••• Landscaping has begun atop the fabulous Hobbit-hole house under construction at 351 Woodley in Pepper Hill. Perhaps the palm tree near the crest, which wasn’t in the renderings, is so the house can be spotted from afar.
••• From the Thomas Reynolds Gallery: “Gary Bukovnik, one of the nation’s most respected contemporary watercolor painters, will present a summer exhibition of recent florals at the new Thomas Reynolds Gallery at 1331 State Street (Sota/Victoria). The exhibition, Gary Bukovnik: Watercolors, will open with a public reception—the gallery’s first since moving from San Francisco to Santa Barbara earlier this year—on Friday evening, July 23, from 5 to 7 p.m. The exhibition continues through Labor Day.”
••• The city’s Parks & Recreation Department appears to be getting ready to move forward with a rethink of the West Beach Wading Pool, next to Los Baños del Mar. From a new sign posted at the site: “The Parks and Recreation Department will be launching a community conversation about new family-friendly recreation amenities in 2022. The aim will be to bring a free, fun play area back to West Beach in a way that’s compatible with the wildlife, such as nesting night-herons and snowy egrets, that now call this spot home.” That’s certainly a challenge—the birds own that spot. You can sign up for updates here.
••• Also from the city’s Parks & Recreation Department: “We are developing plans to improve outdoor fitness opportunities at Dwight Murphy Field. The master plan outlines plans for overall improvements to the park, but leaves room for the community to help decide what types of outdoor fitness equipment will be installed in the new fitness area. We value your opinion about which outdoor fitness equipment best fits this park. Please join us at the park on July 22 at 6 p.m. to review options and hear from Parks and Rec staff about what’s coming up for the Dwight Murphy Field improvement project.” A survey is here; and the final design is below.
••• I used to hope something cool might move into the western half of the Greyhound station—the building has charm—but it’s an outpost of Wheel Fun Rentals, which I only just realized must be a play on “real fun.”
••• The extremely chill band Khruangbin plays the Santa Barbara Bowl on November 6.
••• A quirky sign from Gitler & , a gallery popping up for the summer at 219 Gray Avenue in the Funk Zone.
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I can’t wait to kick over that Drunkzone art gallery sign!