Our 166th Year
‘Helping our community’
‘Over the fence’
Righetti High School donates food to nonprofit- A2
Art exhibit features COVID-inspired theme - B1
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S AT U R DAY, A PR I L 9, 2 02 2
Brothers show their spirit Kite festival Siblings compete this afternoon for Spirit of Fiesta, Junior Spirit
to soar again Event to take place Sunday at SBCC By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
The Santa Barbara Kite Festival is ready to take flight. The 36th annual event will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday in the Great Meadow on the west campus lawn of Santa Barbara City College. The Great Meadows are located next to the Garvin Theatre at 721 Cliff Drive. “Up” is the theme of this year’s festival, which was selected as a positive statement of change in the community and the return of the festival after a twoyear hiatus. Sunday’s forecast of sunny skies and cooler temperatures should be perfect for this fun-family event. Just add the wind. The Children’s Kite Tail Chase will feature the master of kite flying, Rakesh Bahadur. The festival will also feature friendly competitions: “Best of Fest,” “Best Ground Display,” “Youngest & Oldest Kite Flyers,” “Most Unique/Unusual Kite,” “Funniest Kite,” “Most Unflyable Kite,’ “Most Beautiful”
(handmade and commercial), “Highest Flying,” “Largest & Smallest Kites,” and “Sport Flying.” Prizes will be awarded to all contest winners. Admission to the festival is free. Parking is available on both the west campus and the main campus. Kites, food and beverages can be purchased at the festival. All current state and county health and safety protocols will be in place at the event. Thanks to a 2007 Santa Barbara City Council proclamation, April is officially recognized as “Kite Month” in Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara’s kite month is promoted in coordination with the National Kite Month of April — coestablished by the American Kite Flyers Association and the Kite Trade Association International . For more information, visit www.sbkitefest.net, www. nationalkitemonth.org and www. kite.org. For more about the festival, call 805-637-6202. email: kzehnder@newspress.com
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS
Skyler Harwood and his older brother Jack are at the Santa Barbara Mission, where they hope to perform in August as the Junior Spirit and Spirit of Fiesta. They’re both competing this afternoon for those titles.
ABC
Will Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, pose for photos on the red carpet before the Oscars, where Mr. Smith slapped Chris Rock for making a joke about Ms. Pinkett Smith.
This was Jack Harwood at age 4, when he was participating in a Fiesta parade. That was the year he started his dancing studies.
By KAITLYN SCHALLHORN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
For Jack Harwood, becoming the Spirit of Fiesta means stepping outside of one’s comfort zone — no matter how old. Jack, 17, is competing this afternoon at the Lobero Theatre in his fourth Spirit of Fiesta audition for the upcoming Old Spanish Days in Santa Barbara. And this time, he’ll be joined by his 10-year-old brother, Skyler Harwood. Event organizers say this is the first time two brothers have competed for the titles of Spirit and Junior Spirit simultaneously. Both brothers began flamenco dancing at the age of 4, taking
FYI For more about Old Spanish Days, see www. sbfiesta.org.
lessons at Linda Vega Dance Studio, now the Maria Bermudez Flamenco Performing Arts Studio. Their parents, Riley and Dacia Harwood, are deeply ingrained in the Santa Barbara community. (Father Riley is retired from the Santa Barbara Police Department, where he worked special events; mother Dacia is the executive director of the Santa Barbara Historical Museum.) The pair knew they wanted their kids to be involved in the arts — and both of their sons took off with flamenco dancing. Throughout the years, Jack, a senior at Dos Pueblos High School in Goleta, has trained in Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and Spain. And now he’s competing for a title he’s envisioned since he was his younger brother’s age. “It’s been a dream of mine since I was a little kid, ever since I first saw the auditions when I was 10 years old,” Jack told the NewsPress. “For me, it would be more about using that role as a way to inspire men of all ages, not just
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Skyler Harwood, then 4, joins his brother Jack in the Fiesta fun.
little kids and not just adults, to step out of their comfort zones and give things a try.” “Flamenco has been such a positive influence on my life. I hope to inspire other young men to push themselves to break down societal barriers and to not be afraid of expressing themselves through dance,” he added.
Jack has already influenced at least one person to try flamenco. His brother Skyler, a fourthgrader at Isla Vista Elementary, said he is excited about competing today and enjoys performing to make other people happy. “I’ve always looked up to my brother and am excited to share Please see BROTHERS on A4
Will Smith is paying a price for the slap heard around the world. The actor, who won the Oscar for “King Richard,” won’t be allowed to attend the Academy Awards for the next 10 years. He also is banned from in-person or virtual attendance at any other Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences events for the same period. The ban was issued Friday by the academy’s Board of Governors, which conceded in a statement that it should have addressed the matter immediately when Mr. Smith walked up to Chris Rock, who was presenting the Oscar for best
documentary, and slapped him hard during the live telecast at the Dolby Theatre. The March 27 broadcast from Hollywood was watched by the entire world. “This action we are taking today in response to Will Smith’s behavior is a step toward a larger goal of protecting the safety of our performers and guests, and restoring trust in the Academy,” said the statement, signed by academy President David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson and emailed to the News-Press and other media. “We also hope this can begin a time of healing and restoration for all involved and impacted,” the two academy leaders wrote. Mr. Smith responded to the Please see SMITH on A4
LOTTERY
i n s i de Classified.............. B4 Life..................... B1-2 Obituaries............. A4
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Will Smith banned from Oscars
Sudoku................. B3 Weather................ A4
Wednesday’s SUPER LOTTO: 20-24-40-42-44 Mega: 17
Friday’s DAILY 4: 2-3-7-7
Friday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 8-11-29-32-40 Mega: 2
Friday’s FANTASY 5: 16-17-22-26-28
Friday’s DAILY DERBY: 12-03-10 Time: 1:40.92
Wednesday’s POWERBALL: 6-42-45-47-64 Meganumber: 18
Friday’s DAILY 3: 2-1-5 / Midday 2-2-8