Parallel Stories takes a close look at the life-long passions, prodigious productivity, and well-honed writing practice of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jane Smiley in a far-ranging conversation with longtime friend, fellow author, and colleague in the Creative Writing program at UC Riverside, Andrew Winer. Often epic in scale and yet intimate in telling detail, Smiley’s multigenerational tales tell the story of middle America written, says Winer, “with a classic sense of humanity and compassion that have made her name part of any serious conversation about fiction in our time.” Hailed as one of America’s greatest living writers, Smiley was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2001, and in 2006 she received the PEN Center USA Lifetime Achievement Award for Literature. Her intimate evocations of American life have been compared to John Updike’s "Rabbit Angstrom" tetralogy; Updike himself praised Smiley for working on what he called “the edge of acceptable novel writing,” where she had replaced “plot and suspense with something freer and more lifelike."

All skill levels are invited to experience the tradition of sketching from original works of art in current exhibitions. Museum Teaching Artists provide general guidance and all materials. Each program is open to 10 participants.

The United States Census Bureau will be hosting a work shop to answer all questions in regards to this years census. They will also be helping out those who wish to apply for work with the census. There are numerous jobs available and the event is open to all.

The National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) presents  Local to Global Solutions: Fisheries & Aquaculture

Is your gifted child ready for more? If you're curious whether The Knox School is a fit for your gifted child, join us for a Fireside Chat. Come ask candid questions about the school and its programs, and talk to current Knox parents about their experience.

In all of her work, Rankine’s voice is one of unrelenting candor, and her poetry is some of the most innovative and thoughtful work to emerge in recent years. In this talk, she will share how she came into her work, and inspire us to be as unapologetic in the spaces we take up. Claudia Rankine is the author of five collections of poetry and the editor of several anthologies. Among her numerous awards and honors, Rankine is the recipient of the Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry and the Poets & Writers’ Jackson Poetry Prize. She is a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets and teaches at Yale University as the Frederick Iseman Professor of Poetry.

Announcing a panel discussion open to the public on quantum computing, including preeminent and globally distinguished scientists, UCSB Professor John M. Martinis (and Lead Research Scientists at Google's Quantum AI initiative), Professor Ania Jayich (and Co-director of UCSB's Quantum Foundry), Professor Leon Balents (KITP Theoretical Physicist) and Professor Zhenghan Wang (Distinguished Visiting Research Chair at Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics) live streamed using Cinamaker.

Feb 27 Thurs 7 – 9 PM - “The Stages of the Path of Awakening” – teaching by Dawa Tarchin Phillips -

Drawing from over 100 hours of never-before-seen footage from the National Geographic archives, award-winning director Brett Morgen tells the story of Jane Goodall, whose chimpanzee research challenged the scientific consensus of her time and revolutionized our understanding of the natural world. Set to a rich orchestral score from legendary composer Philip Glass, the film offers an unprecedented, intimate portrait of Goodall – a trailblazer who defied the odds to become one of the world’s most admired conservationists. (Brett Morgen, 2017, 90 min.)
"Watching Jane was like stepping back in time to a moment at which Homo sapiens learned something new and vital about its own family – the great apes. It was extraordinary." The Telegraph (U.K.)

FIERCE MERCY is an epic, cinematic step forward from singer-songwriter Colin Hay, most beloved for his intimate, confessional live shows but most widely known for being an influential and celebrated frontman. The range of artists who have chosen to cite him as a muse or who have found themselves on stage with him in the past year spans the genre landscape from heavy metal, to Americana, to Cuban rhythms and beyond. His inclusion as a playlist favorite from the likes of Metallica to The Lumineers reflects his continuing relevance and broad appeal.

Though many music fans were glad to see the end of 2016, it was something of a breakout year for this career artist that included a three-week run at the Edinburgh Fringe; performances on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and ABC’s Greatest Hits; sharing the stage with Of Monsters and Men, Milk Carton Kids, Choir Choir Choir!, Kings of Leon; being publicly cited as an influence by artists as distinct as James Hetfield of Metallica, Jeremiah Fraites of The Lumineers, Troy Sanders of Mastodon, and the Infamous Stringdusters; as well as the completion of a documentary film about his career entitled Waiting for My Real Life, named for one of his best known solo recordings. Now finding himself in the unprecedented place of having both ’80s fame and indie credibility, it’s possible that Hay has delivered the defining album of his solo career.

The Santa Barbara Humane Society plans to celebrate World Spay Day in a big way by offering 100 free cat spay and neuter surgeries on Thursday, February 27.

Mama Pat’s Inner Light Gospel Choir, celebrating 40 years in Santa Barbara, will be hosting its 25th Annual Gospel Workshop, February 27-29 at the First Congregational Church, 2101 State St.