Calendar of Events

Note to readers: This entertainment calendar is a subjective sampling of arts and other events taking place in the Santa Barbara area for the next week. It is by no means comprehensive. Be sure to read feature stories in each issue that complement the calendar. In order to be considered for inclusion in this calendar, information must be submitted no later than noon on the Wednesday eight days prior to publication date. Please send all news releases and digital artwork to slibowitz@yahoo.com)

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11

TRAP-ped with Pockets — You may never have heard of the band Pockets, the group of studio players and vocalists who will, once again, grace the stage at the Lobero for the annual benefit supporting TRAP, The Rhythmic Arts Project. But the musicians who comprise the band — Táta Vega (vocals), Chris Pinnick (guitar), Carl Graves (vocals/ percussion), Steve Nelson (bass), Jimmy Caleri (piano/sax), Rick Geragi (percussion), and Bill Bodine (trumpet) — have collectively played on more than 1,000 albums and CDs by artists you definitely do know: Madonna, Chicago, Elton John, The Beach Boys, Cher, Van Morrison, America, TOTO, Michael McDonald, Marianne Faithful, and Oingo Boingo among them. Also appearing are Vinnie Colaiuta, Grammy-winning drummer with Sting, Jeff Beck, and Herbie Hancock, and Luis Conte, the renowned percussionist currently with James Taylor. The gathering is in service of supporting and celebrating TRAP, the nonprofit founded by their friend and colleague, local drummer Eddie Tuduri, who created the innovative approach and learning resource for working with people who are developmentally disabled as part of his own recovery from a TBI suffered while surfing in town. The funds go to further the worthy cause, but the night is all about fun, funk, and fellowship, even during intermission, when the live auction boasts autographed guitars from Vince Gill, Robben Ford, and Aerosmith’s Joe Perry and Brad Whitford. WHEN: 8 pm WHERE: Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St. COST: $30-$65 INFO: (805) 963-0761, www.lobero.com

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11SUNDAY, DECEMBER 12

Let There Be Lights — Although some Christmas parades have been canceled due to concerns about COVID, all three area harbors are back in action with their annual maritime “marches,” with delightfully decorated vessels cruising by piers and through harbors filled with people in awe. Channel Islands Harbor kicks off the festivities with its 55th annual holiday Parade of Lights, with a “Jingle Jungle” theme, starting at 7 pm on Saturday, December 11, but a full day of holiday activities precede the parade, including the annual Holiday Mast Lighting at the Channel Islands Maritime Museum with live music and a visit from Santa… Back in Santa Barbara, the signature holiday event that’s 20 years Channel Islands’ junior but still celebrating 35 years, starts at 12 noon with a Winter Wonderland on the City Pier loaded with Santa and his elves, holiday music, and 10 tons of manufactured snow. At 4 pm, the human-powered category competition gets its own time slot for the first time during daylight hours, with dozens of standup paddlers and kayakers dressed in festive attire looping around Stearns Wharf; you might even see some brrrr-inducing barrelrolls from the brave and boisterous bunch. The main boat parade launches at 5:30 pm, with 30 or so illuminated watercraft lighting up the night as they make their way from Leadbetter Beach down the coast to the Cabrillo Arts Pavilion, then back along the coast to Stearns Wharf. A brief firework show bids farewell to the fest, this year dubbed “Magic Under the Moonlight.”... Next weekend, it’s Ventura Harbor’s turn, with two days of fun in the village and on the water boasting shimmering lights, whirling kid carnival rides, boutique gift shopping, and a variety of vessels winding their way through the nooks and crannies of the harbor from 4-8 pm on Friday & Saturday, December 17-18. Fireworks also close out the festivities at Ventura for the event with the cleverest title of the bunch: “Back to Seality!” Free admission to all events. INFO: Channel Islands: www.channelislandsharbor.org; Santa Barbara: www.santabarbaraca.gov; Ventura: www.venturaharborvillage.com/pa rade-of-lights

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11

A Grace-ful Christmas — It’s been nearly seven years since Grace Fisher — then an extremely active high school teenager who was an actress and dancer and played three musical instruments and was set to attend the prestigious Berklee School of Music — suddenly found her spine ravaged by a rare virus called Acute Flaccid Myelitis that within hours left her paralyzed from the neck down. But rather than bemoan her fate, Fisher, who spends her waking hours in a wheelchair and navigates the world only through the use of a mouth-stick device, instead found other ways to express herself via the challenges, and over the years has composed significant pieces of orchestral music that are often heard at benefits for her Grace Fisher Foundation, which she created to support others who have been stricken by AFM with a mission of bringing art and music to kids of all abilities. Tonight marks the 4th annual Winter Music Showcase concert for the foundation at which Fisher will share more of her inspiring original compositions (performed by the Solstice Chamber Orchestra) and animations created through the device, with additional appearances by such Santa Barbara colleagues as Will Breman, who was a semi-finalist on TV’s The Voice; former Teen Star Santa Barbara Jackson Gillies, who also competed on American Idol, the Madrigals Choir, Three For Joy, and the Bar-back Boys. Smiles, and tears, are welcome. WHEN: 5-6:30 pm WHERE: Granada Theatre, 1214 State Street COST: $20-$59 INFO: (805) 899-2222, www.granadasb.org

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 12

Downbeat December — No, we’re not referring to a second consecutive Christmas season of coping with COVID, but rather the return of Santa Barbara Jazz Society’s annual Holiday Party and Jam Session at SOhO. Both professional and wanna-be musicians and singers are invited to take a shot at shining on stage in front of friends, colleagues, and local jazz lovers, backed by a crackerjack trio of pianist Debbie Denke, bassist Kim Collins, and drummer Craig Thatcher. Bring your instruments, or charts for the singers, and get ready to jazz jam away a Sunday afternoon just two weeks before Christmas. As always, the Dos Pueblos High School Jazz Band will perform a couple of numbers during the break, when the school band will also be awarded $1,000 from SBJS’s Scholarship Fund. WHEN: 1-4 pm WHERE: SOhO, 1221 State Street, upstairs in Victoria Court COST: $35, $10 for performers & students INFO: (805) 962-7776, www.sohosb.com; (805) 687-7123, www.sbjazz.org

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 12

Merry Montecito Music — The Santa Barbara Master Chorale marks its return to the live stage for the first time in two years with its annual Christmas concert that also features a move to Montecito with the event taking place at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church rather than the Chorale’s usual digs of the First Presbyterian Church of Santa Barbara. Associate Conductor Erin Bonski-Evans leads the singers through an upbeat program called “Sing We Now of Christmas,” with special guests soprano Christine Hollinger, harpist Laurie Rasmussen, and the American Riviera Children’s Honor Chorus. WHEN: 3 pm WHERE: 1300 E. Valley Rd., corner of East Valley and Hot Springs COST: $20 general, $10 children grades K-12 INFO: www.sbmasterchorale.org •MJ