THURSDAY
Somber name for a festival, isn’t it? Running through June 2 is “Last and Latest Thoughts,” the 2002 Ojai Music Festival. Most of the classical concerts will be held at Libbey Bowl, located at the intersection of Ojai Avenue and Signal Street in Ojai. Featured artists will include the Grammy-winning Emerson Quartet. Tickets range from $15 for lawn seating at one concert to $260 for the best seating at six shows. Call 646-2053 or log on to www.ojaifestival.org for more information. And through June 7 is Steve Roden’s “Some Reconstructions of Wandering and Inner Space” at the Contemporary Arts Forum downtown.
FRIDAY
As if we couldn’t have enough extravaganzas: Tonight at Campbell Hall, the Film Studies Dept. presents the 12th annual Reel Loud Film Festival, “A Vaudevillian Extravaganza.” The exhibition starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $6 presale from the Film Studies Office (Ellison 1720) and $8 at the door. Also tonight, the UCSB Chamber Choir and University Singers present a performance of Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana” at Lotte Lehmann Concert Hall. Tickets are $10 general, $7 UCSB students, at the door only. Finally, Pinback, The Hero and the Victor, and Crooked Fingers perform at The Living Room in Goleta. All ages welcome.
SATURDAY
Come celebrate all things Celtic today at the Santa Barbara Irish Festival. This all-weekend event promises traditional foods, music, dance and merchandise in honor of Ireland’s cultural heritage. The festival is at Oak Park from 11 a.m. 7 p.m. today and tomorrow. Also today is the Big Dog Parade and Canine Festival, which starts at 9:30 a.m. in Plaza de la Guerra and goes along State Street to Chase Palm Park until 6 p.m., featuring the Tearaways performing retro ’50s sounds. Tonight, at the First Presbyterian Church, the Santa Barbara Master Chorale presents “A Festival of International Folk Songs.” Call 967-8287 for more information.
SUNDAY
Feel like enjoying your day with some smooth improvisation? Check out the Santa Barbara Jazz Society Jam today at SOhO Restaurant and Music Club from 1 to 4 p.m. SOhO is located at 1221 State St. in Victoria Plaza. Call 682-5846 for more information. Also today, the Santa Barbara Youth Symphony performs its annual spring concert. The Youth Symphony is 65 members strong and offers after-school string workshops to the Santa Barbara and Goleta school districts The concert highlights Santa Barbara’s talented young ensembles and soloists. The performance starts at 3 p.m. at Abravanel Hall at the Music Academy of the West. Call 967-0781 for more information.
MONDAY
Sing it as only Mary J. Blige can. Starting tonight, the UCSB Dept. of Dramatic Art presents “Original Scripts 2002,” its culmination of the annual playwriting series. The series runs through June 6 and all shows are at 8 p.m. in the Studio Theater (next to Hatlen Theater ). Admission is free. Some content may not be suitable for younger viewers. If you want to feel like a natural woman, be sure to visit the Wildling Arts Museum to see “The Final Eden: Early Images of the Santa Barbara Region.” The exhibit features images from as early as 1836, and highlights Santa Barbara’s untouched idyllic landscape. The Wildling museum is at 2329 Jonata St. in Los Olivos.
COMING UP
On June 7, Sings Like Hell presents Rufus Wainwright and the Chris Stills Band at the Lobero Theatre . Wainwright is known for his pop-folk ballads about boys and cigarettes, where Stills (son of Stephen Stills) is alternative country, like Alice In Chains meets the Black Crowes. The show starts at 8 p.m. On June 15, visit the Caribbean Festival at Oak Park from 11a.m. to 7 p.m. Featured performers include the Cuban Salsa Band and NEA-recognized Afro-Cuban drummer Francisco Aquabella, who’s played with greats like Dizzy Gillespie and Poncho Sanchez. And on June 22, visit the Summer Solstice festival at Alameda Park.
