Spotlight

Support with a show The Rainbow House’s Drag Brunch on June 24 serves food at 10:30 a.m. and then the show runs from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Craft House at Corque—420 Alisal Road, Solvang. General admission tickets are $125 and VIP are $225 and are available at therainbowhouseinc.com. Pride-themed banners will hang […]

June 19, 1865, marked the end of slavery in the United States, with Texas ending slavery two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.  “[Former slaves] celebrated the end of a very brutal and horrific time in their lives where they were treated less than,”said Lawanda Lyons-Pruitt, the Santa Maria-Lompoc NAACP branch president. “We continue the celebration […]

There’s a new prom in town for high school students from North Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, one that’s helps celebrate the LGBTQ-plus community on the Central Coast.  “It’s all about gathering together with your community and dancing, or putting art together, or just making new friends,” Art and Soul founder Faith LeGrande […]

About five years ago, a man who goes by Donnie Sunshine moved to Santa Maria from Philadelphia and started a free local poker league called Sunshine Poker. Sunshine fell in love with the game while playing in a Philadelphia bar league called River Chasers. He decided to start one of his own on the Central […]

To get more members from historically marginalized communities serving in public leadership, the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE) launched a program to better equip Santa Barbara and Ventura county residents. “There can be so many personal and societal [influences] that prevent well intentioned people from serving in public leadership,” said Hazel […]

When Amanda James’ mother passed away last Christmas, it made her want to do something to give back to her community.  As someone who’s always been into health and fitness and as a special education teacher at Santa Maria-Bonita School District’s Tommie Kunst Junior High School, she said wanted to do something that would benefit […]

Nipomo resident Janice LaMere found her life’s calling through an all-too-relatable personal ordeal. When her father was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia in 2011, he moved into her house for long-term care. There was no better option—at least not one they could afford. “My parents lived in Paso Robles and I lived in Nipomo,” LaMere […]

Allan Hancock College didn’t have a rodeo team until 2019 when Erin Krier heard from potential students that they were going to Cuesta College instead for opportunities to compete at a collegiate level. Krier explained that the notion of a Hancock rodeo team had come up in previous discussions with the Allan Hancock College Boosters—a […]

Ed Carcarey and his partner wanted to create a community event that allowed Santa Maria residents to gather downtown eight years ago, but Carcarey said he didn’t think it would ever be possible. “At the time, the economy wasn’t doing great, and I [knew] enough about the city’s finances so I didn’t think it would […]

Now standing for almost 200 years, the DANA Adobe & Cultural Center in Nipomo plans to host an opportunity for families to learn more about local history and the wonders of nature. The DANA Adobe’s annual NatureFest event is taking place Saturday, April 15, and nonprofit Executive Director Lexi Carreño said that one of its […]