“154 & Paradise,” a play by Gerald DiPego, will be staged Sept. 22-24 and Sept. 28-30 at Center Stage Theater in Santa Barbara’s Paseo Nuevo Center. There will be eight performances, three weekend matinee and five evening performances. The play will be directed by Peter Frisch. 

The play is about a fictional fatal accident on the San Marcos Pass, and all the people who had any contact with the deceased during his final day are assembled in a room by an “examiner.” It is a stark drama with a bit of magical realism. Showtimes are 2:30 for the matinees, and 8 p.m. for the evening shows, except Thursday, Sept. 28, which will be 7:30 p.m. For showtimes and to get tickets, visit www.ticketor.com/cstheater/tickets or call (805) 963-0408.

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The #AlisalFire continues to get under control, as it is now 78 percent contained and at 17,253 acres, according to fire officials.

Unfortunately four families have lost their homes in the Gaviota area due to the fire and friends have set up GoFundMe accounts to help them recover.

One of the families that lost their homes were Landon and Mariah Smith. When the fire came through Refugio Canyon, Mariah escaped with their three-year-old daughter and her windshield cracked from the heat that was on both sides of Highway 101. Her husband Landon was hosing down his mother’s house in Arroyo Quemada Canyon and wasn’t able to save any of their belongings. Fire crews also weren’t able to get to their house in time so they lost their house along with their 30’ yurt, water tanks, solar panels, and everything else on the property. As with most mountain properties in Santa Barbara County, the fire insurance policy dropped them after Thomas Fire.

They are staying with friends and family until they can rebuild their home.

The Circle Bar B Guest Ranch also sustained damage in the fire, but thankfully they reported their main lodge, guest accommodations and horse stables are standing. They are assessing their needs and we will update when/if they are requesting help.

“A huge thank you to the firefighters and first responders who have risked their lives and are working around the clock to fight the fire,” Circle Bar B posted on their social media.

IF there are more GoFundMe’s for people who have lost their homes, let us know at news@santaynezvalleystar.com and we will update our story.

On Sunday, onshore flows will strengthen across the area, bringing cooler temperatures (10-15 degrees cooler than Saturday) and higher relative humidity.

Southerly and upvalley winds will prevail through the day on Sunday with gusts around 20 miles per hour, according to InciWeb. Late Sunday night and Monday morning, there will be a dry cold front will sweep across the area. This front will bring even cooler temperatures on Monday as well as higher relative humidity. However, it will also bring strong northwest to north winds to the fire with gusts 25-35 miles per hour likely throughout the day and evening on Monday.

Some areas of the fire are transitioning from suppression to repair, fire officials said. Resources that can be transitioned from suppression to repair will be utilized in those areas. Excess equipment will be reassigned or released.

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Evacuation updates 5 p.m. – The SB Sheriff’s office has sent an evacuation warning to the areas east of Calle Mariposa Reina, west of Arroyo Hondo and south of West Camino Cielo. Be prepared to leave.

The #AlisalFire incident is well over 8,000 acres and growing as the gusty winds are pushing this erratic fire along the south slope of the Santa Ynez Mountains. It is still at zero percent containment as of Tuesday afternoon.

“We are bringing in Type 1 Incident Management to take over command hopefully they’ll be ready by tomorrow afternoon. This speaks to the seriousness of the potential for this fire to grow as there are many unburned areas,” said Andrew Madsen, public information officer with the U.S. Forest Service.

This particular section of the mountain range hasn’t burned since the 1955 Refugio Fire.

“I’ve been at El Capitan all day and see the white smoke which usually indicates grasses and then we see big black plumes, which is old growth and denser brush burning,” Madsen said.

Madsen said the Type 1 command is highly skilled at these types of wildland fires and will be beneficial into getting the upper hand on the fire.

“Fire in Santa Barbara County is tricky, especially on the mountains where the terrain is steep. The Type 1 command will being an emphasis to logistics, supply and strategies for tightening containment,” Madsen added.

He did say there has been one firefighter injured on this incident with a wrist issue and they self reported to Cottage Hospital for treatment.

“This is dangerous work and we want to keep injuries to a minimum. Especially working in Los Padres, it’s almost a badge of honor to get poison oak,” Madsen said.

The fire is burning in dense chaparral and is being pushed by strong winds and growing at a rapid rate of speed. Smoke is visible throughout southern Santa Barbara County including the Santa Ynez Valley and along the Gaviota coastline. Much of Santa Barbara County is under a high wind warning, according to the National Weather Service.

Air support units were called in to respond to the fire on Monday but were grounded due to severe winds. Helicopters joined the fire fight Tuesday morning, particularly to keep the flames away from the Reagan Ranch and surrounding properties, Madsen said.

“Ironically we had a demonstration of self applicable phos check at the Reagan Ranch this past July, with the demonstrators saying it could last through several inches of rain, which we haven’t had yet, so that could be a blessing if it comes closer to the property,” Madsen added.

Several tankers were cleared for fighting the fire Tuesday afternoon, according to scanner traffic.

Highway 101 is closed from Highway 1 at Las Cruces and Winchester Canyon/Cathedral Oaks Road in Goleta. Evacuation orders are in effect for residents in the Refugio Canyon, including Arroyo Hondo, Tajiguas and Arroyo Quemada. The evacuation order has expanded to include El Capitan State Park and the El Capitan Campground. An evacuation warning was put in place for the area north of El Capitan Campground and east to Dos Pueblos Canyon. A temporary evacuation center was set up at the parking lot of Dos Pueblos High School at 7266 Alameda Avenue in Goleta. As many as 100 structures, including ranches and homes, are threatened. More information at: https://readysbc.org/2021/10/11/evacuation-warning-alisal-fire-oct-11/.

Santa Barbara County Animal Services has been activated to assist with animal evacuations. Livestock can be taken to the Earl Warren Showgrounds. Animal owners should call 805-681-4332 if assistance is needed to evacuate animals.

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Staff Report

Metropolitan Theatres’ Arlington Theatre is celebrating its 90th anniversary, and to commemorate the occasion, it will reopen with a three-day event May 21-23.

Three classic films, “E.T.,” “Ghostbusters” and “Blade Runner: The Final Cut,” will be shown daily. All tickets are $5 and are on-sale at MetroTheatres.com and on the Metropolitan Theatres mobile app. Guests will receive a free popcorn with ticket purchase. Daily showtimes are 2:30, 5:15 and 8 p.m.

Kicking off the day’s events at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, May 22 will be a free live performance featuring organ music provided by the Santa Barbara Theatre Organ Society with special guest organist Adam Aceto.

Aceto will play on the Arlington’s Great Theatre Pipe Organ, a 1928 Robert-Morton “Wonder Morton,” of which only five were ever made. Tickets are not needed but admission will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

“We are grateful for the Santa Barbara County community and its incredible support of the theater, the events and films we’re been so fortunate to host,” said David Corwin, president of Metropolitan Theatres. “This is our opportunity to say ‘thank you’ for their loyalty over the past 90 years.

“This will be a special year at The Arlington Theatre as we look back and celebrate our history of providing entertainment to the greater Santa Barbara area.”

The schedule for the celebration is as follows:

Friday, May 21: 

“E.T.” – 2:30 p.m.

“Ghostbusters” – 5:15 p.m.

“Blade Runner: The Final Cut” – 8 p.m.

Saturday, May 22: 

Organ Music Performance – 12:30 p.m.

“E.T.” – 2:30 p.m.

“Ghostbusters” – 5:15 p.m.

“Blade Runner: The Final Cut” – 8 p.m.

Sunday, May 23:

“Ghostbusters” – 2:30 p.m.

“E.T” – 5:15 p.m.

“Blade Runner: The Final Cut”- 8 p.m.

Metropolitan Theatres Corporation’s safety protocols are detailed on the Metropolitan Theatres website.

Built in 1931, Arlington Theatre is home to cinema, live stage entertainment, and film festival events. With seating for some 2,000 patrons, the Arlington offers 3D digital presentation and live satellite broadcasts of concerts, operas and sporting events.

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While MOXI (The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation) thinks all its supporters and members are rock stars for standing by the museum during its extended closure, there’s one bona fide star who has stepped up to show her support for STEAM education.

Homegrown pop sensation and new mom Katy Perry has donated an opportunity for one lucky family to privately party with her via Zoom as the grand prize in MOXI’s Rock Star Raffle.

MOXI hopes this exclusive prize and chance to meet the chart-topping Perry one-on-one will help replace funds typically raised by its gala benefit traditionally held in October.

Katy Perry
Photo contributed

The funds are particularly crucial this year, as MOXI has been closed for more than six months, including the busy spring break and summer months. This has meant the loss of all revenue from paid admissions, program and camp registrations, and facility rentals which collectively make up nearly 60% of MOXI’s annual budget.

“Access to unique and engaging ways to learn about science and the arts are so important, especially for kids,” Perry said. “Education is power, and MOXI provides that along with tons of fun.

“I can’t wait to bring my daughter to MOXI, and I want more than anything for this incredible museum to weather the pandemic and be here for generations to come.”

Perry’s Firework Foundation has been a supporter of MOXI from the start, providing funding for equipment in the museum’s Innovation Workshop makerspace, helping to build the museum during its capital campaign, as well as the inspiration and materials for digital creativity programming hosted at the museum.

The FireWorkShop programs have included afterschool classes and summer camps during which kids in grades 3-6 were introduced to digital audio and video production processes and practices using a variety of technologies and techniques. Students produced their own original music videos and short films with their new skills.

MOXI is preparing to reopen its doors in early November. During the closure, museum staff have offered both free and paid programming including new Innovation Workshop Maker Kits, at-home events and engineering design challenges, and tinkering activities for all ages.

MOXI is also working on ways to best support local teachers with online curriculum, virtual takeovers and other activities as onsite field trips will be suspended for the remainder of the school year.

“MOXI is so grateful to have Katy on our side advocating for the importance of STEAM education by offering this fabulous prize opportunity to motivate broad support from the community,” said Robin Gose, president/CEO of MOXI.

Rock Star Raffle tickets are $100 each and can be purchased by calling 805-770-5021 or visiting moxi.org/katy to fill out an interest form. Tickets must be purchased by 11:59 p.m. Monday, Dec. 7.

Everyone who buys a ticket will be invited to join a family-friendly, virtual dance party celebration of all things MOXI, creativity and fun on Thursday, Dec. 10, during which the winner of the Katy Perry virtual party will be announced.

Proceeds from raffle ticket sales all directly support the museum’s mission to ignite learning through interactive experiences in science and creativity, and help ensure MOXI will continue to be a viable resource for the greater Santa Barbara region. Donations of any size are also welcome at moxi.org/donate.

MOXI, The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation, at 125 State St., is LEED-certified Gold and serves guests of all ages through exhibits and education programs. MOXI is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization supported by its daily guests, members, facility rentals and donations from individuals, foundations and corporate partners.

For more information, visit moxi.org.

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The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum will host an exhibit of 55 paintings that chronicle the accomplishments of the U.S. Navy, from the USS Constitution to atomic bomb tests and expeditions to the North and South poles.

The exhibit, “Arthur Beaumont: Art of the Sea,” showcasing the work of the man the U.S. Navy called the Artist of the Fleet, will be on display at SBMM for six months, starting on Dec. 3. The exhibit, which ends May 30, 2021, marks its last appearance on the West Coast before it leaves for the East Coast.

Although Arthur Beaumont (1890-1978) was born in Norfolk County, England, he came to the U.S. in 1908 to study art at Berkeley.

After studying with other artists in the U.S. and Europe and teaching art and watercolor painting, Beaumont received a commission as a lieutenant in the Navy, with his earliest paintings showing naval vessels in various settings and states of preparedness.

Following the end of World War II, Beaumont continued to travel with and paint for the U.S. Navy on missions in the Pacific, to China and Japan.

In addition to his work during the Korean War, in the production of movies, in private commissions and personal painting, Beaumont also painted frozen landscapes in Alaska and Antarctica.

Over the remaining years of his life, he painted the RMS Queen Mary as it arrived in Los Angeles, a series of Revolutionary War-era sailing vessels, portraits of prominent naval officers, and operations along the Mekong River during the Vietnam War.

Following Pearl Harbor, Beaumont ‘s work supported the U.S. war effort and reflected dramatic life-or-death struggles in the Pacific. In 1944, he was given the official title of war correspondent. 

Throughout his life, Beaumont used Impressionist techniques in painting the images in this exhibit and in capturing the majesty of the oceans and the vessels that sail them, so his work will appeal to a wide audience.

In addition to Beaumont’s paintings, the show will be accompanied by a book of his life and art, also titled “Arthur Beaumont: Art of the Sea,” written by Beaumont’s son Geoffrey Campbell Beaumont and published by the Irvine Museum in Irvine.

On Jan. 21 the author will offer a presentation about the exhibit and his father’s life as part of SBMM’s distinguished lecture series.

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Just in time for holiday shopping, the Gem Faire, America’s Premier Jewelry & Bead Show, will reopen in Santa Barbara Dec. 11-13 at the Earl Warren Showgrounds, located at 3400 Calle Real, in Santa Barbara. 

Hours for the event are Friday, Dec. 11, from 12 to 6 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 12, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 13, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission of $7 is valid for the entire weekend.

Attendees can explore the unique and amazing variety of holiday gifts that fit every budget. Shoppers will find the largest selection of fine jewelry, crystals, gems, beads, minerals, fashion accessories and much more. They can also take advantage of buying direct from the importers and wholesalers, from loose gemstones, raw minerals and millions of bead strands, to finished jewelry, supplies and tools. Jewelry repair, cleaning and ring-sizing service is available while you shop. 

COVID-19 safety protocols are implemented.

For more information, visit gemfaire.com or contact Gem Faire, Inc. at 503-252-8300 or email: info@gemfaire.com.

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Longtime Solvang restaurateur Aaron Petersen, owner of CHOMP, Burgers, Fries and Shakes and brekkies by CHOMP is expanding into Santa Barbara by opening two new eateries on the Santa Barbara Harbor with several other valley families. The debut of SALTY at the Beach, which opened in September, will be followed by the opening of CHOMP on the Rocks in October.

The two new harbor-front businesses will occupy the former Endless Summer Bar Café (upstairs) and Chuck’s Waterfront Grill (downstairs) spaces, in the Waterfront Center Building — the historic Naval Reserve Armory building, which is also home to the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum. 

“The history of this building definitely won me over, with its ties to Santa Barbara’s place in naval history,” Petersen said.

The debut of SALTY at the Beach, which opened in September, which was followed by the opening of CHOMP on the Rocks in October.

Petersen, who opened his three CHOMP family Solvang businesses between 2013 and 2019, is also co-owner with his siblings of Solvang’s Mortensen’s Danish Bakery, which celebrates its 45th anniversary in 2021. 

Petersen is joined in the new ventures by Solvang residents Max and Laura Hanberg, who own the Solvang Shoe Store, as well as Valley residents Ken and Ronna Sorenson, and Scott Gold, with a decades-long career in the hospitality industry, and Gold’s family, as well as Petersen’s daughter and son-in-law, both Navy lieutenants stationed in San Diego.

The upper-deck SALTY at the Beach, with a wall of waterfront windows all opening to the shoreline air, will host approximately 100 guests on two outdoor patios, complete with seven flat-screen TVs both outdoors and “in.” CHOMP on the Rocks will have alfresco seating for another 50 guests on its lower-level, harbor-front patio. All COVID-19 safety and sanitation measures will be in place upon opening, and indoor dining will resume once allowed as per Santa Barbara County guidelines.

Menu items at SALTY at the Beach will range from snacks to big plates, featuring fun takes on time-tested dishes such as a deviled egg trio; popcorn rock shrimp with house-made rémoulade; warm pretzel bites with sea salt, smoked gouda and cheddar sauce, and a spicy honey mustard; “Birria-style” chicken nachos; the restaurant’s rendition of a French dip sandwich; and a rock shrimp po’ boy.

Downstairs at CHOMP on the Rocks, family-friendly, traditional crowd-pleasers like dressed up burgers and Nathan’s^® Famous hot dogs will join simple menu sections such as “Old School” sandwiches (patty and tuna melts, a corned beef Reuben, hot pastrami) and “Fish” (fish tacos, crab cake salad, a Pacific lobster wrap with avocado and chipotle sauce, nestled in a tortilla), with shareable sides along the lines of onion rings and chili cheese fries. Salads, soups and specials will also appear on the menu, with special items like pulled pork nachos and a Central Coast requisite, tri-tip sandwich. Savory dishes will be accompanied by CHOMP’s signature “ice creamery” sweets – handmade shakes, malts, floats, sundaes, and an old fashioned banana split – all served in a retro-inspired, modern take on a diner with clean lines, black and white tiles, red leather booths and stool-tops, with additional seating at the shiny aluminum counter.

For more information on both locations visit www.saltyatthebeach.com or www.chompontherocks.com. They are located at 113 Harbor Way, Suite 180, Santa Barbara.

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Ganna Walska Lotusland will reopen in mid-May, as it has been determined to be an essential “Outdoor Recreation” space by Santa Barbara County. The operators of the botanical garden in Montecito are implementing the public Health Department’s requirements to create a safe experience for people who want to explore and immerse themselves in this 37-acre botanical wonderland.

The garden is very safe and allows for social distancing by its very nature, and operators are confident the community will benefit from this time in the outdoors. There will be staff and volunteer Garden Attendants stationed throughout the property trained to protect visitors and the plant collections. The operators are requiring face masks and are not granting access to any buildings except the Visitor Center restrooms. Lotusland is also selling masks and also providing hand sanitizer. 

Guests will be able to use the camera on their phones to scan QR codes for detailed horticultural information while in the garden. It should be noted that this status could be revoked in the future if safety cannot be preserved or if the county changes its order. 

All visitors will self-guide through the garden. Information on making a reservation may be found on the garden’s website www.lotusland.org by phone at 805-969-9990. Public reservations are available from May 20.

Lotusland was forced to close in March and, like all local businesses, has experienced revenue shortfalls due to cancelled tours, group visits, and fundraising events. This summer’s Lotusland Celebrates gala will continue as a “virtual event” bringing an online auction, a public awareness campaign and a program with incredible garden imagery and entertainment to enjoy from the comfort of one’s home on July 25. You can follow the event on Instagram. To make a donation, go to Lotusland.org/donate/.

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Attorneys for SIMA Management have sent a letter to Santa Barbara Mayor Cathy Murillo alleging that the COVID-19-related rent moratorium for commercial tenants is a violation of the U.S. Constitution, and amounts to an illegal taking.

Friday’s letter, obtained by Noozhawk, was signed by Robert A. Curtis of the firm Foley, Bezek, Behle & Curtis.

“The Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment provides that private property shall not ‘be taken for public use, without just compensation,'” the letter states. “Be aware that my firm intends to pursue all of these claims should this so-called Rent Moratorium continue beyond May 31, 2020.”

SIMA and the firm are trying to stop the Santa Barbara City Council from continuing the rent deferral policy past May 31.

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