Calendar of Events

by Steven Libowitz

Expo on Ending Plastics Use – Community Environmental Council and Santa Barbara Channelkeeper’s second annual Plastic Free July Expo features information from local organizations working on plastic-free initiatives and ways for you to get involved, plus engaging activities. The evening of action, fun, and prizes includes light refreshment, and takes place at CEC’s brand-new downtown Environmental Hub that debuted earlier this month, which is worth checking out on its own. As space is limited, RSVP is strongly encouraged.

WHEN: 5:30-8 pm

WHERE: 1219 State St.

COST: free

INFO: https://cecsb.org/plastic-free-july

Free Summer Film Series – Santa Barbara’s Sunken Gardens isn’t the only gorgeous outdoor venue for soaking up the vibes while taking in a screening around these parts this summer. The Ojai Film Society has put together a wonderfully varied lineup of movies for the new series that began during the pandemic, launching tonight with Alejandra Vasquez and Sam Osborn’s Sundance hit Going Varsity in Mariachi. Perfect as a pre-Fiesta film, the documentary follows Edinburg North High School’s Mariachi Oro as they compete for a state championship. Bonus: Filmmakers Vasquez and Osborn will appear in-person as part of the presentation. Future flicks that are featured on Fridays each fortnight include classics and beloved favorites (Princess Bride on August

Sharp Attack – Rick Sharp made a name for himself as a poster artist in the ‘70s surf culture of Santa Barbara and Southern California, when the young artist’s work appeared on national magazine covers, Hang Ten T-shirts, surf posters, album covers, and concert posters for folk music icons such as Donovan, Arlo Guthrie, and Peter, Paul & Mary, to name a few. But Sharp also employed India ink and pen to create art that celebrated Mother Earth and her nature-loving inhabitants during roughly the same period. His new book, 1970s Nature Posters: The Lost Art of Rick Sharp, is a dramatic and often humorous memoir that traces the treasure trove of idealistic posters that also offers an intimate look at the artist’s Santa Barbara lifestyle including his unorthodox search for the perfect model and mate, his practice of composing songs and prose to accompany his art, his relations with famous rock stars, and his struggles to be accepted as an incurable, hopeless romantic. Sharp shares stories and signs the book today at Chaucer’s.

WHEN: 6 pm

WHERE: 3321 State St. in Loreto Plaza Shopping Center

COST: free

INFO: (805) 682-6787 or www.chaucersbooks.com

Arts al Fresco – Concerts in the Park closes out its month-of-Thursdays series at Great Meadow in Chase Palm Park across from the beach on July 27 with Mezcal Martini, the local all-star ensemble that plays Latin jazz, pop, and more. Hopefully, their set will vary a bit from what they played on Tuesday at the Stow House.

WHEN: 6-7:30 pm

WHERE: 300 W. Cabrillo Blvd.

COST: free

INFO: (805) 564-5418 or www.santabarbaraca.gov

UCSB A&L’s summer film series Out of this World gets down with the goodvs-evil thing via a screening of The Fifth Element at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse Sunken Gardens on July 28. Luc Besson directs Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, and Gary Oldman in the classic. As always, fun is as much about the atmosphere as the movie, partly due to DJ Darla Bea spinning “Out of this World” music before the screening, tailoring the tunes to the flick and the folks.

WHEN: 8:30 pm

WHERE: 1100 Anacapa St.

COST: free

INFO: www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu

Next up at the Stow House-Rancho La Patera lakeside site for the Music at the Ranch series on August 1 are the Americana Cats, a nine-piece ensemble who, as their name suggests, play Americana covers ranging from Dylan and Gillian Welch to Sam Cooke and Jimmy Cliff, plus original songs.

WHEN: 5:30-7:30 pm

WHERE: 304 N. Los Carneros Road, Goleta

COST: free

INFO: (805) 681-7216 or www.goletahistory.org/music-at-the-ranch

11; Singin’ in the Rain on September 8) and indies rarely screened (2019’s Blinded by the Light). The series closes October 6 with a doc with lots of local connections: Wild Life, which follows conservationists Kris Tompkins and outdoorsman and entrepreneur Douglas Tompkins, as both leave behind the world of the massively successful outdoor brands they’d helped pioneer – Patagonia, The North Face, and Esprit – and turn their attention to a visionary effort to create National Parks throughout Chile and Argentina. WHEN: All screenings at 7:30 pm

WHERE: Libbey Bowl, 210 S. Signal Ave., Ojai COST: free

INFO: www.ojaifilmsociety.org

Ventura Music Festival – Although it has had its ups and downs over the near quarter-century since being founded as the Ventura Chamber Music Festival, and gone through any number of changes, including shifting from various venues in downtown Ventura to a single centralized location, the event seems to have settled in nicely as it has emerged from the pandemic. Having long since morphed into a musical variety pack, 2023 continues the trend. First up tonight in the now two-weekend affair is Counterpoint, an artistic collaboration between pianist Conrad Tao and choreographer-dancer Caleb Teicher (founding member of acclaimed tap dance company Dorrance Dance), followed by Grammy-winning jazz/R&B vocalist Dianne Reeves fronting a trio on Saturday. Sunday brings frequent VMF visitor Mark O’Connor, this time with his new duo featuring fellow fiddler and wife Maggie on originals and classic Americana music. Next weekend’s schedule includes classical guitarist Ana Vidović, the Grammy-nominated jazz supergroup Special EFX All-Stars, and the saxophone sextet Moanin’ Frogs. WHEN: July 28-30, August 4-6

WHERE: Ventura College Performing Arts Center, 4700 Loma Vista Rd., Ventura COST: $15-$65 per concert, festival passes available INFO: (805) 648-3146 or www.venturamusicfestival.org

P-22 Prances to Town – Not the actual mountain lion known as P-22, of course. The courageous cougar who crossed two freeways to hunker down in his new Hollywood Hills habitat – and take up residence in our hearts – was euthanized last December after suffering from illnesses and traumatic injuries consistent with being hit by a car. But the wild mountain lion who resided in Griffith Park for more than a decade became the subject of significant media attention, including numerous books, television programs, and other works of art, and continues to fascinate folks all over. And this pugnacious puma continues to have impact. The story of his exploits has ensured a future for mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains by leading to the construction

Twelve Bars… And 50 years –Robert Cray is one of the most commercially and critically successful blues artists of his generation, one whose career seems to simply stay on an even keel. The veteran bluesman who has claimed five Grammy Awards was first in the national public eye as the uncredited bassist in the house party band Otis Day and the Knights in the 1978 film National Lampoon’s Animal House. He released his first record in 1980 but didn’t connect in a big way until Strong Persuader came out in 1986. Cray became a critical darling for his innovative expansion of blues, and a commercial hit helped the blues transcend its genre to cross over into the pop charts. Since then, he continues to craft a sound that encompasses American roots, blues, soul, and R&B, at once both fresh and familiar. The singer-songwriter-guitarist and his long-standing band – first formed in 1974 – have recorded 20 studio and live albums together, and continue to tour the world, neither rising to arena status nor fitting neatly into a small club. Which is why, once again, they’re coming to the Lobero for what must be the umpteenth time. Despite not trending on Twitter or going viral with videos, the Robert Cray Band is still not to be taken for granted.

WHEN: 7:30 pm

WHERE: Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St.

COST: $55 & $65 ($106 VIP includes premier seating and a pre-show reception with drinks and hors d’oeuvres)

INFO: (805) 963-0761 or www.lobero.com of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, which will connect a crucial wildlife corridor, preserve biodiversity, and save a local population of mountain lions from extinction. The groundbreaking crossing will be the world’s largest, the first of its kind in California, and a global model for urban wildlife conservation. Today, Beth Pratt, the leader of the #SaveLACougars campaign, comes to town to share about P-22’s remarkable story and the dedicated efforts that made the landmark crossing a reality.

WHEN: 6 pm

WHERE: New Vic Theater, 33 West Victoria St. COST: $10 adults, $5 students, free for youth 12 & under; $15 extra for pre-event reception with Pratt that includes light refreshments on the patio ($60 VIP tickets include reception and priority seating)

INFO: (805) 965-5400 or https://etcsb.org/whats-on/community-events

Mind-ing a Murderer – Wendy Whitman has become an expert on the subject of murder in America through her decades-long work as an executive, producer, and on-air reporter for Court TV and Crime Stories on Warner Brothers’ true-crime programming network HLN. Turning to novel writing, Whitman wisely utilized her true-crime experience in her first book, Premonition, referencing more than 20 actual cases through the protagonist’s narration, lending the book a touch of realism that many thrillers lack. Now the sequel, Retribution, turns tables yet again, as it’s told from the killer’s point of view, and early readers have raved, comparing it to The Talented Mr. Ripley. Even lawyers are loving it: Gerald P. Boyle, the attorney who represented serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, noted the “novel captures all aspects of the utter insanity of the criminal mind.” Whitman talks about the novels and signs copies at Tecolote Book Shop this afternoon.

WHEN: 2-4 pm

WHERE: 1470 E. Valley Rd.

COST: free

INFO: (805) 969-4977 or www.tecolotebookshop.com