Golden Leaf Awards - Santa Barbara News-Press

Santa Barbara Beautiful celebrates 55th anniversary

COURTESY PHOTOS
Santa Barbara Beautiful’s awards include one for the Light it Blue project. The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Sea Center and other local landmarks were lighted in blue to honor healthcare workers and other essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Each year, Santa Barbara Beautiful recognizes outstanding residential and commercial properties that contribute to the beauty of the community at an annual awards celebration, most recently at the Music Academy of the West in Montecito.

This year, because the event couldn’t be held, the nonprofit created the Golden Leaf Awards.

“Our traditional green leaf logo was replaced with a gold one to distinguish 2020 as a unique year and as a special honor for those who have shown exceptional community response to the pandemic,” said Penny Haberman, president of Santa Barbara Beautiful.

Santa Barbara Beautiful recognized American Institute of Architects, Santa Barbara Chapter for its work toward reinvigorating downtown Santa Barbara. It’s listed in the awards in the 2020 AIASB Charette category.

**Santa Barbara Beautiful honored Locals Helping Locals program, in which outdoor parklets, seating and ADA ramps were built for businesses such as Little Kitchen on Ortega Street.**

Dune Coffee was among the businesses that benefited from the Locals Helping Locals program, which was honored by Santa Barbara Beautiful. The program involved building outdoor parklets, seating and ADA ramps.

“Also in celebration of our 55th anniversary, Leslee Sipress, an artist and member of our board of directors, has created a wreath of golden leaves to affix to the certificates.”

There will be no ceremony — in person or virtual— this year. A total of 60 winners will be mailed their awards, featuring hand-calligraphy, for “Outstanding Community Support.”

Winning projects and participants include the following:

— Light It Blue: Local landmarks — Arlington and Lobero theaters, the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Sea Center, Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital and Santa Barbara Mission — lit up in blue during the month of May to show gratitude to health care and essential workers. City of Santa Barbara: Nina Johnson, project coordinator. Coordinators, artists and sponsors: Andrew Gartner, Lani Ballonoff, Kym Cochran, Jonathan Smith, Casey Caldwell, Jake Hanson, Ethan Turpin and Nina Dunbar.

— Locals Helping Locals: Building pro bono outdoor parklets, seating and ADA ramps for Brass Bear Brewing and Bistro, Dune Coffee, Holdren’s Steaks and Seafood, Kunin Wines, Little Kitchen, Mollie’s Restaurant, Renaud’s Patisserie and Bistro Montecito, Restaurant Roy, Valley Project and Villa Wine Bar. Allen Construction: Lindsay Helmick, project coordinator. Community partners: Hayward Lumber, Mission Audio & Visual, CJM-LA; Evergreen SB.

Santa Barbara Beautiful recognized #SaveLiveEvents/ #RedAlertRESTART, in which the Santa Barbara Bowl joined landmarks across the country in being lighted in red in support of the live entertainment industry.

**Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital was among the local landmarks that were lighted in blue to honor healthcare workers during the award-winning Light It Blue project.**

— AIASB Design Charette 2020: Reinvigorate, Reinvent, Reimagine and Repurpose Our Downtown with Housing, Energy and Life. American Institute of Architects, Santa Barbara Chapter: Tara Rizzi, executive director and project coordinator. Charette Committee co-chairs: Cassandra Ensberg, Detlev Peikert, Ellen Bildsten and Matt Beausolleil. Steering Committee: Alex Pujo, Amy Fitzgerald-Tripp, Paul Rupp, Dennis Thompson, John Campanella, Karen Feeney, Nina Johnson, Tony Tomasello and Jasper Jacobs.

— 2020 Awards for Responsive Works to COVID-19/ Artists’ Stipends: In recognition of artists’ essential social contributions, up to 20 stipends of $500 each to local artists who created work in response to this unprecedented time of COVID-19. County of Santa Barbara Office of Arts and Culture: Sarah York Rubin, executive director and project coordinator. Project participants: Dennis Smitheram and Karen Kerns.

— #SaveLiveEvents/ #RedAlertRESTART: Nationwide event of red illumination of performing arts and culture venues on Sept. 1, 2020, in support of the live entertainment industry during COVID-19 pandemic. Christopher Darling, project coordinator. Host facility sponsors: Rick Boller, Santa Barbara Bowl; Eric Shiflett, Arlington Theatre; and Tammy Steuart, Metro Theaters.

Since 1965, Santa Barbara Beautiful, an all-volunteer organization, has planted more than 12,000 trees, provided more than $500,000 in grants to support local art and design projects, funded scholarships to students majoring in environmental horticulture and architectural design, and celebrated numerous individuals, residences and businesses that have demonstrated exceptional efforts to make Santa Barbara beautiful.

email: mmcmahon@newspress.com