A special reception, free and open to the public, officially launches the city’s 150th anniversary celebration on Sunday, November 8, from 2 to 4 pm at the Museum of Ventura County, 100 East Main Street.
Attendees are invited to enjoy refreshments and special limited edition 150th anniversary souvenirs as they take part in a rich menu of festive activities: stories by a panel of descendants of historic families (Chaffee, Harrison, Smith-Hobson, and Tumamait), a presentation on our local history and performances courtesy of the Ventura Music Festival.
A video created by (CAPS-TV) Community Access Partners of San Buenaventura will introduce the Ventura Legacy project. Also on display will be simulations of the 1860 census, finalists in the poster contest presented by the Boys and Girls Club, Friends of the Library and the Ventura Unified School District and the museum’s current “Portraits” exhibit featuring local historic photos.
Guests are encouraged to bring copies of family photos from past decades to post on special photo boards which will travel to various events and be on display at the Pacific View Mall. The sesquicentennial finale on April 2 will be a free community fair and picnic in downtown Ventura, followed by a concert in Mission Park by “hometown boys made good,” Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, a partnership between the City and the Ventura Education Partnership to benefit arts in our schools.
The City’s 150th anniversary is made possible by the generous donations of the Ventura Auto Center Dealers and Ventura Townehouse; and this inaugural event is supported by EJ Harrison and Sons.
The City of Ventura turns 150 on April 2, 2016. To observe this milestone the city is working with community partners to present a series of special events, programs and activities over five months (150 days) celebrating the amazing span of Ventura history and culture reaching before and after the California State Senate approved “An Act to Incorporate the Town of San Buenaventura” on March 10, 1866 that took effect on April 2 – from the indigenous Chumash to the waves of Spanish, Mexican, Chinese, European, Yankee and today’s international immigrants who have enriched our city over the years.
