Up next, the CAPS staff is gearing up for an Open House at the CAPS Media Center.
In June the CAPS Media Center reopened on a limited basis, by appointment, for existing CAPS Members. Among the first to take advantage of the CAPS resources are the self-described “Artists in Exile.” Under the guidance of Phil Taggart, CAPS’ “Artist in Residence,” the eclectic ensemble of musicians, poets and other artists gather one evening per week to record live performances in the CAPS production studio.
The summer months have kept CAPS Media crews busy with a variety of productions, highlights include recording and live streaming graduation ceremonies for Ventura, Buena, Pacific, and El Camino high schools and Ventura College as well as recording and live streaming the Ventura Unified School Board meeting.
For the City of Ventura, CAPS crews continue to provide weekly coverage, broadcasting and streaming of meetings at City Hall including City Council, Design Review, Historic Preservation, and Community Development. In addition, videographer/editors Gary Roll and Alex Uvari recorded, edited, broadcast, and streamed public information meetings for the City at the Westside Community Center and Pierpont Elementary.
CAPS crews continue collaborations with the outstanding staff at the Museum of Ventura County on engaging productions commemorating Ventura County’s 150th anniversary. The diverse projects include Interviews with Innovators – informative discussions on current and past events with Lucas Zucker from CAUSE, Carlos Ortega the MVC curator, and Regina Crawford from the NAACP Ventura County. Feast or Flop is a savory series of tasty recreations of historic Ventura County recipes cooked up from the MVC archives by host Renee Tallent, the MVC collections manager with chefs throughout the county. Thus far the menu has included lima bean loaf, avocado soup and other local creations prepared by Adam Hart, director of the culinary arts program at Oxnard College, and Luis Sanchez, chef, and owner of Mouthful Eatery in Thousand Oaks.
The CAPS/MVC collaborations for the 150th celebration also include Voices of Ventura County a series of historic interviews selected from the MVC archives by Deya Terrafranca, the research and archives director at the museum. The fragile cassette recordings were restored, digitized, and formatted into programs by CAPS staff members Elizabeth Rodeno and Manny Reynoso.
KPPQ – CAPS Radio’s DJ of the month is Kevin Wallace. Kevin is director of the Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts as well as a singer/songwriter. He says his interest in visual art, conceptual work, design, storytelling, and poetry can all be traced to the albums that he collected, listened to, and studied as a young boy, rummaging through the remainder bins at his local record stores in Detroit. A member of KPPQ from the start, he has produced 2 shows: an arts and music show and his current venture, Ojai Dream. Kevin shares his passion for the musical arts on Ojai Dream, airing Mondays and Fridays at 8pm and Saturdays at Noon on KPPQ-LP 104.1 FM and streaming on MyTuner.
Up next, the CAPS staff is gearing up for an Open House at the CAPS Media Center in the coming months. The Open House is an opportunity for the public to drop in and discover all the media resources and talent available for everyone in Ventura. More information on the upcoming Open House will be available in the coming weeks on the CAPS website at capsmedia.org, on KPPQ, on social media, and elsewhere.
CAPS Membership will be open to anyone who lives, works, or attends school in Ventura. Annual membership fees are currently $40 for an individual or $100 for a nonprofit organization.
