Westmont’s famous 150-foot redwood affectionately known as the Pickle Tree survived the Tea Fire and will be the focus of attention at the seventh annual Christmas Tree Lighting on Kerrwood Lawn, Wednesday, Dec. 3, at 5 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
Local poets have responded to the Tea Fire by organizing a reading in honor of Paul Willis, a Westmont English professor and poet who lost his home and library in the blaze. Proceeds from the reading will benefit the Westmont Wildfire Relief Fund. The event will be Saturday, Dec. 6 at 8 p.m. in the Fé Bland Forum at Santa Barbara City College.
After winning the Golden State Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Championship on Monday with a 2-0 victory over #5 Azusa Pacific, the twenty-fourth ranked Warriors of Westmont have turned their attention to the 2008 NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship Opening Round. The Warriors (10-6-2) will host Bay Area school Holy Names on Saturday in a seven o'clock game at UC Santa Barbara's Harder Stadium.
The Fourth Annual Westmont Christmas Festival, “Lo, How a Rose,” will ring in the advent season with three performances at First Presbyterian Church, 21 E. Constance at State Street. Admission to the festival Friday, Dec. 5, and Saturday, Dec. 6, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 7, at 3 p.m., is free, but tickets are required due to limited seating.
Violinist Philip Ficsor and local composer Emma Lou Diemer perform together Saturday, Nov. 22, at 3 p.m. in Santa Barbara Public Library’s Faulkner Gallery, 40 East Anapamu Street. The Santa Barbara Music Club presents the free concert.
Nona Pyron, internationally known cellist and adjunct professor at Westmont, will gather professional musicians from across the country for a Chamber Music Retreat Thursday, Nov. 13, through Sunday, Nov. 16, in Westmont’s Kerrwood Hall. Westmont students and other skilled amateurs will also participate in the master class. The retreat is full, but auditors are welcome.