LIVE Art & Wine Tour Livens Up Downtown Santa Barbara
Release Date: June 7,2016
(By Rochelle Rose, Noozhawk Contributing Writer)
The curtain went up for the 2016 Downtown LIVE Art & Wine Tour on a balmy Thursday evening in downtown Santa Barbara. This original “art walk with wine” event made a comeback with a new twist this year: live art!
The 2016 LIVE Art & Wine Tour is produced by Downtown Santa Barbara and is sponsored by American Riviera Bank, The Granada Theatre, Alaska Airlines, Noozhawk, the Santa Barbara Travel Bureau, AmaWaterways, Montecito Bank & Trust and others.
Downtown Santa Barbara is a membership-driven, nonprofit organization whose goal is to maintain and enhance the business and cultural activity in the downtown district.
Participating venues north of Carrillo Street hosted a LIVE cultural event paired with a Santa Barbara restaurant and a regional winery. Venues included 10 West Gallery, Bella Rosa Galleries, Churchill Jewelers, Distinctive Art Gallery, Engel & VÓ§lkers, Imagine X Functional Neurology, Indigo Interiors, The Painted Cabernet, Santa Barbara Arts, the Santa Barbara Public Market and Sullivan Goss — An American Gallery.
The inventive LIVE cultural events included painting, ceramic making on a wheel, dancing and gymnastics, live photo sessions, musicians and henna art — all performed live and in-person at the various venues. Attendees of all ages and interests mingled with the vintners, caterers and restaurateurs, and performing artists. What fun!
“Our ingenious venues exhibited everything from painting, spinning and even aerialists, all performed live,” said Maggie Campbell, executive director of Downtown Santa Barbara. “We sold out at our cap of 300 attendees.”
The 12 participating wineries and breweries included Brander Vineyard, Buttonwood Farm Winery & Vineyard, Cebada Wine, Fess Parker Winery, Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co., Grassini Family Vineyards, Margerum Wine Co., Presidio Winery & Vineyard, Sanford Winery & Vineyards, Standing Sun Wines, Summerland Winery, and Windrun Wines.
Food purveyors were Blush, bouchon Santa Barbara, Brasil Arts Café, C’est Cheese, Ca’Dario, Chase Bar & Grill, Enterprise Fish Co., Finch & Fork, Los Arroyos Mexican Restaurant, Nectar Eatery & Lounge, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Opal Restaurant & Bar, Paradise Café, Pascucci, Patxi’s Pizza, Persona Wood Fired Pizzeria and Viva Santa Barbara.
Downtown Santa Barbara’s energetic Kate Schwab and Montecito Bank & Trust’s Ashley Davis coordinated the volunteers from Montecito Bank & Trust who registered the 300 guests at The Granada Theatre foyer and got them started with a wine glass and plate to wander up the 1000 to 1300 blocks of State Street to sample wine and art.
Rocking live music by LeRad greeted the attendees at check-in, where they played on a red, covered and decorated stage. Later they performed at the Final Party, following the art touring, upstairs in the Granada.
This year, another goal for the event was raising funds for additional and distinctive public art.
“This year, for the first time, proceeds from the LIVE Art & Wine Tour will go to establish a new Downtown Public Art Fund,” said Ginny Brush, retired county arts commissioner. “Monies raised will go to support temporary public art installations and help provide support for projects such as Pianos on State, the kinetic Holiday Sculptures and more community public art opportunities downtown."
For more information about Downtown Santa Barbara, click here or call 805.962.2098.
— Noozhawk contributing writer Rochelle Rose can be reached at rrose@noozhawk.com.
