Community Calendar

Join us October 1-31, 2026 for an entire month of BRAND NEW vegan options all over Santa Barbara, CA!
During this time, restaurants throughout the Santa Barbara area will feature special vegan menu items. Diners have the opportunity to go out, enjoy meals, review/rate menus, and post photos of the delicious vegan meals they have ordered.

To view a list of current participants/menus visit veganchefchallenge.org/santabarbara

Since 2007, UCSB Reads has fostered a shared sense of belonging by bringing the UCSB campus and Santa Barbara communities together to read a common book that explores compelling issues of our time. Conceived by then Executive Vice Chancellor Gene Lucas, the program is led by the UCSB Library in collaboration with campus and community partners. Each year, a committee of UCSB faculty, students, staff, and community members selects a thought-provoking, interdisciplinary book written by a living author that encourages a wide range of readers to engage with a contemporary social, political, cultural or scientific issue such as climate change, racial justice, technology, memory, identity, and democracy.

The program kicks off in winter with a book giveaway for UCSB students led by the Chancellor, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost, and University Librarian, and culminates with a free public talk by the book’s author(s) at Campbell Hall in the spring. Throughout the winter and spring quarters, the Library sponsors a variety of free learning, experiential, and social events to explore the book’s themes. The selected book is also incorporated into the university curriculum for winter and spring, allowing students to explore its themes in an academic context. UCSB Reads is generously supported by many individuals, university departments, and organizations.

This exhibition highlights the history of UCSB Reads since its inception, featuring promotional posters, selected books, custom bookmarks along with testimonials and images of participants engaging with programming throughout the years. UCSB Reads has become a beloved campus tradition that brings together thousands of people every year and demonstrates the power of literature to bridge divides, promote intellectual engagement, and build community.

Since our founding in 1932, collecting and preserving the material and written history of the Santa Barbara area has been at the core of our institution’s purpose and that task is on-going to this day. Every year the Historical Museum adds to the ever-growing collections to better illuminate and share this rich history.
This exhibition highlights just some of the gifts we have added in recent years thanks to the generosity of our community.

Through May 2026

Free Admission
Open Wednesday-Sunday 12:00-5:00pm, Thursday 12:00-7:00pm

Santa Barbara Historical Museum
136 E De la Guerra Street, Santa Barbara 93101
www.sbhistorical.org
805-966-1601

Image
Our Lady of Atocha, c. 1800
Collection Santa Barbara Historical Museum

Jorge “Chucho” Hernandez, a Chula Vista-born artist and former Santa Maria resident, will open “Perspective,” a solo exhibition at Indah Gallery in Santa Ynez, on Thursday, August 27.

Working in oil on canvas and wood, Hernandez creates elaborate narrative paintings that use unexpected viewpoints and forced perspective to place viewers inside scenes involving cultural memory, spirituality, popular culture and contemporary life. Some of his major pieces take two to three years to complete.

The opening reception will be held Thursday, August 27, from 5–7 p.m. The exhibition continues August 28 through September 20, with an artist’s talk on Saturday, September 19 at 3 p.m.

Hernandez is available for an interview, and high-resolution artwork, installation photographs and additional background materials are available.

Indah Gallery
2190 N. Refugio Road
Santa Ynez, California
https://chuchoart.com
https://www.indahgallery.org/

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1a88f8cin41cXNEOVSTbYgM5_IQ1nPheC/view?usp=sharing

Thank you for considering this local arts story.

Join us October 1-31, 2026 for an entire month of BRAND NEW vegan options all over Santa Barbara, CA!
During this time, restaurants throughout the Santa Barbara area will feature special vegan menu items. Diners have the opportunity to go out, enjoy meals, review/rate menus, and post photos of the delicious vegan meals they have ordered.

To view a list of current participants/menus visit veganchefchallenge.org/santabarbara

Since 2007, UCSB Reads has fostered a shared sense of belonging by bringing the UCSB campus and Santa Barbara communities together to read a common book that explores compelling issues of our time. Conceived by then Executive Vice Chancellor Gene Lucas, the program is led by the UCSB Library in collaboration with campus and community partners. Each year, a committee of UCSB faculty, students, staff, and community members selects a thought-provoking, interdisciplinary book written by a living author that encourages a wide range of readers to engage with a contemporary social, political, cultural or scientific issue such as climate change, racial justice, technology, memory, identity, and democracy.

The program kicks off in winter with a book giveaway for UCSB students led by the Chancellor, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost, and University Librarian, and culminates with a free public talk by the book’s author(s) at Campbell Hall in the spring. Throughout the winter and spring quarters, the Library sponsors a variety of free learning, experiential, and social events to explore the book’s themes. The selected book is also incorporated into the university curriculum for winter and spring, allowing students to explore its themes in an academic context. UCSB Reads is generously supported by many individuals, university departments, and organizations.

This exhibition highlights the history of UCSB Reads since its inception, featuring promotional posters, selected books, custom bookmarks along with testimonials and images of participants engaging with programming throughout the years. UCSB Reads has become a beloved campus tradition that brings together thousands of people every year and demonstrates the power of literature to bridge divides, promote intellectual engagement, and build community.

Dada and Surrealism emerged as significant art movements in the early 20th century, primarily as a reaction to the devastation and absurdity of World War I. In this course, we explore their origins, and the artists affiliated with both movements. We will look at Hugo Ball, Emmy Hennings, Jean Arp, Hannah Hoch, Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, and more for the Dada movement and surrealists including Andre Breton, Max Ernst, Joan Miro, Salvador Dali, and Meret Oppenheim. We begin with the anti-art movement of Dada, which arose as a reaction to tradition, convention, and rationality. These artists embraced chance and randomness as a form of art making, influencing generations of artists working with increasingly varied materials and techniques. We then discuss how Surrealism used some of these techniques to capture the inner workings of the mind through dreamlike imagery.

This course takes place on Mondays from 10am-12pm (PT) on Zoom and at the Thousand Oaks campus.

The Fifty and Better (FAB) program was designed for people ages 50 and older, seeking intellectual stimulation through university level courses — without the pressure of grades — for the sake of learning and social engagement.

Voices Rock Youth Choir Comes to Westlake Village

Voices Rock California is launching a new Youth Rock Choir for students in grades 2–8 at Aspire Dance Studio in Westlake Village.
Led by vocalist and music educator Savannah Koenig, the choir gives young singers a fun, supportive place to sing rock and pop music, build confidence, make friends and experience the joy of singing together.
No auditions and no prior choir experience required.

Mondays, 3:45–5:00 p.m.
Beginning September 14
Aspire Dance Studio
5700 Corsa Ave., Suite 106
Westlake Village, CA
Information and registration: www.voicesrockcalifornia.com

Join us October 1-31, 2026 for an entire month of BRAND NEW vegan options all over Santa Barbara, CA!
During this time, restaurants throughout the Santa Barbara area will feature special vegan menu items. Diners have the opportunity to go out, enjoy meals, review/rate menus, and post photos of the delicious vegan meals they have ordered.

To view a list of current participants/menus visit veganchefchallenge.org/santabarbara

Since 2007, UCSB Reads has fostered a shared sense of belonging by bringing the UCSB campus and Santa Barbara communities together to read a common book that explores compelling issues of our time. Conceived by then Executive Vice Chancellor Gene Lucas, the program is led by the UCSB Library in collaboration with campus and community partners. Each year, a committee of UCSB faculty, students, staff, and community members selects a thought-provoking, interdisciplinary book written by a living author that encourages a wide range of readers to engage with a contemporary social, political, cultural or scientific issue such as climate change, racial justice, technology, memory, identity, and democracy.

The program kicks off in winter with a book giveaway for UCSB students led by the Chancellor, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost, and University Librarian, and culminates with a free public talk by the book’s author(s) at Campbell Hall in the spring. Throughout the winter and spring quarters, the Library sponsors a variety of free learning, experiential, and social events to explore the book’s themes. The selected book is also incorporated into the university curriculum for winter and spring, allowing students to explore its themes in an academic context. UCSB Reads is generously supported by many individuals, university departments, and organizations.

This exhibition highlights the history of UCSB Reads since its inception, featuring promotional posters, selected books, custom bookmarks along with testimonials and images of participants engaging with programming throughout the years. UCSB Reads has become a beloved campus tradition that brings together thousands of people every year and demonstrates the power of literature to bridge divides, promote intellectual engagement, and build community.