ON Culture | Getting Funky with Color Riot, the Commodores, Hispanic Heritage Month Activities and More

ON the Walls

Susan Tibbles and Jane Gottlieb, two artists whose work I have long admired, will have an exhibition titled Color Riot on view at Santa Barbara Tennis Club October 4-December 3. The description for this one, which is open to the public daily from 10 a.m.-6 p.m., is all about color, certainly a hallmark of both artists. “Color is luscious and fills us with energy; evoking emotion and feelings. It’s the other side of intellectual, and it makes you feel good.” Indeed! For more information see santabarbaratennisclub.com/art.  

The Santa Barbara Public Library (SBPL) is doing a special series of events for Hispanic Heritage Month under the umbrella “Raíces y Sueños: Celebrating Hispanic Immigrant Culture.” Included in the events and activities at Center Library’s Faulkner East and West Galleries on Sunday, September 29 from 1-5 p.m. is Raíces y Sueños: A Glimpse into Santa Barbara’s Hispanic Family Heritage, 1850-1950, a unique exhibition featuring traditional Mexican paper mâché dolls, poems created by local residents, and photographs of historic Santa Barbara families. This is a special event in partnership with the Santa Barbara County Genealogical Society. Also on Sunday, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art is offering free admission to Santa Barbara Public Library card holders.

Additional events on the SBPL schedule for Hispanic Heritage Month include: October 4 – Movie Screening: Radical from 6:30-9 p.m. at the Courthouse Sunken Garden, come for a special movie night screening of Radical in Spanish with English subtitles. Guest presenter Evelyn Carrillo, a dental technician with 24 years of experience in the U.S. Air Force, will share her inspiring story before the film.

October 10 – Virtual Panel: Sergio Juárez and Paloma Noyola, the Personalities Who Inspired Radical: From 7-8 p.m. join in an inspiring Zoom panel with Sergio Juárez and Paloma Noyola, the real-life people who inspired the 2023 film Radical. Listen to their stories and learn how Juárez’s unconventional teaching methods inspired Noyola and other students to overcome personal challenges to achieve academic and lifelong success.

November 9, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. – Mercado Raíces y Sueños: At Michael Towbes Library Plaza (which will be open to the public by then — woohoo!) enjoy a special storytime and a performance from Oaxacreations, with their colorful oversized puppets and dancers. Make your own flower crown, write a love letter to yourself, browse handmade items for sale from entrepreneurs of all ages, and much more at this special marketplace event. For up-to-date event information and to register for these events, please visit the Santa Barbara Public Library Event Calendar or call (805) 962-7653.

Did you know that more than 250 silent movies were filmed on the Channel Islands between 1910 and 1930? I had no idea that famous actors like Gloria Swanson, Rudolph Valentino, Douglas Fairbanks, Buster Keaton, Oliver Hardy, and Stan Laurel were hanging out among the coves and beaches back in those days.

Betsy J. Green, who writes the fascinating “Great House Detective” column for the Independent’s Real Estate Section, has an exhibition called Silents on the Islands — based on her new book, Silents on the Islands: Silent movies filmed on California’s Channel Islands — opening at the Chrisman California Islands Center in Carpinteria on Saturday, October 5. Betsy will be at the museum that day answering any questions, and playing old-time movie music. Museum hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. For more information click here.

ON the Stage

It only takes a couple of notes of “Brick House” to get me out on the dance floor, and if you know what I’m talking about then you won’t want to miss seeing The Commodores perform live at the Chumash Casino Resort next Friday, October 4. Founding member William “WAK” King (trumpet, guitar, keyboards, vocals) will be playing, along with Walter Orange (drums, vocals), and James Dean “J.D.” Nicholas (vocals) on all the classic hits like “Nightshift,” “Three Times A Lady,” “Sail On,” and of course, “Brick House.” Tickets are available online at chumashcasino.com.

Stephen Sondheim left behind an incredible body of work, including the songs for musicals like Into the Woods, Follies, A Little Night Music, Company, Merrily We Roll Along, Sunday in the Park with George, Sweeney Todd, and so many more. All of these will be performed on Sunday, September 29, at  “A Tribute to Stephen Sondheim” Concert at the historic Ojai Valley Woman’s Club by a special group of performers put together by American Songbook Today. For more information and to reserve tickets, contact michaelsongbook@gmail.com.

ON the (Big) Screen

The Walt Disney classic young adult film Holes, directed by Santa Barbara–based filmmaker Andy Davis — based on the beloved book by Louis Sachar — is screening at the Granada on Saturday, September 28 at 2 p.m. There will be special appearances by Davis and Sachar, signing books, as well as a conversation after the film with them both, along with actor Khleo (Zero) Thomas and Ross Melnick, film historian and professor of Cinema Studies at UCSB. In honor of the theater’s centennial, tickets are just $5 and available online, by phone or at the door. The book was one of my son’s favorites when he was young and it’s a great film for the whole family to enjoy!

ON the Calendar

Two works by young composer Grace Fisher will be featured when the Santa Barbara Chamber players kick off their 2024-25 season with an opening concert on Saturday, October 12, at the First United Methodist Church. Audiences can look forward to a captivating program that includes Béla Bartók’s Romanian Folk Dances, Grace Fisher’s Waltz of the Waves and A Critter Fable, and Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, Eroica. This concert marks the beginning of a season filled with entertaining performances aimed at inspiring and engaging audiences of all ages. Please visit sbchamberplayers.org for more information.

For a complete calendar of events this week and beyond, visit independent.com/events/.