Community Calendar

Celebrate the holiday season with A Christmas Story, the beloved stage adaptation of Jean Shepherd’s classic tale of 1940s childhood dreams and holiday misadventures. Follow 9-year-old Ralphie Parker on his determined quest for the ultimate Christmas gift—a genuine Red Ryder BB gun. Along the way, he pleads his case with cranky parents, stern teachers, even Santa himself! The consistent response: “You’ll shoot your eye out!”

Packed with holiday mischief, childhood dreams and nostalgic charm, A Christmas Story captures the magic of the season with wit, warmth and plenty of laughs. Bring the whole family and make this cherished classic part of your holiday tradition!

Join Cal Poly professor Matt Ritter for a visually rich and inspiring celebration of the state’s iconic native flora. From the towering redwoods of the northern coast to the otherworldly Joshua trees of the desert, he will take you on a journey through the state’s diverse landscapes, highlighting the remarkable variety of tree species that call California home. With his striking photography, humor, and botanical insight, Dr. Ritter will share the natural history of California’s largest and most storied organisms. A book signing of his latest publication, California's Native Trees, will follow the presentation, giving the in-person audience an opportunity to purchase this book.

For more information about this event or to attend this lecture via Zoom register at https://www.syvnature.org

Join Cal Poly professor Dr. Matt Ritter for a visually rich and inspiring celebration of the state's iconic native flora. From the towering redwoods of the northern coast to the other worldly Joshua trees of the desert, he will take you on a journey through the state's diverse landscapes, highlighting the remarkable variety of tree species that call California home. A book signing for California Trees: A Field Guide to the Native Species will follow the presentation, giving the in-person audience an opportunity to purchase this new title.

To register to see this lecture via Zoom, visit the Santa Ynez Valley Natural History Society's website at https://syvnature.org

This MBAA Members ONLY exhibit is truly a holiday shopping bonanza. The Winter Faire is a perfect destination for getting inspired. Come find the perfect gift while supporting local artisans. There is something for everyone. Handcrafted ornaments, jewelry and cards, paintings, sculptures, larger statement pieces and more. This show is not to be missed, whether you’re knocking out your entire holiday shopping list or just looking a unique gift for that someone special, purchasing art at the Winter Faire is a chance to give with meaning while sharing the magic of creativity.

—Runs from November 6th to January 5th.
—Artist’s Reception: Sunday November 9th, from 2 to 4pm
—For more information visit www.artcentermorrobay.org.

The Cambria Center for the Arts will be having our annual Holiday Exhibit, “Small Gems.” We're ending 2025 with colorful squares once again. Our talented local artists are creating miniature masterpieces on 8- and 12-inch canvases—on any theme or topic. Each one will be unique and ready to gift or collect.

—Runs October 28 to December 28. (Tuesday through Sunday from 12 to 4 pm).
—Artist’s Reception: Saturday, November 1st from 4:30 to 6:00 pm.
—Contact: www.cambriaarts.org or gallery@cambriaarts.org

Our nonprofits provide invaluable services to our community, but today they are under unusal stress. Funding uncertainties, new requirements, prohibitions, and other factors present new hurdles in providing much needed services to our community. This meeting is part of an ongoing effort to collaborate, share information and provide mutual support.

Full-time, paid CEOs and Executive Directors of San Luis Obispo County nonprofits are welcome.

Siji Krishnan’s paintings invite viewers into a world where memory, myth, and daily life intertwine. Working primarily on delicate rice paper, she builds up translucent layers of watercolor and oil to reveal figures, landscapes, and hidden details. Her images often feel dreamlike—ponds shimmering with light, grasses bending in the rain, or figures dissolving into their surroundings—suggesting the ways that identity, home, and belonging are shaped by both what we see and what lies beneath the surface.

The exhibition The Secret Place brings together recent works from Krishnan’s Los Angeles debut, alongside five new large paintings created in her studio in Kerala, India. In these new works, Krishnan replaces her more figurative elements with water, plants, and sky. The natural world of her home—backwaters, monsoon rains, and village ponds—becomes a central motif, a site of both refuge and transformation. Themes of fertility and motherhood, community, and renewal flow through her practice, informed by her experiences of raising a child and the shifting boundaries between self and environment.

Krishnan’s art asks us to look slowly and closely. Small details emerge—an animal, a flower petal, a shadow of a figure—like secrets discovered over time. Both intimate and expansive, her paintings transcend cultural and geographic boundaries, embodying the Upanishadic (ancient Indian sacred philosophical texts) philosophy vasudhaiva kutumbakam: “the world is one family.”

Exhibition runs from October 11 to February 22.

This MBAA Members ONLY exhibit is truly a holiday shopping bonanza. The Winter Faire is a perfect destination for getting inspired. Come find the perfect gift while supporting local artisans. There is something for everyone. Handcrafted ornaments, jewelry and cards, paintings, sculptures, larger statement pieces and more. This show is not to be missed, whether you’re knocking out your entire holiday shopping list or just looking a unique gift for that someone special, purchasing art at the Winter Faire is a chance to give with meaning while sharing the magic of creativity.

—Runs from November 6th to January 5th.
—Artist’s Reception: Sunday November 9th, from 2 to 4pm
—For more information visit www.artcentermorrobay.org.

The Cambria Center for the Arts will be having our annual Holiday Exhibit, “Small Gems.” We're ending 2025 with colorful squares once again. Our talented local artists are creating miniature masterpieces on 8- and 12-inch canvases—on any theme or topic. Each one will be unique and ready to gift or collect.

—Runs October 28 to December 28. (Tuesday through Sunday from 12 to 4 pm).
—Artist’s Reception: Saturday, November 1st from 4:30 to 6:00 pm.
—Contact: www.cambriaarts.org or gallery@cambriaarts.org

Festival Mozaic presents Scott Yoo and the Festival Artists who will take you on a "museum docent's tour" of Beethoven's opus 3 String Trio during this one-hour event. He and the musicians will discuss the piece's history, the composer's influences and musical styles, and perform some selections. These are amazing opportunities to learn a little more about this great music before you attend the concerts.