Semicentennial Shindig
Details on SBTHP's 50th Anniversary Party on May 18 at El Paseo
Pearl Chase will be waiting as you enter El Paseo and walk down the Street of Spain, and President Herbert Hoover will be there, too, standing alongside the historic mall’s developers, Bernhard and Irene Hoffman. So will legendary cowboy artist Edward Borein, posing outside of his studio, and a couple of soldados de cuera, the hard-scrabble, leather-coated soldiers who built the presidio, will be hanging out inside Casa de la Guerra’s bodega. Of course, these long-gone dignitaries will be represented by life-sized photographs, but there will be a real-life horseman sauntering through the crowd as from Fiestas of old, traditional Mexican music played by a young troupe who makes its own instruments, and a world-famous flamenco dancer to entertain the eyes.
These are the servings of history that attendees to this Saturday’s Un Paseo en Oro can expect, as the fundraiser to celebrate the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation’s 50th-anniversary party promises to be a semicentennial shindig to remember. Organized by boardmembers Keith Mautino and Terease Chin, the May 18 celebration starts at 5:30 p.m. with an al fresco cocktail party in the postcard-perfect courtyard and tours of El Paseo’s usually private corners. That’s followed by a plated dinner inside El Paseo paired with a brief presentation about the trust and then some congratulatory words from the chair of the U.S. Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, Milford Wayne Donaldson, considered to be the leading expert of the field. Also in attendance will be honorary chair Marilyn Chandler DeYoung, the first wife of Otis Chandler of the Los Angeles Times legacy.
“Having these guests really adds layers to the party and to our organization,” explained Mautino. “This celebrates all of the local things.”
Tickets are $175; call 965-0093 or see sbthp.org.
