Santa Barbara News Press

To the uninitiated visitor to the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art, unaware of the title or theme of its current exhibition, the vibrant and seductive, seemingly abstract paintings on view might seem plugged into the fashion and zeitgeist of the contemporary art moment. And, in fact, these are contemporary paintings, but unusually deep and ancient and off-the-cosmopolitan grid. more

What a weekend for music in Santa Barbara! Once again, Michael Shasberger, musical dynamo, wowed the community with dozens of performers in Westmont’s orchestra and chorus concert. The music was superb and the staging was exciting, making for a top-notch performance — an amazing deal open to the community at only $10 with free parking. more

More than 20 dancers will perform nine pieces choreographed by Westmont College students and faculty members in “Motion/Emotion,” the fall dance recital, at 8 p.m. Thursday and Saturday at the college’s Porter Theatre, 955 La Paz Road, Montecito. more

It’s Friday night. Masses of UCSB students are walking the streets of Isla Vista, and you can hear them laugh, holler and chatter. Follow them, and you can end up on Del Playa Drive — or the “D.P.” There, loud music rocks the houses up and down the long street known for its parties. As midnight approaches, students leave their gatherings and head to yet another house, which offers something other than booze. Soon, a long line forms in front of the barbecue in the small front yard. For the next several hours, students will be making the pilgrimage to the barbecue, beckoned by the trail of smoke, to grab one of about 200 freshly barbecued hamburgers at this two-story house at 6686 Del Playa Drive. On the buns are hearts shaped from ketchup and crosses formed from mustard. more

There are a number of ways to explore Cold Spring Canyon, but the road less traveled leads above Tangerine Falls, where one can find the remains of an old homestead deep within the canyon. Cold Spring Canyon, like many canyons in the Santa Ynez Mountains, represents a riparian corridor through the chaparral. The creek supports a variety of trees such as bay laurel, sycamore and maple, and other plants, which in turn support a range of birds and other wildlife. The hike to the homestead ruin, often referred to as the Root Cellar, is about 3.5 miles round-trip. From the ruins one can extend the hike along a nearby, and somewhat steeper trail to East Camino Cielo Road, for a longer hike of about six miles round-trip. more

The eighth annual Westmont fall choral festival Oct. 26 will showcase approximately 300 high school students in afternoon and evening choir performances. The afternoon performance will be at 3:45 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church, 305 E. Anapamu St. more

An overflow crowd packed the Plaza del Sol at Fess Parker’s Doubletree Resort on Saturday morning, as heart-conscious, heart-healthy participants lined up to put their hearts and feet into the American Heart Association’s annual Heart Walk. … The Westmont College Warriors baseball team turned the traditional pre-walk warmup into a dance-off. more

Lisa Marie Willett and Joel Raymond Fry were married July 14, 2012 at the HeartStone Ranch in Carpinteria. The wedding was officiated by Pastor Jeremy White, of Valley Church in Vacaville. A beautiful garden reception followed. Lisa’s matron of honor was longtime friend and Westmont College graduate, Corrie Ingram of San Ramon, CA. more

Fluffy, flirtatious, and fun, “Any Wednesday” takes us back to the ’60s, to a world that will be familiar to fans of AMC’s “Mad Men” — of big business, manly men and their wives and mistresses. … The plot sounds a bit like Billy Wilder’s “The Apartment,” to which director Miller James agrees. … Mr. James has earned this season’s MVP award — he directed Circle Bar B’s previous play, “Post Mortem.” After attending opening night, he took a break, only to turn around and get to work on this. (When he isn’t working at the “ranch,” Mr. James is artist-in-residence at Providence High School in Ojai and works as a costume designer for the Westmont College theater department. more

Santa Barbara For the fourth year in a row, Westmont College is ranked in the top 100 liberal art colleges in U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges, 2013 Edition.” The private, Christian college tied for 90th place out of the nation’s 251 liberal arts colleges, according to a Westmont news release. more