|
|
Santa Barbara Hotels Santa Barbara Restaurants Santa Barbara Vacation Rentals |
|
|
|
| Santa Barbara > Events & Festivals > Fiesta > Fiesta Finale |
 |
|
Table seating on the lawn. An elegant evening of professional music and dance. Featuring State Street Ballet, opera, Latin music, and Flamenco. Patron seating available to attend the Fiesta Finale Gala - inquire about current pricing. Cocktails, silent auction, dinner in the Sunken Gardens, dancing & candlelit dessert. Tickets benefit the John E. Profant Foundation's scholarship program. Free seating also available on the lawn for 8pm show.
History of Fiesta Finale Henry and Mabel Profant moved from Chicago to Santa Barbara in 1922. He was one of the founding doctors of what became the S.B. Medical Foundation, but at the time was called "The Clinic". Both were pianists who participated on the Boards of CAMA and the Music Academy of the West. Henry entertained his patients by playing piano while on house calls, and it wasn't always clear which was more effective – the music or the medicine! Their daughter Dorothy became a concert
pianist (as the protégé of Florence Fernald) and performed at the Lobero
Theater. Their son Bob
While visiting his mother in 1950, John happened to go to El Paseo during Fiesta. He had been teaching ballroom dance, and performing at the County Bowl with Jose Manero’s company, so when he asked my mother Lyn, a former ballerina, to dance, it was magic. A few years before she had toured the Courthouse, and from the tower overlooking the town the docent had raved about the elegance of Fiesta, the full moon, and the romantic evenings at El Paseo. Now she was experiencing the legend firsthand! Lyn, a teacher at Franklin School, went home that evening and told her girlfriend she had met THE man of her dreams. The girlfriend was so disappointed: she had wanted to introduce Lyn to someone so perfect ...and it turned out to be the same person - John Profant! Their first date included a CAMA concert, followed by a ride along Cabrillo Boulevard, while he sang "La Vie En Rose" en francais…their mutual love of the arts would influence their entire lives together.
This new organization needed the
perfect venue to announce their scholarship
|
Fiesta Finale
Movie:
was a Professor of
Marine Biology at SBCC and helped the Museum of Natural History for
decades, ultimately launching the Sea Center. His brother John was my
father. After attending Santa Barbara High School, John went to UCLA and
then remained in Manhattan Beach during his 35 year career in
Administration at Northrop Aircraft.
Later on John and Lyn
would help found a dance company - all because they believed in the
talent of one choreographer. John's goal in retirement was to return to
his family’s home and in some way help the artistic community. He wasn't
able to do that, as he died shortly after retiring. In January 2000 Lyn
decided to fulfill that goal, and established the John E. Profant
Foundation for the Arts. Her background as an educator is reflected in
our mission to help developing artists, and her determination in
persuading John - an excellent tenor - to start taking singing lessons
in his 40s, is reflected in our commitment to help artists of all ages
cultivate their talents.