••• Looking for a new way to accommodate my mother-in-law’s appetite for thrills, we took her for a half-hour demo of the Apple Vision Pro virtual-reality headset at the Apple store. (It’s free but you have to have an Apple ID.) I’m the last person to get excited about new technology, and these are clearly an intermediate step—they’re like heavy ski goggles—on the march of “progress,” but wow. You really feel like you’re inside a three-dimensional world, as opposed to looking at a screen. The demo focuses on things like how you’d be able to watch family videos, which had me begging for the mute button, but the impacts are clearly going to be felt in many areas—not least of all pornography and sports. I can’t recommend the experience enough; it’s a fascinating glimpse into the future, for better and for worse.
••• According to Radius Commercial Real Estate’s Q1 report, 922 State Street (Canon Perdido/Carrillo) was purchased by “a local business owner transitioning from an industrial property to downtown, with plans for office space upstairs and retail on the ground floor.” Any guesses?
••• On June 6, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.: the Couture Pattern Museum‘s 100th birthday tribute to fashion designer James Galanos: “Attendees will have the unique opportunity to view original photographs, press photos, dresses, counterbooks, and patterns dating back to 1956, offering a rare glimpse into the history of American high fashion. In addition to these historical pieces, we are thrilled to present four meticulously reconstructed costumes, crafted right here in Santa Barbara. See dresses on Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly, and photos of the four inaugural gowns worn by Nancy Reagan.” It’s at the Tower event space at Workzones in Paseo Nuevo. “You do not need tickets to attend. ‘Buying’ free tickets help us determine the beverages and glasses we need for our guests. Walk-ins are welcome!”
••• El Encanto’s Lunch with an Author program has some big names coming up, including T. Coraghessan Boyle (June 4), Annie Barrows of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society (July 2), Dani Shapiro (October 1), and Gillian Flynn of Gone Girl (November 12), to name a few.
••• Opening May 31 at Sullivan Goss: Nighthawks, paintings by Patricia Chidlaw. “Nighthawks is a nocturnal road trip, heading south from the Buddha Bar in San Francisco to the Wildcat night club in Santa Barbara, under the sixth street bridge in Los Angeles, then east out to the Mojave desert.”
••• Womenswear shop (In)Larkin has moved from Santa Ynez to 2948 Grand Street in Los Olivos.
••• The Santa Barbara Surf Film Festival is June 7-8 at the Lobero Theatre, with a block party on June 8.
••• No one identified last week’s Where in Santa Barbara…?, so the house wins again. The traffic signal is on the E. Anapamu side of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art.
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