About Libraries and Friends
by Jill Forman
Library Events
Several exciting happenings going on in May!
An Afternoon with George Christie – at the E.P. Foster Library
(press release from the Library)
Ex-Hells Angels president George Christie will visit Ventura’s E.P. Foster Library to deliver a lecture, slide show, and Q&A at 2:00 pm on Saturday, May 14, in the library’s Topping Room. Christie is the longest serving president in club history and one-time international spokesperson for the club, as well as a rare peacemaker in a brutally violent culture.
George Christie, Jr. was born in 1947 in Ventura to a family of Greek immigrants. He grew up as an only child and from an early age was fascinated by motorcycles and outlaw culture. He became a full-patch Hells Angel in the Los Angeles charter in 1976 and, six months later, became president of that charter before founding the Ventura charter in 1978.
In 2011, he resigned his presidency of the Ventura charter and left the club. He spent a year in a Texas Federal prison as part of a plea deal, and in August of 2014 he was released from custody. Since his release, Christie has starred in the History Channel TV show, Outlaw Chronicles: Hells Angels, and written his memoirs, Exile on Front Street. Christie currently serves as a consultant for defense attorneys and news outlets, and works with first-time offenders helping them navigate the judicial process. He has been in Spain for the last two-and-a-half years working on TV and writing projects, and has returned to Ventura to produce his stage play Outlaw.
A book signing will follow this presentation, with books available for purchase on site.
The E.P. Foster Library is located at 651 East Main Street in Ventura.
Local Author Talk at Hill Road Library – on the subject of Alzheimer’s Disease by someone who knows it on a scientific, legal and personal level
Michele Artiz Smith, J.D. will visit the Hill Road Library on Sunday, May 15th, 2022 at 11:30 a.m. to discuss her book My Husband’s Keeper: A Memoir.
Smith takes the reader through the early, middle, and late stages of Alzheimer’s disease. After her husband’s diagnosis, she vowed to learn as much as possible about the condition, becoming a State-Certified Ombudsman and gaining a window into the world of dementia and Alzheimer’s through visiting long-term care facilities and meeting with other families that experience this illness.
More information can be found on her website: myhusbandskeeper.com
The Hill Road Library is located at 1070 South Hill Road in Ventura.
Rescheduled Music Event
In previous columns we learned about the music presentation “Lyrical Literature, The Songs and Theatre Music of Ross Care,” a concert of original musical settings of well-known poets and excerpts from theater scores performed by an ensemble of singers and instrumentalists.
Originally scheduled for Saturday March 26 at Foster Library it unfortunately had to be cancelled due to a water leak. It has been rescheduled for Saturday May 21 at 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. in the E.P. Foster Library Topping Room.
All events are free and open to the public.
