In the Martin V. & Martha K. Smith Pavilion at the Museum of Ventura County on Saturday, June 12, 2021 from 3—5PM for the opening reception of The Weed Project: Outlaws of the Super Bloom & Crimes We Commit in the Garden. This new exhibit by the comical and brave Charlene Spiller features thirteen botanical paintings with an ecological message. There will be refreshments and a no-host bar. Visitors will also be able to explore the new and refreshed Children’s Garden. Admission is free with registration.

In the macro-style paintings of The Weed Project, Charlene Spiller draws a plumb line between art and science. She creates a new category of “bloom”, challenging the viewer’s expectation of what constitutes beauty. All the while, pollinating their mind with provocative thoughts about our health, the health of our planet, and the bottom-line of a multibillion-dollar corporation – with a multibillion-dollar legal-relief reserve – and places it all under our microscope. Deputy Director, Denise Sindelar states, “Ms. Spiller’s paintings highlight the beauty that exists in our fragile, and often forgotten natural world”.

Ventura Rotary Club members visited the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Ventura with a donation of $1,000 in new books and to read stories with children. After over a year with drastically limited opportunities to connect with students in person, Rotary Club members were excited to read with kids. The Boys & Girls Club was equally enthusiastic at having Rotary visitors, as Rotary volunteers were the first volunteers welcomed back into the club since COVID.  Boys & Girls Club CEO Patti Birmingham said, “My staff and I were grinning from ear to ear with great anticipation of the joy and sense of normalcy that this would bring to our Club members!”

Masked Rotarians read with students, socially distanced, yet still engaging children in the stories, asking them questions, listening to them. Children asked for story after story leaving readers happily exhausted. “Special moments like these are magical and help build the joy of reading in kids. The benefits of reading are endless, including building a strong foundation for success in school. We all play an important role in sharing the joy of reading with young people- at home, in school, in after school programs,” said Madhu Bajaj Rotarian and organizer for Rotary Reads.

Boys & Girls Club Branch Directors selected the books they wanted for their students based on need and interest. They indicated a specific need for easy readers so they could support early readers and members who are below basic (grade level), who have been impacted the most by school closures/virtual learning. Having new books that are relevant and of interest to the children was especially meaningful as it is easier to engage them in reading.

Ventura Rotary Club President Saurabh Bajaj said, “We are happy to partner with the Boys & Girls Club and thank them for the opportunity to read with children. And, we invite our community to make time to pick up a book and read with children in their lives.”

Rotary Club of Ventura is a part of Rotary International. Rotary is a global network of over 35000 clubs and 1.2 million neighbors, friends, leaders, and problem-solvers who see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change – across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves. Solving real problems takes real commitment and vision. From education and peace to water, food insecurity and health, we are always working to better our world, and we stay committed to the end. VenturaRotary.org

by Richard Senate

Over the years the great robbery at the Olivas Adobe was believed to be the handiwork of notorious California Bandit Joaquin Murietta. Legends say he got away with an estimated $75,000 in gold and that he buried the loot somewhere on Red Mountain, near Casitas Springs.

Local Historian Charles Outland discovered this account in the Los Angeles Star newspaper from the 1850s that seems to clear up the confusion.  The similarity of names may have caused the  misidentified culprit. Clearly, Sr. Berryessa was a bad apple. The amount he received seems to imply the amount taken was more in the $3,000 to $4,000 range, still a great deal of wealth in the 1850s.

“It is about a year since Encarnacion Berryessa came to live among us, and his conduct has been such as to keep the citizens constantly alarmed from his provoking and quarrelsome disposition, both in word and deed. Various residents of this town (San Buenaventura) have been stabbed by him, while the lives of others have been threatened, as soon as a favorable opportunity should offer for their assassination. The house in which he has lived during his residence here has been the retreat of every evil doer, and he has never been seen in company with a man who could be called respectable. We cannot say that Berryessa was concerned with the band who murdered the Sheriff of Los Angeles, but we do say that when said band passed though this place, and in coming to the knowledge of Berryessa, that certain citizens were taking steps to arrest them, he went to their aid and assisted in their escape through unfrequented by-ways, and did not leave them until they were considered out of danger. We have no hesitation in asserting that Berryessa was one of the gang that attacked and plundered the house of Raymundo Olivas. It was he who beat the wife of Olivas, and tore the rings from her ears, receiving for his share of said robbery the sum of $275, together with $100 in the cartridge box which he took, unknown to his companions, believing it to be gold coin.”

Eight new Honeylocust trees (thornless variety) have been planted in empty tree wells on Main Street in midtown Ventura. When you see a new street tree with a Gator bag, it is being watered with recycled water. Honeylocust canopy trees line Main Street from downtown to Five Points, providing summer shade and yellow Autumn foliage.

Ventura Tree Alliance
www.venturatreealliance.com

Opera Santa Barbara is thrilled to close its unexpected 20|21 Season with the company premiere of its first Richard Wagner opera, Das Rheingold. The only performance will be Sunday, June 27 at 2:30PM at the Lobero Theatre. This production marks the first for the company inside a theatre in more than a year.

Graham Vick and Jonathan Dove’s version of the Ring Cycle captures the mighty essence of Wagner’s masterpiece in an abbreviated time frame of 1 hour and 50 minutes, with just 12 singers and 18 orchestral players. The pocket-sized miracle premiered in Birmingham, UK in 1990, and has been presented by dozens of opera companies around the world. Described by reviewers as “ear opening” and “imaginatively fresh”, the “Dove Ring” has made it possible for smaller companies to introduce this much admired but often intimidating work to new audiences in an accessible way, while still satisfying Wagner fans. The plot unfolds with cinematic pace, character interactions become more intimate, and Dove’s masterful orchestral reduction beautifully reflects the splendor of the original score, while bringing out musical motives and details.

“Last summer I promised our fans, donors, and workforce that Opera SB will raise its curtain within 30 days from the time restrictions to indoor performances are lifted. The time is here, we’ve been preparing for this a year, and our team is in top form. I can’t wait to work with some of my favorite artists on our company’s first Wagner opera, and to conduct my own first Wagner with the amazing musicians of the Opera Santa Barbara orchestra,” says Artistic and General Director Kostis Protopapas.

Designed by director Crystal Manich (Il Postino, 2020) and Projection/Lighting Designer François Pierre Couture (The Cunning Little Vixen, 2017), Opera Santa Barbara’s new production brings Wagner’s mythical world to life through a combination of powerful vocals, video projections, and 80’s rock-inspired costuming. Bass-baritone Kyle Albertson and baritone Timothy Mix make their Opera SB debuts as Wotan and Alberich. Opera SB favorite mezzo-soprano Nina Yoshida Nelsen is Wotan’s defiant consort Fricka, while Anya Matanovich (The Crucible, 2019) returns as the beautiful Freia, the coveted goddess of love. Robert Norman returns as the cunning Loge, and the playful Rheinmaidens are portrayed by Christina Pezzarossi and Chrisman Studio Artists Brooklyn Snow and Max Potter. Nathan Stark (The Barber of Seville, 2018) and Colin Ramsey (Madama Butterfly, 2019) are the scorned giants, Fasolt and Fafner, Alissa Anderson the prophetic Erda, goddess of the earth, and LaMarcus Miller as the thunder god, Donner. Artistic and General Director Kostis Protopapas conducts his first Wagner opera, with 18 members of the Opera Santa Barbara Orchestra on stage.

Detailed health safety protocols will be issued to ticket holders a few days in advance of the performance according to the government and industry guidelines that are in effect at that time of the show.

Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Wednesday, May 26 and will start at $79. For now, patrons can purchase VIP Premium Tickets with concierge service, Sponsorships, or get on a waitlist for pre-sales of General Admission tickets on May 24. Please visit the OSB website for more information.

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by Jill Forman

Welcome Back to Your Library!

Events are changing too fast to keep up with. Check the library website, talk to your local librarian in person or by phone to find out the latest updates.

Summer Reading Program Launching June 1 (from library press release)

Ventura County Library urges families to get ready, get set, go to the library and sign up for Reading Colors Your World!

Over the summer, the library is hosting a range of free activities for children, teens, and adults to encourage and support a love of reading.  Participants may win prizes for reaching their reading goals. “We’ve planned a wonderful program for kids to make the library a great place to read, learn, and discover what’s available for their enjoyment,” said Molly Krill, Youth Services Manager.

Themed events include weekly STEAM Kits and challenges, participation in the library’s online reading and activity log (register at vencolibrary.beanstack.org), themed Storytimes, and a presentation by the Ojai Raptor Center. This year Ventura County Library is giving away six Nintendo Switch Grand Prizes in addition to smaller prize drawings throughout the summer. Once a child has logged 500 minutes they may visit their local branch to choose a free new book to add to their home libraries.

There is also a serious side to summer reading. Research has shown that reading over the summer prevents reading loss. Studies also indicate students who read recreationally outperform those who don’t. Students read more when they can choose materials based on their own interests.

Nancy Schram, Library Director says, “Children who don’t read over the summer may lose up to two full months of learning by the time they return to school in the fall.  To succeed in school and life, our children and teens need continuous opportunities to learn and practice critical skills.  Your public library is a key part of the solution during the summer when school is out.”

Registration continues through August 22, 2021. To learn more about the summer reading adventure at the library, please call your local branch or check out the library’s website at vencolibrary.org.

This event is free and open to the public. For additional information, contact Molly Krill, Ventura County Library Youth Services Manager at (805) 218-3592

Friends of the Library Foster Library Bookstore

We are hoping to be open by July 1. Updates will be announced on our website venturafriendsofthelibrary.org. Or sign up for our newsletter at [email protected]. We anticipate needing volunteers; if you are interested contact us at [email protected].

Friends of the Library Hill Road Used Book Sale Shelves

We hope to be back in business by mid-June.

Online Bookstore

The Friends will continue their online bookstore. Pickup days and times will change but we plan to still have pickups at Hill Road as well as Foster Library. Details are being worked out and will be communicated when an order is placed.

Remember, all purchases support programs such as Summer Reading described above.