‘A Sea Story’

Author connects global maritime and California missions histories

the event, go to sbmm.org/santabarbara-event and to become a member, visit sbmm.org.

Admission is free for SBMM’s Navigator Circle Members, $10 for all other members and $20 for members of the public.

The presentation will explain how the missions were inextricably linked to global maritime history and prehistory, including the latest research on the origins of California’s indigenous people whose ancestors came to the Americas thousands of years before the first European soldiers and missionaries arrived.

Ms. Sands will discuss the farreaching geopolitical context of the California missions and presidios to explain why they are here, including some “surprises and sidebars and the fascinating connection of an Enlightenmentera Spanish viceroy who, after launching the mission project in 1769, turned his attention to the success (or failure) of the American Revolution.” She will also raise some important questions about how we should regard and study the mission era today, when colonialism itself can be a highly controversial topic.

The author of “On a Mission: The Real Story of the California Missions, Their History, Impact and Legacy,” Ms. Sands has developed a unique perspective on history shaped by extensive research and by many years of engagement with educators, scientists and historians. She is a California native with a degree in art history from UC Berkeley.

As a long-time active board member of both the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History and the Institute of Human Origins at Arizona State University, Ms. Sands has spent many years working to improve science and

Please see MISSIONS on B4

DAVID BAZEMORE

The State Street Ballet will perform “Tango Rain” and other dances tonight at The Granada in Santa Barbara.

The calendar appears Mondays through Saturdays in the “Life & the Arts” section. Items are welcome. Please email them a full week before the event to Managing Editor Dave Mason at dmason@newspress.com.

TODAY

9 a.m. Santa Barbara Airport is partnering with Alaska Airlines and Atlantic Aviation to host local nonprofit Alpha Resource Center’s second annual Plane Pull fundraiser. Proceeds benefit the Alpha Resource Center. Registration is at 9 a.m., followed by the opening ceremonies at 9:30 a.m. and the first team pull at 9:45 a.m. For more information, go to alphasb.org/plane-pull or contact Jeff Henson at Alpha Resources Center, 805-683-2145 or jhenson@ alphasb.org.

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. “Entangled: Responding to Environmental Crisis,” runs through March 25 at the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art. The museum is open from 10 a.m. Monday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. It’s closed on Sundays and college holidays. For more information, call 805-565-6162 or visit westmont. edu/museum.

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. “Interlopings: Colors in the Warp and Weft of Ecological Entanglements” is an exhibit that runs through March 12 at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, 1212 Mission Canyon Road, Santa Barbara. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The exhibit features weavings dyed with pigments from non-native plants on Santa Cruz Island. The weavings were created by artists Helen Svensson and Lisa Jevbratt. For more information, see sbbotanicgarden. org.

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Coast artist and London native Annie Hoffman’s exhibit “Seeing Ourselves in Colour” will be displayed through Feb. 28 at Gallery Los Olivos, 2920 Grand Ave., Los Olivos. For more information, visit anniehoffmann. com.

Noon to 5 p.m. “Clarence Mattei: Portrait of a Community” is on view now through May at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum, which is located in downtown Santa Barbara at 136 E. De la Guerra St. Admission is free. Hours are currently from noon to 5 p.m. Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays and from noon to 7 p.m. Thursdays. For more information, visit www.sbhistorical. org 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. “SURREAL

WOMEN: Surrealist Art by American Women” is on display through April 24 at Sullivan Goss: An American Gallery, 11 E. Anapamu St. The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily. For more information, www. sullivangoss.com.

7:30 p.m. The State Street Ballet will perform “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” and other dances at 7:30 p.m. at The Granada, 1214 State St. Tickets cost $38 to $106. To purchase, go to granadasb.org or call the box office at 805-8992222.

7:30 p.m. The Santa Barbara City College Theatre Group will perform Ken Ludwig’s “A Comedy of Tenors” at the Garvin Theatre on the college’s west campus in the 900 block of Cliff Drive in Santa Barbara. Tickets range from $18 to $26 for general admission, with discounts for students, seniors and SBCC staff.

To purchase, go to www. theatregroupsbcc.com or by calling the Garvin Box Office at

Please see CALENDAR on B2