Night Lights
Nature Lights event returns to
SLO Botanical Garden
this holiday season
By Misty Hall All photos courtesy of SLO Botanical Garden
Labor Day: For most of us, it’s the unofficial pivot point where we say goodbye to summer and start to plan for fall.
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Santa Barbara’s Best-Kept Museum Secrets
By Don Sonderling
Santa Barbara County boasts
an abundance of small, fascinating museums
you may have never heard of.
Let’s take a look at some of these
“off the beaten track” museums.
The Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum, simply put, is a must-visit! Put aside any pre-conception of the definition of “museum” — this small (two-room) building, on a side street in downtown Santa Barbara, will boggle the mind. This is a museum full of stories of humankind, going back to approximately 2,000 B.C. This private collection, accumulated over the years by David and Marsha Karpeles, preserves more than a million historical documents, which are narratives of literature, science, religion, political history, the arts, and the world’s development.
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Central Coast Secrets: The best museums you’ve never visited
Check out our favorite Ventura County museums By Don Sonderling
When you think of museums in Ventura County, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley probably comes to mind. The site, high on a hill overlooking a beautiful landscape, is famous for many reasons: It’s the burial place of Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the United States, and his wife, Nancy. It houses historical records and has impressive permanent exhibits (including Air Force One and a replica of the Oval Office), with rotating special exhibits throughout the year.
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Crafting connection:
Saddle making in Santa Margarita
Taught by her dad, Samantha Huston is making her mark on the Central Coast equestrian community
By Marlowe Hast
Whether you’re a rider or not, it’s easy to imagine that a horse’s entire body moves anytime a part of it moves. Picture the shoulder moving forward and back, muscles along the spine shifting as the horse walks, trots, or lopes. The body curves and bends as the horse covers ground, especially on the trail with elevation changes, hills to climb, and canyons to descend.
Now imagine a saddle on the horse’s back. Most saddles are made with a rigid frame called a tree, which were (not surprisingly) traditionally made out of wood. In more recent decades, the wood was wrapped in fiberglass. Some trees today are made of other materials, including synthetics like polyethylene.
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Beato Embodied
With handcrafted chocolates and inspired tableware, the Mama of Dada is back in the spotlight at the Porch Gallery
By Misty Hall
Part of the allure of Ojai’s Porch Gallery is its juxtaposition of contemporary art housed in a historic Victorian building. An expansive porch wraps around the exterior, creating a welcoming space dotted with pink lounge chairs. This is not a cold and formal “look reverently and leave” type of gallery. It is inviting — intentionally so. Come on in, it seems to say. Stay awhile.
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Central Coast Blacksmith melds old-world skill with modern-day art
By Marlowe Hast
Photos by Hans Duss
The blacksmith trade dates back to 1500 BC. The craft has evolved dramatically since then, and pieces forged today in 2,000-degree heat have changed from simply utilitarian metalwork to works of art.
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