Westmont News

Westmont celebrates the 150th anniversary of Cinco de Mayo and Mexico’s vibrant culture with a day of fun activities, crafts, music, dance, storytelling, food and more on Saturday, March 24, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in and around the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art.

Weather permitting, Westmont’s powerful Keck Telescope will be available to Central Coast stargazers Friday, Jan. 20, beginning at about 7 p.m. The observatory opens its doors to the public every third Friday of the month in conjunction with the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit, whose members bring their own telescopes to Westmont for the public to gaze through.

Westmont theater arts professor Mitchell Thomas tackles one of the 20th century’s most enduring works, directing George Orwell’s satirical masterpiece “Animal Farm (The Musical).” The rocking show, a collaboration between the Westmont theater arts and music departments, will be performed Feb. 23-25, March 1-3 at 8 p.m. and March 3 at 2 p.m., all in Porter Theatre.

Scott Cairns, director of the University of Missouri’s Creative Writing Program and Center for the Literary Arts, will read his poetry Wednesday, Jan. 25, at 7 p.m. in Westmont’s Hieronymus Lounge at Kerrwood Hall. The reading is free and open to the public.

The Westmont Board of Trustees, which oversees the operations of the college, has welcomed four new members. Denise Jackson ’78, a director of human resources in Pasadena, Calif., Sharon Rose ’89, an attorney in Washington, D.C., Lynne Tahmisian ’67, vice president of La Arcada Investment Corporation in Santa Barbara, Calif., and Celeste White ’76, president of Vintage Ranch Properties in Napa, Calif., are all alumnae of Westmont.

About 11 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 30, a 20-foot travel trailer just above Page Hall became engulfed in fire. Due to the presence of strong winds and the potential for a fast-moving fire to spread to campus, college officials decided about 11:10 p.m. to follow established emergency protocols and to evacuate all students to Murchison Gymnasium.