GOINGS ON SANTA BARBARA : A Sharp Shooter : A tribute to Marion Post Wolcott includes work by fellow photographers. Images of Depression-era rural life made her name.

The Santa Barbara Museum of Art is paying tribute to photographer Marion Post Wolcott with a special exhibit.

The museum show, on display now through March 29, includes work donated by fellow photographers as well as some of Wolcott’s own work, contributed by her friends and family.

Wolcott, who was 80 when she died last year, was a Santa Barbara County resident for about 16 years, including the last 10 years of her life.

She was best known for the work she did as a photographer for the Farm Security Administration, documenting living conditions in rural areas in the 1930s.

After spending time in Europe, she and her husband moved to Montecito in 1968, went to Mendocino in 1974 and moved to Santa Barbara in 1979. She took numerous photos of student protests at UC Santa Barbara during the 1970s.

The museum is located at 1130 State St. It is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday, and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.

For more information call 963-4364.

Want to ring in and swing in the New Year at the same time?

The Carrillo Recreation Center in Santa Barbara may be the place to be Tuesday.

Big band musician Jerry Dokken and his quintet will perform ballroom and swing music for revelers Tuesday from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.

The Santa Barbara Parks and Recreation Department has been hosting this New Year’s Eve dance for about 25 years, but this will be the first one to include on the program something other than ballroom dancing.

Organizer Maria McCall said she expects a turnout of more than 200 people, ranging in age from mid-20s to 70s.

She points to the popularity of the parks department’s regular swing dances, which are held two or three times each month and attract 175 to 350 people to each event.

In the spirit of New Year’s Eve, the ballroom will be decorated with confetti and streamers. Coffee, punch and cake will be available and guests are invited to bring their own snacks for their tables.

The Community Center is located at 100 E. Carrillo St. Doors open at 8:30 p.m. and most of the seating is unreserved. Admission is $15 per person and $28 per couple. Call 965-3813.

Dokken, by the way, is the father of heavy metalist Don Dokken.

On January 4, Southern California star gazers will have the opportunity to see a sunset eclipse, with the moon covering about 90% of the setting sun.

The eclipse process will begin at 3:30 p.m. At 4:50 the sunlight will create a ring around the moon. When the sun dips below the horizon at 4:52 the sky will actually light up, creating a double twilight.

This type of eclipse occurs in a given region once every 20,000 years, by the estimate of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, and the museum is offering weekend educational programs to help people prepare for it.

There will be half-hour shows on Saturday and Sunday afternoon at 1:30, 2:15, 3 and 4. Lectures are free with museum admission--$3 (adults) and $1 (children). The museum is located at 2559 Puesta del Sol Road.

For more information call 682-3224.

And here’s one for those who would rather stay off their feet while celebrating the new year.

Clarinetist Richard Hawley will be the guest performer Tuesday evening when the Santa Barbara Symphony celebrates New Year’s Eve with a “Gala Pops Concert” at the Arlington Theatre.

Hawley will be featured in a rendition of Artie Shaw’s “Concerto for Clarinet.”

The remainder of the program will include Strauss’ “Champagne Polka,” “Thunder and Lightning Polka,” “Pizzicato Polka,” “Blue Danube Waltz,” and “Radetzky March;” Dvorak’s “Slavonic Dance;” Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Capriccio Espagnol,” and Offenbach’s “Orpheus in the Underworld.”

Organizers promise hats, noisemakers and party decor to add to the festivities. The concert is scheduled to run from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m., leaving ample time to get in some other parties before 1992.

The theater is located at 1317 State St. Tickets range from $10 to $35. Call 963-4408.