Fans of the local jazz group Riptide Big Band know well the incredible vocal skill and beautiful voice of Holly Williams, the band’s lead female singer. She has a clear voice that navigates the complexity of jazz melodies with emotive prescience. Williams brought years of jazz singing experience to the band when she auditioned in […]
Joe Payne
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Santa Ynez Christmas Baskets Program seeks donations
The 2016 Santa Ynez Christmas Baskets Program seeks cash donations to cover the costs of food and other items given to 156 local needy families. Each family receives a large hamper of food and toiletries and a large decorated box of wrapped presents. “We reach out to the community and ask them to help us […]
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Valley Art Gallery exhibits Director’s Choice
Director’s Choice is the featured artist exhibit at Valley Art Gallery showing through Feb. 13. An opening reception is Dec. 16 from 5 to 7 p.m. The gallery show includes paintings, photography, holiday cards, and handmade ornaments created by local artists. The Valley Art Gallery is located at 1108 E. Clark Ave., suite 107, Orcutt. […]
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Nipomo High School hosts candlelight service
The fourth annual Follow The Star Community Candlelight Service takes place Dec. 18 at the Nipomo High School (NHS) gymnasium. The candlelight service includes dinner, dessert, and a performance by local musicians. Follow The Star also serves as a fundraiser to benefit the NHS Athletics Department and The Nipomo Food Basket. The event is free, […]
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Fine art with fabric: The Elverhoj Museum in Solvang showcases the work of 15 supremely skilled textile artists
The Elverhoj Museum of History and Art currently showcases a fantastic exhibit of fine art in geometric expressions of colorful imagination. Some bridge the gap between abstract and representational with some programmatic titles, like Kristin Otte’s piece titled Tokyo Train Ride, which blends colorful shapes over a drab gray background that appears to be newsprint. […]
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Paint your own artsy ornament with Wine and Design in Orcutt
Everybody remembers the handmade ornaments they brought home from school as a kid. Made out of clay or yarn, they usually included the year of origin somewhere on the ornament, so those decorating the tree in years to come could remember who made them and when. But why does this creative effort stop after childhood—why […]
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Home for the holidays: The Great American Melodrama celebrates the season with classics, comedy, and tunes
The Great American Melodrama always feels like an extra special place during its annual tradition, the Holiday Extravaganza. The halls are decked, the piano sings with familiar songs, and the youth actors that make up the Cratchit family in A Christmas Carol lead you to your seat. That’s how the Holiday Extravaganza always begins, with […]
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Sarah Raines leads a community production of Handel’s ‘Messiah’ in Lompoc
Musicians assemble every year to produce the same great work of classical music, with choristers singing the familiar melodies and musicians sounding their parts proudly. The tradition is centuries old, ever since George Frederic Handel composed the oratorio Messiah in 1741. The massive three-part oratorio is performed both on Christmas and Easter, with different parts […]
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Solvang Antiques features demonstrations and small works throughout December
Solvang is filled with beautiful boutiques and artsy destinations, but one of its best spots for viewing fine art is in the back of an antique shop. Solvang Antiques is definitely a gorgeous place to enter, the antiques are high quality and stunning to view, but those who journey to the back of the store […]
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Grace Baptist Church hosts live reading of ‘Toy Story’
A one-night live reading of the Toy Story script takes place Dec. 9, at Grace Baptist Church. The community is invited to attend the free, nonprofit event. “Toy Story is a script that’s left a positive, nostalgic mark on our generation,” organizer Weston Scott told the Sun. “It’s both an honor and an artistic challenge […]
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Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department seeks artists to beautify utility boxes
The city of Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department encourages local artists to apply to redesign five traffic signal control boxes. Residents from Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties are welcome to apply. The city suggests the art should relate to the community’s social, cultural, and/or historical identity. The city is offering a […]
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Abel Maldonado Center displays Remembering Our Fallen exhibit
The city of Santa Maria and the Santa Maria Chamber of Commerce invite the public to attend the Remembering Our Fallen exhibit opening on Dec. 2 at the Abel Maldonado Community Youth Center. The exhibit was created to honor California’s men and women in the United States military who died serving in the Iraq and […]