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On a pleasant Sunday afternoon on the beautiful grounds of the Music Academy of the West, an eager crowd gathered to celebrate the Santa Barbara Beautiful Annual Awards Gala. The event recognized individuals and professional teams who help to make our community such a great place to live!
“We are very fortunate to have a community of talented professionals, who through their work contribute to the beauty of Santa Barbara,” said Jeanette Castillas and Ricardo Castellanos, gala co-chairs. “The Santa Barbara Beautiful annual awards recognize and celebrate these efforts.”
Festivities started with a garden reception at which guests savored Lieff Wines, tasty hors d’oeuvres by Lorraine Lim Catering and live classical music by Three for Joy, made up of a talented sister and two brothers from Ojai.
The Santa Barbara Beautiful award winners ran the gamut, from the iconic landscape architect, 80-year-old Isabelle Clara Green, who has created more than 600 gardens in Santa Barbara and across the United States, to Marge Cafarelli, the creative visionary behind Victoria Street Partners’ Alma Del Pueblo, the 37-residence property on West Victoria Street adjacent to the new Santa Barbara Public Market.
Later, inside Hahn Hall, KEYT-KCOY-KKFX broadcaster Paula Lopez served as emcee. Awards were presented to the following:
Special Award Recipients
President’s Award — Alma Del Pueblo
Heritage Oaks Award — Isabelle Greene
City of Santa Barbara Arts Advisory Committee’s Business In Art Award — Laura Knight, Pascucci Restaurant
Santa Barbara Botanic Garden Native Choice Award — Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation
Property Award Recipients
Architectural Feature — Lucky Penny Wall, 127 Anacapa St.
Hugh Petersen Award For Art In Public Places — Joseph Knowles California Mosaic Mural, 1315 Chapala St.
Commercial Building — The Anacapa Project, 131-137 Anacapa St.
Commercial Sign — Boathouse at Hendry’s Beach, 2981 Cliff Drive
Historic Revitalization — Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido
Multifamily Residence — 121 W. De la Guerra St.
Public Open Space — Santa Barbara Harbor Sea Landing walkway
Single Family Estate — El Nido, 1900 Garden St.
Single Family Home — 521 Santa Barbara St.
Platinum sponsors were Lieff Wines, Alma del Pueblo and Road Show Media; Gold sponsors were NS Ceramic, Lorraine Lim Catering, La Arcada Investment Corp. and CASA Magazine. Silver sponsors was the Jacoby Family Trust. Supporting sponsors were Arcadia Studio, Schipper Construction and Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. Event sponsors were West Covina Nursery, KBZ Architects and Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara.
The event was supported by Santa Barbara Beautiful’s large board of directors, including president Kate Kurlas, first vice president Jeanette Casillas, second vice president Ricardo Castellanos, third vice president Jacqueline Dyson, treasurer Robert Adams, secretary Jo Ann Mermis and immediate past president Christie Gallagher. Other directors include Ginny Brush, Grant Castleberg, Tim Downey, Jacqueline Dyson, Suzanne Fairly-Green, Randy Figgins, Donnis Galvan, David Gress, David Jacoby, Patti Jacquemain, Lori Kari, Charles Kelly, Duke McPherson, Suzanne Mellichamp, Kerry Methner, Desmond O’Neill, Deborah Schwartz, Leslee Sipress, Carol Terry, Maury Treman, Bruce Van Dyke, Mark Whitehurst and Lesley Wiscomb.
Santa Barbara Beautiful recognizes important beautification projects throughout the city through its annual and monthly awards programs. From small single-family residence projects to estate gardens, civic buildings, theaters, and projects placing art in public places, its programs single out exemplary properties, and the individuals responsible for those properties that expand the beauty of Santa Barbara.
Formed in 1965 by concerned civic leaders, Santa Barbara Beautiful is a nonpolitical, nonprofit, tax-exempt corporation. The organization provides funds to support and assist community groups and businesses in beautifying Santa Barbara through landscaping, and public art and recognizes outstanding contributions in those areas through its annual awards presentation each September. Properties are nominated by the public and judged by a team of independent local judges.
In addition, Santa Barbara Beautiful participates in educational outreach through the Learning Tree and Arbor Day programs at local schools, internship and scholarship programs, the I Madonnari Festival, Earth Day celebrations and community education committee programs. It also regularly donates trees for neighborhood plantings, as well as renovating urban tree wells through its Tree Well program. It also administers the commemorative tree program, whereby trees are dedicated in honor or memory of a loved one or in celebration of a special occasion.
Click here for more information about Santa Barbara Beautiful, or contact info@sbbeautiful.org or 805.965.8867.
— Noozhawk contributing writer Rochelle Rose can be reached at rrose@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkSociety, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Become a fan of Noozhawk on Facebook.