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Support held for Captain Myles “Danny” Smith

Captain Smith was injured doing what he loved.

Photos by Michael Gordon

The Ventura community gathered on July 10 to support injured firefighter Myles “Danny” Smith with a fundraiser and raffle. Captain Smith was severely injured while fighting a brush fire in 2015, and forced to retire. Since then, he’s continued to battle his injuries and most recently had a leg amputated as a result of his injuries due to a lack of blood flow.

On April 12, 2015, Smith was responding to a brush fire near Highway 33 when he fell backwards 15’ into a concrete drainage ditch. The fall shattered his arm and fractured his hip. Smith has undergone many many surgeries since the accident.

Friends, family, and colleagues were all there to help with his medical costs and the costs to make his home more accessible. It was held at the MadeWest Brewery at 1744 Donlan St.

“Danny pushed me to become a firefighter and helped me along the way,” stated fundraiser organizer and Ventura County Fed Fire engineer Chris Botelho. “His family has always stepped up to support the community and help others…now it’s our turn to return the favor to them.”

“Our mission is to serve Ventura firefighters and their families,” said Joe Booth, executive director of the Foundation. “Community support for the event has been amazing – so many businesses have donated raffle prizes – we’re excited to have a fun time on Sunday and help raise money for a great family.” The Ventura Fire Foundation is acting as fiscal sponsor for the event.

More information is available at www.venturafirefoundation.org

Voices and strings rule the 2022 Ventura Music Festival

by Richard Newsham, VMF consultant

The Ventura Music Festival’s “Onward” 27th season will toast the communing of music’s two kissing cousins—voices and strings—in seven acts over two weekends from July 27 to August 7.

Three groups—the septet Adaawe , chanteuse Veronica Swift and choir The Crossing—explore Nina Simone’s declaration that “the human voice is the only pure instrument.” And three ensembles—We Banjo 3, Django Festival Allstars and The Moanin’ Frogs—plus pianist Sean Chen salute strings and instruments “that sing,” including the saxophone that Stan Getz claims is the instrument kingdom’s closest relative to the human voice.

The VMF Free Concert in the Park season opener—the all-female band Adaawe— springs from West African roots and brings gospel harmonies and American funk to their world-fusion mix on Wednesday, July 27, at 5:30 pm at Mission Park in downtown Ventura.

“The hottest group in Irish music”—We Banjo 3—will “open the road” to weekend one on Friday, July 29, at 7:30 pm, with their self-described Billboard chart topping “Celtgrass” blend of traditional Irish, old time Americana and wide blue(grass) yonder music. Two sets of Galway brothers vocalize with “musical intimacy” and play banjos, mandolins, (tenor) guitars, a fiddle and the goat-skinned bodhrán drum with a “freshness and finesse bordering on the magical,” says The Wall Street Journal, citing their Washington, DC, performance for President Obama.

Why hunt Paris’ Clignancourt flea market for his cabaret bar La Chope de Puce when the Django Festival Allstars will bring the music of the legendary 1930-40’s gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt to Ventura and fully into the 21st century on Saturday, July 30, at 7:30 pm? A quintet of jazz virtuosos—button-accordionist Ludovic Beier, violinist Pierre Blanchard, lead guitarist Samson Schmitt, rhythm guitarist DouDou Cuillerier and bassist Antonio Lucusati—capture the fierce, soulful and swirling intensity of Reinhardt’s “le jazz hot” style.

Globetrotting pianist, composer, arranger and in-demand master-class teacher Sean Chen is a Steinway Artist, Juilliard and Yale School of Music alumnus and pupil of beloved leader of Ventura County’s classical music community Edward Francis. He returns to Ventura on Sunday, July 31, at 3 pm for a program of piano power and magic featuring what the Republic calls “alluring, colorfully shaded renditions” of Mozart (Marriage of Figaro), Debussy (Images) , Liszt (Deux légendes), Chopin (Barcarolle), Rachmaninoff (Symphony No 2 Adagio) and Mendelssohn (Octet).

“Music festivals are a place for freedom, discovery and excitement,” says VMF Executive Director Susan Scott. “Find yours this summer at the Ventura Music Festival.”

Ventura College Performing Arts Center, 4700 Loma Vista Road, is the festival concert venue for all indoor performances.

Featured in the next Breeze issue: Sax septet The Moanin’ Frogs (Fri, 8/5), singer Veronica Swift (Sat, 8/6) and Grammy® Best Choral Group winner, The Crossing (Sun, 8/7).

Tickets: $15-65 at www.venturamusicfestival.org and 805.648.3146.

Patriotic Event Held at Cypress Place Senior Living

Helen dancing at Songs Across America with a lucky guy.

The 4th of July holiday got off to an early start at Cypress Place Senior Living in Ventura when the senior living community hosted their “Songs Across America” patriotic event on Wednesday June 29, 2022.

In true old fashioned Americana style, Cypress Place celebrated the 4th of July with live patriotic music performed by Sam’s Mardi Gras Band. Desserts and specialty coffees were served to residents, their family members, and friends of the community, by Cypress Place staff during the festive event.

Ron Perkovich and Rick Peterson, from the Monday Night Poinsettia Dance Club, were also in attendance, adding to the lively environment while dancing with residents and attendees looking to celebrate life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

“This was just such a wonderful, wonderful evening,” enthused Helen Brant, a resident at Cypress Place, who was seen frequently on the dance floor. “It was the best party ever.”

American classics such as Yankee Doodle Dandy, This Land Is Your Land, and American military branch of service songs, amongst many others, were performed by the five-piece band.

“We try to bring as much joy as possible to our residents,” said Gina Salman, executive director of Cypress Place. “It makes our hearts swell with happiness and pride to see everyone enjoy themselves with events like these here at our community.”

The evening wound down with everyone joining in on a rousing yet touching rendition of God Bless America, flags waving gently in the evening breeze.

Cypress Place Senior Living is a premiere independent living, assisted living, and memory care community in the city of Ventura. For more information about Cypress Place Senior Living located at 1200/1220 Cypress Point Ln Ventura, CA 93003, visit www.cypressplaceseniorlivig.com or call 805-650-8000.

Women’s Economic Ventures (WEV) hosts Award Ceremony

On June 29th, Women’s Economic Ventures (WEV) hosted an Award Ceremony at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center to distribute $225,000 to entrepreneurial Hispanic and Indigenous Ventura County community members. Forty-five Emprendedores program participants, thirty-one women and 14 men, successfully completed WEV’s free, 6-week business training program and applied for grant funding; each received a $5,000 grant award for their small business needs. For more program information, including the upcoming Santa Barbara County cohort enrollment, visit www.wevonline.org/emprendimiento .

Some of the new developments being proposed, approved or under construction in Ventura.

Mission Apartments – Interior and exterior improvements. Corner of Oak and Santa Clara Streets. Under review at Historic Preservation Committee on July 20. Staff report with specific details to be published in the Agenda Center  (cityofventura.ca.gov/agendacenter) on July 15.

 

HPC Purpose – Report to the Planning Commission, advise and recommend concerning the designation of historic districts, landmark sites, natural configurations, buildings, structures, and points of interest significant to the heritage and development of the City.

 

 Anacapa Courts- 4 story mixed use development 24 condominiums, 3850 sq ft commercial space approved and recently sold to a new developer located at 299 East Main.

 

 

Willow/ Ravello- 2-4 story buildings (13 separate buildings) with 306 apartments and 5000 sq ft of commercial space under construction at Northbank and Johnson Drives

 

For more information go to www.LivableVentura.com or access the city development map at www.cityofventura.ca.gov Permit Services “button” or Development Map Permit Services | Ventura, CA for projects Under Review, Scheduled for Hearing or Entitled (Approved) and Under Construction.

Vol. 15, No. 21 – July 13 – July 26, 2022 – Movie Review

Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
Snowflake Mountain – Netflix Series

3 out of 4 palm trees
Breeze rating from 1 to 4 palm trees, 4 being best.

In Snowflake Mountain, ten overly emotional, easily offended young adults are sent by their parents to what they believe is a resort vacation, only to discover they’ve actually been sent to a wilderness survival retreat to help them to live their own adult lives with all the responsibilities that entails. Their parents are tired of them not meeting their potential so they tricked their giant babies into going far far away and “grow the hell up” under the guidance of Survival Experts Matt Tate (army combat engineer for almost 10 years) and Joel Graves (former navy ordinance disposal, bomb squad), along with Cat Bigney (primative skills expert and survival educator).

The camp is completely off grid and the group, which includes 5 men and 5 women from across the globe, must learn to adapt and change their snowflake ways of being lazy and feeling entitled or suffer consequences, which is a very new concept to this eclectic group of young adults. The women include: Rae, 25 Kent, UK; Deandra, 24 New York; Derriea, 25 New York; Devon, 20 New York; Olivia, 25 Ohio (who quit day 1); and Francesca, 21 New York who came to camp half way through the series to replace Olivia’s spot. The men included: Liam, 21 Warwickshire, UK; Carl, 23 California; Sunny, 26 Pennsylvania; Randy, 23 Florida; Solomon, 26 Virginia.

The first day they were all in complete shock when they were driven into the mountains and dropped off with their luggage on a dirt road. Matt and Joel arrived in ATVs and told them to put their essential items in the dry bags supplied and hike back to camp. Matt and Joel gathered their luggage and met at camp for their first lesson in being flexible and adaptable. They then blew up all the luggage as a lesson in overcoming setbacks, making them stronger because sometimes in life there’s unexpected loss, and also sometimes material things weigh people down. Their motivation to stay was a $50,000 prize that would be awarded to one of them at the end, but the catch was that for every person that decided to quit, $5,000 would be taken from the prize money.

Matt and Joel started with simple things to help them begin to take care of themselves such as finding food caches in the woods or chopping down a tree for firewood. They were guided to be self-sufficient by doing things many of them had never done their entire lives such as cooking and cleaning, but also had to embrace using outhouses and showering outdoors. There were wilderness lessons like using a compass and skinning a deer, along with confidence building exercises like climbing a tall tree with climbing gear and breaking a board with their hands.

Those who needed extra help in being a part of the experience ended up at Last Chance Lake, where they had the choice of sleeping in the woods in a primitive shelter, or seeking shelter in a warm RV which would also mean they had quit and would be sent home. The end goal that all their experiences in discipline and teamwork was preparing them for was a 22 mile, 2 day hike to the top of a high mountain peak – the first day to basecamp being very physically challenging and the hike to the top the second day actually being perilous for skilled climbers.

To make it to the summit and for someone to win $50,000, they’ll have to challenge themselves, grow as individuals and work together as a team, concepts completely foreign to all of them.

Runtime: 8 – 40m Episodes

The Dark Watchers

Is this tall black figure one of the mysterious “Black Watchers”? Photo by Patricia Schallert

by Richard Senate

In passing though Ventura’s City Hall the other day, I paused to look at the decorative mural in the atrium. It was inspired by the sacred cave paintings of the Chumash People found in the Ventura County back country.

I saw that one of the images depicted was a tall black figure and that reminded me of stories I heard of the mysterious “Black Watchers” seen in San Luis Obispo County and Avila Beach. They are reported in the Big Sur area and along the Santa Lucia Mountains. They have been seen and reported for well over two hundred years.

The Spanish called them, “Los Vigilantes Oscuros” (The Dark Watchers) and they traced them back to the Chumash People.  They are described as tall, perhaps ten feet in height, wearing capes or robes, featureless forms, more silhouettes that figures. All black and motionless. They simply watch hikers and when approached, they vanish. Some believe they are negative spirit forms and can only bring bad luck. They have been seen for decades and even found their way into John Steinbeck’s short story “Flight” that appeared in his collection of short tales titled “The Long Valley.”

Steinbeck’s son Thomas Steinbeck told that he encountered one of them while hiking long ago. The images seem to only appear at dawn and dusk, when the sun is low in the high mountains, leading some to speculate that such sightings are similar to the Broeker Specter seen in the German  Alps.   A trick of the shadows or reflections in the mists?

Skeptics discount the recent sightings in the Big Sur of the Dark Watchers to drug induced hallucinogenic manifestations.    But such accounts remind me of stories of Shadow People, or the mysterious Hat Man seen by some. I recall one story of a hiker near Topa-topa in Ojai who saw such an apparition. I wonder if any others have seen this figure here in Ventura County?

Vol. 15, No. 21 – July 13 – July 26, 2022 – A View from House Seats

by Shirley Lorraine

Spellers Put to the T.E.S.T.

Even though school is out county-wide, the Spelling Bee must go on. That is, the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee now being held on the Conejo Players stage in Thousand Oaks through July 17.

Competition is never easy, but for six middle school age students in Putnam County facing their fears as they work to overcome their insecurities, their myriad family issues and peer pressure to attempt to triumph in the Bee, it is especially challenging. The six quite disparate students each have their own singular ways of coping and recall, providing the audience with a great deal of laughter and empathy.

The students are played by Paige Pensivy as the confident, several-time winner; Jack Cleary the eccentric, homeschooled Leaf Coneybear; Hannah Saltman portrays a shy and insecure Olive Ostrovsky. Aaron Ellis is the Boy Scout Chip Tolentino (who ultimately suffers an embarrassing attack of inopportune puberty), Jacob Coners is William Barfee (pronounced Bar-Fay), and Jenna Lay is Logainne SchwarztandGrubenierre. Each one gave distinct and delightful characterizations, tackling their individual shining moments with verve and enthusiasm.

Three “adult” characters, the Bee organizer and town realtor (Rona Lisa Peretti), Vice-Principal Douglas Panch, (played wonderfully androgynously by Leilani Toone), and Mitch (Jeremy Matticks, a man serving community service hours, hold the students to the task at hand.

One tricky element of this play is the opportunity for the actors to improvise, adding often hilarious lines and actions to the play. Audience members are encouraged to “sign up” to be in the Bee as they enter the theater. Several are then chosen to participate in the Bee on stage, offering additional unknowns and opportunities. The audience immediately becomes a part of the Bee itself, rooting for everyone. Lots of fun.

To the cast and director’s credit, these elements were all handled seamlessly. Word definitions provided by Vice Principal Panch become a highlight of the action. Because of the unknown elements that can affect timing, the song order is not announced as it can change. Lots for the actors to keep track of! When a speller is eliminated, the character renders a “goodbye” song, is given a juice box and ushered off the stage.

Several of the “kids” and Mitch reappear as additional characters to add flavor and substance to the spellers’ backstories. The musical numbers are lively and feature some outstanding voices among the cast. The songs themselves are not particularly memorable but are appropriate to the action.

The ubiquitous school gymnasium setting, complete with climbing rope, posters and bleachers, is just right. The single microphone center stage is almost a character into itself. The production is tight and worthy of attendance. Go. It’s a fun show.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee plays Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. only through July 17. A full program can be accessed on the CPT website, www.ConejoPlayers.org. Make reservations via the website or 805-495-3715.

Tree Town

Santa Clara Street in downtown Ventura has had several empty tree wells which have recently been planted with Santa Cruz Island Ironwood trees. This is a native evergreen tree that has low water requirement and grows well in the Channel Islands region. It flowers in the spring and summer, and its size will be up to 50 feet tall and 24 feet wide. Look forward to seeing these unique trees provide more shade and beauty in our downtown!

venturatreealliance.com