HELEN ANN THOMAS

A speakeasy in Santa Maria? Yes! There was a speakeasy with red velvet curtains, seductive low lights bathed in beaded crystals, and gaming tables with baccarat and blackjack. Gents wore fedoras, tuxes, and suspenders. Ladies (we don’t think they were “ladies of the night,” but really, who knows?) sashayed around in fringed gowns and feather […]

The Santa Maria Boys and Girls Club is awesome. The same can be said of the many fundraising events that support the club’s varied programs. Their most recent fundraiser, the 13th annual Ag for Youth Golf Tournament, held on Monday, July 30, at the Santa Maria Country Club, was no exception. The tournament attracted 140 […]

It turned out to be a great day for a cold beer or a glass of Central Coast wine. Descendants of the area’s earliest settlers congregated on Saturday, July 14, at Pioneer Park on Foster Road for the Santa Maria Valley Pioneer Association’s 88th annual picnic. We are talking gobs and gobs of history here. […]

It was fabulous, festive, and fun. The first-ever, patriotic “Pops in the Vineyard” concert—presented by the Santa Maria Philharmonic Society on Sunday, July 1, at the Tres Hermanas Vineyard—was, on a scale of one to 10, a 20. “We have had nothing but positive feedback,” the society’s executive director, George Majoue, said in a post-concert […]

Guess who upgraded their annual fundraising dinner! Community Partners in Caring (CPC), that’s who. Every year, this event has gotten a little bit better and become a little more interesting. How and what did CPC do differently this year for its Tour of Tuscany? Well, they pulled out the stops and invited the ebullient, enthusiastic […]

It was a proper English afternoon. The guests arrived, wearing hats and gloves. Honestly, you would have thought you were in the tearoom at London’s ritzy Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Patricia Shields, violinist in the Santa Maria Philharmonic, had been high bidder for an authentic English tea at a recent Philharmonic fundraiser. She invited Diane Borad-Mirken, Melissa […]

Bravo, Nancy Johnson! A long career of community activism, volunteering, and support of the arts has yielded you yet another tribute. The Santa Maria Arts Council each year honors a community member for his or her contribution to the arts. This year, just after she wound up a demanding two-year term as chairman of the […]

The vivacious, slender blonde has been one busy lady for quite some time. But not to worry. Donna France had an army of volunteers eager to help her get it together for the 32nd annual Dinner Auction of the Santa Maria Valley Boys and Girls Club. France must have breathed one huge sigh of relief […]

Ah shucks, folks—it was just an old-fashioned, money-raising shindig, albeit attended by 800-plus people and raising really big bucks for COLAB, the Coalition for Labor, Agriculture, and Business. Underneath those cowboy hats and dress-up denims were some of the most influential people in the county. It was COLAB’s 21st anniversary dinner, held Saturday night, April […]

This is magical,” project coordinator Donna Cota said. She was referring to the great turnout (more than 125) and the animated buzz in the air as Friends of the Library supporters and Night Time Altrusans gathered on April 12 for a wine and cheese reception at the Painted Chair Fundraiser in Santa Maria Town Center […]

Santa Maria Has Talent! Oh my, does it ever! If you have any doubt, you have only to attend Rotary South’s annual talent show, which is now firmly established in the local fundraising firmament. The third such talent show in the club’s history took place March 8, 9, and 10 at the Santa Maria Veteran’s […]

An explosion of joie de vivre. That’s the best way to describe OCAF’s unusually festive 10th birthday celebration on Friday, Feb. 24, at the Radisson Hotel. More than 160 people gathered to support OCAF, the Orcutt Children’s Arts Foundation. The subtitle of the event could have been “Happy Talk”—there was tons of it. In fact, […]