View highlights from “Forever Plaid.” Many a beloved artist or band has been cut down in their prime by the perils of automobile or airplane travel, but no group has taken its demise in stride as well as The Plaids, the four-part harmony guy group that emulated the clean-cut style of the 1950s and early […]
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Win-win: Growing Grounds Farm provides therapy and job skills
View slideshow below A gloved hand reached between a mass of green leaves with bright purple-red veins and tugged just so at the base of a group of stalks. Out of the sandy soil popped the familiar curve of a beet. Julia Allen squinted at the vegetable from beneath the brim of her cap, checking […]
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Standing Sun Winery kicks off a concert series with Carlene Carter
Watch a video of a previous performance at Standing Sun Winery. A dedication to utmost quality is a practice that has been proven again and again. When a certain level of skill is attained, it offers a consequent awareness of abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. Architect John Wright and General Hospital star Laura Wright—neither having experience […]
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Honoring the brave
A dream takes flight, giving Central Coast WWII veterans a meaningful Tour of Honor
Honor Flight Video – Posted by Earl Morse on YouTube.com Ruth Gwin’s 22nd birthday was also “a date which will live in infamy.” Having the attack on Pearl Harbor fall on Gwin’s birthday, Dec. 7, 1941, motivated the young legal secretary in Pittsburgh, Penn., to stand up for freedom as one of the first […]
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PCPA Theaterfest explores coming of age in a repressed society in ‘Spring Awakening’
View a preview of PCPA Theaterfest’s production of ‘Spring Awakening.’ Spring Awakening was originally penned in 1891 by Frank Wedekind, and was quickly banned for its matter-of-fact depiction of pubescent students caught between their biology and their suppressive culture. Wedekind dubbed the play a “tragedy of childhood,” and dedicated it to the parents and teachers […]
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Driving drums: Get the beat on local author Mark Parsons’ debut YA novel
View a video trailer for ‘Road Rash.’ There’s an old adage in the world of wordsmithing: Write what you know. Mark Huntley Parsons knows drumming. Here’s a partial list of bands in which he’s handled the beat: Patch of Green. Tamerlane. Hero’s Welcome. Plains. Kiq. The Fear Brothers. Lures Kite. Bottoms Up. Tequila Mockingbirds. The […]
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Accused Santa Maria bank robber dies in motor home wreck
Less than three months ago, Arthur “Clay” Watkins, 56, was a licensed marriage and family therapist in Arroyo Grande, a former president of the local Rotary Club, and a father of two young children. In the time since then, however, Watkins allegedly robbed a Santa Maria bank, was charged with seven felonies, spent more than […]
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Masters of the mat: Nipomo, Santa Ynez, and Santa Maria are the three wrestling teams to beat in the Los Padres League
View more wrestling photos by Steve E. Miller. It could be said that wrestling is a sport of the gods. Greek mythology has it that Zeus outwrestled Cronus for possession of the universe, thus wrestling was a large part of Greek culture and literature. Wrestling is one of the purest forms of competition—it’s man-on-man, there’s […]
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Teenage fiddler Amaya Rose Dempsey saws on the strings at Temple Beth El in Santa Maria
Watch a video of Amaya Rose’s original song “I’d Rather Watch The Rain.” Potential is a terrible thing to waste, especially in music. Many wonder why child prodigies reach such a level of skill so early on in life, but the answer is simple: who would want to do anything else? One local kid, Amaya […]
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A magical, musical, hilarious holiday: The Great American Melodrama presents a ‘Holiday Extravaganza’
Watch a video of the intermission hijinx at The Great American Melodrama. The Great American Melodrama in Oceano buzzed with excitement as the packed house waited for the Holiday Extravaganza to begin. The actors who were seating the theater patrons and serving up confections in the bar line were favorite faces of the Melodrama, but […]
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Everybody Can Dance and the Santa Maria Civic Ballet showcase generations of talent in ‘The Nutcracker’
View an excerpt from ‘The Nutcracker.’ Diane Zink started her local nonprofit dance studio, Everybody Can Dance, 28 years ago. Even in the first year, the company presented a production of the ballet masterpiece The Nutcracker, with music by Tchaikovsky. The first production was abridged, but the production has since then grown every year in […]
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Award-winning drink: Two Central Coast breweries shine on the national beer scene
Gold Metal Tasting: The Sun staff’s take on the Great American Beer Festival medalists. Not every region has its own multiple award-winning brewery, and good luck finding an area that can boast more than one. Good luck, that is, if you’re not a Central Coast beer drinker. For local brew fans, it’s a great year, […]