A leprechaun sipping beer. Pets piloting an airplane. A slice of pizza riding waves. Jessica Manzanares’ painting résumé is eclectic. Her work isn’t confined to canvas or a sketch pad. It’s been displayed for all to see on the windows of businesses in places like Lompoc, Buellton, Solvang, and Santa Maria. “I like to think […]
Music, Arts & Culture
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
One donor gives millions to Lompoc Theatre Project renovations
A recent $6 million contribution to The Lompoc Theatre Project became the largest private donation in the organization’s history. Now only around $5 million remains before the full $18.9 million is raised. Santa Barbara philanthropist Cheryl Goldberg (pictured on the left) gave the sum, with $5 million going toward restoration and $1 million establishing a […]
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Environmental nonprofit accepts applications for next year’s residency program
White Buffalo Land Trust’s call for artists is open through Aug. 30 for 2027 residencies. The program asks the selected artists to explore how creativity and ecology intersect. “Through this residency, we are creating space for artists to spend meaningful time with the land and the people who steward it and to interpret what they […]
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One Night Only offers a charming romcom within a ridiculous premise
Will Gluck (Easy A, Friends with Benefits, Anyone But You) directs Travis Braun’s rom-com script set in a dystopian future America where premarital sex is outlawed under a “chastity mandate” except for one night a year. Two New Yorkers searching for love—Owen (Callum Turner), a pizza shop owner, and Allie (Monica Barbaro), a commercial jingles […]
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The Last House is claustrophobic survivalist horror story
The Last HouseWhat’s it rated? PG-13 When? 2026 Where’s it showing? Netflix Weird rain has come to attack both the suburban neighborhood and apparently the entire world that Ann (Greta Lee) and Jason’s (Wagner Moura) family lives in. Kids Ruth (Riley Chung) and Graham (Noah Alexander Snosnowski) must navigate their new world as well, and […]
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Bang My Box: The Robin Byrd Story examines a cable TV trailblazer
Bang My Box: The Robin Byrd StoryWhat’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2026 Where’s it showing? HBO Max Do you remember “leased access” cable television? The FCC mandated that cable operators must offer independent cable creators and producers rentable airtime. An example of a local cable access show was the fishing parody program Fishmasters, which aired […]
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After gaining decades of experience nationwide, PCPA’s new artistic director heads back to Santa Maria
Full season aheadBuy tickets for upcoming productions at the Pacific Conservatory Theatre online at pcpa.org. Season 63 kicks off with La Comedia of Errors running from Sept. 10 to 27. As Valerie Rachelle prepares for her return to the Pacific Conservatory Theatre (PCPA), she can’t help but notice a few coincidences. The actor and director […]
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A photographer’s desert collection hangs at CalNAM
See Paulette Donnellon’s tribute to Southern California’s Anza-Borrego State Park at the California Nature Art Museum in Solvang. Untamed Desert will be up through Jan. 18 at the Valley Oak Gallery. “The desert has always held a special place in my heart,” Donnellon said in press materials. “In my work as a nature and wildlife […]
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Santa Maria commemorates 50 years of public transit with a new mural
A public art installation at the Santa Maria Transit Center celebrates the city’s evolution throughout the past five decades. On July 28, city staff held an unveiling event for the community. “Designed by local artists Loyal and Joan Newville, the mural, The Spirit of Santa Maria: A Journey Through Time, celebrates the community’s transportation history […]
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Spider-Man: Brand New Day is all about the importance of friends
Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) directs this fourth installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Spider-Man series. After Dr. Stephen Strange’s spell at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), no one remembers Peter Parker (Tom Holland)—not his best friend, Ned (Jacob Batalon), and not even his girlfriend, MJ […]
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Miss You, Love You is bittersweet dramedy about grief and loss
Miss You, Love YouWhat’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2026 Where’s it showing? HBO Max Grieving widow Diane Patterson (Allison Janney) is forced to plan her husband’s funeral with her estranged son’s assistant, Jamie Simms (Andrew Rannells), after her globetrotting son is unwilling to return home, in writer-director Jim Rash’s (The Way Way Back, Downhill) bittersweet […]
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Voicemails for Isabelle is a tearjerking rom com about grief and healing
Voicemails for IsabelleWhat’s it rated? TV-14 When? 2026 Where’s it showing? Netflix Jill (Zoey Deutch) is a young woman navigating her life and career as a baker in San Francisco and coping with the death of her younger sister, Isabelle (Ciaro Bravo), from cystic fibrosis. With intense pressure from her boss, Chef Bastien (Nick Offerman), […]
