El Presidente Bolton

Boyle-ing ‘Blue Skies’ – T.C. Boyle talks the environment, inspiration, and his latest book, Blue Skies, before heading up on stage, P.14 Fiestas Past – Take a ride into the history of Old Spanish Days to discover its origins, former characters, and traditions, P.18

Power Conductor – Hear from the one-andonly JoAnn Falletta as she prepares to conduct an electrifying performance at the Granada, P.26 Tomato Time – Capture the summer flavor with some sun-ripened tomatoes and this cooling gazpacho recipe with watermelon and mint, P.33

www.montecitojournal.net

The Fund for Santa Barbara is getting ready for its beloved Bread & Roses event, page 20

El Presidente Bolton

The Kitchen Is Open!

Local organizations chip in for Cold Spring School’s newlyrenovated kitchen with a Free Breakfast and Lunch program ready to be served, page 6

In Defense of Big Boxes

Is Restoration Hardware coming to town really such a bad thing? One community member writes in to share his thoughts on why it’s not, page 10

y u re never fully dressed our mani-pedi at the ranch salon is amazing and the bubbly is free

This year’s head of Old Spanish Days, David Bolton, reflects on his past and rise to the role with longtime friend and collaborator, Paul Vercammen (Story starts on page 5)

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

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El Presidente – From hardworking KEYT sports reporter to becoming El Presidente, David Bolton shares his story with colleague Paul Vercammen

Village Beat – Restoration Hardware sparks debate at the latest MA meeting, Cold Spring School cooks up a new kitchen, and Montecito Natural Health gets a new spot

Montecito Miscellany – Lotusland gets wild, millinery match at the polo fields, getting Hearts Aligned, and more miscellany

Community Voices – Another call for better political ethics and an argument in support of allowing “big box” retailers in the area

Tide Guide

Our Town – Thoughts of Blue Skies, life, and work from T.C. Boyle before his SBMA appearance with his daughter Kerrie Kvashay-Boyle

Society Invites – It’s festive dance, music, and fundraising at the SB Historical Museum’s Annual La Fiesta del Museo

The Way It Was – A trek through the origins of Fiesta and how the annual event came to be

The Giving List – The Fund for Santa Barbara prepares for its 30th Bread & Roses event and there’s still time to join

Brilliant Thoughts – What can be gleaned from this waking life, or at least a prayer about dying in sleep?

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Your Westmont – The new nursing grads are off to an impressive start, swimming team earns academic honors, and Erik Hansen is the new sports performance coach

The Optimist Daily – The gastrological benefits of this gastronomical curiosity may lead to improved digestion and mood

Podium Power – The electric and transmissible passion of conductor JoAnn Falletta comes to the Granada this weekend and you can experience it

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This Week at MA – Forrest Howell discusses the role of a collaborative pianist before his upcoming Duo Competition at the Academy

Foraging Thyme – Enjoy the summer sun while cooling down with this watermelon and tomato gazpacho that is both nutritious and delicious

Calendar of Events – The nature posters of Rick Sharp, Ojai hosts its own summer screenings, Beth Pratt talks P-22 and wildlife crossings, plus more happenings

Classifieds – Our own “Craigslist” of classified ads, in which sellers offer everything from summer rentals to estate sales

Mini Meta Crossword Puzzles

Local Business Directory – Smart business owners place business cards here so readers know where to look when they need what those businesses offer

El Presidente The Story of David Bolton

by Paul Vercammen

Long before David Bolton ascended to 2023 El Presidente of Santa Barbara’s Old Spanish Days, just another lofty position and title for him, he slept in his Honda Accord.

For four and a half weeks in 1992, he crashed on a futon that replaced the removed passenger seat.

David needed to be in San Jose on weekdays to work on the broadcast side of a soccer tournament and take more baby steps to launch an international production company.

“I didn’t have enough money to pay for a hotel since I was already splitting the rent on a house in Santa Barbara with my cousin,” Bolton recalled. “I parked outside Red Lion, in their guest parking lot, used the pool and Jacuzzi, used the outdoor shower nearby. No one at the hotel asked me anything.”

Life in 1989; few security guards, fewer questions.

Flashback to earlier that decade, when a police scanner hissed “victim

with multiple stab wounds” on Santa Barbara’s Eastside.

David and I ran out of the KEYT newsroom like someone was chasing us.

We had just been paired up on weekends by the brilliant news director and anchor King Harris.

“We worked fast,” David recalls. “Nothing could stop us. We’d get there quickly and get the evidence, the pictures, and the interviews.”

We rushed down TV Hill in a clunky white KEYT station wagon, often surprising police with our quick arrival.

David handled a bulky 40-pound camera, shot videotape, and recorded my interviews as we reported on a near fatal attack.

The Bolton-Vercammen alliance, teaming two Santa Barbara High School graduates jacked up on uncut adrenalin, was born on February 6, 1985.

We laughed hard, worked harder.

We often ate lunch standing up, at times a burrito because it’s easy to eat with one hand and keep the other one

El Presidente Page 344

El Presidente David Bolton at Montecito Union School (photo by Priscilla)

David at his first interview as a sports reporter for KEYT (photo by Dick Martin)

Village Beat

Montecito Association Meets

by Kelly Mahan Herrick

At this month’s Montecito Association Board of Directors meeting, the Board had a lively discussion regarding retail chains in Montecito’s Upper Village. Spurred by the impending opening of RH (i.e. Restoration Hardware) in the Old Firehouse, a discussion ensued as to whether the MA board should be at the forefront of a future ordinance regulating “formula businesses.”

Several communities around the country have tackled similar propositions and it was decided that the MA would survey its membership to gather feedback on this topic. The purpose of a proposed ordinance would be to maintain Montecito’s unique, special, semi-rural neighborhood character, vitality, and the quality of life of its residents. Whether the MA should help formulate the language for such an ordinance will likely be discussed at future meetings.

Also at the meeting, community reports were given by Santa Barbara Sheriff Lieutenant Butch Arnoldi, who reported on a recent theft of $19K in tools and equipment on La Vereda. Montecito Fire Chief David Neels reported on his agency’s current defensible space project at Westmont College, and John Weigold, GM of Montecito Sanitary District, reported that the District is still working on repairing infrastructure from storm damage earlier this year. Weigold also reported that there have been issues with Montecito’s wastewater system due to foreign objects being flushed down toilets and washed down sinks. These items include cooking grease, coffee grounds, rice and grains, eggshells, paint, dental floss, flushable cat litter, diapers, and more. For information on how to keep the sewer system healthy, visit www.montsan.org.

The meeting was the last meeting with Executive Director Sharon Byrne at the helm. The MA Board is seeking her replacement.

The next Montecito Association Board of Directors meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, August 8. Visit www.montecitoassociation.org.

Cold Spring School Unveils Renovated Kitchen

Last week, Cold Spring School officially unveiled its state-of-the-art school kitchen, which is a crucial step in fulfilling Governor Gavin Newsom’s mandate to offer free breakfast and lunch to all public school students.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony, attended by guests and stakeholders, was led by Dr. Amy Alzina, Superintendent of Cold Spring School District, who expressed her gratitude to all those who contributed to the successful completion of the project. She acknowledged the leadership of Yuri Calderon, the District’s Chief Business Officer and Legal Counsel, for spearheading the initiative and guiding it to fruition.

The newly renovated kitchen received valuable contributions from several

A new commercial kitchen has been unveiled at Cold Spring School, in an effort to fulfill a state-wide mandate to provide free breakfast and lunch to all students

Montecito Miscellany Getting Wild at

Lotusland

by Richard Mineards

Abountiful bevy of parasol-carrying anthophiles and phytologists turned out for Lotusland’s sunsoaked sold-out annual fundraiser gala with 500 guests raising a hefty $800,000 towards sustainability and plant conservation programming.

The fun fête at the 37-acre botanical paradise dubbed Lotusland Celebrates: Where the Wild Things Grow, organized by Merryl Brown Events and designed by Mary Ta, was presented by Michael Hurley and Nora McNeely-Hurley in memory of Marjorie Reeds-McNeely.

It was co-chaired by Ashley Adelson, Merryl Brown , Joseph Marek , and Caroline Thompson

“This event will surprise, inspire, and delight friends of the garden,” said Rebecca Anderson, director of the former estate of opera singer Ganna Walska, which opened to the public 30 years ago.

Guests gathering on the Great Lawn were able to explore the botanical nirvana during the cocktail hour with herb-infused libations, wine from Presqu’ile and an exhibition of digital botany sculptures by Lynda Weinman of LyndaLABS.

Emcee August Bernstein , head of the Raymond Blanc Garden School at Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in Oxfordshire, England, and ubiquitous

auctioneer Geoff Green, head of the City College Foundation, sold off 50 lots, including art, fashion, and jewelry, as well as a Silverhorn one-of-a-kind Lotus Blossom pendant of 18-carat white gold with a rare 10-carat tourmaline with sapphires and diamonds with a pearl centerpiece worth $22,000.

Among the flurry of floral fans and cacti connoisseurs were Belle and Lily Hahn, Lynn Cunningham Brown, actor

Dance the Night Away… Olé

Social gridlock reigned at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum when it hosted its annual La Fiesta del Museo for 220 guests raising around $100,000 for the popular institution with all tickets selling out in two hours.

Ubiquitous KEYT-TV reporter John Palminteri emceed the bustling bash and conducted the auction, with an etching by cowboy artist Edward Borein snapped up for $3,500.

Christopher Lloyd, John and Connie Pearcy , Eric and Wendy Schmidt, Carole Ridding, Ginni Dreier, Xorin Balbes and Truman Davies, Penny Bianchi, Robert and Robin Fell, Janet Garufis, Bruce Heavin, Perri Harcourt, and Christopher Toomey

A blooming good time was had by all.

Among the cavalcade of entertainers were Joan Zaragoza and Mariachi Las Olas, guitarist Luis Moreno, Junior Spirit Olivia Nelson and Spirit of Fiesta Jack Harwood, whose mother Dacia is the museum’s director, Grupo de Danza Folklorico Quetzalcoatl under maestro Francisco Espinosa, flamenco dancers Talia Ortega Vestal and Maria ‘La Chacha’ Bermudez, gypsy singer José Díaz “Cachito,” Cuban flamenco guitarist Andres Vadin, guitarist Alex Jordan, and percussionist Gerardo Morales, who worked with the Black Eyed Peas and Christina Aguilera

The pulsating evening ended with the guests, including Mayor Randy Rowse , Cory and Vanessa Boggs , museum president Hilary Burkemper ,

Miscellany Page 304

Bruce Heavin and Lynda Weinman (photo by Priscilla)

Caroline Thompson, Ashley Adelson, Joseph Marek, and Merryl Brown (photo by Priscilla)

Thomasine Richards and Belle Hahn find shade under the blossoming walking tree (photo by Priscilla)

Staff and performers kept the adoring audience entertained throughout the night (photo by Priscilla)

Santa Barbara Historical Museum hosted its annual La Fiesta del Museo (photo by Priscilla)

Guests celebrating La Fiesta del Museo at SBHM (photo by Priscilla)

COMMUNITY VOICES

Re: Restoration Hardware/Big Box Issue

by Jeff Harding

The Montecito Association is considering recommending to the County a ban on “big box,” “formula” retailers in Montecito. I oppose such a ban.

My wife and I have lived in Montecito since 1978. We are members of the Montecito Association. We have been active in the community over the years. Recently I was a promoter of and am a current board member of the Community Benefit Improvement District. I believe that makes me somewhat knowledgeable about Montecito’s history and progress.

While I appreciate the gauzy vision of a semi-rural Montecito by those opposing “big box” retailers, I don’t believe that we need to be protected from “big box formula businesses” such as Restoration Hardware. Just the opposite: what we need to be protected from is the interference from those who think they know what’s best for the rest of us.

For the record, I have no relationship with Restoration Hardware, nor do I particularly like their interior design concepts. But I don’t see that they present any “threat” to us.

First of all, the threat of “big box” retailers ruining Montecito is laughable straw-manning. The smearing of Restoration Hardware as a “big box” retailer is simply not even close to the reality of retailing in the Old Firehouse.

A “big box” retailer is Walmart, Costco, Macy’s, Target, or Home Depot. There is literally no physical room for them in Montecito nor would they want to come

here to our wealthy little village. This accusation is designed to arouse one’s ire, but it is not based in reality.

The second smear is that they are a “formula retailer.” What they are saying is that we locals need to be protected from successful retailers with multiple stores and should be denied their services here in Montecito.

What’s wrong with “formula” retailing? We have Honor Bar, CVS, Starbucks, Johnny Was, Marcus, and James Perse here. I don’t hear anyone complaining about them.

What’s wrong with “formula” retailing? We have Honor Bar, CVS, Starbucks, Johnny Was, Marcus, and James Perse here. I don’t hear anyone complaining about them. We all know there is plenty of room here for local entrepreneurial retailers. Our Coast Village Road property has five successful retail stores owned by “locals.” Let us, the consumers, decide who will survive and who will fail by voting with our pocketbooks. Such an ordinance would deprive us of our ability to choose.

Who is to decide which business is a “formula” retailer? This is a can of worms. Would they let in James Perse because they have 44 stores? They will

soon have three outlets in Montecito. Johnny Was has 74 stores. They are definitely a formula retailer. Should they be booted out? Should we keep out future formula retailers and protect James Perse and Johnny Was from competition? Perhaps the advocates of such an ordinance can appreciate the absurdity of the concept.

This kind of meddling into the marketplace is what kills thriving communities. The City of Santa Barbara has already done a good job of killing State Street with their constant meddling into what they think it should be versus what consumers want it to be.

We need not make that mistake here in Montecito.

Jeff Harding, Montecito

Santa Barbara: Where Ethics Is Again Front and Center

As most know, our County’s complete lack of ethical standards is something I have raged against. While other counties have a Code of Ethics ( something that our Grand Jury recommended in 2020 ), our County blissfully dances in the darkness without pesky little rules relating to the timing of campaign contributions, acceptance of gifts, hiring of relatives, or the disclosure of compromising outside income. Well maybe, just maybe, things are changing. Allow me to explain:

Last week, a coalition of the willing led by Supervisor Laura Capps (who ran on a platform of Transparency) tackled the issue of conflict within the senior ranks of county government. Specifically, whether Chiefs of Staff and others needed to file a Statement of

MONTECITO TIDE GUIDE

Economic Interest (Form 700). Through disclosure, this statement helps ensure that special interest consulting fees are not secretly paid to county employees while they are crafting legislation meant to regulate these same interests.

For years, there have been allegations that Big Oil and Cannabis have paid consulting fees to employees that influence policy. Therefore, while Form 700 filings had been required for some they had not been required for others. Well, by a 5-0 vote this important loophole has now been slammed shut (Brava and to a lesser extent Bravo). This is a nice first step, but let’s not get too giddy as there is much more to do!

In other counties, for example, rules

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Gossip | Richard Mineards

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prohibit former county employees from jumping into cushy lobbying gigs moments after leaving their job. Think about it, your former co-worker is now shilling for an industry that you are charged to oversee – awkward, compromising, and wrong. Oh, and did I mention that our former Deputy CEO is now consulting for Cannabis? We now have 4,467 county employees, which is precisely the number of reasons why we need a Revolving Door policy. Looking back is nowhere, looking forward is strategy!

Anyway, without more State/ FPPC guidance the whole idea is looking less like a magic bullet than one would have hoped, possibly allowing Supervisors to return the donation pre-vote in order to avoid recusal.

Over the past weeks the Supervisors have also been addressing how to best implement what had been billed as

“the most consequential piece of transparency-legislation in 50 years”: SB 1439, which took effect on January 1. This State mandate requires us to shine a light on the type of pay-to-play politics that, without a Code of Ethics, our County is uniquely positioned to practice.

Basically, it dictates that Supervisors recuse themselves if they receive $250 or more and are then asked to rule on a contract, license, or permit. As an aside, it’s “interesting” to see maxed-out contributions made to certain Supervisors between “December 30 and 31” – so much for living up to the spirit of 1439. Anyway, without more State/FPPC guidance the whole idea is looking less like a magic bullet than one would have hoped, possibly allowing Supervisors to return the donation pre-vote in order to avoid recusal. QUESTION: Can the donation then be returned to the Supervisor sometime later? Silly.

Of course, Supervisors can choose to be more transparent by posting – like Supervisor Capps does – their donors. CRAZY IDEA: State mandates aside, let’s do what other counties do – develop OUR OWN clear contribution disclosure requirements and recusal standards that restore our faith in the process because the phrase “we are open for business” should not apply to Santa Barbara County politics!

Jeff Giordano, SB County Resident

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Our Town

T.C. Boyle and Kerrie Kvashay-Boyle

Rock ‘Blue Skies’

by Joanne A Calitri

The complexities of reviewing literature cannot be overstated, especially in the cosmic case of T.C. Boyle, an award-winning writer of 30-plus novels published in 24 languages, done on a cyclical exchange with books of short stories and other works. He writes continuously and is not here to people please anyone. Like it or love it, he has stated many times when discussing his inventory of fiction themes, “I am an artist, and want to write about what I want to. I do not think about the topic making me money or making me famous, all I care about is what I want to do next.” Truth be told, why would he or any other real artist want for anything more? Surely, many have divorced themselves from the minutiae of caring what others want or think about their work.

Yet… I couldn’t help but wonder, with his recent novel Blue Skies accenting his recurring theme of environmental woes, climate change across the U.S., the rise of social media, and the diminished food supply chain, it does seem he has been holding his space in the protest marches all along, including four previous books, The Tortilla Curtain (1995), A Friend of the Earth (2000), When the Killing’s Done (2011), and The Terranauts (2016).

Wonder not readers! I was lucky to have a one-on-one with him and his daughter Kerrie Kvashay-Boyle in the Green Room at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA) on July 20, prior to their performance and reading of an excerpt from Blue Skies

I acknowledged his dystopian muse and asked if he would share with whom it is that he has been musing all the years, and to wit he replied, “It’s magic! You know it comes and I write. It has been with me since college, and all that Timothy Leary stuff … you know…”

As expected, he kept his muse close, but did offer, “Yes, of course I am consumed by what is around us here that are human concerns and planetary concerns. And our democracy being lost to fascism while I was in the midst of writing Blue Skies, so I just published a short story titled ‘Sanctuary’ this month in Esquire, to satisfy what made my blood boil when a certain person was president.” He shared that his daughter Kerrie has basically written the

pilot and outlines for the episodes for a limited TV series of Blue Skies. She agreed, however, due to the writers strike, work is halted, and a release timeline could not be realized at the moment.

Following our photo op, it was time for their performance at the Mary Craig Auditorium. Their acted reading of the novel to the twice sold-out house, made it come alive in a new way. People were intrigued.

Boyle then fielded questions from the audience, followed by a book signing.

Key points he made were:

- I am constantly re-writing to get to a state of mind where nothing else exists.

- I started writing late in life when I was in my 20s.

- No, it is NOT easier to write when you get older; it is always hard, but you have to ‘Jones’ it and do it again and again.

- It is hard to write fiction if you have an agenda; it does not work in the creative process.

- I have ideas for my next work, I jot things down like, “man eats own head and gets married.”

- I am writing another novel; it is beautiful and I don’t know what it is yet.

- I have so many stories, strongly placed, and yes, I am open to having films and TV series made from my works. I have many film students doing their thing with my writings.

- The great mystery of humans, how we live, where we live, this planet… there is no answer for that.

Seen at the event were SBMA Board of Trustees members Joan Davidson and Laura Wyatt; SBMA PhotoFutures Chairs Carol Vernon and Bob Turbin; former Chair SBMA Board of Trustees Betsy Atwater; SBMA Women’s Board President Isabel Wendt; and Immediate Past President SBMA Women’s Board Paula Farrington with her husband, Greg, who is a member SBMA Docent Council.

411: www.sbma.net www.tcboyle.com

T.C. Boyle with his daughter Kerrie KvashayBoyle in the Green Room prior to their performance of Blue Skies at the SBMA (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

Society Invites

SB Historical Museum’s Annual La Fiesta del Museo

by Joanne A Calitri

The Santa Barbara Historical Museum (SBHM) held its annual La Fiesta del Museo fundraiser on July 22, in the museum’s outside courtyard, which was elegantly decorated with wrought iron chandeliers, Arabic lanterns, velvet table linens, and fresh flowers. The event drew more than 300 guests in classic fiesta attire, with women in elaborate Spanish flamenco dresses in lace or silk with ornate shawls, and men in Spanish motif overshirts.

During the cocktail reception with live music, guests mingled and bid on silent

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auction items. Emcee John Palminteri announced the start of the program on the smaller of two stages with the Junior Spirit of Fiesta, Olivia Nelson, performing.

Board President Hilary Burkemper and Executive Director Dacia Harwood on the main stage welcomed and thanked the guests for their support of the museum. They gave a nod to politicians present, Mayor Randy Rowse and Congressman Salud Carbajal (24th District), along with museum board members and staff. Harwood mentioned that the funds raised from this event support 10% of the museum’s operating costs, and will also support the rebuilding of its outside areas adversely affected by the January winter storms. Burkemper announced the honoring of Marlene and Warren Miller by naming one of the museum’s galleries after them, “The Miller Gallery,” for their generous contributions.

The program had the 2023 Old Spanish Days (OSD) El Presidente David Bolton speak about the importance of OSD and the SBHM’s extensive 99-year collection of it. He announced the theme of OSD 2023, “Let’s Fiesta!”; acknowledged the former El Presidentes at the event, and for the first time in the history of OSD, stated that both the Jr. Spirit of Fiesta Olivia Nelson and the Spirit of Fiesta Jack Harwood have the same birthday, July 23.

Following the formal dinner, Palminteri led the live auction of three items yielding $12,500 and the ask yielding approximately $39,000. Next was a 30-minute flamenco dance performance by Maria Bermudez and her students, starting with Jack Harwood. The musicians for the dancers were Jose Diaz (singer/Barcelona) with guitarists Luis Moreno, Andres Vadin, and Alex Jordan, and Gerardo Morales on percussion. Additional music by Juan Zaragoza, Mariachi Las Olas, and later, the contemporary dance band Area 51 to close out the evening.

Seen at the event were Trea and Sam Cohen, Alexis and Caitlin Dakin, Richard Laurent, Gina Carbajal, Brett and Natalie Hodges, Keith Moore, Eric Mack, Beverly Cavaliere, Father John Hardin, Veda and Vito Gioiello, Patricia Chidlaw, Robert Sponsel, Jill Nida, Gary Simpson, and Angela and Chris Nelson.

411: www.sbhistorical.org

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Sam and Trea Cohen, Dacia Harwood, and Gina and Congressman Salud Carbajal (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

Richard Laurent, Hilary Burkemper, and Caitlin and Alexis Dakin (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

Keith Moore, Lynda Millner, Beverly Cavaliere, and Eric Mack (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

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The Way It Was La Madrugada de Fiesta

took to the street along with flower bedecked carts and carriages. Brass bands, Chumash Indians, pack trains, and members of the local chapter of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) marched along the route. The final vehicle in the parade was a donkey cart driven by Santa Claus, who was accompanied by two little girls on a burro.

After several days of sporting events, horse races, a bazaar, dances, and a rodeo, the festival ended with the Grand Centennial Ball at Lobero’s Theatre. Spanish dancers in full regalia performed historic classics like “La Jota,” and Chumash dancers in costumes of feather and paint danced “El Coyote.” The finale featured both the descendants of the old Spanish families and members of the new Anglo population dancing “La Contradanza.”

by Hattie Beresford

Celebrating the 99th anniversary of its founding this year, Santa Barbara’s Old Spanish Days Fiesta was established in August 1924. Civic celebrations commemorating Santa Barbara’s old Spanish days, however, date back to the December 1886 fiesta celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of Mission Santa Barbara. The purpose of that four-day celebration was to raise funds for a new roof for the “Queen of the Missions.”

For the Centennial, State Street merchants and businessmen had put up bunting comingling the American red, white, and blue with the Spanish yellow and red. Residents assumed Spanish costume and a cavalcade of colorfully dressed riders

The New Lobero Theatre and Fiesta

In June, preparations for the upcoming Old Spanish Days were in full swing with a campaign to get all Santa Barbara citizens into Spanish costume. Seen here at far left is Hamilton MacFadden, executive director of the Community Arts Association and the Lobero Theatre, and third from left, Charles Pressley, who was in charge of the Old Spanish Days’ Committee. (courtesy of Santa Barbara Historical Museum)

Ever since the 1886 Centennial celebration, Santa Barbara had been trying to create an annual festival that would bring in visitors and fill the coffers of Santa Barbara’s businesses. Few of those attempts survived more than a few years. In 1924, the latest attempt, La Primavera, was struggling to survive. Its spectacular 1920 inaugural event had proved to be a spectacular financial failure, but the organization continued to operate in a less ambitious form.

By June of 1924, a community theater was approaching completion on the site of José Lobero’s original 1872 theater. Initially slated for renovation, the old theatre

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Santa Barbara’s first theater, Jose Lobero’s Opera House, was also a community theater as this 1887 photo of the performers of the old Spanish dance, “La Contradanza,” shows (courtesy photo)

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Realtor ®

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LisaFoley @ GTprop com

LisaFoley @ GTprop com

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Listed by Lisa Foley and closed on 5/16/2023 at a record breaking $5,700,000 for a 2 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom property in Bonnymede Shores.

Listed by Lisa Foley and closed on 7/14/2023 at a record breaking $6,300,000 for a 2 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom property in Bonnymede Shores.

The Giving List The Fund for Santa Barbara

The Fund of Santa Barbara’s success, partnerships, and connections, Keswani said.

“It’s a celebration of the progressive community and The Fund’s work,” she said. “And the beauty of this event is that it’s all hands on deck. We source our income through corporate and individual sponsors, partner with wonderful food and beverage sponsors who support our mission, and showcase our grantees where possible.”

One of the aspects that makes Bread & Roses unique among the annual benefits is that several local unions are among the sponsors year after year.

“We’re the only one on the Central Coast that is actually sponsored by union workers, which ties in with the living wage theme and the fact that economic justice is in our mission,” Keswani said.

The 2023 Bread & Roses will also celebrate Executive Director Marcos Vargas, who is retiring after eight years at the helm of the nonprofit, a period that saw not only growth but a clarifying of the organization’s mission. The Fund’s leadership team is planning a tribute to Vargas, with some surprises in store that should make the October event a particularly memorable gathering.

by Steven Libowitz

The Fund for Santa Barbara’s Development and Communications Manager – Alina Rey Keswani – is understandably proud that Bread & Roses, the organization’s major annual fundraiser, is marking its 30th anniversary this fall. The benefit event that has long been a staple on the social calendar of many in the community has survived massive growth, the necessity of finding a new home when changing circumstances obliged relocating from a cherished location at QAD’s headquarters in Summerland, and, of course, the shuttering of all in-person gatherings during the pandemic.

Now that the food-and-wine event is happily ensconced at Elings Park high above Las Positas Road for a second year, Keswani wants to be sure that folks remember the historical tradition that began with the textile workers’ strike in 1912 that gave the event its name.

“The 40-hour work week eventually came out of the struggle, as did child labor laws,” Keswani said. “Bread & Roses became a theme, where bread represents a living wage and roses represent dignity. We really want to elevate that theme again, because it’s quite beautiful, and it really represents what we’re doing as movement builders.”

Indeed, one of the things that sets The Fund apart from a typical nonprofit is that not only do all of its grants go to other organizations, but those decisions are made by a committee composed of community leaders, activists, and other people who have a finger on the pulse of what’s needed and also represent the diversity.

“They’re constituency-led,” Keswani explained. “It’s the members of an underserved community saying what they need to help themselves get to the next step. It’s not a direct service, and we’re not just throwing dollars at a problem. It’s not about charity. We work with grassroots organizations, people at the forefront of movements who are creating change. We’re looking for systemic change and improving conditions rather than putting a Band-Aid on them.”

While such issues as polarization, economic disparity, and attacks on the LGBTQ community continue to illustrate the need for both living wages and dignity, Bread & Roses, which takes place this year on October 8, is meant as a community-centric celebration of

“He has led the organization with so much heart and passion,” Keswani said. “His level of conviction has been so inspiring and pivotal for us, especially during this challenging time that has helped people understand that we’re all responsible for each other, not just the nonprofits and the activists. We’re not exactly sure how we’re going to honor him, but it will be an homage to who he is.”

The good news is that sponsorships are still available for the 2023 Bread & Roses, as materials won’t go to print until the second week of August. Levels for individuals range from $200 to $2,400 and include increasing numbers of tickets to the event. Corporate sponsorships are also still available, while individual tickets won’t go on sale until the end of August. With the new location of Elings Park, capacity is virtually unlimited, so there’s plenty of space for more food and beverage providers to participate, as well as people, companies, and groups to donate items and gift packages for the bountiful silent auction.

“We’re always looking for folks to contribute, and ways to create partnerships, meet new people, and collaborate – and this work that we’re doing to advance progressive change by strengthening movements for economic, environmental, political, racial, and social justice is collective,” Keswani said.

But no matter the method, make sure your approach to Bread & Roses is one of celebration.

“It’s a really joyful event, a landing point where people come to feel united in progressive values, and even commiserate when things are really stressful and sorrowful,” Keswani said. “Now, after these last few difficult years, things are looking up. Bread & Roses is an event that leaves you with hope.”

Bread & Roses spends its second year in Elings Park, which gives the event not just more space, but a beautiful setting as well

The Fund for Santa Barbara Alina Rey Keswani, Development and Communications Manager (805) 962-9164 https://fundforsantabarbara.org

Here comes another successful Bread & Roses event and you can help

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“Silkroad has people from all over, and that’s what makes it such a great group to represent the American story, because that’s what the American story is. We are world music.” – Rhiannon Giddens

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by Ashleigh Brilliant

For many of us, this little prayer was the first – and possibly the only –one we ever learned:

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Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep.

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There were several lessons contained therein: (1) That there is a God, who can be communicated with. (2) That we each have a Soul, which can’t be lost, even when we die, and for which God is ultimately responsible. (3) That we may die in our sleep.

The concept of mortality has naturally led to its opposite, and a belief in immortality has great appeal, despite all the “progress” of modern science, which seems to point in other directions. Why does religion still exist and have a controlling influence over the minds of so many people, even though there have been flourishing long-lasting regimes, such as the Soviet Union, devoted to its suppression? It seems there must be some part of our psyche, some need which nothing else can fill.

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Surprisingly, these words might be said to have been born in America – to the extent that the earliest known printing of this version appeared in The New England Primer, which was basically a school textbook, first published in Boston in 1690, and which ran through many editions, and was used in classrooms throughout the Colonies, over the next century. But of course, the sentiments are universal.

The prayer’s opening makes it plain that this is a one-way bedtime message. The following parts express confidence that, whatever happens, everything will be OK. The idea of dying in your sleep, which, for various reasons, was an occurrence that must have been much more common at that time, especially with young children, was no doubt very frightening. As we age, however, (if my own feelings are at all representative) that same idea tends to become more comforting. If death must come, why not let it happen when I’m not aware of it? But then, what about dreams? As Hamlet soliloquizes,

“To sleep – perchance to dream. Ay, there’s the rub! For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, When we have shuffled off this mortal coil?”

But, what about the Soul, which can be kept or taken (only by the Lord, apparently)? This must mark the great divide between believers and non-believers.

However, Hamlet then goes on to refer to death as “the undiscovered country, from whose bourn no traveler returns” – which seems odd, since his own father has just returned from it!

The soul is a very strange object. People who claim to have had “near-death” experiences tell all sorts of stories about leaving their bodies – perhaps floating above the operating table on which they are lying anesthetized, or even going on journeys, which often seem to involve moving through some kind of tunnel, and being aware that, at the end of it, there is – yes!

But neither the authors of the Communist Manifesto nor those of the New England Primer apparently considered the possibility of reincarnation, also known as the transmigration of souls – which is based on the idea that, after death, the soul not only survives, but finds a new home in somebody else, or – depending on the particular belief system, in some other creature. Teachings of this kind have been propagated by cults ranging from Egypt to India. They are, however, not to be found anywhere in the Hebrew or Christian Bibles. But there are other lessons we can learn about souls, from other sources, including popular songs. For one thing, we learn that souls can march. This information comes from a song which was popular about 200 years ago, which tells us that “John Brown’s body lies a moldering in the grave – But his soul goes marching on.” (In case you didn’t know, John Brown was a very radical leader in the pre-Civil War movement against slavery.)

For the final word on these subjects, let me quote myself:

“The secret of happiness is to take one life at a time.”

“My body is on temporary loan to the universe, but my soul belongs to the permanent collection.”

Ashleigh Brilliant born England 1933, came to California in 1955, to Santa Barbara in 1973, to the Montecito Journal in 2016. Best-known for his illustrated epigrams, called “Pot-Shots,” now a series of 10,000. email: ashleigh@west. net. web: www.ash leighbrilliant.com.

“That man is wisest who, like Socrates, realizes that his wisdom is worthless.” – Plato

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Your Westmont Nursing Hits 100% Success Rate

COVID-19 pandemic and a looming healthcare crisis with projections that California could be short 44,000 registered nurses by 2030.

Swimming Team Earns Academic Accolades

The Westmont women’s swimming team has capped off an historic season by being named Scholar All-Americans by the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America. The teams were selected on the basis of their spring 2023 team grade point averages. The Warriors posted a team GPA of 3.38.

by Scott Craig, photos by Brad Elliott

All eight graduates of Westmont’s inaugural Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) cohort have successfully passed the National Council for Licensure ExamRN (NCLEX-RN) and begun careers as nurses. Half of these nurses serve in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. They completed the program in May 2023.

The 2023 national average for Bachelor of Science in Nursing graduates passing the NCLEX is 83 percent; in 2022 fewer than 80 percent passed the exam, although 84 percent of California nurses succeeded.

“This is very positive as it’s the No. 1 metric state licensing bodies consider when gauging the success of a program,” says Dianthe Hoffman, interim nursing program director and faculty member.

Westmont Downtown | Grotenhuis

Nursing welcomed its next cohort of 24 students – 20 women and four men – at an orientation on July 21 at the Westmont Downtown campus, 26 West Anapamu Street. The semester begins August 28.

“I look forward to continuing our mission of ‘preparing faithful servant leaders to provide patient-centered and family-supported safe, compassionate care for diverse populations and communities in all health care settings,’” Hoffman said. The 16-month ABSN program launched in spring 2022 amidst the

The CSCAA also selected Ella Chaisson (kinesiology), Olivia Garrison (religious studies), Bailey Lemmon (communications), and Daisy Marquardt (kinesiology) to the 2023 Individual Scholar All-America Team for achieving a minimum GPA of 3.50 and participating in their national championship. McKenzie Rion (business administration) made the Second Team.

“Congratulations to these exceptional student-athletes who have demonstrated outstanding achievements both in the classroom and in their sport,” said Executive Director Samantha Barany. “The CSCAA takes pride in recognizing individuals who excel in academics while competing at the highest level.”

Jill Jones Lin, who has been head coach of the team since its inaugural 2019-20 season, led the Warriors to their highest finish ever in March at the National Championships: eighth place.

Hansen Named Sports Performance Coach

Erik Hansen, a former student-athlete at UC Santa Barbara where he was a member of the men’s swim program, has been tabbed as Westmont’s new sports performance coach. He will also serve as the assistant women’s swimming coach and will teach kinesiology and physical activity courses.

“As we look to the future of Westmont athletics, it’s critical that we continue to invest in the health and well-being of our students,” says Athletic Director Rob Ruiz. “Bringing on a sports performance coach allows us to make important strides in the areas of injury prevention and strength development.”

Hansen graduated from UCSB and earned a master’s degree in physical education from Azusa Pacific. For the last decade, he has worked at Cate School in Carpinteria where he developed the school’s strength and conditioning program and served as the swim coach. Prior to that, he was the performance coach for the Buenaventura Swim Club and was an assistant swim coach at Ventura College.

The ABSN graduates at the pinning ceremony following Commencement

Swimming head coach Jill Jones Lin

Sports performance coach Erik Hansen

Scott Craig is manager of media relations at Westmont College

Guar Bean Fiber: What Is It and Why Is It So Good for Gut Health?

If you want to improve your gut health, there’s a tasty and effective remedy you shouldn’t overlook: guar bean fiber, often known as guar gum. A new study published in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition throws light on the extraordinary benefits of this fiber source for your gut.

Researchers investigated the relationship between guar bean fiber, gut bacteria, and general gut health in an intriguing small-scale study including 12 healthy adult males. The participants took eight grams of guar bean fiber during an 18-day period while reporting on gastrointestinal feelings, gas passage frequency, and general discomfort. Simultaneously, researchers examined gut bacteria diversity and metabolic changes associated with guar bean fiber ingestion.

The team discovered that continued consumption of guar bean fiber leads to a selective adaptation of metabolic activities, yielding prospective health benefits. By the 17th and 18th days of the trial, participants had seen significant increases in digestive wellness and mood.

Furthermore, beneficial bacteria such as Agathobaculum butyriciproducens and Lachnospira pectinoschiza proliferated, resulting in improved gut health.

“These data are highly relevant,” one of the study’s authors said, “considering the widespread use of guar gum in food production, its metabolic benefits related to its modulatory effect on intestinal absorption, and its potential application for the treatment of functional digestive symptoms.”

If you’re looking to reap the benefits of guar bean fiber, look no further than yogurt, soups, and fiber supplements. Although the sample size of the study was modest, and more research with a bigger sample size, including women, would be beneficial, having guar bean fiber in your diet is a sensible decision for supporting gut health.

Quality fiber supplements containing guar bean fiber might be a wonderful addition to your daily routine for individuals looking for a convenient and dependable solution.

The link between gut health and general well-being is apparent, with mood, energy levels, and digestion all influenced. By including guar bean fiber in your diet, you can increase the diversity of helpful gut bacteria and increase your fiber consumption, resulting in a happier and healthier gut. So, why delay? Accept the benefits of guar bean fiber and set out on a path to a more colorful and comfortable self!

Podium Power

JoAnn Falletta Conducts Electricity at the Granada

by Jeff Wing

You’re at the symphony, so your socks match for once. You’ve made several such concessions to high art and anxiously await the concert. Finally, the enormous, pleated curtain slowly rises with the seriousness and gravity of stone, the audience bursts into applause, and here we have a hundred-plus musicians in their finery, staring out at you and wielding their ornate little noisemakers. Then the conductor walks out. A hush ripples through the audience like a breeze whispering across the surface of a pond. Were the conductor to lift off from the stage and fly about the room on gossamer wings, the audience would be no more awed than they are at this moment. The conductor! Where on Earth do these creatures come from? What do they do when they get home? What foods do conductors eat? Sandwiches? Froot Loops? Do they sleep with their wands tucked under their pillows, Harry Potter-style?

“I’ve started to think of conducting as a kind of inverted pyramid,” Maestra JoAnn Falletta says avidly, “where the musicians are on the top, and you are balancing what they’re doing in a way that that helps them be excellent.” One of the most lauded and decorated conductors of our time, JoAnn Falletta is also one of the most happily approachable. Possessor of two Grammys and a host of other luminous classical honors known to cognoscenti, Falletta is the celebrated music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic (following nearly 30 years with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra), and a member of the venerated American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

For all that, speaking with Falletta is like chatting up a pal. Does she remember taking her very first shot at the mystery of conducting? Hoo-boy. Does she ever. It took place at Mannes School of Music in NYC, now part of The New School there. “I was 18 years old. This was the first time conducting the full orchestra. We’d practiced with the piano, we’d practiced with a very small group – you know, four people. But this was the first time with the full orchestra, and I was conducting

‘Scheherazade.’” Eighteen-year-old Falletta minutely gestured with her baton and music swelled. “I had no idea what would happen, but I gave an upbeat and they started to play! I was just… astonished!” The piece progressed and young JoAnn began swooning to the music, as one does. Unfortunately, she was driving. “I don’t know what happened exactly, but I was listening to this beautiful orchestra, and as I was kind of following them, they were following me…” This downward spiral slowed the piece to a crawl, like an old watch unwinding. Finally, the musicians stopped playing. One can imagine the bemused scrutiny of some 240 eyeballs staring young Falletta down. “I remember my teacher was very upset. ‘JoAnn – you’re supposed to be leading them, not the other way around!’” The memory prompts laughter from this world-class conductor. She seems to have moved past the trauma.

Falletta will be conducting the Music Academy fellows at the Granada this Saturday at 7:30 pm. Ravel’s “La valse” and Rachmaninoff’s “Symphonic Dances, Op. 45” are on the rhapsodic menu, as well as Roberto Sierra’s sparkling “Fandangos.”

“La valse,” written in the wake of WWI [“The war to end all wars”] evolves from impressionistic waltz to expressionistic, melodious vibrancy as it captures the societal upheaval of that world-warping, historical moment. Sergei Rachmaninoff’s “Symphonic Dances, Op. 45,” is the Russian master’s final major composition, and is considered by some to contain in certain of its themes, some of which Sergei quotes from his own earlier works, a sense of farewell. He would pass away three years later.

The Russian émigré had departed a turbulent Russia after the 1917 Revolution, settling in the U.S. while maintaining his Russian culture and heritage – to the occasional detriment of his productivity. Completing “Symphonic Dances,” the man was under deadline pressure and had fled to the Lenox Hotel in comparatively mellow Buffalo, New York, to finish the

The venerable and celebrated JoAnn Falletta conducts the Academy Festival Orchestra through Ravel and Rachmaninoff this Saturday, July 29

This Week at MA

The Life of a Collaborative Pianist

by Steven Libowitz

Take a look at the photo in the online calendar promoting the Duo Competition taking place on July 31. The violinist is brightly lit, his facial features and instrument fully visible, while the pianist is in the background, comparatively dark and blurry with even her hair blending into the background, and no piano keys visible.

The graphics for professional gigs is much the same, with the instrumental “star” soloist in big bold type while the piano player’s name is much smaller, like an afterthought. Such is the life of

the collaborative pianist, who used to be called accompanists, as if their contribution to recitals were somehow secondary to the other instruments.

At least at the Music Academy, ever since the Concerto Competition was replaced by the Duo Competition several years ago, the collaborative piano fellows picked for the summer festival now have a spotlight event in which they share the attention, which is as it should be. The keyboard masters could be considered the unsung heroes of the summer, ones who have to perhaps prepare more repertoire than anyone else, given that they each participate in up to half a dozen master classes each week – by comparison, violinists appear just a handful of times all summer – playing everything from sonatas to orchestral transcriptions for every instrument at Miraflores.

But Forrest Howell didn’t come here to become a spotlight-seeking solo piano star.

“I get a lot of satisfaction out of playing solo piano music, but by now I realize that I enjoy the variety you get working with other musicians so much more,” said Howell, 31, a South Korea native who earned a doctorate in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Michigan and is already well-ensconced in a professional career. “Every performance feels fresh, because it’s really never the same depending on the collective energy between you and the other musician. It’s always been more satisfying to me than being the only person on the stage and feeling like I have to do it all on my own.”

Howell has certainly met a bunch of new folks this summer, as the collab cohort spends its morning preparing and practicing (while the other instrumentalists are in orchestra rehearsals) to be ready for the flurry of activity in the afternoons.

“We play for lessons, we have the masterclass performances, and we have rehearsals where we’re collaborating,” he said. “The pace is pretty fast. The mornings are when we get everything organized and keep the music fresh in our fingers. It’s demanding, and we have to have a cheery disposition all the while.”

Indeed, Howell was completely congenial in carving an hour out of his schedule to speak with me barely minutes after performing in the Collaborative Piano showcase. Being adaptable is an essential skill, and one of the secrets to success as an accompanist – er, collaborative pianist.

“The most important thing is to be able to connect, to build a positive rapport with these other musicians right from the first moment, the first interaction, both personally and musically,” he said. “That’s how you create a sustainable working relationship. There are a lot of strong personalities in the music world,

and you have to get along with all of them. And every instrument has its own idiosyncrasies. You have to be able to adjust right away, and know what kind of sounds on the piano will complement the sound on a tuba or a violin or clarinet.”

Howell said he understands that it takes a certain level of maturity to be able to work well with everyone.

“It’s like any relationship. It’s not about having the same roles or presence or getting recognition. It’s about a feeling of mutual respect for what each of us is bringing to the table.”

Howell will be in the spotlight at the Duo Competition on July 31 as the pianist is one of five (of the studio’s nine fellows) who survived preliminary rounds – each pianist was paired with at least five instrumental fellows – to vie for the grand prize that includes $5,000 cash and a recital back at Hahn Hall to premiere a commission by Derek Bermel. The composer will be one of the three adjudicators along with pianist Anne Epperson – who taught collaborative piano at both the Academy and UCSB years ago – and the innovative violinist Jennifer Koh.

Howell will be sharing the stage with baritone trombonist Luke Sieve Creating a connection between the two was easy, Howell said.

“We immediately got each other musically, so it’s been really satisfying to work together.”

Howell and Sieve will be performing three rarely heard works including Stjepan Šulek’s “Sonata ‘Vox Gabrieli’, “Fantasia IV” by Kevin Day, and “Extremely Close” by Daniela Candillari. For the latter, the duo received some private coaching by the composer, who was the conductor for this month’s production of La bohème.

“She gave us a lot of great comments and explained her thought process while she was writing the piece,” Howell said. “It was really helpful.”

Mastering modern music is a priority for Howell.

“It helps us to engage with the music because these are composers who are writing for our times rather than an era that we have no context for,” he said. “What we’re doing feels important in a

way, because it gives us a chance to share music that we care about and matters. Winning would be awesome, but we mostly just want to make sure that what we’re putting across is effective and clear and that people can have a chance to respond to it.”

Winning would also increase the likelihood that the trombonist and pianist might record the pieces, one of which has not actually been released at all.

“That would be the dream, to put more of this repertoire out there, because it’s not just an unusual instrument pairing but also music that’s very good and really moving.”

Howell said his connection with Sieve is sure to continue whether they win or not, one of several new partnerships he’ll be pursuing having achieved his summer goal of widening his network of musical collaborators.

In the meantime, though, there’s still half a dozen more pieces to prepare, as Howell hunkers down for the final master class performances as well as playing in this weekend’s concert with the Academy Festival Orchestra on Saturday night.

“It’s a busy summer,” Howell said. “It’s great.”

Upcoming @ MA

Thursday, July 27: The Music Academy made something of a left turn when they asked James Darrah to come back to the summer festival to start doing special projects several years back, smartly tapping the cutting-edge director whose reputation has only grown in the interim. Praised for visually arresting work, abstract yet visceral staging and strongly executed original concepts that meet at the intersection of theater, opera, and film, Darrah has brought that ethos to the Academy in his latest project. After creating a Cabaret for MA’s 75th anniversary last year that transported listeners back to the Cabaret era, Darrah and co-producer/music director Craig Terry are putting the finishing touches on Cabaret: 1979 . Fellows from the vocal institute will journey back to Laurel Canyon in the late 1970s to revisit the music of the legendary singer-songwriters of that iconic era, including Joni Mitchell , David Crosby , and Jackson Browne , among others, with Hahn Hall once again transformed into a venue from the era. Tonight’s premiere is sold out, but a few tickets remain for Sunday’s reprise. (7:30 pm tonight, 3:30 pm Sunday; Hahn Hall; $65)

Friday, July 28: To quote Bob Dylan , “It’s not dark yet but it’s getting there.” Meaning, in MA terms we’re nearing the end of the summer, when all the venues will go dark festival-wise for 44 weeks. Sure, there’s still 10 days left, but the studios are

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Collaborative pianist Forrest Howell will play a unique baritone trombone pairing at the upcoming Duo Competition

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A Millinery Match at the Polo Fields

A profusion of creative and colorful tony tête toppers packed the stands at the

Santa Barbara Polo Club for the annual Ladies Day.

As usual, I had the difficult job of judging the mélange of magnificent millinery, having learned my “craft” donning my top hat and tails attending the Royal Enclosure at Royal Ascot races in the U.K. for nearly half a century, a scene made memorable in the glorious Audrey Hepburn-Rex Harrison film My Fair Lady with extraordinary outfits designed by the late society photographer Cecil Beaton.

Prize for largest creation went to Alexandra Jones , who splits her time between Montecito and Florida, with a hat that resembled a giant lotus blossom.

The most creative was almost purrfect featuring a feline plushie designed by Loraine Mullen-Kress

The toy was a gift to her husband Kent after he received a quadruple bypass and she wanted to include it in her creative hat design.

The most colorful, by far, was a head topper by Jenna Jobst Reichental of Santa Barbara featuring polo mallets, the club’s logo and even a miniature trophy that took two days to make.

And, for the first year, the club created a youth section with the winners being brothers Jack, 9, and Kingston, 5, Peterson from Carpinteria.

Playing in the Kitchen Chamber

It wasn’t quite Tin Pan Alley, but the Music Academy’s latest chamber night at Lehmann Hall as the 76th annual Summer Festival winds down was pretty novel when a talented quartet played Bay Area composer Gabriella Smith’s work “Anthozoa.”

Inspired by a diving trip to French Polynesia, Smith, 31, used two baking tins and even a cheese grater in the unusual piece with Ariana O’Connell on violin, Osheen Manukyan on cello, pianist Robert Brooks Carlson, and Paul Matthews, ‘chef de cuisine,’ on percussion.

The four-piece concert also featured works by Franz Schreker and Eric Ewazen , the latter with impressive bass-baritone Robert Frazier, concluding with Shostakovich’s “Piano Quintet in G Minor, Op. 57.”

Finding Hearts Aligned

Judge Mineards with the winner of the “Most Colorful” and original hat Jenna Jobst Reichental; the “Most Creative” Loraine MullenKress; the “Largest” Alexandra Jones; and Santa Barbara Polo Club’s Jessika Pappas (photo by Priscilla)

Prizes were presented after the club’s exciting closely fought main match won by Ben Soleimani’s team 12-10 against Geoff Palmer’s Antelope team, captained by his son Grant.

Hats off to all participants!

One of Santa Barbara’s newest nonprofits, Hearts Aligned, founded in May 2021 to support critically-ill children, hosted a sunset soirée appreciation party at the Goleta home of founder Vivian Solodkin and her husband Peter, whose two-year-old son, Carlos, died during heart surgery in 2007.

The charity provides rental assistance, gas cards, food vouchers, and even car Miscellany Page 384

First-place winners of the new youth category are Jack and Kingston with parents Joshua and Kadeine Peterson (photo by Priscilla)

Matt Walker, Santi Wulff, Will Busch, Christian Tebbe, Erin and Henry Walker (photo by Priscilla)

The fellows dishing it out at the latest Chamber Night (photo by Emma Matthews)

Attendees at the sunset soirée fundraiser for Hearts Aligned (photo by Priscilla)

piece. “He explained to friends that in NYC, his cultural world obliged lavish entertainment,” Falletta says. “If you were of Russian heritage, your home was always open. He always had lots of visitors, late suppers...” Rachmaninoff had promised the piece to Eugene Ormandy, friend and music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra. “Rachmaninoff was really rushing on this, and he’d even warned them saying, ‘I don’t know. I’ve had a very heavy performance schedule, but I’ll try and have it for you.’” She pauses for two beats, like an excited friend setting up the reveal. “And he did!” Falletta’s delighted exclamation offers us a glimpse of the almighty conductor as Beatlesque

Sergei fan. “He completed it in Buffalo. He loved the Philadelphia Orchestra, and he wanted to give them this gift on time. So every time I pass the Lenox hotel, I think of Rachmaninoff by himself up in his room, happily and quietly orchestrating the ‘Symphonic Dances.’”

On her appointment as music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic, JoAnn Falletta became the first female conductor to lead a major American ensemble. She has been festooned with nearly every recognition the former Symphonic Boy’s Club has to offer. Her enthrallment with the classical music world is only deepening. “After so many years of conducting, I feel I can sense an orchestra’s personality

and how to give them the best kind of guidance and leadership that I can. But I never really feel like ‘OK, I totally know this and there’s nothing new I can learn.’” Conductor. Is there a more apt noun for someone who spends a lifetime being edified by an art form and conveying that forward? Falletta has been conducting this lyrical charge of electricity called classical music for decades. She likes it. A lot. “When people ask about conducting, I tell them if you’re not excited about spending your entire life studying and getting closer to the score, this is not a profession for you. If you really love reading scores, if you really love the repertoire, this is a great adventure. You’re always discovering something new.”

JoAnn Falletta conducts the Academy Festival Orchestra this Saturday, July 29, at 7:30 pm at the Granada Theatre. Visit https://musicacademy.org for tickets and more information. Come Meet the Conductor before the concert at Sullivan Goss from 6-7 pm ($25)!

Jeff Wing is a journalist, raconteur, autodidact, and polysyllable enthusiast who sees the Village as a dazzling kaleidoscope of stories—some of them a little nutty. Jeff can be reached at Jeff@ montecitojournal.net

was so structurally compromised and outdated that the architect, George Washington Smith, was asked to design a new theater in a stripped-down Spanish style. It would provide a home for the Community Arts Association Players, whose 1920 founding had been inspired by La Primavera Masque

The Broadway hit Beggar on Horseback was chosen as the inaugural play for the new Lobero Theatre. A young actor, who had strut his stuff upon the Potter Theatre’s stage for the Community Arts Players in years past, had a part in Beggar on Horseback in New York. He agreed to abandon the role and come to Santa Barbara to take charge of activities for the opening of the theatre. He became executive director of both the Community Arts Association and the Lobero Theatre. His name was Hamilton MacFadden, and he would go on to become a renowned theater and movie producer and director.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: California Heating and Rain Gutters, INC, 4193-3 Carpinteria Avenue, Carpinteria, CA 93013. California Heating and Rain Gutters, INC, 4193-3 Carpinteria Avenue, Carpinteria, CA 93013. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on July 3, 2023. 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. 2023-0001663. Published July 26, August 2, 9, 16, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Memory Garden Memorial Park & Mortuary; Utter McKinley San Fernando Mission Mortuary; Lafayette Development Company, 1525 State Street, Suite 203, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. The Lafayette Corporation, 1525 State Street, Suite 203, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on July 13, 2023. 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. 2023-0001744. Published July 26, August 2, 9, 16, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Mastershine Auto Spa & Mobile Detailing, 502 Casitas Rd, Santa Barbara, CA 93103. David I. Tenorio Andrade, 502 Casitas Rd, Santa Barbara, CA 93103. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on July 17, 2023. 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

Preparations for Old Spanish Days Fiesta

Planning for a celebration for the opening of the new theater began in earnest in June. MacFadden arranged with the hotels and the Southern Pacific Railroad to give special discounted rates for celebration visitors before inviting the business community to meet at the School of the Arts. Charles Pressley, owner of a women’s clothing store on State Street, became the chairman of the committee to plan a carnival. It would be a life-altering endeavor for Pressley; he became the executive director of Old Spanish Days and served for nearly 25 years.

The committee wanted to highlight all aspects of Santa Barbara life including sports, music, and entertainment with a special emphasis on its historic Spanish past. All clubs and organizations from the Aero Club to the Rotary Club were asked to participate with floats for the parade or dances and other entertainments. All citizens were encouraged to start dressing in Spanish garb immediately, and examples of such attire were displayed in store windows. The public responded enthusiastically. Montecitan Frederick Forrest Peabody and wife, Kathleen Burke Peabody, recruited their French bulldog to participate. Christopher Columbus Cabot began appearing in public, reported the press, “all dolled up in a bright burnt orange surcingle and sash. He evidently knows he has a Spanish name because he conducted himself like a little Don.”

of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2023-0001768. Published July 19, 26, August 2, 9, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: AAER Enterprises, 1060 Colleen Way, Santa Barbara, CA 93111. Adam Rennie INC, 1060 Colleen Way, Santa Barbara, CA 93111. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on June 20, 2023. 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. 2023-0001540.

Published July 19, 26, August 2, 9, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Cruz Landscaping, 1028 Cramer Rd Apt A, Carpinteria, CA 93013. Rodrigo Cruz Cortez, 1028 Cramer Rd Apt A, Carpinteria, CA 93013. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on July 3, 2023. 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. 2023-0001654.

Published July 19, 26, August 2, 9, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Santa Barbara Valet, 115 West De La Guerra, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. Santa Barbara Valet INC, 115 West De La Guerra, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on June 26, 2023. 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. 2023-0001591.

Published July 12, 19, 26, August 2, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Flowing River, 649 Tabor Lane, Montecito, CA 93108. Derren G Ohanian 649 Tabor Lane, Montecito, CA 93108. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on July 3, 2023. 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. 2023-0001651.

Published July 12, 19, 26, August 2, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SBIF, INC., 873 S Kellogg Ave, Goleta, CA 93117. SBIF, INC, 873 S Kellogg Ave, Goleta, CA 93117. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on June 6, 2023. 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. 2023-0001430.

Published July 5, July 12, 19, 26, 2023

ORDER FOR PUBLICATION OF SUMMONS OR CITATION:

CASE No. 23CV01669. Notice to Defendant: Joseph S. Foster : You are being sued by Plaintiff: Jordan Schulhof. You and the plaintiff must go to court on the trial date of October 17, 2023 at 9 am. If you do not go to the court, you may lose the case. If you lose, the court can order that your wages, money, or property be taken to pay this claim. Bring witnesses, receipts, and any evidence you need to prove your case. The plaintiff claims the defendant owes $10,000 for unpaid personal loan.

Name and address of the court: Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara, 1100 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93121-1107. Filed June 20, 2023, by Gabriel Moreno, Deputy Clerk.

Published July 19, 26, August 2, 9, 2023

The press also reported that the City Attorney might set a risqué new style for the event. When asked what he was going to wear during Fiesta, he responded, “Why, I don’t know that I shall wear anything!”

City Manager Herbert Nunn, however, had always wanted to be a bold, bad pirate and sail the bounding main.

“When Don Cabrillo’s caravel comes scudding into Santa Barbara on August 13, look for the toughest, fiercest, longest mustachioed hombre on the afterdeck and you’ll find me.” Clearly Fiesta was going to indulge the fantasies of Anglo Santa Barbarans entranced with the romanticized Spanish past.

As far as costumes, City Assayer W.W. Smith was not to be outdone by the manager. He was determined to become a toreador. “I’ve grown accustomed to wearing ‘shorts’ as scoutmaster of Santa Barbara’s crack Boy Scout troop,” he said, “hence I feel quite at home in the gold-embroidered ‘shorts’ of a redoubtable toreador. And I like the idea of the little tri-cornered hat, too.”

Others got into the Fiesta spirit in another way. In the “Who’s Who in Police Court” column by “Jove,” the reporter writes, “P. Mario, aged 31 was making ready for ‘Old Spanish Days’ to be celebrated and had 75 gallons of wine all put up in two barrels… The police got smell to the liquor last night, raided Mario’s place, seized the booze, arrested Pietro and spoiled his whole celebration.”

Kangaroo Courts

In the hands of vigilantes, kangaroo courts violate all principles of law and justice. In the hands of fundraisers, kangaroo courts Way It Was Page 364

Demonstrating the connection between completion of the new Lobero Theatre and the celebration of Old Spanish Days, two horsemen rode through town to advertise the opening play and Fiesta (courtesy of John Woodward)

The winning poster for Old Spanish Days in 1924 (courtesy of Santa Barbara Historical Museum)

Kathleen Burke Peabody poses with two young hidalgos, perhaps members of her Wolf Cub Troop (courtesy of Santa Barbara Historical Museum)

Charles Pressley, who worked as executive director of the organization until 1950, is seen here in Fiesta splendor in a later year (courtesy of Santa Barbara Historical Museum)

Foraging Thyme

Tomatoes

by Melissa Petitto

Iwill wait all year for the perfect tomato, the not-flawless, stunning, smells-likesummer-and-tastes-like-heaven tomato. Sure you can find them year round in the grocery store, but the ones that look perfectly red and round and taste like water – why waste your time? Tomatoes, in all their summer glory, are in the farmers market as we speak! So many varietals, your head will spin, all colors of the rainbow, and different levels of acidity. The tomato is a health powerhouse and can be enjoyed in so many ways. Growing up in Alabama, I would walk outside to my dad’s incredible garden with a salt shaker in hand, grab a sun-ripened, sun-warmed tomato and eat it like an apple… bite, salt, bite, salt! There is truly nothing that reminds me of summer more than that delicious experience. I love them raw in soups and salads, lightly cooked for pasta sauces, blistered to top grilled veggies or tofu, or cooked down into a homemade sauce.

Part of the nightshade family, the tomato is a fruit, but is mainly eaten like a vegetable. They contain vitamin C, which is an essential nutrient and antioxidant; potassium, which is also an essential mineral and helps regulate blood pressure; vitamin K, which is great for blood clotting; and folate, which is essential for pregnant women and important for normal tissue growth/cell function. Tomatoes also contain many antioxidants and flavonoids – lycopene, naringenin, chlorogenic acid, beta carotene, and carotenoids, to name a few. All of these are incredibly beneficial for our health. Tomatoes have also been shown to help prevent cancers, improve heart health, help prevent sunburns, and help lower LDL cholesterol.

Today we are making a gazpacho with these healthful and delicious tomatoes. I love mine mixed with watermelon, but if you prefer it with straight tomato, leave out the melon. Enjoy!

Watermelon and Tomato Gazpacho

Yield: 8 Servings

5 cups seedless watermelon, chopped

5 each large sun-ripened beefsteak tomatoes, cored and roughly chopped

1 each English cucumber, washed and chopped

4 each basil sprigs, washed and leaves picked

4 each cilantro sprigs, washed and leaves picked

4 each mint sprigs, washed and leaves picked

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 Tablespoons sherry vinegar

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Toppings: (optional)

¼ cup cucumber, diced

2 tablespoons basil, sliced thin or chiffonade

2 tablespoons mint, sliced thin or chiffonade

1 tablespoon jalapeno, seeded and minced

Directions:

1. In the same processor bowl, combine cucumber, basil, cilantro, mint, sea salt and sherry vinegar. With blade running slowly add in olive oil and continue to process until smooth. Transfer to bowl with watermelon juice. Refrigerate until ready to serve. *This may be done a day ahead and gives the flavors time to meld.

2. To serve, divide into bowls and top with desired toppings.

Sun-ripened tomatoes are the definitive flavor of summer’s bounty (Goldlocki, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Melissa Petitto, R.D., is an executive chef and co-founder at Thymeless My Chef SB, was a celebrity personal chef for 16 years, just finished her 10th cookbook, and is an expert on nutrition and wellness.

free to shoot video or take notes.

Between bites, between long drives to gather news as far north as Paso Robles, between thwacks of the newsroom electric typewriters, we compared notes.

David and I discussed monitors, politics, camera cables, production, budgets, biology, live transmission, geography, light stands, and a lot of history.

David knew more about TV monitors, camera focus, microphone levels.

I provided more depth on electoral votes, verb agreement, and Mark Twain. Call our history discussions equal, with me chatting about Europe and David about Latin America.

David was quizzing, learning, digesting, setting himself up to become a well-rounded wizard in broadcasting.

The Goals Scored

Now, David is 60 years old and drives a Mercedes-Benz S550 instead of the road-battered Honda.

With the heaviest lifting of his broadcasting career in the rear-view mirror, David has more time to devote to community service, including being named El Presidente for Old Spanish Days Inc.

He is also Fiesta’s official historian and has served on the organization’s board since 2015.

David is immediate past president of

the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Barbara and has helped raise money for Santa Barbara High Athletics for 25 years. He’s also on the board of the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum.

At his day job, David is the executive director and CEO of the California Missions Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to conservation and restoration of the 21 California Missions. This is his 11th year at the top of the Missions foundation.

David also still runs Cultural Global Media, a somewhat deceptive title for a live broadcasting powerhouse that has produced international sports events focusing on soccer, plus eight of the last nine Super Bowls for Fox Sports Latin America.

His credits also include 11 years in the front office of professional soccer teams starting in 1989, serving three years as Vice President of Operations for the Los Angeles Galaxy.

While also developing his live producing and directing talents, David embarked on his journey to chronicle the geography, architecture, and founding of

California’s Missions.

David walked the grounds and recorded the history of all 21, from San Diego de Alcalá to San Francisco Solano.

He later expanded his explorations throughout the Americas, visiting the ruins of São Miguel das Missões, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Brazil.

Miguel is so far inland and south, Paraguay is a mere 50 miles or so away as the toucan flies.

But David’s road to adventure, to excellence, to leadership, was also marked by deflating sinkholes.

In the 1980s he sensed his career would implode if he didn’t keep a secret.

“I don’t think David Bolton is straight,” some snarky viewer would tell me.

I’d relay he’s the straightest shooter I’d met on many levels – maybe David is too blunt.

If the snarky types pushed too hard, I’d suggest they have a romantic interlude with themselves.

I’d like to think my Belgian parents’ lack of judgment about anyone prepared me to be an ally for David.

At their lively Olive Mill Bistro bar and restaurant on Coast Village Road, half the staff was gay.

Maybe David and I were forerunners to the modern buddy film.

Let’s feature the gay single guy and the hetero father of two, trying to make it in the three-ring circus of broadcasting.

We can joke about our preferences now, but not decades ago.

On the outside, David showed no emotion about his secret.

But inside he burned, too scared to come out.

David told me at times people yelled homophobic slurs at him while he stood there on the street recording his standups on camera for KEYT.

“It was rough,” David said. “It really hurt to hear that. Different times for sure.”

How marvelous now to see that David has been married for 20 years to Gonzalo Sarmiento, from Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico.

They own homes in Santa Barbara and Mexico.

“We speak Spanish together at home,” Bolton explains. “He has provided me with an awesome home environment, giving me the support I needed to do the crazy road shows.”

Where one road ends, the Southern tip of Argentina, David gave Gonzalo his first ring in 2004 while on vacation.

Fielding a Career

The questions ring out there, a sort of rhythmic clanging of the Mission bells –how did David become so comfortable in Latino culture, so fluent in Spanish?

There’s no direct link through his parents.

Bolton’s late father Geoffrey was by all accounts Montecito’s first chiropractor and was born in England.

His mother Donna Long, now 85 years young, traces her roots to a Bulgarian father and a Hungarian mother.

“It began in fourth grade at Montecito Union School with a great Spanish teacher, Mrs. Pacunas, from Costa Rica,” said David. Followed by more Spanish at Santa Barbara Junior High and Santa Barbara High School.

“In high school, my best friend John Diaz and I played number one and two on the golf team. I’d go to his house on the weekends and hear Spanish with his dad and uncles, enjoy the culture, the food, the family.”

Bolton continued to learn Spanish at San Diego State University and studied alongside sizzling carne asada and al pastor on grills.

“From San Diego State, I’d drive across the border to Tijuana every other Friday afternoon and spend an hour talking to the vendors on the taco trucks,” David said.

While driving home to Santa Barbara from San Diego on the other Fridays, he repeated out loud to himself the exit signs along the freeway, Los Osos, Las Virgenes, Las Posas, shining up his Spanish accent.

Later, David also received

“Philosophers have hitherto only interpreted the world in various ways; the point, however, is to change it.” – Karl Marx

David with the legendary Pelé (courtesy photo)

David playing golf with Bob Hope (courtesy photo)

El Presidente Bolton with President Reagan (courtesy photo)

David (front left) at six years old with his family, already donning Fiesta attire (courtesy photo)

encouragement and tutorials from Carlos Cerecedo, a Spanish-language courthouse interpreter and voice of the KEYT simulcast in Espanol.

Back in the late ‘80s, the Argentine urged David to embrace soccer, predicting its rising popularity would lead to career opportunities.

Cerecedo successfully called his shot and David embarked on his journey after his KEYT career ended in 1989.

Working into the Knight

David eventually became a Californiabased host, producer, and director for a national U.S. soccer show, writing, shooting video, and editing every frame that aired.

The wily negotiator found space in a Home Shopping Network facility in the Inland Empire to finish off the show in an edit suite.

“It started slow,” Bolton remembered. “One day we began work on the show while the sun was still up, it got dark, and we worked until the sun came up again the next morning.”

Bolton made contacts, forged key alliances, and built lasting friendships in broadcasting and soccer.

“I started my own production company (Cultural Global Media) on one side of the garage next to the washing machine at my house on East De La Guerra Street,” David said.

David became owner-operator for live soccer broadcasts, doing everything from negotiating truck contracts, to establishing satellite coordinates, to hiring the crew, to plotting logistics with the stadium, to directing and producing the show.

“Get the manager close up, steady, take camera two,” I heard David in the production truck at an international match in Pasadena.

He conducted the moves of up to 15 cameras plus replays, while 30 monitors lit up his intense expression.

There are infinite possibilities to screw up with all of those cameras, graphics, the flow of the game, the announcers’ audio.

One lapse by David would result in

a disaster on viewers’ TV screens, from fuzzy static snowfall to out-of-focus shots, or radioactive-looking graphics.

David gets hired again and again, proof those mistakes just don’t happen during his productions.

He estimates he has flown almost six million miles on American Airlines, mostly for his soccer telecasts.

David works absurd hours that would drop most humans like a Mike Tyson right hook.

“When young people say to me after fours of hour work, ‘I’m tired,’ I say, ‘Are you kidding me?’” David joked.

“I’ve always made sure I get a good night’s sleep,” said David. “If I get a good night’s sleep I can go forever – 14, 16 hours no problem.”

“I can also go forever without eating. I don’t know why but I can go without food for 14 hours. But don’t get me wrong, I can eat with the best of them.”

I saw young David clear-cut entire buffets back in the 1980s.

Despite us being TV journalists, our paychecks seemed more like someone dropping pocket change into a coin jar.

Taking advantage of an inexpensive eating opportunity, David excavated mounds of chow mein, orange chicken, and petrified glazed beef from the buffet at a Chinese restaurant in Santa Maria.

The angry owners banned him for life for eating too much.

David remembers those stomach-churning days.

When David received one of Spain’s highest civilian honors, being knighted as a Commander of the Royal Order of Isabel La Catolica, he provided a multicultural feast.

In a marvelous meal, family and friends ate Spanish, Mexican, Chumash, and traditional American food.

I emceed that event at David’s request, at El Presidio.

I bit hard on my lip to keep from chuckling out loud about the victory and the irony.

They waved at David with a fancy sword, the metal glinting in the fading sunlight.

We used to hold shimmering reflectors in each other’s faces to add sunlight to dark spots, while we recorded on-camera stand ups. These reflectors could pan-sear your retinas.

David flashed his medal and ribbon of Spain’s Royal Order around his neck at the ceremony.

He used to shave that neck and heavy beard inside the communal lobby bathroom of an inn where he never officially checked in.

At El Presidio, people in period costumes encircled David, the snare drums

tapped out a beat, the national anthem added pageantry.

David once watched a tiny television in the old Honda Accord by plugging it to the cigarette lighter hole.

“When you asked me to think back that I was knighted,” David reflected.

“That I produced David (soccer superstar) Beckham’s first game on U.S. soil. That I had three crews working for me at once on three national soccer telecasts. When I think of my Missions project. When I think of helping local nonprofits, I’m kind of like, wow! I say to myself, ‘How was that possible?’’”

David made it possible, crisscrossing two communities.

He swam at Miramar and Butterfly Beach as a child.

He later videotaped San Nicholas versus Cruz Azul before soccer fans screaming in Spanish at Dwight Murphy Field.

“I can be at the Montecito Club and finish playing golf, and then talk in Spanish to someone about his family, his life,” David said.

“I feel I know this town’s Latino community, the challenges, the good as much as I know Montecito. It’s really given me a full life in Santa Barbara.

“I am thankful for everyone in Santa Barbara who helped me.”

At the Presidio knighthood ceremony, David began an eloquent thank-you speech, standing upright as always, almost looking ready to deliver a report.

Cars drove by, slowed down. No one yelled anything, let alone something awful. The drivers just showed their approval for David Bolton, with loud honks.

Paul Vercammen: 5X-Emmy Winner, 26 yrs CNN, ex KEYT News Director, 2nd place, S,B. Public Library Haiku contest, fifth grade, from Mt. Carmel.

At David’s knighting is Geoffrey Bolton, Trinh Huynh, Gonzalo Sarmiento, Commander David Bolton with his mother Donna Long, and Ambassador Javier Vallaure and his daughter Mayara Vallaure (photo by Priscilla)

Today, David Bolton speaks to the audience as El Presidente (photo by Fritz Olenberger)

are lighthearted, humorous events. The first kangaroo court for Fiesta convened in the exact center of De La Guerra Plaza. The “Honorable” Hamilton MacFadden was the judge. His deputies were ordered to “fare forth” in search of vicious criminals, particularly scofflaws, who were in violation of the ordinances of the day.

These ordinances included a prohibition against gum chewing in public at a gait exceeding 20 chews per minute. Fines were one thin dime for each chew exceeding the limit. If the offense was committed on the sunny side of the street, the fine doubled. Another law stipulated that only Spanish hats could be worn on State Street. Violators were arrested and not freed until a fine of 50 cents was paid. Also, all smoking in Santa Barbara, except by the judge, jury, deputies, and newspapermen, was prohibited.

Ordinance Number 110 said no citizen could comment on the heat, cold, drought, 50-percent window lighting, or the Southern California Edison Company in general. The company had to figure out how to save power and make more money. (A conundrum they still face in 2023!)

Roger Clerbois, a founder and director of the Community Arts Orchestra, was “pinched” for walking the streets in daytime. The court held that he was a night owl and had no business abroad in daytime. Max Fleischmann, famous polo player and wealthy yeast impresario, was taken into custody because he happened to be passing by. The entire Frederick Forrest Peabody family – including doggie Christopher –was brought before the judge because they lived in Montecito. Christopher was also charged for venturing abroad without his toreador costume. Chris tried to avenge himself by amputating the court’s left leg, before paying his 99-cent fine. And on it went. Best perhaps was that the Chief of Police, Lester Desgrandchamps, was arrested for impersonating an officer. He pled not guilty, which made it worse! The courts were convened several times during the weeks before Fiesta.

Civic Participation

The Executive Committee for Old Spanish Days asked Santa Barbara’s business and civic organizations to participate in the carnival. The Kiwanis agreed to take charge of the landing of Cabrillo after the yacht club defaulted when most of its members said they were going to a regatta in San Diego that week. They arranged for a replica of a Spanish Galleon to carry out the ahistorical landing of Cabrillo. (The explorer never set foot on Santa Barbara soil, though he did die on one of the Channel Islands, several of which seem to vie for the honor.) The Exchange Club was to provide the

‘49ers, the Rotarians represented Fremont’s army, the Elks provided a band, and members dressed in monks’ robes.

Cabrillo was landed on West Beach and heartily welcomed by the Chumash in a bit of ahistorical fantasy (courtesy of Santa Barbara Historical Museum)

MacFadden called on businesses to provide 200 artistic floats. The sports committee made arrangements for a rodeo, swim races, horseshow throwing, and golf and tennis matches. La Primavera Association donated the Primavera flags to the cause. A very successful fundraising event, the contest for Queen of Fiesta, saw nearly a dozen Santa Barbara belles competing for votes, which cost money. Madalynne Romero beat out all competition on the last day by securing a stupendous lead in votes, all of which translated as funding for Fiesta. Dwight Murphy, Adolfo Camarillo, and Ed Borein arranged for the equestrian portion of the opening parade, which featured descendants of the old Spanish families and the artistry of hidalgo and caballero culture.

On August 13, the festivities began at West Beach when the famous galleon sailed around Castle Rock to land Cabrillo, and the first Old Spanish Days Parade began its march down State Street. Three days later, with all finances in order and running in the black, the city knew it had finally secured its annual festival.

(Sources: Ancestry.com; newspapers. com; Santa Barbara Morning Press and Daily News; Community Arts and theater files at Gledhill Library and UCSB Special Collections)

Hattie Beresford has been writing a local history column for the Montecito Journal for more than a decade and is the author of several books on Santa Barbara’s historic past

Kathleen Burke Peabody (the most-decorated woman of WWI), got into the spirit of Fiesta by donning the appropriate costume. Her husband Frederick, who among other things donated Peabody Stadium to Santa Barbara High School, managed a Spanish hat. (courtesy of Santa Barbara Historical Museum)

The program for the opening day of Old Spanish Days began with the landing of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo at West Beach (courtesy of Santa Barbara Historical Museum)

Carmen and Frank Camarillo were part of the Ventura contingent that contributed to the success of the first Old Spanish Days fiesta in Santa Barbara (courtesy of Santa Barbara Historical Museum)

Bernhard Hoffmann’s El Paseo became a favorite site for Fiesta gatherings. Hidalgos on Camarillo Arabians salute the “villagers” and a lone palomino, presumably from Dwight Murphy’s stable, accompanies them. (courtesy of Santa Barbara Historical Museum)

already wrapping up their master class series. Today offers last chances to hear fellows perform and watch them get coached in real time for oboe with Eugene Izotov , viola led by Karen Dreyfus , and solo piano with Conor Hanick . (Respectively: 1:30 pm, 1:30 pm & 3:30 pm; Lehmann, Weinmann, & Hahn; $10)... The summer’s penultimate Picnic Concert pushes the envelope even more than email disrupted the post office, opening with Anna Þorvaldsdóttir ’s “Sola” for solo viola and electronics followed by Russell Wharton ’s “Deus Ex Metronome” for solo snare drum and audio, and Kaija Saariaho ’s “Fall” for harp and electronics – all pieces we’re imagining you haven’t heard before, unless you happen to be one of the performing fellows’ compeers. That’s probably also true for two of the three ensuing works, Libby Larsen ’s “Try Me, Good King: Last Words of the Wives of Henry VIII” (soprano and piano) and Kees Olthuis’ “Introduction and Allegro,” sandwiched around Samuel Barber’s “Dover Beach, Op. 3.” We recommend a hearty picnic prior to the performance. (7:30 pm; Hahn Hall; $40)

Saturday, July 29: JoAnn Falletta became the first woman to lead a major American ensemble when she was appointed music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic back in 1998, and fortunately things have moved in the right direction equity-wise since then, especially at the Academy, where a female conductor isn’t a novelty at all. Considered among the best in the business in our era, Falletta leads the Academy Festival Orchestra in the return of symphony concerts to the Granada after a three-week break. The program opens with Roberto Sierra ’s “Fandangos” to Ravel’s “La valse” before displaying breadth and range post-intermission via Rachmaninoff’s “Symphonic Dances, Op. 45.” (7:30 pm; Granada; $55) Hear from Falletta herself via the pre-concert Meet-theConductor talk and Q&A session

around the corner. (6 pm; Sullivan Goss; $25)

Tuesday, August 1: Three more studios offer their final master classes of the festival: flute with Timothy Day, vocal with new Vocal Institute Co-director Sasha Cooke , and horn with Julie Landsman (Respectively: 1:30 pm, 3 pm, & 3:30 pm; Weinmann & Hahn [vocal]; $10).... Violinist Elena Urioste has soloed with major orchestras throughout the United States, including the Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Minnesota orchestras; New York, L.A., and Buffalo philharmonics; plus countless more overseas. She’s also a commissioned chamber player and the founder and artistic director of Chamber Music by the Sea in Maryland. But many folks know her better by the path she took during the pandemic. Urioste and pianist-husband Tom Poster began posting a new video daily starting in March 2020, and quickly began honoring requests for their genre-busting project that helped keep the musicians creatively occupied and the digital community engaged, while spreading the joy of music far and wide. In 2021, the pair released The Jukebox Album, culling 17 selections from the project that range from arrangements by Poster of classic songs by Piaf and Porter to poignant snippets of unjustly neglected composers such as Lili Boulanger and Cécile Chaminade. In their recital this afternoon, Urioste and Post will play sonatas by Strauss and Luise Adolpha Le Beau before diving into selections from The Jukebox Album and other works from the #UriostePostJukebox project.

(7:30 pm; Hahn Hall; $55)

Wednesday, August 2: It’s closing time for another pair of master classes: cello with David Geber , and double bass with Nico Abondolo (1:30, 3:30 pm; Lehmann & Weinmann, $10)... The solo piano studio gets its final appearance of the season in a showcase series concert featuring all five of the fellows, which includes competition winner Szuyu Su , whose victory earned her a $5,000 cash award and a commission by Anthony Cheung to be premiered in a recital presented by the Music Academy in Hahn Hall in 2024.

(7:30 pm; Hahn Hall; $40)

community partners, including Ian Williams, the General Manager of San Ysidro Ranch, who generously donated essential kitchen equipment, including an industrial stove, oven, and refrigerator. She also recognized Jordano’s for their contribution of a commercial dishwasher. Dr. Alzina also thanked Chef Koji Nomura of NuCuisine for his partnership in meal preparation, and the Cold Spring Governing Board members: Mike Marino, Trevor Pattison, Jennifer Miller , Gabrielle Haas, and Elke Kane, for their unwavering support throughout the project.

“The kitchen project is truly an excellent example of what’s possible in public education when we work together as a community,” said Dr. Alzina. “I’m extremely grateful to everyone, including the construction team, electricians, plumbers, and our maintenance team, for creating a kitchen we can all take pride in.”

The renovated kitchen will play a pivotal role in ensuring that the Free Breakfast and Lunch program operates smoothly, providing students with nutritious meals regardless of their ability to pay. The statewide program was enacted last year, marking California as the first state to implement a Universal Meals Program for all school children.

Montecito Natural Health Opens in Upper Village

As a follow-up to a story we’ve been following since April, Montecito Natural Foods, which was located in Montecito Country Mart for nearly 60 years and closed its doors in June, has reopened a small storefront in the Upper Village, next to Josephine’s Antiques. The store, now dubbed Montecito Natural Health, opened in mid-July, and business is picking up, according to staff.

The health product store has been owned by Gabe and Slim Gomez for 30 years, and has offered health food products, vitamins, beauty products, and more to the Montecito community for decades. Earlier this year we reported the store’s impending closure after being given notice that its lease was not up for renewal by Country Mart owner James Rosenfield , who declined our request for comment on the matter. The Gomez duo negotiated with Upper Village owner Norm Borgatello to occupy the space once occupied by George Meta Jewelry.

Steven Libowitz has covered a plethora of topics for the Journal since 1997, and now leads our extensive arts and entertainment coverage

The pared-down space offers vitamins and supplements as well as beauty products, and still employs the same long-time staff members. Food offerings have been eliminated, due to the reduction in space and the proximity to Montecito Village Grocery.

Montecito Natural Health is open Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm, and is closed on Sundays. The address is 1470 East Valley Road, Suite Z. Call 805-969-1411 for more information.

Oboist Eugene Izotov leads the Master Class this Friday, July 28

The Cold Spring School Board of Trustees, Superintendent Dr. Amy Alzina, and Chief Business Officer Yuri Calderon at the ribbon cutting

Montecito Natural Health has reopened in the Upper Village after nearly six decades on Coast Village Road

Kelly Mahan Herrick, also a licensed realtor with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services, has been editor at large for the Journal since 2007, reporting on news in Montecito and beyond.

seats to needy families facing tough times as their youngsters undergo medical treatment.

Supporters turning out for the cause included Amie Parrish, Bibi Moezzi, David Edelman , Jamie Borgeson , Jonathan Pickert, Karen Chrisman, and Kirsten Stuart

In September, Hearts Aligned is having a Rock Your Heart Out benefit hosted by the Red Piano on State Street featuring the Tearaways, a group combining the influences of the British Invasion with the California sound.

For more info click on www. heartsaligned.org.

Getting Ready for the Gala

One805Live!, which is throwing its annual gala at Kevin Costner’s oceanside Carpinteria property in September, gave a taste of what is to come with a boffo bash at the Montecito Club that auctioned off a guitar signed by Katy Perry for $5,000 and a package trip for four people to see Maroon Five – stars at the fall fête – in Las Vegas and a Fender Telecaster guitar signed by lead singer Adam Levine, a Montecito resident, and other band members for $8,000.

For the second consecutive year, co-founder Richard Weston-Smith

announced local charity Direct Relief has donated $150,000 for the organization’s mental wellness program that helps firefighters and police personnel.

The charity’s silent auction, which runs until a week after the gala, includes drums autographed by Travis Barker of Blink-182 and Danny Seraphine of Chicago, and guitars signed by Elliot Easton of The Cars and Robby Krieger of The Doors, a Depeche Mode concert experience in Los Angeles, a 10-day cruise, and a two-night stay in Manhattan.

To check it out, go to www.One805.org.

Among supporters quaffing the wine and noshing the canapés were Alan Parsons , Carol Marsch , Catherine Remak , Nina Terzian , Bob and Holly Murphy , John Thyne III , Kirsten Cavendish , Adam McKaig , Randy Solakian , Susan Jordan , Sheriff Bill Brown , Diana Starr Langley , and Alixe Mattingly

Birthday Boy Mineards

It wasn’t quite the exotic occasion I envisaged when I celebrated the 20th

anniversary of my half century last week, but a fun event nevertheless at Ca’Dario on Coast Village Road.

Having not been able to fly to Marrakech, Morocco, for the past few years because of pandemic restrictions, my plans were to join an old friend, peripatetic Cat Pollon , at her new home in North Africa, but they were dashed last year when she sadly succumbed to ovarian cancer at the age of 80.

Fortunately, another good friend, philanthropist Brian Herman who spends his time between his home in Montecito and Rancho Mirage, not to mention a beach home in Carpinteria, hosted a lunch at Dario Furlati’s eatery for a Fab Four including property manager John Green and Tom Cipolla, who has homes in our rarefied enclave and Rancho Palos Verdes.

Another good friend, Gretchen Lieff, also stopped by before winging to Provence on vacation.

My lunch concluded with me blowing out a candle on a slice of tiramisu. Memorable fun...

Fine Design in Theater

My item last week on the historic Lobero Theatre being chosen as one of the world’s 11 most beautiful by society glossy Town & Country prompted a call from Montecito philanthropist Anne Towbes saying that another of the theaters on the list, Steinmetz Hall in Orlando, Florida, was designed by Montecito architect Barton Myers, 88.

The 1,741-seat theater, part of the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, opened last year and is the latest in a lengthy list of commissions including performing arts centers in Newark, New Jersey; Portland, Oregon; and Cerritos, California.

Myers, president of Barton Myers Associates, studied architecture at the University of Pennsylvania and practiced in Toronto, Canada, before mov -

Hearts Aligned board members Alain Welty, Vivian Solodkin, David Edelman, and Tammy Sims Johnson (photo by Priscilla)

Chris Mailes, Kelly Ann Gordon, Kirsten Cavendish Weston-Smith, Vick and Ron Simms, Diana Starr Langley, and Charley Pavlosky (photo by Priscilla)

Richard WestonSmith and Catherine Remak with Katy Perry’s Guitar auction item (photo by Priscilla)

Alan Parsons and his wife, Lisa (photo by Priscilla)

Richard celebrating his 70th birthday at Ca’Dario (courtesy photo)

ing his company’s HQ to Southern California.

A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis and a jet fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force for five years, he attended architecture classes at both Oxford and Cambridge universities. He has won major architecture awards in the U.S. and Canada, and lectures worldwide.

House Available in the Hills

Orlando Bloom, singer Katy Perry’s English actor fiancé, is selling his Beverly Hills home for $7.6 million.

The 4,011-square-foot 1959 contemporary boasts four bedrooms and four bathrooms.

The Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean star previously listed the property in 2019 at just under $9 million.

He bought the house in 2017 for $7 million and spent $5 million on improvements.

Orlando and Katy were last seen jet skiing in St. Tropez.

A Legendary Ensemble

My congratulations to three good friends, philanthropists Brooks and Kate Firestone and author Fannie Flagg, as well as one of my favorite theater companies, Ensemble, who have been chosen as Granada Theatre Legends.

They will be honored at a glittering 7th annual gala at the iconic State Street theater on September 16.

The highly anticipated evening features inspiring honorees, extraordinary talent, and dedicated patrons of the arts all in one place to support Santa Barbara’s performing arts community.

“All the honorees are remarkable in their own way and have left an indelible mark on the arts, not just here in Santa Barbara, but around the world,” says

Palmer Jackson Jr., chairman of the Granada’s board.

“Their contributions have not only enriched our lives but have forged a legacy and remind us of the transformative power of the arts.”

I couldn’t agree more...

Lawyers’ Fees May End Soon

Kevin Costner’s estranged wife Christine Baumgartner is barred from removing any property apart from clothing, toiletries, handbags, and jewelry from his $145 million Carpinteria beach compound.

As she prepares to leave the estate by Monday (July 31), the 49-year-old handbag designer will be barred from taking art, furniture, furnishings, or appliances with her without the Oscar winner’s consent.

The update amid their acrimonious divorce comes after the Yellowstone actor accused her of ransacking the home they previously shared.

Stay tuned...

A Breezy Budget

King Charles III is getting a pay cut!

The cash the British monarch receives from the U.K. taxpayer will be $31 million lower than it could have been next year.

The Sovereign Grant used to fund the king’s official duties will be 12 percent of the Crown Estate’s net profits next year, down from 25 percent, London’s Treasury has announced.

The Royal Household’s budget will be $31 million lower in 2024 and $167 million lower in both 2025 and 2026 than if the rate remained at 25 percent.

The change comes after a significant boost in the Crown Estate’s profits from offshore wind deals.

Charles asked in January for wind farm profits to be used for the wider public good instead.

A Saintly Offering

Established in 1956, St. Francis Foundation of Santa Barbara annually

awards grants to local agencies focused on helping to relieve human suffering.

By stewarding resources entrusted to them, coupled with stellar endowment management, the foundation is privileged and positioned to support many worthy and vital community causes.

The organization recently completed the 2023 giving cycle, awarding almost a million dollars to 25 local organizations.

Some of the local recipients include Friendship Center, Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics, Santa Barbara Scholarship Foundation, Doctors Without Walls, Serenity House, Hillside House, PATH, Hospice of Santa Barbara, SEE International, and the Alzheimer’s Association.

On a Roll at the Rotary

Tony Morris has begun his second year of a two-year term as president of Montecito Rotary Club as the organization celebrates its 70th anniversary.

Joining Morris on the board are president-elect Kim Stone, secretary Roger Davis, and treasurer Kurt Koenig

From volunteering at the Montecito Fire Department’s annual July 4 pancake breakfast and continuing its tradition of supporting Santa Barbara City College students with career and vocational scholarships, to its annual foundation community grants, the club lives up to its motto of being “people of action.”

Morris is an accomplished communications professional, author, and outdoors aficionado who leads the Rona Barrett Foundation as executive director.

Remembering Tony Bennett

On a personal note. I remember crooner Tony Bennett, who has died at his longtime Manhattan home at the age of 96.

I used to see him and his wife, Susan, at the Park Avenue jet set nightclub Regines with late actor Anthony Quinn,

when I lived nearby on East 66th Street and Madison Avenue.

Bennett’s career spanned more than 70 years with 150 recordings, gaining a whole new audience in recent decades when he teamed with the likes of U2 singer Bono and Lady Gaga

I last saw him perform at what was the Montecito Country Club at an intimate concert in 2013 organized by UCSB Arts & Lectures when I sat at dinner with Law & Order uber producer Dick Wolf and animal activist Gretchen Lieff , with Bennett singing his signature song “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.”

Bennett, also a successful artist later in life, personified sophistication and was the most genial of individuals despite his worldwide fame.

Sightings

Bill Nye, the Science Guy, at the Music Academy’s Hahn Hall... Meghan Markle, security guard in tow, picking up blooms at the Farmers Market on CVR... Ellen DeGeneres and her brother Vance at Pierre Lafond.

Pip! Pip!

From musings on the Royals to celebrity real estate deals, Richard Mineards is our man on the society scene and has been for more than 15 years

Brooks and Kate Firestone (courtesy photo)

Author Fannie Flagg (courtesy photo)

Tony Morris continues his reign with Montecito Rotary Club (courtesy photo)

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Calendar of Events

by Steven Libowitz

THURSDAY, JULY 27

Expo on Ending Plastics Use – Community Environmental Council and Santa Barbara Channelkeeper’s second annual Plastic Free July Expo features information from local organizations working on plastic-free initiatives and ways for you to get involved, plus engaging activities. The evening of action, fun, and prizes includes light refreshment, and takes place at CEC’s brand-new downtown Environmental Hub that debuted earlier this month, which is worth checking out on its own. As space is limited, RSVP is strongly encouraged.

WHEN: 5:30-8 pm

WHERE: 1219 State St.

COST: free

INFO: https://cecsb.org/plastic-free-july

FRIDAY, JULY 28

Free Summer Film Series – Santa Barbara’s Sunken Gardens isn’t the only gorgeous outdoor venue for soaking up the vibes while taking in a screening around these parts this summer. The Ojai Film Society has put together a wonderfully varied lineup of movies for the new series that began during the pandemic, launching tonight with Alejandra Vasquez and Sam Osborn’s Sundance hit Going Varsity in Mariachi. Perfect as a pre-Fiesta film, the documentary follows Edinburg North High School’s Mariachi Oro as they compete for a state championship. Bonus: Filmmakers Vasquez and Osborn will appear in-person as part of the presentation. Future flicks that are featured on Fridays each fortnight include classics and beloved favorites (Princess Bride on August

THURSDAY, JULY 27

Sharp Attack – Rick Sharp made a name for himself as a poster artist in the ‘70s surf culture of Santa Barbara and Southern California, when the young artist’s work appeared on national magazine covers, Hang Ten T-shirts, surf posters, album covers, and concert posters for folk music icons such as Donovan, Arlo Guthrie, and Peter, Paul & Mary, to name a few. But Sharp also employed India ink and pen to create art that celebrated Mother Earth and her nature-loving inhabitants during roughly the same period. His new book, 1970s Nature Posters: The Lost Art of Rick Sharp, is a dramatic and often humorous memoir that traces the treasure trove of idealistic posters that also offers an intimate look at the artist’s Santa Barbara lifestyle including his unorthodox search for the perfect model and mate, his practice of composing songs and prose to accompany his art, his relations with famous rock stars, and his struggles to be accepted as an incurable, hopeless romantic. Sharp shares stories and signs the book today at Chaucer’s.

WHEN: 6 pm

WHERE: 3321 State St. in Loreto Plaza Shopping Center

COST: free

INFO: (805) 682-6787 or www.chaucersbooks.com

Arts al Fresco – Concerts in the Park closes out its month-of-Thursdays series at Great Meadow in Chase Palm Park across from the beach on July 27 with Mezcal Martini, the local all-star ensemble that plays Latin jazz, pop, and more. Hopefully, their set will vary a bit from what they played on Tuesday at the Stow House.

WHEN: 6-7:30 pm

WHERE: 300 W. Cabrillo Blvd.

COST: free

INFO: (805) 564-5418 or www.santabarbaraca.gov

UCSB A&L’s summer film series Out of this World gets down with the goodvs-evil thing via a screening of The Fifth Element at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse Sunken Gardens on July 28. Luc Besson directs Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, and Gary Oldman in the classic. As always, fun is as much about the atmosphere as the movie, partly due to DJ Darla Bea spinning “Out of this World” music before the screening, tailoring the tunes to the flick and the folks.

WHEN: 8:30 pm

WHERE: 1100 Anacapa St.

COST: free

INFO: www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu

Next up at the Stow House-Rancho La Patera lakeside site for the Music at the Ranch series on August 1 are the Americana Cats, a nine-piece ensemble who, as their name suggests, play Americana covers ranging from Dylan and Gillian Welch to Sam Cooke and Jimmy Cliff, plus original songs.

WHEN: 5:30-7:30 pm

WHERE: 304 N. Los Carneros Road, Goleta

COST: free

INFO: (805) 681-7216 or www.goletahistory.org/music-at-the-ranch

11; Singin’ in the Rain on September 8) and indies rarely screened (2019’s Blinded by the Light). The series closes October 6 with a doc with lots of local connections: Wild Life, which follows conservationists Kris Tompkins and outdoorsman and entrepreneur Douglas Tompkins, as both leave behind the world of the massively successful outdoor brands they’d helped pioneer – Patagonia, The North Face, and Esprit – and turn their attention to a visionary effort to create National Parks throughout Chile and Argentina. WHEN: All screenings at 7:30 pm

WHERE: Libbey Bowl, 210 S. Signal Ave., Ojai COST: free

INFO: www.ojaifilmsociety.org

Ventura Music Festival – Although it has had its ups and downs over the near quarter-century since being founded as the Ventura Chamber Music Festival, and gone through any number of changes, including shifting from various venues in downtown Ventura to a single centralized location, the event seems to have settled in nicely as it has emerged from the pandemic. Having long since morphed into a musical variety pack, 2023 continues the trend. First up tonight in the now two-weekend affair is Counterpoint, an artistic collaboration between pianist Conrad Tao and choreographer-dancer Caleb Teicher (founding member of acclaimed tap dance company Dorrance Dance), followed by Grammy-winning jazz/R&B vocalist Dianne Reeves fronting a trio on Saturday. Sunday brings frequent VMF visitor Mark O’Connor, this time with his new duo featuring fellow fiddler and wife Maggie on originals and classic Americana music. Next weekend’s schedule includes classical guitarist Ana Vidović, the Grammy-nominated jazz supergroup Special EFX All-Stars, and the saxophone sextet Moanin’ Frogs. WHEN: July 28-30, August 4-6

WHERE: Ventura College Performing Arts Center, 4700 Loma Vista Rd., Ventura COST: $15-$65 per concert, festival passes available INFO: (805) 648-3146 or www.venturamusicfestival.org

MONDAY, JULY 31

P-22 Prances to Town – Not the actual mountain lion known as P-22, of course. The courageous cougar who crossed two freeways to hunker down in his new Hollywood Hills habitat – and take up residence in our hearts – was euthanized last December after suffering from illnesses and traumatic injuries consistent with being hit by a car. But the wild mountain lion who resided in Griffith Park for more than a decade became the subject of significant media attention, including numerous books, television programs, and other works of art, and continues to fascinate folks all over. And this pugnacious puma continues to have impact. The story of his exploits has ensured a future for mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains by leading to the construction

Montecito JOURNAL

“It is wrong always, everywhere and for everyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.” – W. K. Clifford

Twelve Bars… And 50 years –Robert Cray is one of the most commercially and critically successful blues artists of his generation, one whose career seems to simply stay on an even keel. The veteran bluesman who has claimed five Grammy Awards was first in the national public eye as the uncredited bassist in the house party band Otis Day and the Knights in the 1978 film National Lampoon’s Animal House. He released his first record in 1980 but didn’t connect in a big way until Strong Persuader came out in 1986. Cray became a critical darling for his innovative expansion of blues, and a commercial hit helped the blues transcend its genre to cross over into the pop charts. Since then, he continues to craft a sound that encompasses American roots, blues, soul, and R&B, at once both fresh and familiar. The singer-songwriter-guitarist and his long-standing band – first formed in 1974 – have recorded 20 studio and live albums together, and continue to tour the world, neither rising to arena status nor fitting neatly into a small club. Which is why, once again, they’re coming to the Lobero for what must be the umpteenth time. Despite not trending on Twitter or going viral with videos, the Robert Cray Band is still not to be taken for granted.

WHEN: 7:30 pm

WHERE: Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St.

COST: $55 & $65 ($106 VIP includes premier seating and a pre-show reception with drinks and hors d’oeuvres)

INFO: (805) 963-0761 or www.lobero.com

of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, which will connect a crucial wildlife corridor, preserve biodiversity, and save a local population of mountain lions from extinction. The groundbreaking crossing will be the world’s largest, the first of its kind in California, and a global model for urban wildlife conservation. Today, Beth Pratt, the leader of the #SaveLACougars campaign, comes to town to share about P-22’s remarkable story and the dedicated efforts that made the landmark crossing a reality.

WHEN: 6 pm

WHERE: New Vic Theater, 33 West Victoria St. COST: $10 adults, $5 students, free for youth 12 & under; $15 extra for pre-event reception with Pratt that includes light refreshments on the patio ($60 VIP tickets include reception and priority seating)

INFO: (805) 965-5400 or https://etcsb.org/whats-on/community-events

SATURDAY, JULY 29

Mind-ing a Murderer – Wendy Whitman has become an expert on the subject of murder in America through her decades-long work as an executive, producer, and on-air reporter for Court TV and Crime Stories on Warner Brothers’ true-crime programming network HLN. Turning to novel writing, Whitman wisely utilized her true-crime experience in her first book, Premonition, referencing more than 20 actual cases through the protagonist’s narration, lending the book a touch of realism that many thrillers lack. Now the sequel, Retribution, turns tables yet again, as it’s told from the killer’s point of view, and early readers have raved, comparing it to The Talented Mr. Ripley. Even lawyers are loving it: Gerald P. Boyle, the attorney who represented serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, noted the “novel captures all aspects of the utter insanity of the criminal mind.” Whitman talks about the novels and signs copies at Tecolote Book Shop this afternoon.

WHEN: 2-4 pm

WHERE: 1470 E. Valley Rd.

COST: free

INFO: (805) 969-4977 or www.tecolotebookshop.com

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PHYSICAL TRAINING & THERAPY

Stillwell Fitness of Santa Barbara

In Home Personal Training Sessions for 65+ Help with: Strength, Flexibility, Balance, Motivation, and Consistency

John Stillwell, CPT, Specialist in Senior Fitness 805-705-2014 StillwellFitness.com

Relocating to Montecito from Austin. Two adults looking for a 1 or 2 bedroom apartment, home or guesthouse that will accommodate two small dogs that will stay in Austin most of the time (dogs in Montecito two months out of the year total). Would prefer a one year rental. Contact mobile 512-988-6217. Can provide references and verification of income

Looking for small private space, reasonable rent. I am a retired teacher, had a family home on Cima Linda for 45 years, Offering strong quiet gardening, run errands, housekeeping, becwin33@hotmail.com

ITEMS FOR SALE

For sale!! Priceless Lao tzu 7’x4’ Brian805smith@gmail.com

Local tile setter of 35 years is now doing small jobs only. Services include grout cleaning and repair, caulking, sealing, replacing damaged tiles and basic plumbing needs. Call Doug Watts at 805-729-3211 for a free estimate.

PERSONAL SERVICES

Tell Your Story

How did you get to be where you are today? What were your challenges? What is your Love Story? I can help you tell your story in an unforgettable way – with a book that will live on for many generations. The books I write are as thorough and entertaining as acclaimed biographies you’ve read. I also assist with books you write – planning, editing and publishing. David Wilk Great references. (805) 455-5980 www.BiographyDavidWilk.com

SING PLAY ALCHEMY

Recognized as the area’s Premier Estate Liquidators - Experts in the Santa Barbara Market! We are Skilled Professionals with Years of Experience in Downsizing and Estate Sales. Personalized service. Insured. Call for a complimentary consultation.

Elaine (805)708-6113

Christa (805)450-8382

Email: theclearinghouseSB@cox.net

Website: www.theclearinghouseSB.com

TRESOR

We Buy, Sell and Broker Important Estate Jewelry. Located in the upper village of Montecito. Graduate Gemologists with 30 years of experience. We do free evaluations and private consultation.

1470 East Valley Rd Suite V. 805 969-0888

GOT OSTEOPOROSIS? WE CAN HELP

At OsteoStrong our proven non-drug protocol takes just ten minutes once a week to improve your bone density and aid in more energy, strength, balance and agility. Please call for a complimentary session! Call Now (805) 453-6086

OBITUARY WRITER

I can help you craft a warm and comprehensive obituary for your loved one. I am a journalist and magazine writer with 25 years of experience. My work has been published in national magazines and literary journals. Contact Izzy at izzywrites59@gmail.com

AUTOMOBILES WANTED

To enroll in voice &/or piano, submit an inquiry via www.rachelegenes.com. Classes at Studio 8 on Music Academy campus starting September. Thanks, RAE@rachelegenes.com 805-679-3266

DONATIONS NEEDED

Santa Barbara Bird Sanctuary Menagerie 2430 Lillie Avenue Summerland CA 93067 (805) 969-1944

POSITION WANTED

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT Organize receipts for taxes, pay bills, write checks, reservations, scheduling. Confidential. Semi-retired professional. Excellent references.

Sandra (805) 636-3089

Trusted, Experienced Caregiver, CA State registered and background checked. Vaccinated. Loving and caring provides transportation, medications, etc.

Lina 650-281-6492

REAL ESTATE WANTED TO BUY

Do You Want Out Now?? Local pvt. pty. @ great credit seeks fixer home; @ seller finan. or lease @ option. You set your price! No agents. 805-455-1420

We buy Classic Cars Running or not. Foreign/Domestic Porsche/Mercedes Etc. We come to you. Call Steven - 805-699-0684 Website - Avantiauto.group

$10 MINIMUM TO PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD

It’s Simple. Charge is $3 per line, each line with 31 characters. Minimum is $10 per issue. Photo/logo/visual is an additional $20 per issue. Email Classified Ad to frontdesk@montecitojournal.net or call (805) 565-1860. All ads must be finalized by Friday at 2:00PM the week prior to printing. We accept Visa/MasterCard/Amex (3% surcharge)

Donate to the Parrot Pantry!

At SB Bird Sanctuary, backyard farmer’s bounty is our birds best bowl of food! The flock goes bananas for your apples, oranges & other homegrown fruits & veggies.

Volunteers

Do you have a special talent or skill? Do you need community service hours? The flock at SB Bird Sanctuary could always use some extra love and socialization. Call us and let’s talk about how you can help. (805) 969-1944

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

K-9 PALS need volunteers to be foster parents for our dogs while they are waiting for their forever homes.

For more information info@k-9pals.org or 805-570-0415

MiniMeta

ByPeteMuller&FrankLongo

Foreachofthefirstfiveminicrosswords,oneoftheentriesalsoservesaspartofa five-wordmetaclue.Theanswertothemetaisawordorphrase(fivelettersor longer)hiddenwithinthesixthminicrossword.Thehiddenmetaanswerstartsin oneofthesquaresandsnakesthroughthegridverticallyandhorizontallyfrom there(nodiagonals!)withoutrevisitinganysquares.

3BD/2BA; ± 1.17 acres • $4,150,000

Marsha Kotlyar Estate Group, 805.565.4014 LIC# 01426886

5BD/3BA • $5,550,000 Ann

805.448.4317

01355461

Josiah Hamilton, 805.284.8835

01415235

805.895.1799 / 805.705.5334

LIC# 00624274 / 01434616

$3,750,000 Sina Omidi, 805.689.7700

LIC# 01944430

$3,450,000

Rachael Douglas, 805.318.0900 LIC# 02024147

805.895.1799 / 805.705.5334

LIC# 00624274 / 01434616

3BD/2BA • $1,350,000

Yolanda Van Wingerden, 805.570.4965

LIC# 01308141

2567 BANNER AVE, SUMMERLAND 4BD/3BA •

900 TORO CANYON RD, MONTECITO 3BD/3BA; ±5 acres • $5,295,000

LIC#

1903 COYOTE CIR, MONTECITO 3BD/3BA •

5476 CAMEO RD, CARPINTERIA

231 BUTTERFLY LN, SANTA BARBARA

Zafiratos,

LIC#

218 E PADRE ST, SANTA BARBARA 6BD/5BA • $3,750,000 Freed & Clenet,

1638 LA CORONILLA DR, SANTA BARBARA 3BD/2BA • $2,995,000 Freed & Clenet,

1502 E MOUNTAIN DR, MONTECITO 5BD/7BA • $23,500,000 Cristal Clarke, 805.886.9378 LIC# 00968247

2957 E VALLEY RD, MONTECITO 5BD/7BA • $17,600,000 Marsha Kotlyar Estate Group, 805.565.4014 LIC# 01426886