A & E BRIEFS

A & E BRIEFS

 

Healing to help youth

The Santa Barbara Chapter of Healing the Soul of America is sponsoring a series of events this week, raising funds for local youth groups such as Unity Youth, Info Shop, City at Peace, and Just Communities. A variety show will take place June 28 at the Marjorie Luke Theater, 721 East Cota St., at 5:30 p.m. It will be followed on June 29 at 11 a.m. with an open-mike brunch at the Arts Fund, 205 Santa Barbara St. The brunch is free, but tickets and further information about the events are available at http://www.HealingSoulofAmerica.org.

 

Kevin Starr will lecture

California historian Kevin Starr will speak at a Lecture and Luncheon on June 29 in the Olive Grove at Rancho El Zaco. This is the second such event in a series Sandy Hill and Thomas H. Dittmer are hosting, touching on state government, politics and history. Kevin Starr is an historian, best-known for his multi-volume series on the history of the Golden State, collectively called “America and the California Dream.” Starr is currently University Professor and Professor of History at the University of Southern California, but has been a professor or visiting lecturer at numerous California universities, including UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Riverside, UC Santa Clara, the University of San Francisco and Stanford University.

 

Lurch, from here to Santa Fe

Los Olivos painter Martha Inman Lurch has developed a rapport with New Mexico’s stark beauty. She is featuring “From Here to Santa Fe,” her present exhibit at Gallery Los Olivos 2920 Grand Ave., Los Olivos. The exhibit runs July 1-31, and will include paintings of subjects from the Santa Barbara area, as well.

There will be a reception on July 3 from 3 to 5 p.m., where visitors can talk with the artist about her work.

Lurch is a member of the Santa Barbara Art Assn., the Goleta Valley Art Assn., SCAPE (Southern California Artists Painting for the Environment), the Los Padres Watercolor Society and the Artists Guild of the Santa Ynez Valley.

 

Vineyard House features jazz

The Vineyard House restaurant in Santa Ynez is now offering live jazz every Wednesday evening through Oct. 1.

For a nominal fee, patrons can hear smooth jazz while enjoying cocktails or dinner, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Reservations are available by calling 688-2886,

The Vineyard House is located at 3631 Sagunto St. in Santa Ynez. Entertainment listings are posted on the website at www.thevineyardhouse.com.

 

Meet ‘The Band’ at UCSB

A critical favorite, the film “The Band,” will show at UCSB’s Campbell Hall on July 2 at 7:30 p.m. The story involves Egypt’s Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra coming to Israel to play at the opening of an Arab cultural center. The band arrives, but the hosts and transportation fail to materialize. The musicians embark on a series of misadventures and, according to the story synopsis, “the unlikeliest of romances blossoms in an isolated desert town.” The film was the Israeli Academy Award winner for Best Film. Tickets can be purchased at http://www.artsandlectures.ucsb.edu, or by telephoning (805) 893-3535.       

 

SYV July 4th will pop

The day-long July 4th fun in the Santa Ynez Valley will culminate with a spectacular fireworks extravaganza after the sky is dark.

SYV Rotary Club is planning a full day of celebration, at the Old Mission Santa Ynes, from 1 to 9 p.m. Admission to the festivities is free to valley residents and visitors alike.

Area bands will perform, and MIX 96.7 will broadcast from the mission grounds. Rotary will also provide special activities for children. There will be a variety of food booths, a wine and beer garden serving valley vintages and brews, and games and trinket booths for all ages.

All proceeds from the festivities will be used to support the charities and institutions that Rotary assists through the year. The club, in announcing the events, stated that “Rotary . . . recognizes, in addition to many other corporate and individual sponsors, Knight Broadcasting and the Santa Ynez Valley Band of Chumash Indians.”

 

Greet the Fourth with music

Santa Barbara’s annual Fourth of July extravaganza, featuring the Santa Barbara Symphony and the Choral Arts Society, will take place in the Sunken Gardens of the Courthouse.

Festivities start at 5 p.m. and there is no admission charge. Families and individuals can bring beach chairs, blankets and picnic suppers to enjoy. Guest conductor Diane Wittry has chosen a theme of “Travel Across the Country.”

Selections will include “Fanfare for the Common Man,” the “Star-Spangled Banner,” themes from “Rocky,” John Williams’ “Liberty Fanfare,” “Dyess,” “New York, New York,” “St. Louis Blues,” “Mardi Gras from Mississippi” and “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.”

The Santa Barbara Choral Society, under the direction of JoAnne Wasserman, will join the orchestra in singing patriotic favorites such as “This Land Is Your Land,” “God Bless the USA,” “An American Hymn” and “Armed Forces Salute.”

Before the concert, Peter Feldman and the Very Lonesome Boys will entertain with bluegrass music, starting at 4 p.m.

The concert will conclude with Pyotr Ilyitch Tchaikovsky’s rousing “1812 Overture.”