The steady rhythm of a rattle, the sharp crack of wooden clappers, and the sound of voices singing in unison hung over the Santa Ynez Valley on Oct. 14. You wouldn’t recognize the syllables or what they meant, that is unless you were one of the few who’ve studied Samala, the ancestral language of the […]
LOCAL NOTES: Local Chumash keep their language and culture alive with music
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Dana Adobe hosts outlaw book signing
The DANA Cultural Center in Nipomo will host a book signing and talk on Nov. 5 with local author Jim Gregory about his new book. Arroyo Grande author Gregory’s third book on local history, San Luis Obispo County Outlaws: Desperados, Vigilantes, and Bootleggers, released in October by The History Press, traces the history of crime […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Standing Sun hosts new work by Felipe Molina
Standing Sun Wines hosts new work by artist Felipe Molina through Nov. 30. Molina was recently inducted into the Album Art hall of fame for his Counting Crows album covers. Molina has studied at the Salmagundi Art Club, Lyme Academy, New Haven Creative Arts Workshop, and the Center for Contemporary Printmaking. He is also the […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Arts symposium features information on local art funding
The Santa Barbara Office of Arts and Culture will host the North County Arts Symposium on Nov. 3. The event is sponsored by the Santa Barbara County Arts Commission and the city of Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department. Presenters include Randy Cohen, vice president of Americans for the Arts, who will share compelling information […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Solvang and Buellton libraries host maker workshops
The Solvang and Buellton libraries will host two individual maker workshops to teach the construction of handmade catapults on Nov. 4 and Nov. 11, respectively. The workshop will teach about catapults, an ancient weapon more than 2,400 years old. The makerspace projects will be made out of popsicle sticks and will launch pom-poms and cotton […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Bill Dewey’s aerial photography gives a stunning glimpse of the Central Coast
The first time Bill Dewey flew with his father, he was a young boy. His memory now clings to images of puffy white clouds whipping through the sky around him. “It was a bright spring day,” he recalled. “The feeling was absolutely intense and surreal. It never left me even as I grew older.” Today, […]
Posted inNews
Down for the count: Drought, development, and encroachment could be responsible for dwindling deer population
Crack. Bill Decker, 69, drops his truck into the lowest gear and punches the gas. The Toyota Tundra whines as its all-terrain tires climb the series of broken concrete slabs that used to be called a road. “This is all public land,” Decker says, surveying the surrounding chaparral, tall grass, and rolling foothills that stretch […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Ceramist Amiko Matsuo brings Pyrometric’s powerful statement to Foxworthy
Three cones stand together, each one showing the signs of havoc from some unwieldy and apathetic force. They have been burned badly, and yet are still deeply beautiful. The jarring and angst-ridden imagery is the work of ceramist Amiko Matsuo, whose work is on display at the Foxworthy Gallery in Santa Maria in an exhibit […]
Posted inFood & Drink
La Perla Market and Deli is an authentic treat in Santa Maria
In the late 1990s, I was stuck working the worst possible job in the history of time. I was writing copy for a law firm’s fledgling website and hated every minute of it. Lawyers, y’all. Anyway, one of the highlights of the job was my cellmate (or office mate, however you see that), Brenda. She […]
Posted inNews
Spotlight on: Barnstormers Aero Services
Since he was 19 years old, René Minjares, now 70, has called the sky home. He got his start flying small engine planes in Hawthorne, California, when he was just a teenager. After earning his pilot’s license, he joined the military. As a Marine in the 1970s, the fighter pilot flew F-4 Phantoms in Japan, […]
Posted inOpinion
What is one thing you would change about downtown Santa Maria?
Jeff Brubaker transportation planner “[Enforce] slower auto speeds and make it more comfortable for walking and cycling.” Eve Southworth teacher “Bike lanes.” Rozairo Miralles design engineer “It needs more stores for sure. It looks kind of gloomy right now.” Cara Meche graduate student “What I really want to see is more local independent shops.”
Posted inNews
Central Coast brewers prep new beers for sipping during the holiday season
Outside Naughty Oak Brewing Company on a particularly chilly day in early October, patrons are reaching for cover, bundling their summer-tanned legs into fleece blankets, and hiding their hands from the season’s first cold whips of wind. As the light spills from the setting sun into the Orcutt brewery, owner Stephen Kitts is busy in […]