The Play’s the Thing

136 East de la Guerra,Santa Barbara CA 93101

11 May, 2022

Description

A talk by Hattie Beresford about Santa Barbara’s great cultural renaissance of the 1920s Historian Hattie Beresford shares stories and images from Santa Barbara’s great cultural renaissance of the 1920s in which the entire town was invited to play a role. Hundreds took to the stage and hundreds more worked behind the scenes to create music and drama and art. Enjoy never-before-seen images of two elaborate pageants plus the exciting early years of the Community Arts Players. This group developed into an organization which drew an incredible cast of talented performers and artists to the small town at the edge of the sea and led to the establishment of today’s Lobero Theatre, Old Spanish Days Fiesta, and Community Arts Music Association. About the Speaker: Hattie Beresford writes a popular local history column for the Montecito Journal called “The Way It Was.” She is also a regular contributor to the Montecito Journal Magazine. Together with the Historical Museum, she co-edited and produced the memoir of local artist Elizabeth Eaton Burton entitled My Santa Barbara Scrap Book. Her popular book, The Way it Was: Santa Barbara Comes of Age, is a best seller at the Museum. Image: La Primavera Dancers, courtesy Arthur Farwell Collection, Ruth T. Watanabe Special Collections, Sibley Music Library, Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester.