The lamps are dimmed, illuminating the stage. A lone piano heralds the coming of the night’s master of ceremonies, who introduces the Great American Melodrama and the play to be performed that night. Unaided by a microphone, the actor projects his voice to every corner of the warm and welcoming room. And before you know […]
Joe Payne
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Local Notes: Unity Chapel of Light celebrates Bridget Hough-Meynenc
Pianist and recent UCSB doctor of musical arts graduate lauded with community concert
Climbing the mountainous path that is a doctorate in music takes a huge amount of skill, discipline, and raw talent. Luckily, Bridget Hough-Meynenc possesses of all those traits, which helped her recently secure her doctor of musical arts degree in collaborative piano performance at UCSB. Unity Chapel of Light—a nondenominational church in Orcutt—remembers when Hough-Meynenc […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Little hands crafting
Michael’s Arts and Crafts presents arts and crafts events for kids, including a “Kids Club Elmer’s Frog Event” on July 27. Each event runs from 10 a.m. to noon in half hour sessions at Michael’s Art and Crafts, 1934 S. Broadway, Santa Maria. More info: 349-8801.
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Locals awarded for ‘WaterWise’ gardens
The Santa Barbara County Public Works Department has announced the winners of the inaugural “WaterWise Garden Recognition Contest.” The winners were selected on how well their home gardens used water, especially if the gardens were able to limit the use of drinking water. The countywide grand prize winner was Christine Nolte of Santa Barbara, who […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Find your family tree
People interested in tracing their familial roots will be delighted to learn that the Santa Maria Public Library and the Santa Maria Valley Genealogy Society have joined forces to help locals with that very activity. The library, which already enjoyed a large genealogy collection, has agreed to house the society’s book collection as well, which […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Santa Maria Philharmonic Society receives generous donation
The Santa Maria Philharmonic Society announced recently that a $5,000 donation was made to the nonprofit musical arts organization in the memory of Ardeth Cox, a longtime patron of the philharmonic, who left the money as a bequest. Her family, the philharmonic said in an e-mail, is prepared to donate another $1,000 if the community […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
A grail-full of guffaws: PCPA Theaterfest lets its chain mail down for Monty Python’s delightfully lewd Spamalot
If you do not go and see PCPA Theaterfest’s production of Monty Python’s Spamalot, I will be force to say “Ni!” to you! Well, maybe I won’t go that far. Monty Python fans are squirming with delight to find that PCPA is staging an outrageously hilarious production of Spamalot no more than an un-laden swallow’s […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Little hands crafting
The Santa Maria Michaels store presents arts and crafts events for kids, including a “Kids Club Summer Totes Event” on July 20. A “Kids Club Elmer’s Frog Event” is July 27. Each event runs from 10 a.m. to noon in half hour sessions at Michael’s Art and Crafts, 1934 S. Broadway, Santa Maria. More info: […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Lompoc Valley Kennel Club presents its annual All Breed Dog Show in Lompoc
Scores of breeders, trainers, handlers, and canines will be making foot and paw prints on their way to Lompoc July 25 through 28 to enjoy a yearly competition, the annual Lompoc Valley Kennel Club Dog Show. Known as one of the better national dog shows, the Lompoc event will be highlighting animals from across the […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
A study in satire
Gale McNeeley brings decades of experience of song and satire to Santa Maria
There are those who look at the ills of the world and moan and lament. But others realize that sometimes all we can do is sit back and laugh. Gale McNeeley is a local actor who’s enjoyed a career on and off Broadway, all over the country. His upcoming show at Café Noir in […]
Posted inOpinion
Blunder after blunder
In its Fallas decision, an out-of-touch Santa Maria City Council needs to embrace the downtown we actually have, not the fantasy they hope for
My fiancée and I owned a business for nearly two years in Santa Maria’s Town Center West. It was a coffee shop a couple of doors down from Big 5 Sporting Goods. Every morning as the coffee brewed, we watched the sun rise over the Santa Maria Town Center and cast light on the monolith […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
A labor of love
Joseph Timmons’ love of music powers an online magazine covering songs not heard in the Top 40
Music has expanded into genres so multitudinous that no single publication can hope to cover them all. Unfortunately, this means many music lovers must scratch deeper to find magazines that feature what they’re interested in. One local by the name of Joseph Timmons took matters into his own hands and created an online publication called […]
