In her nearly 97 years, Esther Serna Bartlett tried all sorts of new things because she wanted to know what they were like. Violin. Sculpture. Watercolors. Tennis. Ballet. “I think I was the oldest student,” she said about the dance class she took in the late 1990s. “I wanted to know what ballet was about.” […]
Music, Arts & Culture
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Stroll through the Queen of Arts fair for goods made by small businesses
If you’re interested in shopping for holiday gifts, spending the day enjoying beer and wine, or checking out work by local artists, stop by the Queen of Arts market in Solvang. The Elverhoj Museum of History and Art is holding its annual artisan craft fair on Nov. 7 from 3 to 6 p.m. and Nov. […]
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Playful glass pieces and knitted accessories fill up the Cypress Gallery
Joellen Chrones is the featured artist at the Cypress Gallery with her show, Hot Glass and Warm Fuzzies, until Nov. 23. Chrones presents her glasswork and wool fashion accessories. “This exhibit celebrates the playful side of glass with functional and whimsical fused glass pieces, from cheerful bowls and bright platters to quirky wind chimes,” according […]
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Frankenstein is a gothic visual feast about what makes us human
Writer-director Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, The Shape of Water, Nightmare Alley) adapts Mary Shelley’s 1818 gothic horror novel for the big screen. Oscar Isaac stars as brilliant but egotistical scientist Victor Frankenstein, who creates a monstrous creature (Jacob Elordi) constructed from cadaver parts, leading to tragedy for both. (149 min.) FrankensteinWhat’s it rated? RWhat’s […]
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Writer-director Ari Aster’s 2018 feature-length debut, Hereditary, is a disturbing shocker
HereditaryWhat’s it rated? RWhen? 2018Where’s it showing? HBO Max Since it’s Halloween season, streaming services are packed with horror films, and one of the best is Hereditary, writer-director Ari Aster’s (Beau is Afraid, Eddington) feature-length debut. Toni Collette stars as Annie Graham, a miniature artist who constructs highly detailed and weirdly unsettling dioramas of houses. […]
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The Woman in Cabin 10 delivers a twisty murder mystery and conspiracy at sea
The Woman in Cabin 10What’s it rated? RWhen? 2025Where’s it showing? Netflix I remember Ruth Ware’s novel of the same name being a real page turner. She has a knack for twisty mystery. This on-screen version of the story wasn’t going to have the same wow factor for me given that I knew the twists […]
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Behind the scenes of Studio of Performing Arts’ Rocky Horror anomaly
The cult following of The Rocky Horror Picture Show is one that Shannon Lowrie admits she didn’t understand when her studio first started performing it. “I thought, ‘I want to see what the deal is about this because I don’t get it,’” Lowrie told the Sun. “I just became obsessed with it.” A lifelong singer […]
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The Solvang Festival Theater lines up entertainment for fall
Shows at the Solvang Festival Theater continue this season with a diverse mix of live performances and community events. Eerie frights await those brave enough to enter the annual Solvang Parks and Recreation’s haunted house. Walk through on the evenings of Oct. 24 and 25. Kid-friendly tours run from 6 to 6:30 p.m., and then […]
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Vote for the Taylor Park mural design, then lend a hand painting it
Make your artistic voice heard by choosing from designs of tropical flowers, sunshine and a garden, or whimsical doodles for the city of Santa Maria’s next mural, which will be painted at Taylor Park in November. Vote online through the Recreation and Parks Department website until Oct. 28, according to the department’s marketing coordinator, Karen […]
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Task is a family dynamics-focused gritty crime show
Brad Ingelsby (Mare of Easttown) created and wrote this crime drama focusing on Tom Brandis (Mark Ruffalo), a Philadelphia-based FBI agent and former Catholic priest put in charge of a task force investigating a series of robberies targeting motorcycle gang stash houses. (seven 60- to 68-min. episodes) TaskWhat’s it rated? TV-MAWhat’s it worth, Anna? Full […]
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Wayward is psychological mystery involving a troubled teen academy and a shady head teacher
WaywardWhat’s it rated? TV-MAWhen? 2025>Where’s it showing? Netflix Created by and starring comedian and musician Mae Martin, Wayward tells the increasingly familiar story of “camps” created for “troubled teens” whose surface-level purpose is to whip kids into compliance and discipline the rebellion out of them. In reality, these camps are absolute cesspools of abuse, neglect, […]
Posted inSun Screen
The Birds screens as a fundraiser for The Rock Community Radio on Oct. 27 at Bay Theatre
The BirdsWhat’s it rated? PG-13When? 1963Where’s it showing? Bay Theatre of Morro Bay, Monday, Oct. 27(doors at 5, show at 6 p.m.; $17.91 presale at my805tix.com) In time for Halloween, Alfred Hitchcock’s classic 1963 nature-horror film will screen as a fundraiser for The Rock Community Radio. The screenplay by Evan Hunter is loosely based on […]