Santa Barbara Calendar of Events

Exhibition Opening: This fall the Museum will highlight its collection of contemporary art from Asia, Europe, and the Americas. This exhibition of paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, and photographs from 1980 to the present explores the theme of identity as both a collective consciousness and individual reflection.

 To understand our place in time, to know who we truly are, to comprehend what we stand for and to face the future with courage, we need our history.  The Santa Barbara Historical Museum is continually improving and expanding its comprehensive collections with new acquisitions through gifts and purchases.  This exhibition includes oil paintings, watercolors, textiles, and items of importance to the story of Santa Barbara.

90 minute Docent-led walking tours of Casa del Herrero, House of the Blacksmith, historic house, garden and workshop in Montecito designed in 1925 by architect George Washington Smith for industrialist George Fox Steedman. Considered one of the finest examples of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture. Listed on National Register of Historic Places. Antique furnishings bought in Spain in 1920's.Gardens designed during Golden Age of American Gardens. Tours Wed. & Sat.@ 10 AND 2.Advance reservations required.805-565-5653 ext.202; e-mail:casatour@silcom.com.

In-store and outdoor tastings, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. The first Saturday of every month will feature special tastings of new items from our local commercial kitchen & gardens along with recipes and educational discussions on the various uses of Extra Virgin Olive Oil & our latest fruit vinegars. Call ahead for groups of 8 or more. We offer special tasting presentations & privately catered luncheons made with the Global Gardens food product line for groups up to 40.

This exhibition continues the series celebrating the diversity of the Museum's collection of Asian art. The Tibetan collection at SBMA is chiefly comprised of paintings (tangkhas), sculpture, and ritual objects collected by two explorers, F. Bailey Vanderhoef, Jr. and Wilbur L. Cummings, Jr., during their travels in western Tibet in 1938. While the majority of the works they donated remain on permanent display in the Asian galleries, this exhibition will focus on selected tangkhas and objects in the context of their journey, including photographs and journal entries from the expedition.

Santa Barbara Museum of Art’s status as being one of the oldest art museums in the state with a commitment to contemporary art, along with its fortunate location within a thriving art community, have provided the organization a close relationship with many artists since its founding in 1941. As a result, SBMA has acquired a number of self-portraits by California artists. This exhibition of approximately 15 paintings and photographs, celebrates both the richness of the permanent collection, and of California art, over the last century.

Step back in time – 135 million years ago – when dinosaurs roamed the Sahara Desert in Africa. GIANTS: African Dinosaurs showcases the African finds of world-renowned paleontologist Dr. Paul Sereno. Through this interactive dinosaur experience, visitors will learn about fossil discovery, be amazed by the art and beauty of ancient bones, and even search and dig for hidden fossils.

Beginner Belly Dance classes with Cris! start on Wednesday May 14th, at 6:45pm. The class will focus on basic/intermediate techniques including isolations, step combinations and finger cymbals (zills). Students will also learn a short choreography.

Our wonderful blueberry fields are opening once again to the public for U-Pick. Great fun for kids and people of all ages. Visit our blueberry stand featuring gifts from "The Blueberry Cow". We are open 7 days a week from 10:30 to 5:30. "Deliciously sweet, a great healthy treat!" See you soon!

Marine predators and prey alike cloak themselves in camouflage to hide in plain sight. Visit CAMOUFLAGE and learn the secrets of background matching, disruptive coloration and mimicry. Sharpen your observation skills and see if you can find the clever critters that deceive to survive. They’re hiding right in front of you at the Ty Warner Sea Center. Exhibit entrance included with general admission. Free parking for 90 minutes with validation. Get the SB Nature Pass and visit both CAMOUFLAGE and GIANTS: African Dinosaurs at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History for one low price.

The exhibition will illuminate the array of innovative, imaginative designs created in the Tri-County area while also highlighting the impact of design on our material and visual culture. The top designs will be selected by a group of premier design professionals for a group exhibition at CAF, running from May 31, 2008 – August 10, 2008. The word bellwether connotes the existence or direction of a trend; so too will the designs featured in this dynamic group exhibition. 

Edward Cella Art&Architecture is proud to announce a solo exhibition of paintings by Rick Stich. The artist is well known for his abstract impressions of reflections on water. This exhibition, entitled Water Mirrors, is drawn from these illusionist forms and patterns seen both below and above the water. The artist has studied these movements and reflections of light on liquid for over 30 years. Because of his longstanding interest in the interplay of light, water, and landscape, Stich uses paint to explore mankind’s relationship with the elements. With vivid color, he investigates the symbolic, fluid, and reflective nature of water with large-format abstract paintings. In depicting the surface of water, the artist also explores the surfaces of a painting. The likenesses between the surface of the painting and the surface of the water are similar, and the two work off one another in his pieces. 

Launching from his recent solo show in San Francisco called “Endangered Species,” and an appearance at the Red Dot Art Fair in New York this March, Patrick Dintino will be presenting his translation of recoded consumption to the southern California art scene via Artamo Gallery in Santa Barbara. As reviewed by Kenneth Baker in the San Francisco Chronicle, he rides the wave of avantgarde by combining post-modern abstraction with contemporary themes of environmental and cultural impact. Dintino recently released his new book “Patrick Dintino, Spectrum Painting,” produced by Urban Digital Color, a catalog of spectrum paintings selected by the artist from the last seven years, which will be available at the gallery also. 

The Wildling Art Museum announce its summer exhibition, Endangered Species: Flora and Fauna in Peril. This exhibition represents the Museum’s first international juried art competition, with 50 artworks selected from nearly 200 entries. The artworks use a variety of media to depict flora and fauna listed as threatened or endangered. Over 47 species are represented. The Museum has produced a full-color, 64-page catalogue for the exhibition that includes reproductions of all the featured artworks as well as an introduction by Dr. Wagner and an essay by Dr. Michael Tobias.

For the past ten years, Sullivan Goss and the Arts & Letters Café have played host to a unique cultural event in downtown Santa Barbara called Opera Under the Stars. In our charming courtyard setting, you'll hear some of the best operas, arias, and theatrical music performed anywhere in the city while you dine on a sumptuous three-course meal.

Opera night dinners are prix fixe at $65.00 and include: a choice of appetizer, three delicious entrées, and special dessert prepared by Chef Nathan Simandle. We are pleased to offer California wines and a full bar. Seatings are at 6:00 and 8:15. We suggest that you make reservations in advance as space is limited.

Find out why this event draws people in from hundreds of miles around and why almost every performance sells out. Experience the passion and the romance of Opera ... Under the Stars. 

The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden announces its Specialty Tour for July 2008: Summer Wildflowers.  On Saturday, July 5, at 2:00 p.m. bring your family and friends to the Botanic Garden and enjoy a Docent-guided tour highlighting the beautiful summer wildflowers in bloom at the Garden.  Tours are free to members and are included in the price of Garden admission for non-members. 

Santa Barbara from the Water A relaxing day of paddling along the Santa Barbara waterfront. We "put-in" at the Santa Barbara harbor, after a comprehensive kayak lesson. Our journey takes us through the harbor, along secluded beaches, past sea lions and kelp forests and around the historic pier. The group will stop on a secluded beach for lunch, before completing a large loop, ending back at the harbor. Cost: $85 per person, 2 person minimum. Includes natural history and marine ecology, all necessary paddling gear, and enjoyable lunch. 

Come face-to-face with sharks and discover fascinating facts about their biology, anatomy, and struggle for survival. Learn more about the species found in the Santa Barbara Channel and the impact humans have on sharks and their habitats.