Our Year in Photos 2023
Twelve Months of Documenting
Santa Barbara’s Many Scenes
By Indy Staff | December 28, 2023
Credit: Ingrid Bostrom
“Is this the new normal?” was a common refrain heard throughout the year 2023, which finally felt like a return to some semblance of “normal.”
Though the after-effects of COVID will continue to unveil themselves for years to come, these past 12 months welcomed live entertainment, large gatherings, community festivals, travel near and far, dining out (and indoors), and the spirited pursuit of fun back into our lives. But there remains plenty of political, social, and economic upheaval to deal with as well, not to mention extreme weather events exacerbated by the climate crisis and a housing crisis with a ripple effect on just about every aspect of life in Santa Barbara.
It’s an introspective point in time, and we take a visual look back primarily through the lenses of Ingrid Bostrom, Carl Perry, and Chuck Graham, among others. In our longstanding end-of-year tradition, we present some of the best examples of their work in this week’s issue, and we hope you enjoy this snapshot of the year that was.
Happy New Year, and we look forward to making more memories with you in 2024.
In Memoriam
Sojourner Kincaid Rolle | Credit: Stacey Byers 
Marilyn McMahon | Credit: Courtesy 
Anthony Cunningham | Credit: Courtesy 
Adelina Alva-Padilla | Credit: Kathleen Conti 
Susan Love, MD | Credit: Courtesy Dr. Susan Love Foundation for Breast Cancer Research 
Michael Benedict | Credit: Margaret Daley 
David Crosby | Credit: Courtesy 
King Harris | Credit: Courtesy 
Mike McCorkle | Credit: Mick Kronman 
Mary Nobles Conrad | Credit: Kendall Conrad 
Ady Barkan | Credit: Courtesy 
Cyndi Falcon | Credit: Michael Montenegro 
Craig Gilbert | Credit: Courtesy 
Laszlo Hodosy | Credit: Paul Wellman 
Charlie Munger | Credit: Courtesy 
Jeff Olsson | Credit: Paul Wellman 
Patricia Bragg | Credit: Courtesy 
C. Seybert Kinsell | Credit: Courtesy 
Robert C. Noël | Credit: Courtesy
News
The weather report for 2023 was wild, crazy, wonderful, disastrous, and all of the above almost all at the same time. We got enough snow on the mountains to achieve this wonderful alpine illusion of a downhill skier overlooking the Pacific Ocean. | Credit: Kadrien Hannon 
Extreme weather can sometimes be extremely beautiful, as these anomalous snowscapes along Highway 58 near the Carrizo Plain can attest, exuding an eerie silence you can almost not hear off the page. | Credit: Chuck Graham 
Extreme weather can sometimes be extremely beautiful, as these anomalous snowscapes along Highway 58 near the Carrizo Plain can attest, exuding an eerie silence you can almost not hear off the page. | Credit: Chuck Graham 
For the first time in many moons, Lake Cachuma — the glass from which we drink half our water — actually spilled its banks. | Credit: Lael Wageneck 
January’s torrential downpours were sufficient to gouge up the roads and deposit enough mud on lowland streets to plant corn. | Credit: Don Brubaker 
January’s torrential downpours were sufficient to gouge up the roads and deposit enough mud on lowland streets to plant corn. | Credit: John Macfarlane 
The heavy rains gave rise to yet another spectacular superbloom — as seen from the vantage point of the Carrizo Plain’s isolated beauty. | Credit: Bryant Baker/Los Padres ForestWatch 
After suffering through a slow and tortured demise, the Santa Barbara News-Press was finally put out of its misery this year by owner Wendy P. McCaw, who declared bankruptcy. What happens to the newspaper’s historic downtown offices — not to mentions its historical archives — remains uncertain, but most likely the answer will come only after yet another slow and tortured process. | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom 
The bloom came off the rose and the wheels off the car at Santa Barbara Unified School District this year, still reeling from the reverberations of its COVID-imposed shutdown. In unprecedented numbers, teachers showed up at school board meetings to demand pay increases that reflect the astronomically high rents they have to pay. Students at all three high schools staged walkout protests in support of the teachers’ demands. | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom 
The horror of October 7 and the horror of its ongoing and agonizing aftermath has sent shock waves throughout Santa Barbara with supporters of Israel and the Palestinians gathering to express their respective pain and outrage. Finding words with which the two sides can speak to one another has proved challenging. | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom 
The horror of October 7 and the horror of its ongoing and agonizing aftermath has sent shock waves throughout Santa Barbara with supporters of Israel and the Palestinians gathering to express their respective pain and outrage. Finding words with which the two sides can speak to one another has proved challenging. | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom 
Demonstrators shut down the intersection of Garden and Micheltorena streets in response to viral videos showing a Santa Barbara woman harassing a construction worker and spewing racially derogatory language. | Credit: Don Brubaker 
Like the weather, people in Santa Barbara talk an awful lot about State Street but don’t know what to do about it. Much high-octane head-scratching ensued this year as a committee charged with figuring out the future of downtown did much hashing out — to packed crowds — but with no conclusion arrived at. | Credit: Courtesy
Music
Kenny Loggins ends his last tour at the Santa Barbara Bowl. | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom 
The Stand and Be Counted tribute to David Crosby at the Lobero Theatre: from left, Shawn Colvin, Colin Hay, and Steve Postell | Credit: David Bazemore 
Neil Young gives an intimate, pared-down performance. | Credit: Carl Perry 
Spencer Barnitz was on screen and on stage this year, including at the California Avocado Festival in Carpinteria. | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom 
Odesza performs at the Santa Barbara Bowl. | Credit: Carl Perry 
Odesza performs at the Santa Barbara Bowl. | Credit: Carl Perry
Events
Faces
Muralist Manuel Unzueta in front of his work “Metamorphosis of Reality” | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom 
Arturo Pacheco keeps the family tradition with pelota mixteca. His father, Alberto, and uncle, Augustín, are the last remaining craftsmen of the sport’s unique leather guantes. | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom 
Running the high school theater departments are (from left) Shannon Saleh at San Marcos, Gioia Marchese at Santa Barbara, and Emily Libera at Dos Pueblos. | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom 
Louise and Lou Fontana expanded their Oat Bakery empire to Old Town Goleta. | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom 
A joyful Jamie Lee Curtis receives the Maltin Modern Master Award at SBIFF. | Credit: Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images for SBIFF
Food
Chef Manny Juan is making vegan food gourmet at Oliver’s on Coast Village Road in Montecito. | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom 
Taking over the old Pacifica Suites in Goleta, The Steward and its restaurant Terra are serving sustainably minded, Mexican-influenced, California cuisine. | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom 
Located at the bustling corner of Anacapa and Ortega streets, Gala brought elegant Spanish tapas and cocktails to downtown Santa Barbara. | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom 
Located at the bustling corner of Anacapa and Ortega streets, Gala brought elegant Spanish tapas and cocktails to downtown Santa Barbara. | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom 
The Empty Bowl Gourmet Noodle Bar squad started serving Asian street foods through Three Monkeys inside the Santa Barbara Public Market. | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom
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