Though he now calls himself an artist, Joe McFadden spent his career in the tech industry. While he was advising software companies by day, McFadden found balance by slathering oil paints on canvases in his free time. “I wanted something I could develop over many years and maybe develop someday into a real skill and […]
Music, Arts & Culture
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
The Santa Maria Camera Club presents its finest June submissions
Right before pausing for its month-long summer hiatus, the Santa Maria Camera Club announced the winning images from its June competition. “Each photographer brings a unique vision and artistic perspective, demonstrating the talent and skills that have earned recognition in club, regional, and national competitions,” according to press materials. The group’s monthly competition meetings are […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Build your own wreath at an annual lavender festival in Lompoc
Catch the last two weekends of the Lavender Festival in Lompoc on July 18 and 25. The event, hosted by Santa Rita Hills Lavender Farm, is free to the public from noon to 5 p.m. both days. The highlight will be a lavender wreath-making class. For a $55 fee, participants will receive all the necessary […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
I Will Find You is a red-herring-filled Harlan Coben-based mystery
Created by Robert Hull based on the 2023 Harlan Coben novel of the same name, this crime drama follows David Burroughs (Sam Worthington), wrongly imprisoned for his son Matthew’s (Jasper Rainn Larence) murder. After five years of a life sentence, David learns from his ex-wife’s sister, Rachel (Britt Lower), that Matthew (now played by Ashton […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
The Murder of Rachel Nickell follows the search for a killer, on Netflix
The Murder of Rachel NickellWhat’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2026 Where’s it showing? Netflix Rachel Nickell was a young mother to her son Alex, and the two were inseparable. So inseparable that when her bloody body was found with 49 stab wounds in Wimbledon Commons, 2-year-old Alex was found clinging to her corpse, covered in […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
See a fundraising screening of The Blues Brothers at Bay Theatre on July 20
Here’s your chance to see a cult classic on the big screen and support your local radio station when The Rock Community Radio (97.3/107.9 FM) hosts The Blues Brothers fundraiser screening at Bay Theatre. The Blues BrothersWhat’s it rated? R When? 1980 Where’s it showing? Bay Theatre of Morro Bay on Monday, July 20 (doors […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
A Guadalupe muralist is one step closer to opening an arts academy in town
Stephanie Krouse was trained as a scientist. In her early career, she worked for seed companies, studying different treatments that impact plant growth. But a Chicago company’s acquisition of the business left Krouse and many others out of a job. As cliché as it may sound, another door opened for her. “Once that happened, I […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Chris Jeszeck’s paintings are featured at the Cypress in July
After watercolorist Claudette Carlton’s June show at the Cypress Gallery, Chris Jeszeck recently took over as the featured artist. Her Pouring My Art Out exhibit will be up through July 26. Jeszeck—a longtime member of the gallery’s operating body, the Lompoc Valley Art Association—paints using fluid art techniques to blend realism and abstraction. Flowing color, […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Watch a movie in the vineyard at Demetria Estate
Enjoy summer evenings with the family by catching a movie at Demetria Estate in Los Olivos. Pretty Woman is screening on July 18, A Fish Called Wanda on Aug. 22, and Fast Times at Ridgemont High on Sept. 19. Each of the three available dates offers a sunset dinner buffet on the patio beginning at […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Minions & Monsters is cute but empty
Co-directed by Pierre Coffin and Patrick Delage, and co-written by Coffin and Brian Lynch, this is the third Minions prequel and seventh film in the Despicable Me franchise. It’s mostly set in 1927 Hollywood, but it begins at a film history museum as Olivia (voiced by Allison Janney), is giving a tour and relates the […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
A curse endangers a New England island in Widow’s Bay
Widow’s BayWhat’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2026 Where’s it showing? Apple TV I saw a post on Instagram this morning that had clips from Widow’s Bay and the caption read, “I love my spooky Parks and Rec,” and that’s a perfect description of this series. Mayor Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys, who’s having quite the career […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is absurdist time travel comedy
Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t DieWhat’s it rated? R When? 2025 Where’s it showing? Hulu Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Rango, A Cure for Wellness) directs this relentlessly inventive script by Matthew Robinson (The Invention of Lying, Love and Monsters) about The Man from the Future (Sam Rockwell) […]
