Take a short drive for a great day of food, fun, classic cars and live music
by Mark Bailey President PMCCPOA
From the coast to the mountains in just 90 scenic minutes. Come and visit us in the beautiful, picturesque village of Pine Mountain Club; an area surrounded with pine trees, unique shops, a general store, gas station, hotels and restaurants. The valley lies between two mountain ranges, with peaks soaring well above 8000 feet. Remember, this is the mountain; if you linger into the evening after the show is over it can cool off quickly once the sun goes down. But chances are, blue skies, a few clouds, and crisp, pine – scented air will make for a most enjoyable late summer day! This is our 20th annual Run to the Pines Car Show!
Saturday August 11th is the event. Registration starts at 7am, with the event beginning at 9 a.m. and the awards presentation taking place around 2:00 p.m. Admission and parking to attend the event are free! Trophies are awarded for classes such as, Merchants Choice, People’s Choice, Best Paint, Best Classic, Best Muscle Car, Best Hot Rod, Best Off Road, Best Truck, Best Motorcycle, and Best in Show. Weather in August is mild compared to 100+ in the valleys.
Take a short drive for a great day of food, fun, and live music while browsing beautiful vehicles! To participate in the event, download applications from www.runtothepinesautoshow.com and mail in. Pre-registration is $25 and $35 at the gate the day of the event. Email questions to – [email protected]. The event is located at 16200 Mil Potrero Hwy, Pine Mountain Club, 93222. Great for all car lovers! See You There!
The Ventura Police Community Foundation Executive Board of Directors is pleased to announce the first annual 2018 Heroes Among Us Gala which will be held on November 3, 2018 at the historic San Buenaventura Mission.
The event will recognize community members or groups, who through their personal or professional life, have displayed selflessness, dedication and compassion, making a positive impact in the City of Ventura.
Proceeds from the event will provide important support for the Ventura Police Community Foundation in fostering and funding programs and initiatives that strengthen community safety.
Nominations for community heroes accepted until July 31, 2018. Community members are invited to nominate a hero by submitting an online nomination form or downloading the form for submission by mail.
The mission of the Ventura Police Community Foundation is to foster and support programs and initiatives that strengthen a safe community and enhance the quality of life in Ventura.
Abundant local produce is readily available at local groceries and Farmers Markets.
Sustainability Now News
by Maryann Ridini Spencer
Consuming an abundance of processed, preserved and refined foods loaded with sugar such as store-bought cookies, cakes and candy or foods and soft drinks laden with chemicals names that can barely be pronounced may cause momentary bliss. However, indulging in excess over time can ultimately wreak havoc on a person’s waistline and mood as well as contribute to serious health consequences. In fact, research shows that regular consumption of these types of foods can lead to elevated blood sugar levels (putting offenders at a higher risk for diabetes) and contribute to a myriad of adverse health effects like an impaired immune system and vulnerability to chronic disease.
Clean Eating = Sustainable Health
“Clean Eating” is a popular term that means consuming “whole” or “real foods” (enjoyed in their natural form as found in nature) that are minimally processed and provide our bodies with the vitamins and nutrients they need.
In beautiful Ventura County, one of the agricultural hubs of the nation, abundant local produce is readily available at local groceries and Certified Farmers Markets.
There are tremendous health benefits to buying and consuming locally produced, in-season fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as sustainable meat and fish, and it’s also good for the environment. Food that doesn’t have to be transported over long distances translates into less travel time. Reduced travel time means fewer greenhouse gas emissions, which curbs air pollution and thus lessens the impact on climate change.
Get to Know Our Local Farmers
A trip to one of the Ventura Certified Farmers’ Markets is an excellent opportunity to meet and converse with local growers about their growing practices, whether or not they use chemicals in their food production, as well as their favorite recipe and storage tips. At the Certified Farmers’ Market Midtown at Pacific View Mall (Wednesdays, 9:00 am – 1:00 pm) or Downtown Ventura (8:30 am-Noon at the corner of Santa Clara and Palm Streets), open rain or shine, all farmers and producers must raise, catch, gather, grow or otherwise produce the products they sell. That goes for baked products too.
What’s in season for summer?
Here’s a partial list from Daylightfoods.com’s seasonal guide:
Fruit: Summer Squash, Melons, Tomatoes, Stone Fruit (Peaches, Nectarines,
Cherries, Apricots, Apriums, Plums, and Pluots), Persimmons, Pears, and Figs.
Vegetables: Broccoli Rabe, Cabbage, Kale, Broccoli, Celery, and Chard.
Farmers’ Market Quick Shopping Tips
Peruse kitchen cabinets and make a grocery list before venturing to the market to help reduce food waste.
Bring reusable shopping bags to carry purchases.
Ask farmers about their growing practices, storage tip suggestions, and how to use an unfamiliar fruit or veggie in a recipe.
Current California State health regulations make it illegal to bring dogs to farmer’s markets unless they’re service animals. Make appropriate plans for furry friends before your visit.
Find out more about Ventura County Certified Farmers’ Markets: vccfarmersmarkets.com.
As the reports of the June 6th Holiday Fire surfaced, the ThomasFireHelp.org team was already hard at work to connect those in need to those who had help to give. Within hours of the fire’s start, the ThomasFireHelp team had expanded the platform once designed to meet the needs for the Thomas Fire and Montecito Mudslide survivors to now serve the needs of our Goleta neighbors.
Since the Thomas Fire and Montecito Mudslide, ThomasFireHelp has continued to be a key leader in long term recovery efforts in the region. In an effort to expand their capacity to support and advocate for survivors, ThomasFireHelp has enriched their community partnerships and their recovery network now includes faith-based and service organizations. With these vital community collaborations in place, ThomasFireHelp was able to quickly deploy their innovative platform to assist residents affected by the Holiday Fire.
To date, ThomasFireHelp has had over 22,000 page views on ThomasFireHelp.org and saw posts on the ThomasFireHelp Facebook page reach 11,000 and nearly 13,000 people on critical days after the Thomas Fire and Montecito Slide, respectively. ThomasFireHelp with the use of their online platform, social media outreach and community partnerships works on the grassroots level to match help with need, solving problems on a one-on-one scale and picking up those who fell through the cracks.
“ThomasFireHelp was born out of the immediate and desperate needs of people in the Ventura and Santa Barbara communities facing disasters of unprecedented scale and destruction. No one knew where to go or what to do, and everyone wanted to help. That was our simple beginning we became the ‘Craigslist’ of recovery, building a web-based platform connecting those in need with those who had resources to give”, stated Emily Barany, co-founder of ThomasFireHelp.
The site offers everything from supplies and housing to services and volunteers. Following the closure of the 101 Highway after the Montecito Slide, ThomasFireHelp organized the Montecito Airlift, which deployed 64 volunteer pilots to transport doctors and medical patients, all of whom urgently needed to get across the mud when the 101 was closed for nearly two weeks. 117 passengers were transported as far north as Palo Alto and as far south as San Diego.
“The Thomas Fire and Montecito Mudslide disasters have devastated our community and more than 6 months later, survivors are still trying to find the support they need to get back on their feet” said Peter Zierhut, Vice President of Haas Automation, a local employer with a history of community support. He continued, “For that reason, the Gene Haas Foundation is announcing a challenge grant of $25,000 to ThomasFireHelp, allowing them to continue their work of connecting those affected by the disasters with the services they need. We’re proud to be a part of the good work being done by this hard working organization. As new disasters strike, innovative models like ThomasFireHelp will be integral to the recovery of the region. ThomasFireHelp is poised to be international leader in recovery assistance and The Gene Haas Foundation is proud to be part of the effort.”
The grant ensures that, for every dollar raised from the community, the Gene Haas Foundation will match that amount, up to $25,000.
After finally getting approval from the Coastal Commission to allow residential use (2008-10 and again 2012-14) and obtaining local permits, grading has started on the large “triangle lot” residential project. This development (off of Sanjon on the location of the former Crabshack Restaurant) will link Ventura to the beach and includes a new bluff-top public promenade with an overlook area fronting onto the Freeway.
The 231-unit multi-family residential apartment project is on approximately 11 acres. The project includes 137 one-bedroom units, 91 two-bedroom units, and 3 three-bedroom units.
Additionally, a 20,000 square foot publicly accessible park space is to be developed at the western edge of the project site adjacent to the Southern terminus of Ash Street. The project will have a new two-lane street with public parking available. Sidewalks are located on both sides of the street for pedestrian access.
Buenaventura Art Association Executive Director Sharon Taylor accepts a grant from the Scripps Howard Foundation from BAA member-volunteer Don Scott.
The Scripps Howard Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the media company E.W. Scripps, recently approved a volunteer grant in of $1,250 for the Buenaventura Art Association, Ventura’s 64-year-old nonprofit artists’ cooperative. BAA is relocating its downtown gallery to Bell Arts Factory, 432 N. Ventura Ave., and will use the funds toward constructing three moveable walls to increase the display space in its new home.
The grant will cover about a quarter of the cost of the 4-by-8-foot double-sided modules, which will add 192 square feet of wall space to the gallery.
Retiree Don Scott, a longtime BAA member and former board director, applied for the foundation’s help based on his 36-year career at the Ventura County Star and its predecessor, the Ventura Star-Free Press, both of which were Scripps newspapers. He and his wife, Mary Kolada Scott, also a BAA artist and former Scripps newsroom employee, have successfully applied for similar grants over the past several years for BAA projects. #SHFoundation
Railroad fences in midtown Ventura (this one along Vista Del Mar Drive) are being removed after Union Pacific dropped its application to legally install them. Nearly six years after first putting them up without a permit, Union Pacific Railroad has withdrawn its application to legally install the fences separating its trains from the midtown Ventura neighborhood.
Although illegal to cross the tracks, they are frequently used by midtown residents to access the beach. The California Coastal Commission and Ventura eventually cited Union Pacific because the railroad needed a permit for the installation and the height.
Please be careful if you cross – and be especially careful of the Amtrak trains that are extremely quiet.
A memorial and celebration of Joe’s life will be held Saturday July 21, next to Art City in the Avant Garden, 5:00 pm to 7:30 pm, 197 Dubbers Street, Ventura, off Olive Street up from West Main Street. Refreshments will be served. His friends and art associates are invited. (Park in nearby lots and take care walking across Olive.) Hosted by ARTLIFE, INC. a 501c3 organization.
Joe Cardella was born in 1945 in New Britain, Connecticut. An early stint in the U. S. Navy to Greece and Mykonos made a lasting impression. He eventually made the southern California coast his home to evoke that idyllic sun-lit ocean place of myth, art, and creative energy.
Settling in Ventura in 1988, he helped transform the local art scene into an innovative community, inspired local artists and encouraged others to make art, many for the first time. Works on paper, mail art, conceptual art, Fluxus art, sculpture, assemblage and graphic art were his own media. He helped form the Ventura Artist Union.
He also began publishing the international magazine ART-LIFE in 1981. He solicited artists here and around the world to submit 200 multiples of their single work that he bound in the Original Limited Edition Monthly magazine for 25 years—“A masterpiece in every issue,” he boasted.
He died May 15, 2018 of esophageal cancer. His ashes will head back to Greece for dispersal. His legacy of promoting the creative arts here and elsewhere will continue through a trust he leaves behind.
Mid-Life Crisis will be appearing at the Wild and Scenic Film Festival.
Movies, Music and So Much More!
The 9th annual Wild and Scenic Film Festival is coming to Ventura on Saturday, August 18. Nature lovers and film buffs can join with the Ventura Land Trust (VLT) at this popular annual community event to enjoy a line-up of beautiful and inspirational award-winning short films outdoors under the stars!
“The Wild and Scenic Film Festival brings us together to celebrate the beauty of the natural world and remind us why we should be steadfastly committed to protecting it,” said Derek Poultney, Ventura Land Trust Executive Director. “This year our celebration will be bigger and better than ever before.”
Before the sun sets and the films begin, music will be provided by two great local bands:
Bill Jones and J. Peter Boles – Bill is a founding member of the SoCal acoustic band Blind Horse Canyon and Peter is an Ojai-based storyteller and minstrel. Together they have played venues small and large across the state.
Mid Life Crisis – A hugely popular six-person Ventura cover band whose set list ranges from the 60’s through the new millennium.
The campus of the Ventura County Credit Union’s headquarters, 2575 Vista Del Mar in Ventura, will be transformed into an outdoor theater where festival-goers can sit back and relax on their own blankets and chairs while enjoying the movies, live music, food trucks, beer and wine, family-friendly games plus a raffle with high-end items. Vendors and community supporters will have tables lining the festival grounds and VLT will even serve up special family-friendly activities for parents and kids.
Tickets, which sell out every year, are $25 for adults and $5 for children. To purchase, go to www.venturalandtrust.org and click on the 2018 Wild and Scenic Film Festival ticket tab.
Ventura Land Trust (formerly Ventura Hillsides Conservancy) is dedicated to permanently preserving and protecting the land, water, wildlife and scenic beauty of the Ventura region for current and future generations. Founded in 2003, the 501(C)(3) non-profit organization is supported by over 600 members, local businesses and government partners. The land trust manages 90 acres of land along the Ventura River and is negotiating the purchase of its first hillside property. Ventura Land Trust’s offices are located in the Poinsettia Pavilion, 3451 Foothill Rd.
Olivia Roman was awarded a full scholarship to San Francisco Ballet School.
Olivia Roman, a 12 year old student at the Ballet Academy Ventura (BAV) was awarded a full scholarship to San Francisco Ballet School at the recent California Classics ballet competition. She was selected by a panel of judges and given the award by Yoko Katsumi a member of the San Francisco Ballet School faculty member.
Olivia will attend in July for a three week program. Jasmine Duncan, another BAV student was awarded a partial scholarship to Harid Conservatory. Olivia Roman is a 7th grade student at Cabrillo Middle School where she also plays saxophone in the wind ensemble and jazz band.
San Francisco Ballet’s School is one of the most prestigious professional ballet training centers in the U.S.A… Full scholarships are given rarely by the school and only to promising young dancers.
At the California Ballet Classics competition twelve other BAV students received gold and silver awards and the school received a gold trophy award for their National Character Ensemble.
Kathleen Noblin, Founder and Director of Ballet Academy Ventura stated, “Olivia’s work ethic and exceptional talent have brought her to this place. She is most deserving and needless to say I am very proud of her work. It is also a reflection of the excellent training that Ballet Academy Ventura (BAV) provides here in Ventura. She began ballet training at 2 years old at Ballet Academy Ventura.” Olivia was coached by Marina Fliagina, Brett Weidlich and Allison Crilly, all members of the BAV teaching staff.
