From the desert terrain of Baja California to the rolling hills and pastures of the Santa Ynez Valley, landscape painter Carrie Givens has made a name for herself depicting areas close to home as well as afar. “The locations I like to capture are usually places where I live or visit,” the Goleta-based artist told […]
Caleb Wiseblood
Beatlemania strikes again with The Fab Four in Santa Ynez
Blue Meanies and Mr. Mustard affiliates best keep away from the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez come Friday, Aug. 2. The Fab Four may not be the real Beatles, but how many tribute bands can you name with bragging rights to performing at Tom Hanks’ birthday party? From the iconic mop-tops to each band […]
PCPA’s production of The Addams Family is hellishly heartwarming
Morbid and madcap all at once, the Pacific Conservatory Theatre (PCPA)’s latest musical endeavor is a masterpiece of the macabre. Based on cartoonist Charles Addams’ classic characters (probably best known for the ’60s TV series, or the ’90s films to later generations), The Addams Family follows the perilous plights and pleasures of Gomez and Morticia […]
PCPA’s production of The Addams Family is hellishly heartwarming
Morbid and madcap all at once, the Pacific Conservatory Theatre (PCPA)’s latest musical endeavor is a masterpiece of the macabre. Based on cartoonist Charles Addams’ classic characters (probably best known for the ’60s TV series, or the ’90s films to later generations), The Addams Family follows the perilous plights and pleasures of Gomez and Morticia […]
Wildling Museum celebrates California national parks, preserves, and monuments with new exhibition
Sixty-three artworks have been selected from a pool of more than 300 entries by the Wildling Museum of Art and Nature for its latest juried exhibition, Celebrating the National Lands of California. The show debuted Saturday, July 20, at the museum and features pieces from 57 artists, with applicants ranging from across the country to […]
Americana duo The Contenders take on Standing Sun Winery in Buellton
According to their press materials, musicians Jay Nash and Josh Day—who have been touring together as The Contenders since 2012—don’t play songs. Instead, they let the songs play them. Influenced by acts like The Grateful Dead, The Band, Tom Petty, and Bob Dylan, this songwriting duo strives to combine poetic lyrics with a classic Americana […]
Local author Deborah Tobola reflects on teaching creative writing and theater at the California Men’s Colony
Poet, playwright, and author Deborah Tobola is probably best known as the founder of the Poetic Justice Project—the country’s first theater company made up entirely of formerly incarcerated actors—but it’s her teaching career that earns the spotlight in her latest work, Hummingbird in Underworld: Teaching in a Men’s Prison. The book is set to be […]
Bob’s Well Bread Bakery in Los Alamos hosts one-day still life exhibition, Peintures de Pain
Creating still life paintings for Peintures de Pain, an upcoming group show in Los Alamos, proved to be quite a challenge for local artist and teacher Mary Kay West and her students—since their subjects were at risk of being devoured at any moment. “It was hard to avoid the temptation to eat the still life […]
Pops on the Lawn features Cafe Musique at the Santa Maria Country Club
Unlike the barbecue lunch included as part of their upcoming performance, the eclectic quintet Cafe Musique can’t be put in a box. Known for blending gypsy, tango, swing, and their self-defined genre, “wild classical,” this Central Coast-based group is performing on the lawn of the Santa Maria Country Club on Sunday, July 21, starting at […]
Dinosaurs and their avian descendants reign supreme at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History
“All major theme parks have delays. When they opened Disneyland in 1956, nothing worked!” “Yeah, but, John, if The Pirates of the Caribbean breaks down, the pirates don’t eat the tourists.” The Jeff Goldblums of the world can rest easy, because unlike Jurassic Park, the dinosaurs featured at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History […]
Gallery Los Olivos showcases plein-air and studio paintings from local pastel artists
There are plenty of external antagonists for Santa Barbara-based artist Kris Buck to consider before she sets out on one of her plein-air adventures—but a disruptive phone call isn’t one of them. “The cellphone is silent. There are no distractions except whatever Mother Nature throws our way—bugs, snakes, wind, fog, heat, cold, gopher holes, etc.,” […]
Clay Walker, TLC, and Maddie & Tae headline the Santa Barbara County Fair
Dancing to live music is fun and all, but riding a roller coaster to live music is next-level euphoria. I’m not sure what the exact layout of this year’s Santa Barbara County Fair is, but past years have offered more than a few rides in the vicinity of the KCOY Main Stage—making it feasible for […]

