This is NOT a cinema and draft house. It's a regular movie theatre. Period. Regular movie seats…read more Typical concessions and food. Not as advertised at all.

Now that the world is opening up again it's nice to have THC&PH for some quality movie viewing. And…read moreeven better with their selections of beer and wine, soft drinks, fresh popcorn, and sweets for everyone. Updated stadium seating is very comfortable, and their new sound system is top notch. Their staff makes sure it's a very pleasurable experience. Special shout out to Khamla and Sandra for taking such good care of us all. Located amongst the many auto dealerships, and right next door to The Natural Cafe.

A great company that brings art & culture to Santa Barbara, California…read more Small, but mighty, this company brings world class talent to both the Granada & Lobero Theaters - presenting standard operatic masterpieces, as well as new & lesser known musical works. Catering to the regular opera goer, as well as people wanting to explore opera for the first time!

I've seen three performance put on by Opera Santa Barbara and each one was worse than the last, I…read moream VERY sorry to say. I never like writing anything bad about SB, but sometimes it's very much needed. The venue at the Lobero Theatre is small and always fills up. There is enough of a demand to fill a large portion of the Arlington Theatre, a much needed change that would help to raise funds. The sets have all been half-hazard, make shift attempts at stage craft. I've seen better sets at high school plays, it's that bad! The tickets are extremely over priced - I've payed less for Orchestra Center at the SF Opera. I think the problem is one of two things: Either the Opera company does not have the funds to put on a decent show, or they spend what funds they have on dinner parties and out of practice, once mediocre opera singers. Whatever way you look at it, Opera Santa Barbara has a long way to go to catch up to the city's reputation as a world class destination. I really truly hope that Opera Santa Barbara improves with time. I love Santa Barbara and I'd prefer, like anyone else, not to travel to SF or LA to see a decent opera performance. GOOD LUCK!

The events center hosts everything from sports games to career fairs. The facilities are…read moreconveniently located with parking lot 22 directly across from the venue. The center has lots of seating, lighting, and room for people to enjoy the festivities.

After about a year, and a $15 million renovation, the SBIFF Film Center has finally re-opened…read more Formerly the Fiesta 5 -- I think they just should've called it the SBIFF Fiesta Five, instead of doing a re-brand. People will probably just call it the Fiesta Five for years. And I think it's officially titled "The McHurley SBIFF Film Center," but that's REALLY too much of a mouthful. Anyway, it's good we have a snazzy new cinema, just in time for the Film Festival. And it's good for the Downtown to have another movie theater again. The interior is nice, resembling a fancy (although not necessarily elegant) hotel lobby. Hmm -- you'd need to sell one million $15 tickets just to pay for the renovations, in addition to any other expenses. That's a lot of overhead. But please, people, go see movies surrounded by OTHER people, in a public space. That's how movies are MEANT to be seen -- a shared experience with other human beings -- and not just on a computer screen, or even a big screen TV at home. Movies look BETTER with an audience around you, on the big screen. More thoughts later...

This review is for the performance offerings that UCSB's Theater and Dance program is providing…read more(free!) during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Department has been doing a great job of continuing to create a season of work despite physical and social distancing requirements. By migrating productions to an online format, the show goes on! Last night I had the pleasure of watching "Under Ordinary Circumstances," the last theater production of the Fall quarter portion of the season. The piece, written by Brian Otaño and directed by Shirley Jo Finney, saw members of an AA group for young people working through their recovery during this year's quarantine. Cast and crew--many of whom are by now well-versed in Zoom theater--did a fantastic job. In addition, this season has so far included a whopping eight other productions. Spanning across Department projects and affiliations from Naked Shakes (a Shakespeare performance company) to Launch Pad (which produces new works), these events have presented diverse storytelling styles and subject matter. Yet to come is the Fall BFA Dance major Capstone show. Winter and Spring promise an exciting menu of stagings. You can find performance information and an event calendar on the Department's website. I've also signed up for the emailing list to get news, and if you want to sign up you can do so here: https://www.theaterdance.ucsb.edu/news/announcement/807 Disclaimer: I am a Department PhD student, so this review may be biased!

First and foremost, this is a UC. Meaning that is of the highest academic standards. I was thrilled…read morethat two of my daughters were able to continue to dance, while at the same time get a world class education. UCSB is not a dance school. It is a highly ranked research university and education comes first. Those wanting a school solely because of its dance program should not go here. Not because it isn't good, but because the focus will be on educating the student to become a future leader in whatever field they choose. Although UCSB is a large school, it acts more like a smaller school with staff and professors that care about each student and their success. I am a UCLA Alumni and I can honestly say that my girls get treated way better here at UCSB than I ever did at UCLA. Anyone would be lucky to be admitted to the dance program here at UCSB and I am blessed that two of my daughters were fortunate enough. Go Gauchos!

SBBF 2017 was such a hoot! From the awesome live bands to the fabulous food and small plate bites…read morein the center of all the festivities, this beer fest had it all going on. The volunteer staff were very kind and you could tell the representative running it were very organized with attention to detail, in headsets and all. Though it looked small from the outside, the festival actually turned out to be a great size with a perfect amount of beer, wine, and food vendors. I maybe would have liked to see some optional food trucks on the outside but it was also great (and different) to have free food samples on the inside. A few of my favorite tastings were by Kerrygold with their cheese samples, Barrel Brewing Co with their Raspberry Sour, and Jean Marie's Ciders. There were tons of local breweries there as well that rocked the IPA game and wineries that shinned through with their rosés. The home-brewing beer set up by the SB Brewers was my favorite attraction, but others also enjoyed dancing to one of the 3(?) live bands on the grass dance floor, and playing cornhole in the sun with a gorgeous ocean view. This festival had a little bit of everything for everyone. It was amazing how much they pulled together for year 1 which gets me so thrilled for what will come around year #2! Crossing my fingers on no timed/payed parking options. See you next year!

This was my 3rd Brew Fest. First off let me tell you how beautiful Santa Barbara is and how the…read morelocation was perfect for this event. Upon arriving I noticed the many tents from breweries and was very excited to see some familiar ones and new ones I've never heard of. We entered and were given full size glasses to drink from not the tiny tot sized tasters like the previous festivals. I liked this because it means I am take it home and use it for my drinks instead of it just being a keepsake. The beer itself was non stop flowing and delicious. Of the over 15 I had I can honestly say I probably had about one that watered the grass. My favorite was common cider with their 4 different flavored ciders. In second place for me was the Session IPA can't recall the brewery because well I was a few deep in already and feeling mighty fine. Food was pretty good. It was all finger foods, beef jerky, bread from La Brea, and some chicken taco samples. I had a really good time. The vendors were extremely nice and the crowd was cool too. Everyone minded their own business and there was zero beef. I walked back to my room even though this event offered us a free first time use Uber (which was very awesome and cautious of them). I laughed the whole walk back. Hangover was crazy bad but now that I think about it, I had a blast. The beer and cider was way too awesome to bypass. Thanks again to Dani, the Santa Barbara Ambassador for the tickets!

Sooooo delicious!!! Where do I start... when you arrive to the event, you are given your voucher…read morewith food and drink tickets as well as raffle ticket and some chopsticks. The welcome drink was delicious and perfect for a warm afternoon, they served a whiskey Suntory (will definitely be buying). Soon after we were let into the event, the space was at the pool (wish i would have worn sandals to soak my feet). I was surprised with the amount of ramen that was given, I definitely had food coma by the 3rd bowl; but that definitely didn't stop me from taking a break and chumming down the 2 last bowls. I definitely plan on going back to this festival next year! awesome experience and even met new people.

Irina Zahharenkova's performances leave me breathless, in complete awe. Confidence and full…read morecommand of the piano. It is as if the instrument could sing. Magnificent. Thank you Camerata Pacifica for bringing her to U.S audiences.

When I'm not thumping 50 Cent or E-40, I'm listening to Classical music. When I found out Camerata…read morePacifica was in town I made a sacrifice and bought my broke ass one ticket. Camerata Pacifica is a Santa Barbara-based chamber ensemble that presents high quality chamber music to the Southland, and they did it again last week at Zipper Concert Hall in downtown L.A. at the Colburn School. They devoted a complete performance to the music of Mozart and Brahms. I'm a big fan of Mozart. Mozart was a beast writing hundreds of symphonies, music for quartets and quintets, chamber orchestra pieces, choral pieces, piano concertos, and entire operas. In the opening half of the program, the trio of violinist Catharine Leonard, violist Richard Yongjae O'Neill and cellist Ani Aznafoorian (she's cute) performed Mozart's Divertimento in E-flat Major, K. 563. It was complex and overflowed with emotional intensity. The performance by Leonard, O'Neill and Aznafoorian was extraordinary. Despite rigorous technical demands of the players they had precise pitch placement. And what may have been most engaging about the performance was the sense of joy and fun they brought to their interpretation - delivering a foot-tapping sense of rhythm. The Camerata Pacifica's pianist, Warren Jones, opened the second half of the program with Brahms' Three Intermezzi, Op. 117. Jones was well-fit for the task, his interpretation was great but there was some emotional detachment. My single ticket was $41.00 and well worth it! It was a great night shared with some great musicians. I hope to catch them two more times before the end of the season.