Category Archives: This ‘n’ That

Operation Splash celebrated completion of 11th year with Family Float Night

The aim of the program is to teach children how to become water-safe.

The Ventura Aquatic Center hosted a fun event on Friday, May 31, to celebrate the completion of another successful year of Kaiser Permanente’s Operation Splash program which provides free swimming lessons for underserved youth in our community. For the past 11 years, through the Operation Splash grant, more than 400 elementary school children each year receive free swim lessons at the Kimball Aquatic Center in Ventura through the City’s PEAK afterschool program.

As the school year comes to an end, to celebrate the culmination of this year’s program, the Ventura Aquatic Center held a special private Float Night for all of the Operation Splash kids and their families. This free event provided open swim time in the main pool and activity pool for the children and their families from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., and despite the chilly evening the pools were filled with laughing children – fulfilling the Operation Splash goal of making sure children are safe in the water.

The aim of the program is to teach children how to become water-safe in a fun and healthy environment and teach them that healthy activities like swimming can positively impact their health. The Operation Splash program has been a huge success here in Ventura and to help celebrate, Kaiser Permanente was on hand at the event, passing out healthy eating information and KP-branded beach balls which quickly filled the pool with a rainbow of color. Balls were bouncing back and forth as children who might not have even ventured into the pool at the beginning of the school year confidently swam back and forth tossing them to each other.

Since its inception in Ventura, Operation Splash has helped thousands of local children learn to swim. Many of the children who started in the program during the early years have gone on to become excellent swimmers, participate in competitive swimming and water polo and become junior lifeguards.

Operation Splash is part of Kaiser Permanente’s Healthy Eating, Active Living, (HEAL) efforts to reduce obesity in the community by increasing opportunities for safe physical activity and access to healthy and affordable foods. Kaiser Permanente has granted nearly $7 million for Operation Splash since the program’s inception more than 12 years ago.

For more information about Kaiser Permanente’s participation in Operation Splash, please visit the web site at https://community.kp.org/about/program/operation-splash.

Calling all photographers for the 2019 Ventura Land Trust Nature Photography Contest and Exhibit

A solitary Giant Lupine stands over the southern end of California’s Carrizo Plain National Monument. Photo by Dan Holmes

Sustainability Now News
by Maryann Ridini Spencer
(@MaryannRidiniSpencer)

Ventura Land Trust is inviting all amateur and professional photographers to submit original nature photographs for consideration in the 2019 Ventura Land Trust Nature Photography Contest and Exhibit. The contest, which began in May, will run through July 13, 2019.

“Ventura is home to spectacular seascapes, stunning wide-open spaces, and unique wildlife,” said Ventura Land Trust Development and Marketing Director, Adrienne Stephens. “We decided to hold a contest because we felt capturing nature’s beauty through the work of local photographers is a creative and fun way to highlight Ventura Land Trust’s mission to permanently protect the land, water, wildlife, and scenic beauty of the Ventura region for current and future generations.”

The contest, the first of its kind for the Land Trust, encourages individuals to explore Ventura’s natural beauty with their camera, whether it’s in their backyard or a public space. Entrants can submit up to three original nature photographs of wildlife, landscapes or scenic beauty by July 13. There is a $20 per person entry fee.

The esteemed panel of judges for the contest include Dan Holmes of Ventura, a professional freelance photographer, California Master photographer, and PPC Certified Image Competition Judge; George (Hutch) Hutchinson of Westlake Village, an accomplished amateur photographer and longstanding member of Photographic Society of America; Sherron Shepard of Ventura, an accomplished photographic artist, PPA Master Photographer, and PPC Certified Image Competition Judge; and Luisa Hyatt of Santa Barbara, art curator for Rincon Brewery.

Final judging for the contest will occur between July 14 and 16, and all finalists will be informed by email. Submissions will be judged on subject, composition, framing, lighting, and overall “wow” factor. All Finalist and Winner photos will then be publically announced at an Opening Reception on September 5 to be held at Rincon Brewery, 4100, Telegraph Road, where the images will be exhibited (and available for sale) from September 5 through November 30, 2019.

“Ever since my childhood, when I would pour over the beautiful photos in National Geographic, I’ve loved nature photography. I’m so excited that the walls of Rincon Brewery will soon be covered with the Land Trust’s contest winners. It will be a beautiful sight!” said Stephens.

For complete contest information, and to download the application, go to venturalandtrust.org and click on the Photography Contest tab. For more information, contact Adrienne Stephens, [email protected] or (805) 643-8044.

The Ojai Valley Lavender Festival to burst forth in bloom

The festival draws thousands annually to Ojai.

Lavender magic returns for the 16th year as Ojai festoons herself in fragrant, purple glory to celebrate an especially bountiful and breathtakingly beautiful season of local lavender. While drought and fire affected last year’s crop, Mother Nature has been most tender with temps and generous with rain in 2019 to produce a banner year for the versatile herb.

Always held the last Saturday in June to coincide with Ojai’s peak lavender bloom Festival will be Saturday, June 29th, 10am-5pm at Libbey Park. The festival draws thousands annually to Ojai for a family-friendly day of art, music, food, games, speakers, prizes and over 100 vendors offering a wide array of lavender and lavender-inspired products, including oils, vinegars, honey, aromatherapy and beauty products, culinary items, candles and of course plenty of freshly cut, dried and potted lavender. Local shops, restaurants, wineries, breweries, java cafes and overnight accommodations love to participate in the lavender celebration, too, and many feature unique lavender items and sales specials.

The sober side to this exciting event is that 2019 will be the final festival, at least as of the moment of this writing. The Ojai Valley Lavender Festival (OVLF) committee – tiny but fierce – has produced this incredible event for 16 years. The all-volunteer team lead by Executive Director Neil Friedrichsen, President Cindy Mullins and Vice President Joy Brown, is ready to retire. Yes, it’s a lot of work but it brings so much joy to so many. Hopefully another group or organization will step up and assume the lavender mantel to carry the festival into the future. Interested? Please contact Cindy Mullins at www.ojaivalleylavenderfestival.org to learn more.

Start with a 10:00 am performance by musician Richard Kaller on Libbey Park’s front patio. The all-day music lineup at the gazebo will feature the Old Time Fiddlers, District 8 at 10:00 am; Hal Waite and the Gaddis Boys at 11:15 pm; Lynn Mullins and Coyote Creek at 12:30 pm; Smitty and Julija at 1:45 pm, Cindy Kalmenson and the Lucky Ducks at 2:45 pm; and Jon Gindick at 3:45 p.m.

The festival speakers’ tent will present Renee Roth at 12:00 pm with “Greywater Reclamation,” and Amanda Mullins at 2:00 pm with “Make Your Favorite Foods Nutritious and Delicious.”

Art, including entries in the 2019 Ojai Valley Lavender Festival Art Contest, will be on display and for sale in the festival’s art pavilion.

OVLF’s popular Passport Game will offer fun, adventure and plenty of chances to win great prizes donated by festival vendors.

Another favorite, local Frog Creek Lavender Farm will again join the festivities, offering farm visits with U-pick lavender at its Upper Ojai farm 10:00 am- 5:00 pm on festival day, June 29th, and 10:00 am-3:00 pm weekends through July. www.frogcreekfarmojai.com for directions and details.

As a nonprofit organization, the Ojai Valley Lavender Festival has long supported the community through scholarship awards and community grants. This year’s $2,500 OLVF David Mason Scholarship Award goes to Claire Hankins. Additional $2,000 OVLF Scholarship recipients are Karen Romero Sanchez, Angela Zirpolo, Aliyah Zweig and Giovanni Torres.

The free event offers free parking managed by Chief Peak 4-H, with complimentary parking shuttles run by HELP of Ojai. OVLF warmly thanks these organizations, as well as Ojai/Ventura Teen Challenge, Von’s, Ojai City Council, and OVLF’s many new and returning volunteers, vendors and festival guests, for helping to make the Ojai Valley Lavender Festival a joyful, memorable, and successful community event year after year. It’s been a really great romp through the lavender. Learn more at www.ojaivalleylavenderfestival.org

Tattooing For Change

Local tattoo artist preps Nichole Franklin for a tattoo for the SNAFI fundraiser.

by Amy Brown

It’s 9:30am on a Sunday and there’s already a long line out the door at Roses and Rivets Gallery and Body Art studio in Santa Paula. Folks had been queued up for some time, waiting to be tattooed by Steph Sparrow at her second annual fundraising event for Still Not Asking For It (SNAFI), a tattoo flash fundraiser event for sexual assault and rape survivors. All proceeds go to organizations which aid in prevention, healing and justice of survivors. Ventura resident Sparrow was selected as the only tattoo artist in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties to participate in the national event, and she chose the Coalition for Family Harmony’s rape crisis center in Oxnard as the organization to receive the money raised from her efforts in the event.

Sparrow tattooed participants from morning into the night, and raised $2,200 for the Coalition, twice what she raised in the event last year. Flash events have pre-drawn tattoo designs relevant to the cause, and available at a reduced price.  Customers are tattooed on a first come, first served basis. “Word definitely gets around that I’m doing it, and it’s kind of intense, with hardly any time for bathroom breaks or to eat, it’s crazy!” said Sparrow.

She shared that she was expecting the crowds, but wasn’t expecting the number of people who also shared their own stories of rape or incest during the event. “The tattoo chair is always kind of a confessional, and I’ve had people tell me about their childhood abuse; it’s a really powerful thing,” said Sparrow. “Tattooing itself gives people the sacred space to own their own bodies; it’s such a powerful ritual. Tattooing did that for me. I’m honored that so many people came out to support the event, and to see so much money being donated to the Coalition.”

Nichole Franklin, a native of Ventura and currently residing in Santa Paula, was one of the first in line for the event. “Steph is a phenomenal artist, plus, she’s a pilot, has been a teacher and a musician—she’s basically my spirit animal,” said Franklin. “This is a great cause—all the events she does are great—but this one is a little more personal for me,” said Franklin, who chose a whimsical Stegosaurus tattoo design with the words “Don’t Touch” below it, in homage to the SNAFI cause.

“We’ve basically been waiting our whole lives for a woman-owned tattoo shop in this area,” said Morgan Williamson, as she waited patiently to get a cute baby porcupine design with “Don’t Touch” under it on her left forearm. When asked why she chose that design, she said “It’s an adorable way to get a little bit of closure, now I’ll be able to look down at something pretty.”

Sparrow who has been tattooing for 12 years, is essentially a modern Renaissance woman; with a PhD in Music Composition, she was also a former college professor, and currently holds a private pilot’s license, and is an avid long-distance runner on the Ventura trailheads. Opposing stereotypes comes with her territory and her brand. “Every single day is an exercise in combatting stereotypes,” she says of her shop, and being a woman-owned business, not to mention tattoos in general. “Tattooing is an outlet of self-ownership, and self-expression, and to be able to empower other people in that way in a safe space is a real honor.”

Calidore brings the “California Gold” standard of chamber music to Ventura!

String Quartet has won the decade’s most prestigious honors for chamber music.

by Richard Newsham

Find out for yourself why the young Calidore String Quartet, from L.A.’s Colburn School of Music, has won the decade’s most prestigious honors for chamber music as it’s traversed the globe’s top venues, delighting audiences at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, BBC Proms, Berlin Konzerthaus—and now the Ventura College Performing Arts Center on Sunday, July 14, at 3 p.m., as the ensemble concludes the first weekend of the Ventura Music Festival’s 25th season.

The two violinists, violist and cellist will engage listeners with Beethoven’s inward spiraling Opus 127, as the composer moved from struggle to a Hindu-inspired inner peace, complete with playful “leapfrog” games among the strings. Next comes the Pulitzer Prize-winning American Gen X-er composer Caroline Shaw whose Three Essays are inspired by Marilynne Robinson’s essential essays, The Givenness of Things, the “echo” chamber of today’s social media, and the elegant Japanese programming language Ruby. Calidore concludes with Mendelssohn’s final work, Opus 80, a poignant cry for and celebration of his beloved and recently-deceased sister Fanny.

The string quartet with its intimate, complex, interwoven fabric of sound “is an amazing way to converse musically with others,” says Shaw—a kind of music “that will be contemporary forever,” added Stravinsky—“a strange composite being” of four individuals who share communal decisions yet do things spontaneously, requiring the other players to respond in real time. It’s “a zone of magic” for every audience to witness–don’t miss “the Calidore experience!”

Richard Newsham is a Ventura Music Festival consultant

CAPS Media Records Community Council Meetings

Westside Community Council meeting is seen on CAPS.

CAPS Medias’ ever-expanding community wide services include ongoing collaborations with Community Councils throughout Ventura. CAPS records, broadcasts and streams the local meetings, and provides the councils with the recorded event for their use. CAPS recorded the East Ventura Community Council meetings in April and May and will cover the EVCC meeting in June. CAPS also recorded the Westside Community Council meeting in June and will cover the Midtown Community Council meeting in July. Every meeting is broadcast on CAPS Channel 6 and streamed on capsmedia.org the week following the meeting and the councils post the events on their websites and social media. Other community councils interested in having CAPS Media record their meeting should contact CAPS at [email protected] or call 805-658-0500.

A CAPS Congratulations to all the college, high school, middle school and elementary school graduates in Ventura. And congratulations to this year’s Mayor for a Moment honorees who are all headed to middle school in the fall. The Mayor for a Moment student recognition program is a collaboration with the City of Ventura, the Ventura Unified School District and CAPS Media. Each month an outstanding 5th grader is selected by the individual elementary schools. CAPS Media produces video profiles on the young mayors and their schools which are shown when the outstanding students are recognized at City Council meetings and VUSD School Board Meetings. The Mayor for a Moment Class of 2018-2019 are Tyleigh Matheson (Loma Vista), Jazzmn Viot-Preciado (ATLAS), Alexa Swanson (E.P. Foster), Darby Mussehl (Blanche Reynolds). Ammar Atiah (Elmhurst), Joey Becerra (Junipero Serra), Ella Dritz (Mound) and Lily Sheldon (Pierpont).

CAPS is always eager to provide the public with tours of the CAPS Media Center. In the past few weeks CAPS Media has welcomed numerous community leaders and members of the public for individual tours including Deputy Mayor Sofia Rubalcava, Councilmember Jim Friedman, City Manager Alex McIntyre, Deputy City Manager Barry Fisher, Ventura Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Roger Rice and others. The tours of the facility include the video studio and control room, radio station, video equipment, editing stations, production truck and more, providing the opportunity to see first-hand the extensive resources and services provided by CAPS Media to the community.

Everyone is welcome at CAPS. Tours of the CAPS Media Center can be arranged for any community group including nonprofit and faith based organizations, youth groups, service clubs and more. In addition, the CAPS Media Center conference room is available to nonprofit and educational groups for community meetings. The conference room accommodates up to 30 people. Those interested in scheduling a tour or a meeting at the CAPS Media Center should contact CAPS at [email protected] or call 805-658-0500.

All of the resources and training at the CAPS Media Center are available to the entire Ventura community. To find out more go to capsmedia.org/events, sign up for the next orientation class on the first Thursday of the month and discover that for a low annual membership fee members can receive hands-on instruction in videography, video editing, radio production (additional fee required) and more. All Member/Producers have access to CAPS Media’s state-of-the-art facilities including video cameras, editing systems, the fully equipped television and radio studios and more. All of the information is online at capsmedia.org, or you can call 805-658-0500 to get complete information.

Ionic deli celebrating 25-years

On July 1, 2019, Ventura County’s iconic Danny’s Deli & Grill located in mid-town Ventura will be celebrating 20 years of serving our community. Owners’ Wendy Collings and son Alex Everhart will be hosting a celebration at the restaurant on Sunday, June 30th and Monday, July 1st, 2019.

To both commemorate this wonderful milestone and to honor our beautiful city, award winning local artist, MB Hanrahan, will have completed her 85 foot mural on the exterior wall of the restaurant. The mural will feature images representing Ventura’s rich history and beautiful surroundings. Danny’s Deli is proud to support this public art project as a gift to our community.

With a large selection of traditional homemade deli options and an expanding menu that includes many new vegetarian/vegan entrees, Danny’s is sure to have something delightful for everyone.

Danny’s Deli & Grill is a family owned and operated restaurant with a dedicated staff, many of who have been with the restaurant since its opening day. Many customers are long time regulars who have become part of Danny’s Deli’s extended families. With a friendly and comfortable atmosphere, Danny’s has always been a location for singles, friends, families, businesses and groups to meet, as well as a place you can go to feel completely welcome.

Danny’s Deli & Grill

3263 Telegraph Road

(805) 289-9200

What started as only one poem for a creative writing class became the 1st place winner.

Before he went to doggy heaven Isabella would read poetry to Scamp.

Isabella Kress is a recent Culinary Arts and English Education graduate from Cerritos College. She will be continuing her educational journey as an English Education major with emphasis in Creative Writing at California State University, Long Beach Fall 2019. She recently placed as the 1st place winner of Cerritos College’s 15th Annual “Falcons Out Loud” Poetry Competition in 2018. When not writing poetry, Isabella enjoys cooking, traveling, singing, salsa dancing, and visiting family and friends in her hometown, Ventura. What started as only one poem for a creative writing class inspired her to create a collection of real, raw poetry that is Moonlight Reflections.

With one’s darkness, also comes light. Moonlight Reflections is a series of short poems split into two sections (Engulfed in the Darkness and Embracing the Light) that discuss the often dark struggles of poisonous relationships, loneliness and self-acceptance, and illuminate the triumph of overcoming hardships, finding inner peace, and learning to love again. Moonlight Reflections is for those who have loved and have lost, who have faced hardship, but are still moving forward, and those who are broken, but ready to begin healing. May this short, yet powerful collection bring you comfort and a sense of peace as you find your light within life’s darkness.

Moonlight is now available for purchase on Amazon.com.

Isabella is the daughter of Ventura Breeze Assistant to the Publisher Ana Baker

The Ojai Valley Lavender Festival to burst forth in bloom

The festival draws thousands annually to Ojai.

Lavender magic returns for the 16th year as Ojai festoons herself in fragrant, purple glory to celebrate an especially bountiful and breathtakingly beautiful season of local lavender. While drought and fire affected last year’s crop, Mother Nature has been most tender with temps and generous with rain in 2019 to produce a banner year for the versatile herb.

Always held the last Saturday in June to coincide with Ojai’s peak lavender bloom Festival will be Saturday, June 29th, 10am-5pm at Libbey Park. The festival draws thousands annually to Ojai for a family-friendly day of art, music, food, games, speakers, prizes and over 100 vendors offering a wide array of lavender and lavender-inspired products, including oils, vinegars, honey, aromatherapy and beauty products, culinary items, candles and of course plenty of freshly cut, dried and potted lavender. Local shops, restaurants, wineries, breweries, java cafes and overnight accommodations love to participate in the lavender celebration, too, and many feature unique lavender items and sales specials.

The sober side to this exciting event is that 2019 will be the final festival, at least as of the moment of this writing. The Ojai Valley Lavender Festival (OVLF) committee – tiny but fierce – has produced this incredible event for 16 years. The all-volunteer team lead by Executive Director Neil Friedrichsen, President Cindy Mullins and Vice President Joy Brown, is ready to retire. Yes, it’s a lot of work but it brings so much joy to so many. Hopefully another group or organization will step up and assume the lavender mantel to carry the festival into the future. Interested? Please contact Cindy Mullins at www.ojaivalleylavenderfestival.org to learn more.

Start with a 10:00 am performance by musician Richard Kaller on Libbey Park’s front patio. The all-day music lineup at the gazebo will feature the Old Time Fiddlers, District 8 at 10:00 am; Hal Waite and the Gaddis Boys at 11:15 pm; Lynn Mullins and Coyote Creek at 12:30 pm; Smitty and Julija at 1:45 pm, Cindy Kalmenson and the Lucky Ducks at 2:45 pm; and Jon Gindick at 3:45 p.m.

The festival speakers’ tent will present Renee Roth at 12:00 pm with “Greywater Reclamation,” and Amanda Mullins at 2:00 pm with “Make Your Favorite Foods Nutritious and Delicious.”

Art, including entries in the 2019 Ojai Valley Lavender Festival Art Contest, will be on display and for sale in the festival’s art pavilion.

OVLF’s popular Passport Game will offer fun, adventure and plenty of chances to win great prizes donated by festival vendors.

Another favorite, local Frog Creek Lavender Farm will again join the festivities, offering farm visits with U-pick lavender at its Upper Ojai farm 10:00 am- 5:00 pm on festival day, June 29th, and 10:00 am-3:00 pm weekends through July. www.frogcreekfarmojai.com for directions and details.

As a nonprofit organization, the Ojai Valley Lavender Festival has long supported the community through scholarship awards and community grants. This year’s $2,500 OLVF David Mason Scholarship Award goes to Claire Hankins. Additional $2,000 OVLF Scholarship recipients are Karen Romero Sanchez, Angela Zirpolo, Aliyah Zweig and Giovanni Torres.

The free event offers free parking managed by Chief Peak 4-H, with complimentary parking shuttles run by HELP of Ojai. OVLF warmly thanks these organizations, as well as Ojai/Ventura Teen Challenge, Von’s, Ojai City Council, and OVLF’s many new and returning volunteers, vendors and festival guests, for helping to make the Ojai Valley Lavender Festival a joyful, memorable, and successful community event year after year. It’s been a really great romp through the lavender. Learn more at www.ojaivalleylavenderfestival.org