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Just in time for the holidays! Create handmade cards, gift tags, and postcards in this fun Art From Scrap workshop for adults with Simon Keifer and Rebecca Zendejas.

Learn how to collage found materials to make original designs. Then type your holiday greetings on vintage typewriters to add personal messages to your creations. Your ticket includes all materials for the workshops and two hours of instruction.

Instead of buying new, make original cards and gift tags out of reuse materials. Start your eco friendly holiday season off with us on Friday, December 2nd from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm, upstairs in the Art From Scrap Workshop. See you there!

Santa Barbara Permaculture Network Eco Hero Award
Honoring Visionary Mycologist Paul Stamets &
Award-winning Filmmaker Louie Schwartzberg
Friday, June 17, 6:30-9pm, 2022
TICKETS $20, $40, & $100

Location: Lobero Theatre
33 E Canon Perdido St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101

Tickets on Sale Now: Lobero Ticket Office
805-963-0761, Lobero.com

More Info:

Please join Santa Barbara Permaculture Network as we celebrate our second annual Eco Hero Award honoring visionary mycologist Paul Stamets and award-winning cinematographer Louie Schwartzberg.

The Santa Barbara Permaculture Network Eco Hero Award honors those individuals who have committed themselves to work in service of the planet and its inhabitants for more than thirty years, with actual solutions and concrete ways forward that benefit many, often on a global scale, while demonstrating pathways forward for future generations.

Both Paul Stamets and Louie Schwartzberg will join us to receive the award, Paul live via Zoom, with Louie live in theater. They will share their experiences—what inspired them, how they made their projects happen, and what challenges they faced along the way—with time for the audience to ask questions, especially encouraging youth attending to interact.

Film clips from their collaboration on joint projects, including the amazing Fantastic Fungi film will be shown, and also clips from Louie Schwartzberg’s most recent film, Gratitude Revealed will also be shared with the audience.

Paul Stamets is a preeminent mycologist in the United States and an award-winning author, researcher, and renowned speaker, sharing with the public the unusual and profound connection between humans and mushrooms. He is an entrepreneur and founder of Fungi Perfecti, a family-owned, environmentally-friendly company, and has authored many books including, Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Heal the World, and Fantastic Fungi, written in collaboration with the Fantastic Fungi film.

Louie Schwartzberg is an American director, producer, and cinematographer, recognized as a pioneer in high-end time-lapse cinematography, and visual artist known for breaking down barriers of perception and taking viewers on journeys of time and scale. For more than forty years, with his studio Moving Art his passion has been telling stories through film that celebrate life and reveal the mysteries and wisdom of nature, most recently with the conscious shifting film Fantastic Fungi where once again he makes the invisible visible for his audiences.

The event takes place at the Lobero Theatre on Friday, June 17, from 6:30 pm – 9 pm, tickets on sale at the Lobero Ticket office (fees apply), 805-963-0761; Lobero.com (current COVID-19 mandates for public theaters are listed on the Lobero website). For more information, www.sbpermaculture.org; margie@sbpermaculture.org.
A Community Event Hosted by Santa Barbara Permaculture Network
www.sbpermaculture.org

“After the Fires: Recovering California's Wild Spaces”: Virtual Symposium Addresses Impacts of Recent Wildfires and How to Aid in Recovery of Plants and Animals, Build Resilience, and More Dr. Carla D’Antonio Honored and Keynote Speaker at Ninth Annual Santa Barbara Botanic Garden Conservation Symposium on March 5 How California has addressed the impacts of the wildfires that have scorched the Golden State’s wildlands in recent years – and what more can be done – is the subject of the ninth annual Santa Barbara Botanic Garden Conservation Symposium entitled “After the Fires: Recovering California’s Wild Spaces.”

The public is invited to attend this virtual event, held Saturday, March 5 from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., which features scientists, biologists, and land managers from the Central Coast and beyond. “The focus is on how we can get engaged to help California wildlands recover after fire,” said the Garden’s Director of Conservation, Denise Knapp, Ph.D. “Diverse native vegetation is essential for providing slope stabilization, watershed protection, wildlife habitat, and other benefits that we rely on. We can all help to make sure our wildlands don’t turn into big bare patches or seas of weeds.” This year's keynote speaker is Carla D'Antonio, Ph.D., the 2022 recipient of the Garden’s Pritzlaff Conservation Award, who addresses “When and Why Would We Need Post-Fire Restoration.” Eight other speakers present topics including impacts on plant and animals, approaches to habitat restoration, regional efforts to build resilience, and more. The symposium concludes with an audience Q & A with all the panelists and discussion of what we can all do next. (See schedule and program below.) “We selected Dr. D’Antonio for the Pritzlaff Conservation Award for her top-notch science, inspiring teaching and mentorship, and dedicated conservation leadership,” said Knapp. “Her forward-thinking approach to ecology has integrated ecological theory with practical and on-the-ground conservation, habitat management, and restoration.” Speakers come from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB); U.S. Forest Service; National Park Service, Reed College (Portland, Oregon); South Coast Habitat Restoration (Carpinteria); and the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. Specific topics include post-fire impacts on steelhead trout habitat, resilience of bigcone Douglas-fir trees, use of mapping to inform restoration and engage the public, native and invasive plant responses and management actions, shrubland habitat restoration, and building resilience in our communities. For a complete schedule, visit www.sbbg.org/classes-events/lectures-symposia/ninth-annual-santa-barbara-botanic-garden-conservation-symposium. The annual Santa Barbara Botanic Garden Conservation Symposium, established in 2012, addresses topics that are critical to environmental conservation in the region, as well as nationally and internationally. It returns after a one-year gap in 2021 due to the COVID pandemic.

As the Men's Sweet 16 round of the NCAA tournament kick off tomorrow, NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with TNT Sports sideline reporter and bracketology expert, Andy Katz.

AI is all over the news today, and its short term impacts have not been trivial. Google rolled out an AI product that made a factual error, and its parent company stock price dropped 9%, temporarily wiping out $100B of market value. And there are a myriad of risks beyond factual errors, with a mix of probability and consequences. Much has been made of the fact that over 100 million people have tried ChatGPT in its first two months of public exposure. And that's just one product, in one branch, of a range of new products called Generative Artificial Intelligence!

So, is it time to crawl under a rock? Will some machine come looking for me one day soon, because I disrespected the potential of AI systems? What are the newly arriving benefits or risks of these technologies? What frameworks can we use, as business and society leaders, to think through the coming tradeoffs? We'll talk about work, jobs, risks, benefits, privacy, security, existential threats, weapons gone rogue, and the like. We'll also talk about regulation, and the proposed 6-month "pause" on new AI development to provide time to get "guardrails" around AI products. And without a doubt, the landscape of what we know and plan for today will be different in August, in June, and likely even tomorrow!

Paul Witman (Ph.D.) is a Professor of Information Technology Management, in California Lutheran University’s School of Management. His research interests include social networking for non-profits, information security, usability, health care information, and electronic banking and finance. Prior to joining Cal Lutheran, Dr. Witman served as Director of Integration Engineering for Digital Insight Corp. and as Director of Global Delivery Systems at Citibank. He earned his Ph.D. in Information Systems and Technology from Claremont Graduate University.

The Poetry in Paper gallery exhibit will run from January 20 - April 7, 2024 at Elverhøj Museum of History and Art. Hours are Thursday through Monday from 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Karen Bit Vejle, an internationally acclaimed psaligrapher, is being honored with an exhibition at the Elverhøj Museum of History & Art. The debut of Poetry in Paper will be celebrated with an opening reception on Saturday, January 20, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. The public is invited and refreshments will be served, with no charge for admission.

Translated literally, psaligraphy is the art of drawing with scissors and paper. Works are formed from a large, continuous piece of paper and cut with only a small pair of scissors. It is a slow art of painstaking patience that demands the utmost concentration and a steady hand.

Vejle creates images of air and paper. Her magical cuttings are rooted in a tradition that has known a long journey through history, beginning in the first century, when paper was first invented by the Chinese. In fact, the Chinese started cutting in paper before they used it for writing. The art of psaligraphy has developed differently throughout the world, but is particularly rooted in Chinese and other Asian cultures, and also in Bit’s native country of Denmark.
This exhibition takes the viewer into a rare artistic experience as Vejle tells magical stories with her scissors. There is a great degree of humor in her world of imagery; humor and the ability to identify joy in small things. Just as often, though, she confronts serious themes intended to cause involvement and reflection. Her works are captivating, evoking both astonishment and inspiration.

Exhibition programming will include a paper cutting workshop with celebrated Danish artist, Torben Jarlstrøm Clausen at the Museum on March 3, at 11 a.m. To register visit, www.elverhoj.org. Space is limited.

Poetry in Paper is a traveling exhibit sponsored by the National Foundation of Danish America and ScanDesign. Elverhøj Museum of History & Art is located at 1624 Elverhoy Way in Solvang. Hours are Thursday through Monday from 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. There Is no charge for admission, but a $5 donation is suggested. For more Information, call (805) 686-1211 or visit www.elverhoj.org.

More than 20,000 candy-filled eggs are up for grabs at Elings Park’s Great Egg Hunt held Saturday, March 30, 2024, from 9 a.m. to noon in the park’s softball fields. The actual egg hunt is organized by age groups for children up to age 10, and children should bring their own baskets. The free festive annual event also includes visits from – and photos with – Mr. and Mrs. Easter Bunny, face painters, Luna’s Jumps bounce houses, and festive music provided by Music by Bonnie. New this year: smoothies and coffee for purchase from Claudia Coffee Bar food truck.

“The Easter Bunny gave us magic seeds that produce blades of grass that grow to just the perfect height to cradle the eggs and make them easy for little hands to grab,” said Dean Noble, the park’s executive director. “As with past years, he and Mrs. Bunny will be at the Great Egg Hunt to meet all their friends.”

The park opens at 9 a.m. and there are three timed starts by age group: Baby Bunnies (ages 0 to 3) at 10 a.m.; Daring Ducks (ages 4 to 6) at 10:45 a.m.; and Jack Rabbits (ages 7 to 10) at 11:30 a.m. Festivities continue until noon.

Hundreds of egg-seekers are expected, and parking is limited. Families are encouraged to arrive early. Advance VIP parking permits are available now at $20 per car by visiting the Elings Park Office or calling (805) 569-5611; permits must be picked up by Friday, March 29 at noon. Parking on the day of the event is $10 per car, paid at the entry gate, first-come-first served.

For more information, call Elings Park at (805) 569-5611 or visit www.elingspark.org.

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

Our FABulous Summer Lecture Series runs June 3 - August 28. All lectures are available virtually and are recorded. Select lectures can be attended at Cal Lutheran's Thousand Oaks or Oxnard campuses.

June Schedule:
- A Frank Lecture on Sinatra: The Man and His Music (Two Parts) with Tony Moon | June 3 & 10, 10am-12pm (PT), Zoom
- "Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know": Uncovering the Byronic Hero (Two Parts) with Tracy Dubin | June 5 & 12, 1-3pm (PT), Zoom
- Religion of the Founders (Two Parts) with Dr. Jason Hensley | June 6 & 13, 10am-12pm (PT), Zoom & Thousand Oaks
- Shakespeare "On" Love with Michael Arndt | June 17, 10am-12pm (PT), Zoom
- America's Watchdogs: Investigative Reporting in a Changing Media Environment with James Grimaldi, Wall Street Journal | June 19, 10am-12pm (PT), Zoom & Thousand Oaks
- Behind the Screen: How Hollywood Movie Music is Really Made with Steven Becknell | June 20, 10am-12pm (PT), Zoom
- Modern Day Horserace: The Role of Media in Presidential Elections with Dr. Kirstie Hettinga | June 24, 10am-12pm (PT), Zoom & Thousand Oaks
- Noah's Ark: Animals in Art History (Part 1) with Eleanor Schrader | June 26, 1-3pm (PT), Zoom & Oxnard
- The Beat and the Hip: San Francisco Art from the 50s to the 70s with Avril Angevine | June 27, 10am-12pm (PT), Zoom

Registration closes at 3pm the business day before each lecture.

SLOPOKE 2025: ART OF THE AMERICAN WEST
Get ready for the 15th annual SLOPOKE Art of the American West Exhibition and Sale, opening Friday, October 31st through Sunday November 2nd at 6 pm at the Octagon Barn Event Center in San Luis Obispo!
It’s Halloween weekend, and SLOPOKE is celebrating fifteen years of bringing together the best artists of the American West — painters, photographers, and sculptors from across California, Nevada, Colorado and Texas.
This year, 25 exceptional artists will showcase their unique visions of Western life — from realism to abstract — capturing the landscapes, animals, and people that define the spirit of the West.
Among the highlights, you’ll meet featured artist Derek Harrison of Santa Barbara, known for his soulful ranch scenes; William Wray, the Mad Magazine and Nickelodeon cartoonist turned acclaimed landscape painter; Steve Crawley of Texas, whose colorful, inventive work bridges fine art and digital design and Nancy Krause presenting her creative jewelry art for the second year.
Sculpture also takes center stage this year. Renowned sculptor Christopher Slatoff, Chair of Sculpture at the prestigious California Art Club, will demonstrate a clay model of a bronze work proposed for the people of Shell Beach — a rare opportunity to see a monumental artwork take shape. Joining him are sculptors Pat Roberts, Jim Stuckenberg, and Tom Peck, each bringing their own unique interpretations of Western form and spirit.
SLOPOKE opens Friday at 2 p.m. with an Opening Reception from 5:30 to 7:30, featuring music by Julie Beaver and the Rockin’ B’s Trio. Come in costume for a chance to win a prize! The show continues through Sunday, November 2nd.
Tickets are just $25 and include a keepsake SLOPOKE Art Book. Visit the-slopoke.com for tickets and hotel info.
🎨 SLOPOKE — Collect the Spirit of the West!

The United Nations today sent its top humanitarian official, John Holmes, to Sri Lanka to push for more protection for civilians trapped in the island's war zone. The UN estimates nearly 6,500 civilians have been killed there in the last three months. The conventional war now appears to be in its final stages. But does that mean the island's civil conflict is finally at an end? NPR's South Asia Correspondent Philip Reeves reports.