Boasso , Monique DeLeon, and Drennon Weis – California Poppies, 2026, acrylic on panel, 7’x16’
Artist Helen Yanez – Sabiduria del Pueblo y Campo, 2026, Acrylic on board, 7’x7’
Artist John Khus – Uštap hi ‘ap!, 2026, acrylic on MDO Board, 7’x7’
- UCSB College of Creative Studies
Social Print Lab: Artists Moxie Bright Evan , Owen Jenkins , and Beau Strickland – Street MeditaCon, 2026, acrylic, silk screen, collage on panel, 7’x32’
Artist Cheri Owen – A Seed Was Planted, 2026, acrylic, porcelain, stoneware, glaze, and copper pipe on MDO panel, 7’x7’
- The Lynda Fairly Carpinteria Arts
Center: Teen Mural Project, 2021-2024, acrylic on panel, 33 works each sized 24”x24” and placed together
The strongest work at Channing Peake Gallery for classic mapping of a town is Street MeditaCon whereby the artists at UCSB’s College of Creative Studies Social Print Lab took a map of Santa Barbara and proceeded to collect random items of their interest at specific locations on that map. As Pazderka explained, “From the place, of the place, done while biking around SB and finding random stuff, it is eight panels to make the 7’x32’ size.” The bits of map and corresponding artifacts (detritus, coins, etc.) are glued into the piece, with paint, ink and silkscreen overlays, and the work is fully lacquered. Worth contemplating is the super shiny 25 cent coin with the face of Liberty from the year 2024 almost centrally placed that stands out amongst the rubble. Truly a masterwork is Chumash artist Khus’ Uštap hi ‘ap! Its title in English meaning “Paddle Home!,” it clearly is dedicated to a peaceful tomol journey
Our Town Page 334
Artist Curator Tom Pazderka with Street MeditaCon from UCSB’s CCS Social Print Lab (photo by Joanne A Calitri)
Uštap hi ‘ap by artist John Khus
The Way It Was Road Trips
photos and story by Hattie Beresford
As every newspaper and magazine in the Country has reminded us, this year marks the 100th Anniversary of the “Mother Road,” Route 66. Also known as “The Main
Street of America,” it traversed and connected the main streets of all the small towns between Chicago, Illinois, and Los Angeles, California.
The famous T.V. show of the same name starred the fresh-faced boy Martin Milner (as Tod) and his racy convertible Corvette. Tod’s first footloose sidekick was George Maharis (as Buz) and later Glenn Corbett (as Vietnam vet Lincoln Case). The series, which only played from 1960 to 1964,
Way It Was Page 384
Greetings from a prior road trip and a different Harvey House called the Painted Desert Inn near the Petrified Forest in Arizona. It is now a National Landmark and museum.
The Santa Fe at Barstow
Route 66 stars, Martin Milner and George Maharis (via Wikimedia Commons)
Lots of familiar names in MGM’s movie The Harvey Girls (via Wikimedia Commons)
Generations of
When the Palisades Fire displaced Emily and her family, she was 28 weeks pregnant. They found safety in Santa Barbara – and Cottage. Baby Athena arrived early, spending 65 days in Cottage’s Haselton Family
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Athena grew strong. She thrived. Today, she’s spreading joy wherever she goes.
Imagine what we’ll do next.
Emily Sunderland, mother of four, Santa Barbara
Your Westmont Team Qatar Arrives in Montecito for FIFA World Cup
by
This month, the attention of the world turns to North America for the FIFA World Cup 2026. And one of those teams is finding its tactical sanctuary nestled in the foothills of Montecito on the campus of Westmont. The Qatari national team officially selected Westmont as its team base camp training site for the tournament’s pool-play portion.
Jointly hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the U.S., the largest sporting event on the planet will feature 48 nations competing in 104 matches over 39 days. “Each of the teams selected a training site that best suited their needs, considering location, the quality of the training pitch, and available amenities,” said Jeff Raymond, Westmont’s Associate Athletic Director of Compliance, and coordinator with FIFA. Westmont’s Thorrington Field will serve as the primary training site where Qatar will perfect this low-block system. “It is
an honor for our facilities to be chosen as a training site for one of the highest-level sporting events in the world,” said Westmont’s Director of Athletics Robert Ruiz, emphasizing the college’s commitment to providing top-tier service.
Qatar even contracted a company to install one of the best pitches in the country on Thorrington Field, combining the advantages of both natural and synthetic grass with a stitched hybrid grass system. The state-of-the-art field and newly installed exercise stations will remain at the college for the benefit of the college community.
This isn’t Westmont’s first brush with football royalty. A year ago, the Brazilian professional club Botafogo trained on campus ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup
2025. The success of that stint prompted FIFA to encourage a renewed application for 2026, leading to site visits from multiple national federations last fall.
The arrival of the multi-time Asian champions also marks a massive victory for local tourism. “Hosting an international team during their training supports local businesses and hospitality jobs and reflects our community’s longstanding practice of welcoming visitors from around the world,” says Kathy JanegaDykes, president and CEO of Visit Santa Barbara. “It also reinforces the South Coast’s reputation as a destination capable of hosting high-profile national and international events in the future.”
Qatar is scheduled to fly out of Santa Barbara for its opening group stage match against Switzerland on June 13 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Maroons will return to the tranquility of the Montecito foothills to regroup between subsequent pool-play matches against Canada in Vancouver on June 18 and Bosnia and Herzegovina in Seattle on June 24.
For international football fans, Qatar brings a highly unique, club-like ecosystem to the tournament. Unlike powerhouse nations that draw players from various elite European leagues, virtually the entire Qatari roster operates out of its domestic Stars League, heavily clustered at clubs like
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Iconic 1926 Andalusian Estate nestled within Montecito's coveted Golden Triangle. Masterfully reimagined through an extensive renovation by renowned builder Giffin & Crane, this pristine turnkey residence effortlessly blends timeless architectural character with elevated modem living. Gracious scale, curated interiors, and exceptional amenities - including a detached artist studio, whole-house generator, and two-car garage - further distinguish this extraordinary offering.A rare legacy estate in one of Montecito's most prestigious enclaves.
Scott Craig, photos by Brad Elliott
Final preparations being made at Thorrington Field
The Maroons will practice on a stitched hybrid grass pitch
EVERY BRILLIANT THING
BY DUNCAN MACMILLAN WITH JONNY DONAHOE DIRECTED
Spirituality Matters Marketing As a Spiritual Practice?
by Steven Libowitz
After more than two decades helping thought leaders secure media coverage with outlets that include The TODAY Show, the New York Times and Oprah Winfrey’s platform, veteran mindbody publicist and marketing expert Jeanna Valenti has now shared her approach to conscious, values-driven promotion in a new book. The Yoga of Marketing: Balancing Heart, Mind, and Spirit for Success, published in April by Simon & Schuster imprint Indigo River, blends ancient yogic wisdom and the chakra system with modern marketing strategy to reframe marketing as an act of service rather than self-promotion. The target audience is anyone, although the book – a guide to painless, holistic marketing practices that align with who you are – may be especially useful for entrepreneurs, wellness leaders, authors, and creatives who struggle with visibility and burnout.
Reviewers have praised the book, with one saying: “Instead of pushing readers to force growth through exhaustion, it encourages business strategies rooted in alignment, authenticity, and well-being.” While another said: “The book also encourages journaling, meditation, and visualization, which make marketing feel less like a chore and more like a human process.”
FITNESS THAT MOVES YOU
Valenti offers readers her time-tested formula for success along with life-transforming principles and practices designed to improve energy, attitude and effectiveness. And you don’t even have to be a practitioner or even a fan of yoga to benefit, as Valenti’s step-by-step procedures, embedded with the ancient wisdom of the chakras, show readers how to approach effective marketing with ease. The idea is that once readers engage with the work, which builds a bridge from consciousness, awareness, and mindfulness to the worlds of marketing and business, they’ll finish feeling inspired – and with a foundational understanding of yogic philosophy and the chakra system, practical marketing best practices, and a sense of peace about the process.
Get a taste of the principles on offer when Valenti shares insights from The Yoga of Marketing: Balancing Heart, Mind, and Spirit for Success and signs copies of the book on Saturday, June 13, at 3 pm at Tecolote Book Shop in Montecito’s Upper Village. Visit https://tecolotebookshop.indiecommerce.com
Outdoor Opportunities
Lotusland’s Well-Being Wednesday event for June is the return of Professor Fabio Rambelli’s sound bath in the
garden. Restore your body-to-mind connection through the ancient wellness technique where participants will be surrounded not by the sounds of ancient Japanese instruments but also the spectacular nature setting to help attain deep meditative mindfulness. The scholar in Japanese Religion and Cultural History at UCSB uses the sho, an ancient Japanese instrument with multiphonic capacity, to serve as the interface between the cosmos and the mind-body. By exploring how different scales and modes relate to colors, seasons, hours of the day and emotions, participants will move toward attaining a state where each sound becomes a microcosm of existence.
Visit https://tinyurl.com/Lotusland-Sound-June for details and tickets to the June 17 event.
Alexis Slutzky’s monthly gathering in Skofield Park is a practice where participants offer listening and attunement to the land as a gift and receive the gift of that listening in reciprocity – an opportunity to open to guidance and shift our orientation away from human supremacy towards all the beings in creation. The event is held in a circle of community with an orientation, attunement, context setting, and embodiment practice; before the self-directed listening experience in nature comes back together in a council circle to share stories and gather collective wisdom. The next circle, slated for 2-4 pm on Saturday, June 13, may be the last for several months in contemplation of a summer break.
Visit www.alexisslutzky.com/land-listening-circles for details and registration.
Radhule Weininger’s Mindful Heart program has been invited to start a new Effortless Mindfulness and Field of Care meditation class at The Sacred Space in Summerland. The first class is scheduled for 12-1 pm on Friday, June 26, with subsequent sessions on July 17, Aug. 21, and Sept. 18. Weininger and Carla Tomson, a graduate of MHP’s facilitator training course, will alternate as teachers for the event, a dedicated and private semi open-air location for meditation sessions. No cost, but donations greatly appreciated.
MHP’s Peter Moreno will host his monthly full moon meditation and sound bath with singing bowls at East Beach from 7:30-8:30 pm on Sunday, June 28, near the volleyball courts across the street from the condominiums on Cabrillo Boulevard. Bring a chair, blanket and jacket, and look for flashing red lights and lanterns to find the site. Refreshments will be served. A $15 donation is requested.
Call Moreno at (805) 453-1813 by noon that Sunday to reserve.
A LEGACY OF PROTECTION
Montecito Health Coach
In One Ear and Out the Other: Debunking the Allure of Audiobooks
by Deann Zampelli
Afew years ago, I was at a meeting of my former book club. We were discussing our prior month’s selection when one of the women commented, “I listened to it all week and really enjoyed it.” It was a particularly intense and tedious novel that I remember finding pretentious, but I resentfully plugged through it nonetheless as our meeting was looming.
Listened to it? I quietly steamed. This book was torture! And I read it. Every page. Not to mention all the neglected books by my bed and all the ones waiting on the bookshelf like an heir to the throne beyond the 1st in line; they just know it is pointless holding out. The ones on the bedside table just keep reproducing before the ones on the shelf even get a shot.
Of course, I had to say something. Audio books are fine for road trips or going on walks, but for a book club? Should we change the name to A READING CLUB just to clear up any confusion? The one who listened to it claimed it was the same as reading. The same? That’s like saying smelling food is the same as tasting it. Someone telling you a bedtime story is not the same as reading before you go to bed. It just isn’t.
that the stories stimulated the same cognitive and emotional areas, regardless of their medium. It’s adding to our understanding of how our brains give semantic meaning to the squiggly letters and bursts of sound that make up our communication.”
Meaning that the stories stimulated the brain in the same way. Yes, the brain was stimulated. But that doesn’t mean that you are gaining as much from listening as from reading.
Studies have shown comparable comprehension rates between reading and listening to books. Which is great. But the root of the issue is what are you trying to accomplish? Is it something to check off a list or is reading – the journey of reading – the goal unto itself?
I write down every book I read in a book journal. It is a way for me to keep track of what I have read and what I can recommend to others. It is also some form of accomplishment I suppose when at the end of the year I count them up and tell myself that I have read 56 books. Or whatever the number is that year. But I never count the audio books. Never. Why? Because I didn’t read them.
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John W. Ambrecht, JD, MBA — Founding Partner
Leticia Martinez, JD — Managing Partner •1828 State Street • Santa Barbara, CA 93101 • www.ambrechtmartinez.com • (805) 574-7305
For me, being the control freak that I am, I don’t want someone telling me what Mr. Darcy sounds like unless they are offering up Colin Firth circa 1995 on a silver platter. When you read you are not only seeing the words, how they relate to one another and absorbing how they are spelled but you control the pace at which you do this. Your own imagination guides the imagery that is created. It is your voice in your head interpreting the story, not someone else’s. Also, reading is active – it is an activity whereas listening to an audiobook is passive.
Discover magazine has a slightly different take however. “In a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience, researchers from the Gallant Lab at UC Berkeley scanned the brains of nine participants while they read and listened to a series of tales from The Moth Radio Hour. After analyzing how each word was processed in the brain’s cortex, they created maps of the participants’ brains, noting the different areas helped interpret the meaning of each word… Looking at the brain scans and data analysis, the researchers saw
The act of reading is a quiet one. Solitary. Not that you can’t read with others. I read next to my husband every night before bed. I read with my daughter outside or on the sofas. I read on planes, trains, and in waiting rooms. I read the second I get into my seat on a plane. It also signals to others that I am otherwise occupied. Because I am. In this solitude, we can disappear into stories or research. Into foreign lands or someone else’s life. It is in the quiet that we find ourselves.
I greatly value audiobooks for aiding those who cannot read. It opens a world that might have sadly remained closed. But for those who can read, I cannot recommend it enough.
Because at the end of the day, some stories are meant to be seen, and not heard.
Health and humor in the MJ National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach trained at Duke Integrative Medicine, Deann Zampelli owns Montecito Coaching & Nutrition. She also has a Masters in Clinical Psychology and has been a resident of Montecito since 2006.
SPRING SOIRÉE
by Zach Rosen, photos by Isaac Hernández de Lipa
Summertime… the season of sun. Okay, yes, the sun has been a little shy as of late, but I swear it’s up there. While the Earth’s own axis may be at maximum tilt on the solstice, it is also the moment where the local community gets a little tilted. Accountants become butterflies. Teachers become sea creatures. Retirees become celestial beings draped in sequins and feathers. Giant puppets roam the streets. Yes, the Summer Solstice parade is almost here and recently a group of artists, philanthropists, performers, and community supporters gathered on a golden Montecito afternoon to get a head start on the fun. The crowd sipped on drinks, raised their paddle for art, and reveled in fire dancing as the Spring Soirée ushered in the upcoming season. Here comes the sun…
The Giving List
United Boys & Girls Clubs
by Steven Libowitz
Melinda Cabrera has been in her position as CEO of the United Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Barbara County for only a little more than two months, but she’s no stranger to the Santa Barbara nonprofit world. Her experience includes multiple positions at the Santa Barbara Zoo straight out of college, followed by a decade at United Way, where she served in senior management roles leading programming in financial empowerment, education, and crisis response and recovery. Then it was 20 months as president and CEO of the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara.
All of that experience has come together in her opportunity to serve as CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs, where her passion for youth development and support has found a home in the long-standing organization.
“It was at United Way where I really fell in love with community-based work and working on behalf of students, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds,” Cabrera recalled. “I missed that hands-on direct work at the
Scholarship Foundation, so I’m thrilled to be back working in that field.”
United Boys & Girls Clubs (UB&GC) operates four standalone sites and four additional school-based locations that collectively serve more than 2,600 students every year. UB&GC maintains a robust food program. In 2025 alone over 63,000 meals – home cooked in the organization’s commercial kitchen –were served to children, helping to combat food insecurity not only in its afterschool programs, but also during the summer, when school meals aren’t available and daytime hunger can increase.
But it’s not just the numbers that matter, Cabrera said.
“We’re really proud of the quality of programming and the breadth and depth of our impact,” she said. “We execute programming that has been designed and vetted by youth professionals and academic experts. Our curriculum is designed and provided to us by Boys & Girls Club of America and derived from their working relationships with top universities like Northwestern and companies such as Apple. So it’s the highest quality programming addressing social
and emotional needs, academic needs, and supports our students at every age and stage of their development.”
UB&GC’s breadth of programming envelopes the fields of academics, leadership, health, movement and art. Cabrera was quick to crow about the degree of connection with their eager clientele.
“They resonate and are highly engaging for our students,” she said. “We bring these programs in a manner that is really experiential for our kids. What I see when I go onto the sites is just kids really engaged in the activities. They’re getting academic support, there’s tutoring, there’s homework help, there’s dance, there’s music – all these different opportunities that we’re exposing our youth to.”
Cabrera also pointed to the fact that much of UB&GC’s programming is implemented in partnership with local organizations, a synergy she is working to increase and expand.
“What we already have is great, but I think there’s always opportunities to strengthen programming,” she said. “There’s always opportunities to lean more into local partnerships to continue to offer our youth the best resources available.”
Cabrera is also working to bring increased data collection and analysis to the local nonprofit, not only for the value to the organization, but to be able to demonstrate to donors and supporters that their dollars are being used efficiently and effectively.
“Tracking progress and tracking impact will let us reframe and tell our story in a different way, so that those who have supported us will continue to do so and maybe get more involved as they come to understand and see the impact of their donation in the work that we’re doing,” she said.
The United clubs have been tracking academic impacts with academic year programs, where teachers are sharing that they’re seeing their kids who are club members complete homework at an improved rate. Now that’s expanding to the summer months.
“We’re introducing with the library this year a summer reading challenge where we can mitigate the typical
United Boys & Girls Clubs’ locations collectively serve more than 2,600 students every year (courtesy photo)
summer learning loss and support kids’ literacy skills over the summer,” Cabrera said. “It’s very important to us to know the priorities in our kids’ lives and stay in alignment with the school districts, being able to support however we can.”
Fundraising is a parallel focus, too.
“That allows us to tell our story in a way that shows people what we’re doing and just how impactful the organization is,” Cabrera said. “That hopefully leads to increased support, which in turn lets us amplify our impact, reinforce our facilities and just focus on continuing to improve the quality of our programs.”
That circular process is represented, literally, in UB&GC’s major fundraising event, the annual Rally4Kids in October. This 240-mile road race to San Luis Obispo County includes various potent gatherings, and a second day gala for hobnobbing and hailing the heroes. The event has new leadership this year too, as founding chairs Monte and Maria Wilson have stepped aside for the event’s 11th year. And there are myriad other ways to help…
Visit www.unitedbg.org
Body Wise
The Benefits of Practicing Tai Chi
by Ann Brode
Many years ago, I noticed a particular quality of “calm presence” in my friend David Barton and wondered if this was a result of his longtime tai chi practice. Deciding to check it out for myself, I studied a bit of Qigong, a lot of tai chi, and began a thirty-year relationship with this ancient Chinese martial art. Over the years, whenever I’ve needed to get grounded and center my awareness, I could count on my tai chi set to deliver. Because the sequential movements demand full awareness, tai chi is a practice of being here and now – a moving meditation that aligns mind-body-spirit in present time.
Tai chi was originally a martial art intended to balance feminine and masculine (yin-yang) energies. Today, it has become one of the traditional Chinese wellness practices taught around the world. Chances are you’ve seen people doing tai chi in a park or a movie – moving in unison, slowly and purposefully. Young or old, these people
are doing something more than just practicing a form. They’re releasing old habits and availing themselves of the many benefits of this wellness practice. For instance:
- Tai chi moves energy. Arcing and pivoting, tucking and kicking, the whole body is engaged as it shifts graciously from one posture to the next. Places that are stuck begin to move, places that are asleep wake up.
- Tai chi prescribes a specific form and movement sequence that emphasize postural alignment and range of motion. Through practice, this improves balance, coordination, and agility.
- Tai chi’s slow, mindful movements and deep breathing calm the nervous system. Regular practice can lower blood pressure, relieve pain, boost the immunity, improve mood, and quiet the mind – setting you up for restful sleep.
- Doing tai chi helps you learn to be self-aware instead of self-conscious. This is advantageous for good communication, helping you show up with ease and grace for both business opportunities and personal relationships.
There are many different variations of tai chi, from full-on martial art to a more meditative, dance-like form. To learn, you’ll need instruction. From the beginning, it’s all about movement. The opening posture shifting in a particular way to the next posture until you’ve learned the whole sequence. Although classes are taught once a week, practicing every day makes it your own. Setting time aside each day for tai chi creates an interlude where you can just be – without the concerns and worries and the driving rhetoric of your busy mind. As your practice deepens, you’ll begin to feel the benefits of taking this time for yourself.
“Daily practice as a joyful way to align oneself with nature and one’s surroundings.” – Chungliang Al Huang, tai chi master
Some people practice tai chi in the morning to wake up their body, improve circulation, and cultivate mental clarity for the day ahead. Others practice in the evening to release the concerns of the day and relax. Each day at sunset, you’ll find me on the patio outside, doing my tai chi set. Moving consciously through the choreographed postures of “Parting the Wild Horse’s Mane,” “White Crane Spreads its Wings,” and “Repulsing the Monkey.” As a moving meditation, this
daily practice leaves me feeling refreshed, clear, and content.
To discover tai chi for yourself, you can explore online classes. But, even better, learn the sequence in-person in a small class with an experienced teacher. Here’s a list of the excellent instructors in our community that teach both beginning and advanced levels:
Master Yun has been practicing martial arts for more than 50 years and is a fifth-generation master from the Wu Yu Xiang line of tai chi – one of the rarest forms of the five main styles – and was recently inducted in the U.S.A. Martial Arts Hall of Fame. In addition to qigong and kung fu, he teaches the Wu style tai chi each Wed at 4:30 pm and Chen style tai chi quan every day at 10 am in his State Street studio. All levels are welcome.
Visit www.masteryun.com
“Tai chi is a centuries old martial art that relies on the practice of ‘letting go’ of tension and focusing your attention. It can be learned by almost anyone and done anywhere.” – David Barton Class on Saturday morning at 10 am in La Mesa Park, across from Lazy Acres. To learn more: www.taichicollege.com
Get your tai chi on in one of these classes
ethnicity. So there are options, including to create your own alternatives and opportunities, including that the play should be set in the city where it’s being performed.”
Which is why there will be specific references to points in Santa Barbara, the beaches, parks and nearby mountains in ETC’s Every Brilliant Thing. And Mongiardo-Cooper’s own background also shows up, including having moved to California from the East Coast for college and running his career in SoCal.
“[Director] Jenny Sullivan and I came up with a story that was close to my own so that I might bring as much of myself as possible to the role, which is such a generous thing,” he said. “I bring myself to a role that says, ‘This is who I am,’ like this is the closest I could come without writing my own piece.”
Meanwhile, the New Vic itself has morphed to be as immersive as possible, moving several rows of seats out of the orchestra and onto the stage and building out the stage, creating a theater-inthe-round experience.
“I’ll have people on all sides around me, and in excellent lighting so it’s easier to choose who to interact with very spontaneously,” Mongiardo-Cooper said.
As far as his own list of brilliant things? The actor said it changes every day.
“Today it starts with the smell of honeysuckle, which seems to be everywhere here,” he said. “It changes over the course of the day with the temperature and the sunlight, which is such a brilliant thing to me. And maybe this is gross, but I fell off my bike because I was looking at this beautiful house in town, and I scraped my knee. Seeing the way your skin heals itself is just brilliant. And outdoor showers in places that are hot, I love those.”
The play itself is brilliant, MongiardoCooper said.
“It doesn’t sugarcoat the darkness, the depression, but it also provides a real alternative, which is to engage with your imagination and the world around you.” Every Brilliant Thing runs June 6-21 at the New Vic Theatre. Visit www.etcsb.org
Curtain Up on ETC benefit
Single tickets are on sale for Ensemble’s annual benefit gala Curtain Up! on
Sunday, June 28, when the evening begins with a one-night-only performance at ETC’s home in the New Vic and continues with cocktails, appetizers and a gourmet three-course dinner at the Santa Barbara Club just two blocks away. ETC’s biggest fundraising event of the year, plays a vital role in supporting the organization’s productions, education programs and artistic mission. Sponsorship opportunities are still available for individuals and businesses looking to make an even greater impact.
Over in Ojai: Paging Dr. Brown
Phil Burgers, the L.A.-based writer, comedian, clown, actor, director and clown teacher, is best known for performing as Dr. Brown, with stand-up comedy that blends absurdity, precision, and audience interaction. His show BEFRDFGTH centers on spontaneity, physicality, and the unpredictable dynamic between performer and audience. Perhaps most importantly, his performance leans into what may be charitably called “non-verbal communication.” Words take a back seat to highly physical, prop-driven antics that escalate over time, and BEFRDFGTH has been heralded on the international festival circuit, earning the Barry Award for Best Show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. EFRDFGTH has been praised as a surreal, subversive blend of mime and absurd humor that relies entirely on body language, suspense, and deep audience interaction. Burgers as Brown brings BEFRDFGTH to the Ojai Playhouse, the recently revitalized historic 200-seat theater in the mountain village, on June 9, 10 & 13. Visit www.OjaiPlayhouse.com
Oh, Reilly: Mr. Cellophane Transforms into Mr. Romantic
John C. Reilly is the very versatile character actor whose roles have found him navigating everything from
The one and only John C. Reilly gets romantic on Sunday, June 7, at the Lobero (photo by Bobbi Rich)
comedy and drama to musical theater and more, even as his utterly unique persona remains charming and compelling throughout. Among some of his more memorable roles are collaborations the Paul Thomas Anderson film Hard Eight, Boogie Nights, and Magnolia; Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York and The Aviator ; Adam McKay ’s Talladega Nights; and the musical parody Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. And who could forget his turn as the beleaguered husband in Chicago, whose tragicomic song “Mr. Cellophane” captured the nuanced depth of his combined talents.
In recent times, Reilly has dug deeper into the musical realm, leaving behind the cinema for the concert stage in a show that veers on vaudeville with moments that are alternately funny, nostalgic, and tender. Mister Romantic is actually a sincere invitation to the audience to open your heart to the love all around you through a series of songs with the theme of an eternal optimist who never gives up his search for true love. Among the numbers are “Falling in Love Again,” “I’ll Be Seeing You,” and “What’ll I Do?,” among many others meant to be melancholy but ultimately uplifting.
But this is no lightweight parody. To render these classic songs that are so
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“ You will remember this novel–its hero and characters and scenes–for a long time. A big-hearted story of desperation and courage, crime and redemption, love and loss–it is as entertaining as it is moving.
Artful Altruism
Artistic intrigue, ocean breezes, and garden-party glamour were in abundant supply on Sunday afternoon as the Art Foundation of Santa Barbara hosted its annual An Artful Affair in the rose-filled garden of the Santa Barbara Club.
Beneath the dappled shade of palm trees, guests sipped wine while browsing first rate artwork by a dozen top-notch local artists. The ladies arrived in flowing floral dresses and sun hats, while the gentlemen favored smart summer jackets, creating a tableau that felt delightfully timeless.
Presiding over the festivities was Board President Frank McGinity , joined by trustees Maria McCall, Diane Waterhouse, Katherine Murray-Morse, John Doordan, and Jeremy Tessmer, all championing the Foundation’s youth programs and mission of preserving and promoting the artistic heritage of Santa Barbara and California’s Central Coast.
Among the paintings compelling admiring crowds were Nina Warner’s Moonrise at Parma Park, Katherine Murray-Morse’s Lotus Blossom Lotusland, Willis Heaton’s Palace Peacock, and Danuta Bennett ’s evocative Dream Catcher. Featured artists Frank Serrano and Bennett proved particular favorites among collectors and art lovers alike.
Auction excitement arrived courtesy of a
AM - 10:00 PM FRIDAY AND SATURDAY 7:30 AM - 12:00 PM
painting generously donated by Thomas Van Stein, which found a happy new home with winning bidder Debbie Branch Geremia, longtime leading lady to Board President Frank McGinity. Meanwhile, artist Ralph Waterhouse completed a live quick-draw painting before guests’ eyes, with Janet McCann ultimately claiming the prize during spirited bidding.
Also enjoying the afternoon were Wilson Quarre, Peggy Wiley, Ellen Robinson, and Gina and Martin Bell
As for Frank McGinity, whose Montecito home sits but a tiara’s toss from Harry and Meghan, one suspects even royalty would have approved of such an artful afternoon. by Lisa Duncan
Hearts and Horses
Boots, blue jeans, and big-hearted philanthropy took center stage this week as Hearts Equine Therapy hosted its spirited barn dance fundraiser, proving once again that Santa Barbara can do rustic glamour rather exceptionally well.
The evening centered around the remarkable work of Hearts Equine Therapy, which serves local children with disabilities, including autism and Down
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Wilson Quarre, Peggy Wiley, Ellen Robinson, Janet McCann, and Gina and Martin Bell (photo by Priscilla)
Nina Warner, Kathryn MurrayMorse, Willis Heaton, and Danuta Bennett showing off their art (photo by Priscilla)
Frank McGinity, Maria McCall, Diane Waterhouse, Kathryn MurrayMorse, and John Doordan (photo by Priscilla)
Montecito, this collection captures the art of summering through four vignettes inspired by iconic vacation destinations, from the beach to mountain retreats. Kindly RSVP at RSVPMontecito@veronicabeard.com
DINE • Clark’s Montecito | Happy Hour: Every day from 3 to 5 pm | 1/2 off martinis, 1/2 off burgers, $5 Trumer Pilsner, $10 featured wine, $5 oyster shooters, $2 off oysters
- Wine Wednesdays: 1/2 off bottles of wine all day
- 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
- Introducing Afternoon Tea: Tuesday through Sunday from 3 to 5 pm | Featuring a selection of teas with petite pastries and tea sandwiches | $65 for two guests
• Lion’s Tale | Happy Hour: Tuesday through Friday from 4 to 5:30 pm
- All Night Happy Hour | Monday from 4 pm to 12 am
- Burger & Martini Sundays | Get 1/2 off any house martini with the purchase of any burger.
- SB Jazz Collective | Every Wednesday from 6:30 to 9 pm
- Live Music | June 11 & 18 from 6 to 8 pm | Sticky Tables: Guitar-led throwback instrumental covers
• 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 | Sunstone Wine Lounge is releasing five new wines, including the 2025 Sauvignon Blanc and fan favorite 2025 Linda’s Viognier. THE INSIDER’S GUIDE TO WHAT’S GOOD
benign mushroom cloud of extraordinary, impossible things. Birds swarm and undulate in cyclonic flocks, whales breathe through a hole in the head, the endless universe is filthy with stars. This is a sampling.
But. Though the life to come is an uncontained kaleidoscope, it is crowded with fireproof document boxes. Yeah, look for documentation in Grimm’s Fairy Tale volumes. You’ll also be taken to court, chased by a raccoon, gutpunched in a movie theater. A surgeon will breach your sternum with a saw and lay bare your previously secretive thoracic cavity. A dear friend will pass away unexpectedly at work. While eating savory Korean black bean noodles you’ll have a sneezing attack, blasting a variegated cloud of matter on adjacent diners, one of them an eight-year-old girl
who will stand and scream with her fists at her sides. You’ll nervously drink too much on a post-divorce date and, pursing your lips to hold the upwelling geyser in abeyance, will shower your guest with a crenellated sheet of booze your compressed yap will dispense with the force and thoroughness of a car-painting robot. A second date will be convivially agreed to. You’ll wonder idly about God and tachyons and yeast. Growing older you’ll recall with greater frequency that time you found your mom in the garage crying over your grandmother’s dusty pink golf bag and Patty Bergs.
At the same time globally synchronized time zones and daylight saving protocols will govern your daily work. Seamless urban grids and subterranean machinery will support your waking life, as will the supermarket’s universal floor plan and automated self-checkout system. You’ll sign on to the habituated consensus around commuting patterns. In time you’ll be graying and shorter and will wear baggier clothes if you know
what’s good for you. In daydreams you’ll cast your eye back to that earlier time when everyone you loved was still alive. In other words, “Tonight.”
These Minutes
Dear conflicted High School kids. Whatever you are going through right now, whatever your fear, whatever mountain you’ve been told to prepare yourself for climbing, pay close attention to these hours, these minutes. The strangeness up ahead is not a movie but will feel like one. Your face is going to change, your hair is going to change, the way you walk will change, the things that dominate your hourly thinking; it’s all going to change. Houses, cars, promises to keep, and file cabinets stuffed to the gills with absolute gibberish. The hours, days, months and years will fly away and seem to take something with them. But that’s an illusion. You will always be tonight’s you, overwhelmed and sweating profusely in your gown. At 95 years old you’ll see this night with aching clarity. But why wait? See it now with everything you’ve got. And the Day After Today? Take a note from this production of Oklahoma!
Opening night, the lights went down in the house and the belated follow spot flipped on like an afterthought, swept the proscenium for a publicly inept 15
seconds before finding Rod Jarvis, the tall guy from chorale, the future power attorney. He was way out there on the stage apron in his cowboy hat, leaning against the wall in that darkened auditorium, thumbs hitched in his jeans. It was briefly…otherworldly. You were out there in the house with your posse, your heart inexplicably in your throat. Then Rod started singing and the place hushed.
“There’s a bright golden haze on the meadow.”
Just a guy singing. Then again; the melody altered.
“There’s a bright golden haze on the meadow.”
Okay. Climb all you want, but to your summit. Or take the fork to the meadow. If you don’t do you, what the hell is the point? Congrats, class of ‘26. And hey – no funny business tonight.
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
Your important and ultimately compostable documentation goes in here
Birds fly. We’re assured it only looks like joy
Elizabeth’s Appraisals
Bright Lights and the Power of Yellow
by Elizabeth Stewart
Amatched pair of lamps in bright yellow glass standing three feet tall combines the history of glass, the history of the color yellow, and the 20th century history of stylish designer lighting. An object contains worlds!
The lamps were manufactured by two entrepreneurial Pacific Coast brothers, Morris and Elliot Markoff, both born in the last years of the 19th century. Their company, Marbro (a combination of their last name and “brother”), was based at the corner of Main and West 1st Street in Los Angeles and lasted till 1990. The brothers were known for designs which incorporated the best materials for their lamp bases: in this case, Venetian Murano glass born in Italy, but they also sourced alabaster from Italy, Chinese and Japanese porcelain vases, German and French crystal bases, and brass from India. Their lamps were considered high-end, produced in a huge variety of styles and period designs. They employed a team of seamstresses to handcraft shades as well. A pair of these lamps today will set you back $2,000 to $3,000.
Yes, the lamps are bright yellow, and knowing the interior design trends in this color helps us to date the lamps. The Op Art inspired shape, and the deep yellow-to-greenish-undertone neon, points to the early 1960s. There are several distinct eras that were not “afraid” of using bright yellow for interior accents: one, the birth years of the lamps, from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s, when designers used that bright neon yellow color for decorative objects, with fabrics in geometric patterns, and paint colors.
Working backwards in time, the period post-WWII in both England and the U.S. saw decorative accents in bright yellows: some say the optimism brought by the ending of the war created a desire for the “spirit-lifting” color. The yellow decorative objects produced for the mass market in the 1940s were not subtle in form, were not “high-end,” and were affordable to the working or middle class. In fact, Lawrence Levine’s seminal book Highbrow/Lowbrow: The Emergence of Cultural Hierarchy has a section on such bright (useless; lowbrow) ornamental objects.
In the 19th century, many types of glass and ceramic products, including Victorian oil lamps, were produced in a bright yellow tone. From the most subtle to the most vivid tones of yellow in glass, amber glass was an old color and one
that used metallic silver for pigmentation. This color was used on 17th–19th century stained glass windows.
A departure from that subtle touch of yellow, we see the 1830s development of Uranium glass, almost a neon yellow with undertones of green, made from a pigment of uranium oxide, a glass that will fluoresce as bright neon green under UV light. Many people suspect radiation from this color of glass. In fact, the most pursued article at the Museum of Radiation and Radioactivity deals with the potency of this color glass. Next in the line of vivid yellow glass is Vaseline glass, made popular in the Depression years, not a true yellow but a green-yellow, which also fluoresces neon green under black light.
Developments in glass technology around yellow-toned glass in the late 19th and early 20th century included both opaque and clear glass, such as cased glass (created in two separate
blown-glass layers in two tones – one color, usually white, as the underlayer); Burmese glass, a matte yellow glass with an underlayer of a peach-colored tone; yellow milk glass, tempered by a white-pigmented glass; and all types of vessels in yellow tones flashed with a metallic hue, prizes at early 20th century fairs called “Carnival Glass.”
Since I just painted my kitchen in my 1962 Santa Barbara condo a bright yellow, I was interested to discover that I am in “style.” The design world is experiencing a shift from cooler tones such as blues, greys, and blue-blacks to yellow-tinted neutrals, all the way to my color, which is Citric Yellow.
Thus, yellow as a color in the history of design is a recurring favorite; some tones suggest both tradition and nobility, such as gold yellows. Likewise, the subtle cream yellows used upon the walls at Sir John Soane’s Museum, established by the great Regency architect Sir John Soane in London, 1813, suggest highbrow class. Contrast this with the yellow loved by Mrs. Flade in her collection of garish bath ceramic figurines. Take Mrs. Flade’s split-level house down the road in Deerfield where I grew up: her cute, bright yellow ceramic fish on the bathroom walls, her yellow ceramic soap dish, and handmade yellow crochet toilet paper cover. Long live yellow!
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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The Marbro lamp in yellow-green neon
National research continues to demonstrate that medically tailored meal programs can improve health outcomes, reduce food insecurity, and potentially lower healthcare costs. Today, Organic Soup Kitchen operates several nutrition support initiatives throughout the county, including its CenCal Medically Tailored Meals Program. With demand rising, portions of the program now maintain waiting lists. Community members can support the organization through donations, volunteering, or purchasing soups from its Haley Street distribution center, with proceeds helping fund meals for residents in need. 411: https://organicsoupkitchen.org
Jill Bell on Board for Hospice SB
Hospice of Santa Barbara has formally recognized Jill Bell as a member of its Board of Directors, bringing more than 30 years of leadership experience in engineering, consulting, executive coaching, and organizational strategy to the nonprofit. Bell, who joined the board in 2025, has advised senior leaders across industries including healthcare, education, technology, and finance.
Bell’s connection to Hospice of Santa Barbara is also deeply personal. Widowed at age 40, she understands the challenges families face during times of loss and has long admired the organization’s free counseling and bereavement services. She said her experiences have strengthened her commitment to helping expand access to support for individuals and families facing serious illness or grief.
Hospice of Santa Barbara CEO David Selberg praised Bell’s strategic expertise and mission-driven leadership, noting that her guidance will help the organization continue delivering compassionate care throughout the community.
Flying Goat Cellars Challenges SBWA in Federal Lawsuit
Flying Goat Cellars, a family-owned Santa Barbara County winery, has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the county’s recently established Wine Business Improvement District (Wine BID). The suit argues that the program, adopted in February 2025, unconstitutionally requires wineries to pay a 1% assessment on sales and automatically become members of the Santa Barbara County Vintners’ Association, which oversees the use of those funds.
Owners Norm Yost and Kate Griffith contend that the association’s marketing priorities do not align with their business model, which focuses on direct relationships with customers rather than broader promotional campaigns. Represented by the Goldwater Institute, Flying Goat argues the mandate violates First Amendment protections against compelled speech and association, as well as constitutional protections related to private property.
The lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of
MSHERIFF’S BLOTTER
Injured Female / 385 San Ysidro Road, Montecito
Sunday, May 17, at 06:24 hours
A passerby reported a female sitting on the steps of Montecito Union School who looked like she had been the victim of some type of violence. Deputies contacted the subject, and it initially looked like she was the victim of a sexual assault as she had bruising on different parts of her body, was in an altered state (with no recollection of where she was or how she got there), and was only wearing a shirt. Victim was transported to Cottage Hospital by AMR and Deputies had STESA respond to the hospital. Through a lengthy investigation, it was determined that there was not a sexual assault. Subject was the passenger in a traffic collision that occurred at about 03:45 hours, on the northbound 101 between Olive Mill and Hermosillo. The driver of the vehicle was eventually arrested for DUI by CHP. Subject fled the vehicle after the crash and walked to the location where deputies found her.
Public Intoxication / 900 San Ysidro Road, Montecito
Friday, May 22, at 22:26 hours
The subject and his wife had been in a restaurant celebrating his birthday. He had gotten drunk and passed out in the driver seat of his vehicle, then was subsequently booked in the county jail pending sobriety.
California against both the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors and the Santa Barbara County Vintners’ Association.
Final Days to See Hunt Slonem Exhibition
Art lovers have just a short time left to experience Hunt Slonem’s debut exhibition at Seimandi & Leprieur Gallery, which closes on June 7. The show marks the celebrated American Neo-Expressionist’s first visit to Santa Barbara and his inaugural collaboration with the downtown gallery. Featuring more than 20 works, the exhibition showcases Slonem’s instantly recognizable visual language, including his iconic rabbits, birds, butterflies, and lush tropical motifs rendered in vibrant colors and textured brushwork.
With works held in more than 250 museum collections worldwide, including the Guggenheim, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art, Slonem is one of the most recognizable contemporary artists working today. As the exhibition enters its final weeks, visitors have a last opportunity to experience his immersive world of color, rhythm, and “Exotica” before the show comes to a close.
Explore Ecology Nature Explorers & Summer STEAM
Preschool Nature Explorers is a hands-on nature series designed especially for children ages 3 to 5 and their caregivers. Stephanie Soicher, Garden Explorers program coordinator, will begin each session with a cozy story time, followed by interactive, nature-inspired activities that encourage connection with the natural world. Themes include Nature Art & Patterns, Building & Engineering, Sensory Exploration, and Nature’s Rhythm.
The six-week Summer STEAM series is taught by Melissa Dodos, a credentialed elementary teacher and Explore Ecology’s Creative Reuse program coordinator. This highly interactive series encourages imagination while introducing science, art, and engineering in fun and accessible ways. Each class features a theme, including Animal Kingdoms, Let It Grow, Airborne Adventures, Groovy Gravity, Calming Collage, and Toys on the Move.
411: https://exploreecology.org
Celebrate National Trails Day
Take a hike or join a hiking group on Saturday, June 6; or sign up to volunteer to clear a trail. See Los Padres National Forest website listings, fire and safety data, and trail maps.
411: www.fs.usda.gov/r05/lospadres
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS
NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MONTECITO MONOGRAM, 1187 Coast Village Road, Montecito, CA 93108. GENERAL WORKSHOP CORP, 1187 COAST VILLAGE RD SUITE 1-151, MONTECITO, CA 93108. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on May 26, 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. 2026-0001380. Published June 4, 11, 18, 25, 2026
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS
NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GALLERY JOSEPHINE, 133 E. ANAPAMU ST., Santa Barbara, CA 93101. JOSEPHINE DESIGN LLC, 133 E. ANAPAMU ST., Santa Barbara, CA 93101. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on May 20, 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. 2026-0001344. Published June 4, 11, 18, 25, 2026
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS
NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ROSE STUDIO, 525 SAN YSIDRO ROAD, SUITE D170, Montecito, CA 93108. KATHERINE ANDERSON, 525 SAN YSIDRO ROAD SUITE D170, Montecito, CA 93101. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on May 19, 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. 2026-0001326. Published June 4, 11, 18, 25, 2026
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS
NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: NURTURE WITH CARE, 5151 TABANO WAY, Santa Barbara, CA 93111. CAROYLN M IBRAHIM, 5151 TABANO WAY, Santa Barbara, CA 93111. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on May 6, 2026. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of 2the 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. 2026-0001215. Published May 21, 28, and June 4, 11, 2026
NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GREEN SEASONS LANDSCAPING, 1625 LAGUNA ST, 4, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. SIMON RAMIREZ, 1625 LAGUNA ST 4, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on May 11, 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. 2026-0001243. Published May 21, 28, and June 4, 11, 2026
across the Pacific Ocean at sunset. The rich bright colors and the view of the scene from overhead, as if from a drone camera view, make the circular waves appear to be woven Chumash baskets in fine detail.
Take note of Owen’s A Seed Was Planted, which pays homage to Santa Barbara’s Moreton Bay fig tree down by the Amtrac station, created via a tactile method due to her diminished (legally blind) eyesight. Pazderka adding, “The idea is in 1876 the seed was planted, and the tree is a representation of SB. She carved into the panel, placed elements out of clay and fire, and painted washes over various areas. It’s very sophisticated work.”
I asked Pazderka how the exhibit came about, and what it’s saying. He explained, “Murals have long been a community-driven and widely accessible art form, used to educate, celebrate, and elevate important stories and social movements. In Santa Barbara County, this tradition traces back to the ancestors of today’s Chumash community, who created the region’s earliest wall paintings at Alaxulux’en, known today as Painted Cave State Historic Park in the Santa Ynez Valley. In modern art, muralism traces its beginnings to 1906 in the Mexican Muralism Movement that reached Southern California by the 1920s. While in Santa Barbara County, contemporary muralism was launched following the 1925 earthquake, a pivotal event that fundamentally changed the landscape of public art and architecture in the region. The Scaling the Walls exhibition celebrates how public art continues to shape the visual and cultural identity of Santa Barbara County’s built environment and highlights the achievements of today’s artists who continue to engage with the transformative power of art in shaping our region’s visual culture and unique character. Murals served as vital tools for cultural representation and community engagement, while celebrating education, shared heritage, and
local identity. With over 100 murals in Santa Barbara alone and many dozens more throughout the county, the Santa Barbara Office of Arts and Culture is working to map and document this living tradition.”
At the City Hall Gallery are three untitled murals by Miguel Rodriguez and the SB Arts Alliance Youth, 2026, acrylic on panel, 72”x48”, and five archival pigment prints of existing murals by Rodriguez from 2013-2017. 411: www.sbac.ca.gov/current-gallery-exhibitions
Energy Updates with Dragon Q Energy
While everyone is concerned with alternative sources of energy for our daily lives and for emergency services, along with the increase in energy that AI data centers have been said to need, I have reported three times since 2024 on a key developer in the field who is continuing with much success right here in our town, Dragon Q Energy (DQE), founded by Dan Casey – an engineer and entrepreneur who worked for the U.S. Army and NASA – along with the team: Mechanical Engineer Quang Bui, Electrical Engineer Eliana Petreikis , and Marketing Director Liam Casey. They also have a team of interns from UCSB and Cal Poly.
Starting in humble beginnings with a prestigious Bren School Grant at the California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) at UCSB’s Incubator lab, they have become so successful in their energy alternative source developments with Patents Granted on their products, they are expanding into new manufacturing/ office space, hiring team members, and bringing energy sources across the globe. Regarding AI energy, they are part of the NVIDIA Inception Program. Visit https://tinyurl.com/MJ-DQE-AI
Locally DQE has provided energy sources for Unite to Light nonprofit organization outreach and launched their power poles across the SBC in an experiment for energy, thereby moving the needle steadily towards proven alternative safe energy sources.
At the end of May, Liam reached out to me with the latest updates, namely, regarding a new international humanitarian initiative involving DQE’s power pole for off-grid solar energy for Destiny Hands International in San Diego and the Liberian nonprofit BENDIS Technologies (BETECH). The partnership is launching a pilot project in Liberia aimed at expanding access to reliable electricity, internet connectivity, and digital education resources through an off-grid solar-powered system and portable digital learning platform. I interviewed Casey for another update.
Q. Explain the humanitarian aspect of this joint effort.
A. It was important for us to get involved in this project because there is a clear need for more resilient and deployable infrastructure to support critical humanitarian technologies like the SendBox platform. Reliable electricity and internet access are becoming essential to education, communication, and economic opportunity in the modern world, and digital literacy will play a major role in helping the next generation participate in the global economy. Personally, I’m proud to contribute to something that has the potential to open doors and create new opportunities for communities with far fewer resources and infrastructure available to them. We hope that together with Destiny Hands International we can help provide students with reliable power, internet access, and the tools needed to learn, develop new skills, and connect to opportunities that may have otherwise been out of reach.
How is your DQE team expanding and what openings are available?
Dragon Q Energy has continued expanding its engineering and fabrication team with the addition of a lead mechanical engineer, mechanical fabricator, lead electrical engineer, and electrical fabricator, alongside a consulting engineer who has played an important role in shaping our latest AI and data center power infrastructure reference designs. We are also preparing to hire a
technical sales lead in the coming weeks as we continue moving toward broader deployment and commercialization. These new hires have significantly accelerated development internally. We are now able to run more testing, improve R&D speed, begin low-rate production, and expand development of new technologies focused on AI power infrastructure. As part of that growth, we are receiving our first batch of 10 battery packs from our contract manufacturer, with eight of those expected to support upcoming community pilot projects in the Santa Barbara area. Our expanded team will play a major role in assembling, integrating, and deploying those systems. The growth of the team and expansion into our new facility also comes as Dragon Q Energy continues raising its seed round to support scaling manufacturing, product development, strategic IP expansion, and deployment efforts across AI infrastructure, telecom, defense, and humanitarian markets. See our website for employment and volunteer areas.
Congrats on your new location, tell us about it.
Dragon Q Energy has grown significantly from its humble beginnings, which started with little more than a desk overlooking the ocean. From there, we expanded into a 1,200 square foot space that we quickly outgrew, and we’ve now moved into a new 9,000 square foot facility in the Santa Barbara area. With our continued hiring, expanding engineering activities, and our first 10 units now coming in from manufacturing, we needed the additional space to support assembly, testing, product development, inventory, and day-to-day operations. The new facility allows us to run multiple tests simultaneously while continuing R&D and preparing systems for deployment.
It was also very important for us to stay in the Santa Barbara area because our roots are here. We’re deeply connected to the local entrepreneurial community, and the Santa Barbara area has also been incredibly supportive of our humanitarian initiatives through a strong network of local partners and philanthropists.
411: www.dragonqenergy.com
A Seed Was Planted by artist Cheri Owen
DQE PowerPole (disassembled) with DQE CEO
Dan Casey and Benjamin Kettor of Destiny
Hands International meeting on the Liberia project (courtesy photo)
“Through slow, mindful movement and steady breathing, tai chi encourages the body to shift out of a chronic ‘fight or flight’ state and into one that is more balanced, regulated, and sustainable.”
– Toni DeMoulin
Class on stage in Oak Park, Sat am. To sign up, contact Toni at Taichitoni1@hotmail.com
“The slow rocking tempo of tai chi calms our nervous systems which gives us a sense of well-being. Stress and tension melt away. How lovely it is to take time in our busy lives to slow down, breathe deeply and be fully in the moment.” – Jessica Kolbe Qigong and tai chi sessions at the Carpinteria Woman’s Club (Tues/Thurs) and Carp City Beach (Fri). Jessica@JessicaTaiChi.com
“Tai chi and qigong are an excellent resource for teaching body/mind awareness to older adults. The fluid, harmonious, whole-body movements enhance cognition, memory, coordination, balance, and well-being.”
– Luis Sanchez
Classes offered through SBCC Adult Learning Program at Maravilla (Tues/Thurs, 2 pm) and Wood Glenn Hall (Tues, 10:45 am).
If interested call the Schott Center: (805) 729-0942 for more information.
“Designed to be accessible to everyone, regardless of fitness level – my beginner’s class emphasizes improved focus, balance, and mind-body awareness.” – Susan Robinson Free classes in Rocky Nook Park, Sat at 9 am. Contact Susan about future offerings. youngrobinson@mac.com
“For all ages, this tai chi class teaches the fluid movements of tai chi designed to improve health relaxation, balance, flexibility, and encourage a sense of inner peace.” – Montecito YMCA Class taught by Elizabeth on Wed at 11:15 am or live-streamed through YMCA360.
Ann Brode has been a bodyoriented therapist for over for over 50 years. She’s the author of A Guide to Body Wisdom as well as numerous articles about living fully in body, mind, and spirit. Visit www.annbrode.com
Curator’s Choice
This slice of a shell in the collections behind the scenes at Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History reveals the chambers of an animal sometimes known as the chambered nautilus. A cephalopod mollusk like the octopus, squid, and cuttlefish, the nautilus is easily distinguished from these relatives by its hard outer shell. The animal develops chambers in the shell that progress in size as its body grows. The old chambers remain useful to the nautilus as storage tanks for water and air to maintain its buoyancy in the water column. This specimen comes from an individual in the genus Nautilus. It’s among millions of marine invertebrate specimens preserved in the Museum’s collections, and is shown here in the hands of Associate Curator of Invertebrate Zoology Vanessa Delnavaz, MA.
syndrome, through therapeutic horseback riding and equine programs designed to build confidence, connection, and joy. Board President Andrew Wilson, looking every inch the Santa Barbara Ranchero, reflected on the organization’s mission and the transformative power of the program.
Guests arrived dressed in full cowboy and cowgirl chic as the live band Caught Red Handed kept the dance floor humming late into the evening. Through therapeutic horseback riding and equine-assisted activities, Hearts Equine Therapy helps children and adults with disabilities build confidence, improve physical coordination, and experience the joy of connecting with these remarkable animals. Country line dancing lessons brought plenty of laughs, with some guests gliding gracefully across the floor while others looked rather like startled cattle at feeding time. All part of the charm.
One of the evening’s most touching moments came from participant Jessica Simon, who delivered a moving speech about the program’s impact on her life.
“I’m happiest riding a horse with the wind in my hair,” she shared, drawing misty eyes throughout the barn. Fellow participant Robbie Moore also spoke warmly about the life-changing experience of working with the horses.
Guests feasted on hearty barbecue tri-tip, beans, and corn on the cob while Wilson reflected on his 30 years as a Ranchero. “It’s an amazing program that has such a big impact on the kids’ lives,” he said. Executive director Kristen Kallai, meanwhile, cheerfully declared, “I’m the boots on the ground!”
Also attending were Board Members Pat Carroll, DeeDee Conrad, Don Barthelmess, Carol Kallman, Thom Bateman , Stephanie Petlow , Phil Unander , Mike Mendoza , Tracy Sanginiti, and Paul Uyesaka, along
with Jenna and Avi Reichenthal
Quite enough to warm even the dustiest cowboy heart. by Lisa Duncan
Sightings
Fresh from a Montecito weekend and double date with the Biebers, Kendall Jenner and Jacob Elordi were spotted enjoying a cozy evening in Tokyo this week…
Media mogul Ted Sarandos was spotted backstage at Vox Media’s Prof G Markets Tour in San Francisco…
Gwyneth Paltrow was spotted on NBC’s Today show in New York this week…
Katy Perry roaring into quite a week after scoring a major legal victory in her battle over her $15 million estate and being awarded millions in attorney fees.
From Richard and friends to all of you… Pip! Pip!
The chambered nautilus slice
Phil Unander, Mike Mendoza, Jim Jackson, and Paul Uyesaka (photo by Priscilla)
Andrew Wilson, Robbie Moore, Kristen Kallai, Jessica Simon, and Pat Carroll (photo by Priscilla)
DeeDee Conrad, Stephanie Petlow, Don Barthelmess, Thom Bateman, and Andrew Wilson with Carol Kallman in front (photo by Priscilla)
integral to the show’s power, Reilly has assembled a crackerjack band that boasts the Grammy-decorated singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist David Garza, Charles De Castro (cornet, accordion), fiddler Gabe Witcher of Alison Krauss and Punch Brothers fame, and Santa Barbara’s own bassist David Piltch, whose credits include Blood, Sweat & Tears and k.d. lang among many others. See the show Sunday, June 7, at the Lobero.
1st Thursday Addenda: Festivities, Film and Far from State
The Grand on State had its originally scheduled grand opening last Saturday night with more than a dozen musicians taking to the piano-dominated stage for some six hours of music over the course of the night, not to mention scrumptious courses from the new jazz club-restaurant’s French chef. Now comes word that The Grand will join the June 1st Thursday celebration with the official Ribbon Cutting and Grand Opening on June 4. Doors and dinner seating begin at 5 pm, with music from 6:30-10 pm featuring Lois Mahalia, Brian Mann, and special guests. Friday brings Santa Barbara-based percussionist Matt Perko’s Birthday Bash with a quartet of his L.A. jazz greats joining in for original music, new jazz standards, and more. Montecitan Kerrilee Gore’s short films in this year’s SBIFF represented two almost polar extremes in style and tone. While Stand by Mother was a whimsical, fantastic voyage into the imagination as a call to environmental action by and for children, Memory Experiment is a much more harrowing narrative film. The story is about a traumatic kidnapping and carjacking that Gore and her friend experienced a generation ago in their early 20s, an ordeal that began outside a nightclub in Los Angeles. Using their wits and inner wisdom the two managed to survive what could have ended as tragedy. The movie dramatically reenacts the event from their two vastly different perspectives. Their separate individual recollections – committed to tape more than 20 years after the event – provide both the film’s audio and a lot of food for thought about the workings of the mind. Memory Experiment screens for free at SBIFF’s new Film Center downtown every half hour from 5:30 to 7 pm as part of 1st Thursday.
A little off the main drag, SBCAST (513 Garden Street) will once again host UCSB’s Media Arts & Technology (MAT) End-of-Year show. Titled this year, re:agency, the range of multimedia pieces answer the question: “Where does agency reside when power is concentrated in the hands of a few, who unilaterally define what is possible and what will not be tolerated?”
Since moving to La Cumbre Plaza, the VOICE Gallery may not exactly be walkable from the rest of the State Street haunts, but it’s worth checking out the new exhibition at the gallery for the season titled SummerDance (yes, the same as the late and lamented choreographer and company residence program at the Lobero in years gone by) as the show features works by local artists, and in media ranging from metals to photos, prints, and paintings based on the theme. The opening artist reception not only boasts free treats but also a sing-along with the estimable local pianist Harold Kono. For more 1st Thursday picks, see the Entertainment Calendar.
Classical Corner: Goodbye Gustavo
The end is here. Gustavo Dudamel concludes his tenure as music and artistic director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert Hall with a final series of concerts titled “Gracias Gustavo: Celebrating 17 Years.” The final weekend starts June 4 with Celebrating the Musicians of the L.A. Phil as the orchestra’s principals in every section take a turn in the spotlight in a program boasting 14 different pieces and movements. The June 5-7 grand finale concerts find Dudamel honoring his Venezuelan and American identities by presiding over two poetry-inspired choral symphonic works in John Adams’ “Harmonium” and Antonio Estévez’s “Cantata Criolla.” The Cantata brings Dudamel’s tenure full circle, as the dynamo selected the work as one of the first pieces he wanted to bring to Los Angeles in his inaugural season to illustrate his belief that music can build bridges between cultures.
As part of the Classical California series, Sunday’s concert will broadcast live locally at 93.7 FM. Despite heading east to take on the same positions at the New York Philharmonic, Dudamel will no doubt be back with the L.A. Phil as a guest, hopefully also a few times in their annual CAMA program at the Granada.
Visit www.laphil.com
MONTECITO WATER DISTRICT NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING 2025 URBAN WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN and WATER SHORTAGE CONTINGENCY PLAN UPDATES TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2026, 9:30 A.M.*
Montecito Water District (District) is currently preparing update s to its Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP) and Water Shortage Contingency Plan in compliance with the California Urban Water Management Planning Act.
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Board of Directors of the Montecito Water District (District) will conduct a Public Hearing on Tuesday, June 23, 2026 at 9:30 a.m. to consider input regarding proposed updates to the UWMP and Water Shortage Contingency Plan
The proposed updates to the UWMP and Water Shortage Contingency Plan are available for public review as of April 30, 2026 at the District Office, 583 San Ysidro Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93108 and on the District web site at: www.montecitowater.com/uwmp
If you are unable to access the information via this link, or need accommodations to review the document, please contact:
Adam Kanold
Montecito Water District 583 San Ysidro Road Santa Barbara, CA 93108 akanold@montecitowater.com Phone: 805.969.2271
Written comments can be provided to the contact above up until the date and time of the Public Hearing.
*The public hearing will be conducted in person at the District office located at 583 San Ysidro Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93108. Remote participation information will be available on the meeting agenda posted at the District office, on the website www.montecitowater.com, and by calling 805-969-2271.
Run, MJ Public/legal notices section, June 4 & 11, 2026
MONTECITO WATER DISTRICT NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING
TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2026 9:30 A.M.*
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that, at the regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Directors of Montecito Water District to be held on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, at 9:30 A.M., the Board will hold a public meeting to consider the adoption of the following Resolutions:
1. Resolution No. 2324: A Resolution of the Board of Directors of Montecito Water District Adopting a Schedule of Miscellaneous Fees and Charges for Fiscal Year 2027 Miscellaneous Fees and Charges are imposed by the District for specific services to recover the District’s costs for providin g those services.
2. Resolution No. 2325: A Resolution of the Board of Directors of Montecito Water District Establishing Capital Cost Recovery Fees and Connection Fees Effective July 1, 2026 Capital Cost Recovery Fees and Connection fees are paid to become a customer of the District and include: (a) the actual cost s of physically connecting to the District water system (Connection Fees) and (b) charges to fund a proportionate share of the Dis trict’s facilities (Capital Cost Recovery Fees).
Information concerning the fees and charges is available for public review at https://www.montecitowater.com/
At the public meeting, oral and written presentations may be made and/or heard concerning the fees and charges under Resolution No. 2324 and Resolution No. 2325
*The public meeting will be conducted in person at the District office located at 583 San Ysidro Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93108. Remote participation information will be available on the meeting agenda posted at the District office, on the website www.montecitowater.com, and by calling 805-969-2271.
Run, MJ Public/legal notices section, June 4 & 11, 2026
MONTECITO WATER DISTRICT NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON WATER AVAILABILITY CHARGE
TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2026, 9:30 A.M. 583 SAN YSIDRO ROAD* SANTA BARBARA, CA 93108
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that, at the regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Directors of the Montecito Water District (District) to be held on Tuesday, June 23, 2026 at 9:30 A.M., the Board will hold a public hearing to consider the adoption of Resolution 2319 to continue an existing Water Availability Charge for the purpose of funding water distribution system improvements. A written report, detailing the description of each parcel of real property and the amount of the charge for each parcel for the year, is on file and available for public review at Montecito Water District’s Office located at 583 San Ysidro Road , Santa Barbara, CA 93108 For information on a specific parcel’s acreage and proposed charge, owners may call 805.969.2271 or email info@montecitowater.com
The District is proposing to continue the existing charge as it was established in July 1996 and with such exceptions as have previously been granted by the Board, with no increase in the charge or change in the methodology by which it is calculated. The District will continue to collect such charge on the tax rolls, as in previous years.
At the Public Hearing on June 23, 2026 the Board of Directors will hear and consider objections and protests to the written report and application of the charge Any objection or protest must be presented to the District on or before the close of the June 23, 2026 Public Hearing
*The public hearing will be conducted in person at the District office location referenced above. Remote participation information will be available on the meeting agenda posted at the District office, on the website www.montecitowater.com, and by calling 805 -969-2271.
Run, MJ Public/legal notices section, June 4 & 11, 2026
LEGAL NOTICE
SANTA BARBARA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT BUDGET
The proposed 2026-2027 budget for the Santa Barbara Unified School District will be available for public inspection at the Santa Barbara Unified School District Office at 720 Santa Barbara Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101, on June 4, 2026, during regular working hours. The public hearing on said budget will be held on June 9, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. at the District Office Board Room. The budget adoption meeting will be held on June 23, 2026, at the District Office Board Room.
Published by Montecito Journal, May 28 and June 4, 2026
MONTECITO SANITARY DISTRICT PUBLIC NOTICE
Notice is hereby given that the Board of Directors of the Montecito Sanitary District shall conduct a public hearing at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 24th, 2026 at its Board Room located at 1042 Monte Cristo Lane, Santa Barbara, CA 93108 as well as via Zoom Meetings; meeting ID 861 1897 5917, to consider the adoption of Resolution 2026-990 of the governing board of the Montecito Sanitary District to collect sewer service charges on the County Tax Roll
The public may attend and comment by calling 1 -669- 900-6833 and entering Meeting ID 861 1897 5917 or by visiting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86118975917
Copies of the text of the proposed resolution are on file with the clerk of the District Board and are available for public inspection at the Districts ’ offices. See https://www.montsan.org/
Published by Montecito Journal, May 28 and June 4, 2026
NOTICE TO CONSULTANTS
Proposals due by 2:00 PM, Friday, July 17, 2026 for:
PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING SERVICES FOR LOW WATER CROSSING REPLACEMENT ALTERNATIVES AND DESIGN THROUGH 100% PS&E
County Project No. 862363, Federal-Aid No. NBIL-5951 (548)
County Project No. 862364, Federal-Aid No. NBIL-5951 (551)
County Project No. 862365, Federal-Aid No. NBIL-5951 (549)
County Project No. 862366, Federal-Aid No. NBIL-5951 (550)
General work description: TYPE SECTION REPORTS, PLAN, SPECIFICATIONS AND ESTIMATES, GEOTECHNICAL, HYDRAULIC, ENVIRONMENTAL PERMITTING SUPPORT, AND ROW SUPPORT
The Notice to Consultants/Proposers, Request for Proposals, and available Supplemental Information are available at no charge at:
The RFP is available at https://pbsystem.planetbids.com/portal/43874/portal -home
For the Federal training program, the number of trainees or apprentices is 0
All RFP questions are due Friday, 07/10/25 by 2:00 PM and must be submitted via PlanetBids. Confirmation of receipt will be provided. RFP questions and answers will be posted on the County PlanetBids website.
A pre-proposal virtual conference will be held on June 23, 2026, at 10:00 AM. Attendance is encouraged but not mandatory. The conference will provide an overview of the project and procurement requirements. The meeting link and access instructions will be made available through PlanetBids at a later date.
The cumulative total pages for the proposal must not exceed 30 pages (minimum 12 font size, single-spaced). Page count limit is exclusive of cover letter, blank pages or tabs, and required forms (i.e. Attachment A Agreement Cover Sheet, Attachment B Contractor Information Sheet, Resumes, etc.).
Proposals must be submitted electronically through PlanetBids by the deadline above.
This project is subject to compliance monitoring and enforcement by the California DIR. Prevailing wages are required on this Proposal. The State DIR Director determines the general prevailing wage rates which can be obtained at the DIR website at https://www.dir.ca.gov/
Federal minimum wage rates for federally funded tasks under this Contract are determined by the United States Secretary of Labor and are available at https://www.wdol.gov/. Copies are also available at the office of the Department of Public Works – Engineering Division, 123 E Anapamu Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Proposals must be received prior to or on the date due. Proposals received after the due date and time or received at the wrong location are considered nonresponsive and shall be rejected.
PUBLISHED JUNE 4, 2026 - Montecito Journal
Al-Sadd and Al-Duhail. This year-round familiarity grants Qatar a telepathic level of team chemistry. Under this structural unity, they have engineered a lethal, highly disciplined counter-attacking system that completely shocked the region when they captured the 2019 AFC Asian Cup and successfully defended their crown in 2023.
Visit Santa Barbara has been working closely with partners across the region, including Westmont College, to help bring the two international teams, Austria and Qatar, to the Santa Barbara South Coast for FIFA World Cup training.While local fans will surely feel the World Cup buzz mirroring through the community, FIFA regulations dictate that all training sessions at Thorrington Field will be strictly closed to the public.
College Honors Employees
Westmont honored a number of employees for their outstanding contributions at the Faculty and Staff Appreciation Brunch, an annual ceremony that this year recognizes individual work anniversaries and accomplishments on May 14 in Murchison Gym. President Gayle D. Beebe and members of the college’s executive team selected the recipients from a peer-nominated pool. An endowment set up by the late Bruce and Adaline Bare funds the faculty awards; he was longtime college trustee.
This year’s Employee of the Year awards recognized Brenda Tirado, assistant director of admissions for staff development and recruitment strategy, and Joe Foster, assistant vice president for finance and controller. The brunch is hosted by Westmont Human Resources.
Westmont Human Resources, which includes Greta Bruneel, Lorraine Yoro, Keri Lien, Sammie Kuo, Allegra Perry, and Jillian Smith, was honored with the Department of the Year Award.
The brunch also served as a platform to thank retiring biology professor Jeff Schloss for 45-years of teaching and scholarship at Westmont. Fellow biology professor Steve Julio lauded Schloss by focusing on Schloss’ impact and legacy. While Schloss was originally trained as a forest ecologist, his career took a turn and he became one of the nation’s leading voices of the faith and science
community. Francis Collins, who led the Human Genome Project and directed the National Institutes of Health, recruited Schloss to start the think tank BioLogos.
“Not only does Jeff bring incredible intellectual wisdom and vitality to the faith science conversation, but he does so with unparalleled grace, generosity and a humility that is willing to be corrected,” Julio said. “In short, Jeff was uniquely gifted to bring the posture of Jesus to a sometimes very contentious conversation.”
For more than four decades, Schloss taught Biology and Faith, one of the most sought-after courses for biology majors. “Students talk about how they were utterly transformed by this course, and when they come back and visit us several years later, they almost, to a person, say that their journey after Westmont was profoundly impacted by that one class,” Julio said.
Beebe followed up the accolades by announcing that the college had received a matching gift and will work to raise funds over the next year to establish the Jeff Schloss Center for Christian Faithful Science.
The Department of the Year Award goes to Human Resources
President Gayle D. Beebe with Employees of the Year Joe Foster and Brenda Tirado
Biology professors Jeff Schloss and Steve Julio
(and rarely actually followed Route 66) had a tremendous impact on the romance of the American concept of a “Road Trip” and the historic allure of America’s Highway.
Popularized and glorified by the T.V. show, hitting the highway became every young man’s dream along with a desire for a convertible Corvette. How better to taste the adventures that the freedom of the road could bring? As the Nat King Cole Trio sang in1948 –
If you ever plan to motor west Travel my way, take the highway that’s the best
Get Your Kicks on Route 66
(The song was written by Bobby Troup, but it was his wife who kicked in the name on their own road trip on The Route.)
Today supplanted by U.S. Highway 40, the remains of Route 66 still weave their way across and along the Interstate. Back in 1926, it wove along the tracks of the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe Railroad, which connected Chicago to California in 1887, just 39 years before the road. (The building of the line, however, had begun in 1866 and reached the Colorado border in 1872.) That historic rail line, and the Harvey Houses planted along the tracks to accommodate passengers and tourists, inspired its own song as well as a movie.
Do you hear that whistle down the line? I figure that it’s engine number forty-nine, She’s the only one that’ll sound that way.
On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe
Riding the Rails
As the Santa Fe Railroad inched ever westward, an English immigrant named Fred Harvey took over the trackside restaurants of the struggling railroad and began revolutionizing the service industry of America by providing top quality accommodations and food along the rail lines. He built beautiful hotels and restaurants in remote areas and staffed them with workers who lived in dormitories attached to
the resort. He also promoted tourism of the American West by offering all the services needed for visitors. His hotels had newsstands and bookstores and several levels of dining, from elegant white linen table service to grab-and-go sandwiches.
Young, unmarried women were recruited to live and work at the hotels. Harvey provided job training, good pay, lodging and job security. The girls had to be single, educated, of “good character,” and well spoken. Harvey ended up providing women with exciting opportunities to be independent and see some of the world. So entranced was America by the concept of the Harvey Girls, that Metro-GoldwynMayer produced the musical, The Harvey Girls, starring Judy Garland in 1946.
Two of Fred Harvey’s hotels, Casa del Desierto in Barstow and El Garces in Needles have a Santa Barbara connection, as does the train station at Grand Canyon National Park. The architect for all three of these structures was Francis Wilson, a Santa Barbara architect who also designed the Mission Revival style train station in Santa Barbara as well as several homes and estates.
Road Trip
At the end of April, my husband and I hit the road headed for historic Harvey Houses and Route 66. We had driven several stretches of the highway in the past but wanted to travel the stretch from Kingman to Seligman, Arizona. Along the way, we found plenty of exuberant celebrations and desert dwellers humor.
We started out at a favorite first stop, Casa del Desierto in Barstow with its sidelined exhibit of old rail cars and magnificent
“A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.”
– Lao Tzu
The road out of Grand Canyon Caverns
Seligman fun
Built in 1911, Casa del Desierto in Barstow was a Harvey House Hotel and train station (Wikimedia Commons)
A section of El Garces, the Harvey House in Needles, California
A favorite Route 66 stop is the Wagon Wheel Restaurant in Needles
Casa del Desierto in Barstow was designed by Santa Barbara architect Francis Wilson as a Harvey House for the Santa Fe Railroad
Route 66 celebrations have the biker clans and their admirers out in force in Needles
Monumental hammered copper lamps and sconces have returned to the grand waiting room of Casa del Desierto
hotel. Since our last visit they had obtained at auction the original copper light fixtures, masterworks of artistry and so fitting to the architecture of the hotel. Highway 66 awaited us right by the station.
At Needles, we walked the grounds of El Garces, which the city has spent years preserving. Here, Route 66 celebrations were much in evidence with new murals and fresh paint on a few of the original relics and businesses. Today’s Santa Fe line, the BNSF (Burlington Northern Santa Fe) tracks cross the Colorado River near here as well.
Then it was on to Kingman, where we turned north on Route 66 and headed for Antares with its Giganticus Headicus and a scrap metal sculpture of Joan of Arc. Next, we headed to the tiny town of Hackberry for an extensive collection of Route 66 souvenirs and the Elvis at the Soda Fountain display which was a mind-and-eye boggling cornucopia of memorabilia. The tiny towns of Valentine and Truxton were quiet and didn’t join the excessive jubilation. In Valentine, we stopped on the side of the road with its boarded up Indian School under ominous clouds as the Santa Fe train raced by. Valentine is mostly famous for its post office which does a rousing business around February 14.
Next up was Grand Canyon Caverns for lunch and bad puns. Everyone working at the restaurant seemed affected by the punster disease. The cook, meanwhile, was affected by the “86” disease. Several attempts to order various items from the menu ended up with the reply, “We’re out of … mayonnaise, bread, lettuce, salad
dressing, hamburger, etc.” When my husband finally threw up his hands and said, I’ll just have the hot dog, the waiter asked, will that be Rottweiler or Poodle? (Groan)
After what passed for lunch, we entered an elevator that took us 21 stories down to the caverns. The guide regaled us with puns as she explained the formations of the dry cavern. They used to have a motel room in the cavern and do have a dining area set up for special parties. (There was some deep thinking going on there.)
After escaping from the deep, it was on to Seligman. The approach to the town was lined with nostalgic Burma Shave signs. Seligman is the center for exuberant, unrepentant, and unabashed Route 66 kitsch. It was truly, but weirdly, magnificent. Despite temperatures in the low 40s, everyone was smiling and getting their kicks out of Route 66. Thus ended our trip as we returned to Highway 40.
The not so bustling Land Office and souvenir shop in Antares boasts the Giganticus Headicus, a large green tiki head. Who could resist stopping?
Dining 21 stories down in your own caveau
Soda fountain seats were available next to The King of Rock and Roll, Elvis the Pelvis
Well, it’s not powder blue and it’s not a convertible, but our boringly gray Road Trip Van handles the threatening weather and uneven roads just fine.
Antara’s rival town, Hackberry, had a charming “gas station” selling Route 66 memorabilia
Empty heads at Grand Canyon Caverns
Not much going on in Valentine. The Indian school and the post office were closed and the sky was threatening as the train roared by on tracks paralleling Route 66.
As if the “best head on Route 66” wasn’t enough to entice clients, the new scrap metal Joan of Arc statue was sure to win them over
The show that glorified “The Road Trip” (Wikicommons)
Inspiring ideas on what to do with that junker car hidden in the bushes in Seligman.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Calendar of Events
by Steven Libowitz
FRIDAY, JUNE 5
Hawkin’ New Media – Santa Barbara born-and-raised Hunter Hawkins is a singer-songwriter perhaps best-known in town for her numerous appearances alongside Kenny Loggins and band at venues all over town, from the Granada to the ONE805LIVE! benefit stage, as well as singing a few songs in concert halls and stages as part of group concerts. The big-voiced and bigger-visioned
THURSDAY, JUNE 4
1st Thursday – The downtown monthly art-and-culture self-guided tour has officially added a new gallery to its roster, but the purveyor is a longtime Santa Barbara artist institution. REH Contemporary Studio & Gallery (12 W. Anapamu St.) – painter Ruth Ellen Hoag’s new arts district digs after recent years in the Funk Zone – is having a soft opening to give visitors a preview of new work, a glimpse of work in progress, and a gander at the schedule of studio classes and workshops. Just looking in through the big picture windows has sparked plenty of curiosity… Right next door, 10 West Gallery (10 W. Anapamu St.) is fresh off its 10th anniversary celebration and soldiering on, feeling In the Pink The group show at the membership gallery features flowers, pink sunsets, and lots of robust abstracts in various media, from oil and acrylic paintings, bronze, stone and resin sculptures, to mixed media and encaustic (hot wax painting)… Around the corner on State, Santa Barbara Fine Art (1321 State St.) is teaming up with Heal the Ocean to celebrate Liquid Corners, a painting by artist John Wullbrandt said to have been inspired by Heal the Ocean’s birthplace. All proceeds from Wulbrandt’s painting will benefit the nonprofit’s ongoing environmental efforts, while the gallery will be serving a beer from Rincon Brewery that, not coincidentally, is called “Liquid Corners”.... One door up, Art & Soul (1323 State St.) hosts Viridian Shores, Lucia de Miguel’s solo exhibition inspired by coastal landscapes, global travel, and imagined escape through vivid aerial perspectives and intimate shoreline portraits… In the non-traditional gallery department, The Crafter’s Library (9 E. Figueroa St.) is marking its fifth anniversary with a celebration filled with giveaways, crafts, cocktails and karaoke –plus cake at 6:30 pm… While its 2026 Summer Music Festival opens in less than two weeks, today the Music Academy of the West puts some attention once again on its Music Education Center (901 State St.) for an open house where visitors can explore the building as it is today and preview renderings of what’s to come. Enjoy a glass of wine and learn about its vision of the future of music education and performance downtown.
WHEN: 5-8 pm
WHERE: Lower State Street and side streets
COST: free
INFO: (805) 962-2098 or www.downtownsb.org/events/1st-thursday
THURSDAY, JUNE 4
Gris for the Mill (Valley) – You can’t come by your penchant for improvisational acoustic ensemble music much more honestly than Sam Grisman. His dad, David Grisman, is the legendary mandolinist, composer, producer (and longtime collaborator with the Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia) who fairly invented the genre. Grisman Sr. often hosted friends at his home studio in Mill Valley for recording sessions or rehearsals, including Garcia, Doc Watson, John Hartford, Mike Seeger, and Tony Rice, to name just a few. So no wonder Sam is following in dad’s giant foot-stomps in pursuing a life making music with his many talented friends. Bassist Sam leads a rotating cast of exceptional acoustic musicians who command the stage with deeply attuned interplay and dynamic performances. The instruments’ only amplification is provided by condenser microphones, effectively creating a listening-room experience rooted in musicianship, storytelling, spontaneity, and collaboration. Hence, the Lobero as a venue.
WHEN: 7:30 pm
WHERE: Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St.
COST: $45 & $6 ($80 premium tickets includes preferred seating and a pre-show reception with complimentary drinks and light bites)
INFO: (805) 963-0761 or www.lobero.org
Hawkins has also performed from dive bars in London and cafés in Paris to the Newport Folk Festival and New York City’s iconic Bitter End, impressing audiences with her dynamic presence and cinematic emotional musical storytelling. Hawkins is also a filmmaker and actor whose credits include a 2025 Best Actor win at the Long Beach Underground Film Festival. Tonight, Hawkins celebrates the release of “Here Now,” the debut single from the forthcoming Loggins-produced Red Van Records project, Awake. The evening will feature a premiere screening of Awake: Pinky’s Journey, the 40-minute companion film written, directed, produced by and starring Hawkins. Filmed around Santa Barbara County, including scenes at Loggins’ home and Alan Parsons’ Parsonic Studios property in Goleta, the project offers an immersive first look at the upcoming album before its official release. A solo acoustic performance from Hawkins will follow the screening.
COST: $15 in advance, $20 at the door INFO: (805) 684-6380 or www.thealcazar.org
FRIDAY, JUNE 5-SUNDAY, JUNE 7
Down the Rabbit Hole – Less than a week after mounting her immersive research-based modern dance installation in the Funk Zone through her Selah Dance Co., choreographer and Artistic Director Meredith Ventura returns to a (comparatively) traditional space with Novus, the contemporary ballet wing of Selah. Alice! (in Wonderland) is a bold and imaginative re-envisioning of the beloved classic. Alice! blends genres for a fresh, visually rich take on Lewis Carroll’s iconic world, an interpretive departure that transforms the familiar-and-already- outré story into a deliciously surreal, dreamlike journey through shifting identities, absurd logic, and the pleasures and perils of curiosity. The production explores Wonderland as both a fantastical escape and a reflection of the complexities of growing up. The program also features new works by Ventura and some of Novus’ dancers.
WHEN: 7 pm Friday & Saturday, 2 pm Sunday
WHERE: Center Stage Theatre, 751 Paseo Nuevo, second floor
SUNDAY,
Opera in the Park – Hot on the heels of its ambitious and well-received 202526 season at the Lobero, Opera Santa Barbara returns to Godric Grove at Elings Park for its second annual outdoor show high in the hills of the ocean-adjacent park on the Mesa. Pack a picnic then settle in for an afternoon “Celebration of American Song” when some of the company’s most favored singers perform popular selections from American opera, musical theater, and art songs just weeks before the nation celebrates its 250th birthday. From soaring melodies on solo songs to spirited ensembles, the concert is designed for audiences of all ages and experience, from longtime opera lovers to those experiencing opera for the first time. Set against the natural beauty of Santa Barbara, the singers –Soprano Emily Gallagher, Mezzo Soprano Max Potter, Tenor Felipe Prado and Baritone Matthew Peterson, with Program Curator Catherine Miller on piano –will take on songs and arias by Aaron Copland, Charles Ives, Ricky Ian Gordon, Matteo Neri, Jake Heggie, Victor Herbert, Rogers and Hammerstein, Colm Wilkinson, and Leonard Bernstein, among others.
WHEN: 3 pm
WHERE: Elings Park, 1298 Las Positas Road
COST: $20 in advance, $25 at the door; free for youth 18 and under
COST: $35-$50, students $20
INFO: (805) 963-0408 or https://centerstagetheater.org
SATURDAY, JUNE 6
Folk & Fiddle – It’s a double dose of almost exclusively acoustic music from a bunch of 805 stalwarts at the Alcazar in a fiery evening of fresh folk and fiddle songs. The McCrees and Friends ensemble focuses on choice deep cuts from the Grateful Dead and the Garcia-Grisman canons, both pulling from their peers and cohorts and fiddling around with original songs. The night includes favorites Karina Dawn Line on vocals and guitarist Josh Jenkins on vocals, mandolin, fiddle and guitar; Mike Fleiss on guitar; David Cowan on vocals and guitar; John McInnes on bass; and Carl B. on drums, plus guests. Classically trained bluegrass-loving fiddler Phil Salazar and guitarist/mandolinist Tom Corbett bring their own dynamic energy to the stage with styles spanning Americana, folk and blues, Cajun, and jazz. Both original and classic tunes are enhanced by Salazar’s sharp wit and Corbett’s more lighthearted playful banter, elevating the entertainment factor.
Monday Night Madness – Local meets NOLA when New Orleans’ powerhouse Soul Brass Band teams up with Santa Barbara’s own sassy and brassy street band Brasscals for a full night of high-energy brass, funk, and second line rhythms. SOhO takes on the Crescent City for a beginning-of-the-week blast that veers into jazz, pop, Latin grooves, hip hop and more, producing a nonstop dance party atmosphere of Louisiana lightning to beat the Monday blues. The only thing missing? Lessons on how to dance to second-line music, although you’ll likely have no trouble just jumping along with the crowd.
WHEN: 8 pm
WHERE: SOhO Restaurant & Music Club, 1221 State St., upstairs in Victoria Court
COST: $20 in advance, $25 at the door
INFO: (805) 962-7776 or www.sohosb.com
SUNDAY, JUNE 7
Arte del Pueblo @ MCASB – The exhibition is both a celebration and a conviction that the walls of a contemporary art museum should reflect the full, unfiltered breadth of the community outside. So for its third year, Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara invited artists rooted in Santa Barbara County across the Central Coast and beyond to submit new work, welcoming everyone, regardless of background, training or experience. Alongside Arte del Pueblo, MCASB also presents two solo exhibitions by local artists whose work speaks directly to memory, identity and belonging. In the Norton Gallery, Tama Takahashi’s Memories of Barbed Wire: Resilience in the Japanese American Community employs large-scale photographs printed on vellum, sculptural works, and video installation to revisit the forced incarceration of over 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II, drawing on her own family’s experience. Christina McPhee’s Diagramming Sentences transforms the Classroom Gallery into a space of radical imagination with large-scale drawings on unframed washi papers hanging like scrims. The artwork channels a swath of voices – from 17th century Hieronymite nun and writer Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz to contemporary Inupiaq American Poet Joan Naviyuk Kane
WHEN: Reception 12–3 pm today, exhibit through July 25
WHERE: 653 Paseo Nuevo, Upper Arts Terrace
COST: free
INFO: (805) 966-5373 or www.mcasantabarbara.org
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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