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The Fair is coming

Huey Lewis and the News will be on the grandstand stage at the Fair on Friday, August 4.

Everyone knows kids 12 and under are admitted completely free on Kid’s day at the Ventura County Fair. But this year on Friday, August 4, even grown-ups become kids again because everyone 13 and older is admitted for the regular kid’s price of only $9.00, a 25% savings over the regular adult admission price of $12.00! Come out and enjoy all the Fair has to offer, including great rides and games, food, competitive exhibits, livestock, shopping, contests, headline entertainment, fireworks and more!

“We want to create more value and more opportunities for families with and without kids to be together at this year’s Fair,” said Barbara Quaid, the Fair’s CEO. “What better way than with free admission for those 12 and under and kid’s price for kids 13 and older?”

Many Fair departments offer special activities for kids on Kid’s Day. Please visit www.VenturaCountyFair.org or call 648-3376 for more information.

This year, to add more value to purchasers of our unlimited ride promotion wristbands, each purchaser of a wrist band will receive two free midway game plays with the purchase of two midway game plays during the unlimited ride promotion hours. An unlimited ride wristband is $30.00 and allows the purchaser unlimited access to all rides on the midway from opening until 7:00 PM on Thursday, August 3rd, Monday, August 7th, Tuesday, August 8th, and Thursday, August 10th. With each wristband the purchaser will receive coupons good for the free midway games. Wristbands must be affixed and free game offer is good only until 7:00 PM on the day issued. Midway coupons required to purchase game plays, no cash is accepted at midway game booths.

“Our game operators are offering thousands of free game plays with this new promotion,” said Barbara Quaid, CEO of the Ventura County Fair. “We are unaware of any other fair in California offering buy one get one free games in conjunction with unlimited ride wristbands.” The Ventura County Fair runs August 2nd through the 13th this year but the promotion is only good on Thursdays, Monday and Tuesday. Visit www.VenturaCountyFair.org or call 648-3376 for more information.

Focus Area One: Ventura Business is Growing!

Focus Area One will bring business, jobs and revenue to the City. Photo courtesy of City of Ventura

by Gail Field

Action has begun on a project slated to bring business, jobs and revenue to the City of Ventura. The project, called “Focus Area One,” will expand the Auto Center and create space for additional commercial sites by developing the adjacent vacant area and extending Olivas Park Drive.

“This is a project planned to bring jobs and dollars to the City of Ventura,” says Community Development Director, Jeff Lambert. “The development will provide an integrated mix of automobile sales and retail establishments to meet the needs of the residents of the City of Ventura and surrounding communities.”

The project is bounded on the south by vacant land and on the north by US 101 near the Johnson Drive on- and off-ramps with visibility from the freeway. The site will have excellent access when the new freeway ramps are constructed as currently planned.

“In addition,” says Lambert, “we plan to apply a high level of design standards in order to ensure creating an aesthetically pleasing area that will enhance the entry point for the east end of the City.”

City planners face some constraints in developing the Auto Center project.

Some of the challenges have to do with roadways. The area has excellent visibility from the freeway, but access is constrained by the configuration of the Johnson Drive interchange. However, the site will have improved access once the new on-off ramp is constructed as currently planned. Also, overhead utility lines on the north side of Auto Center Drive will be removed to permit road widening. The lines are proposed to be located underground. The plan also includes improving the signage, making it more visible from the freeway and attractive to destination retail.

Ventura city council member Matt LaVere expressed his enthusiasm for the project. “One of my top priorities as a new council member is economic development and ensuring that our City’s economy is strong. Commercial and industrial space is at a premium in Ventura. Bottom line, we need more of it. A lot more.”

LaVere speaks from his perspective as a business attorney who represents many Ventura-based businesses and believes this project will be a boon for the Ventura economy. “A thriving economy not only creates a larger sales tax base, but ideally, it creates the jobs that allow Venturans to live and work here,” he says. “I hate to hear stories about how so many Venturans are forced into long commutes for their jobs. Not only does that create the traffic congestion we all despise, but it means less time for these individuals to spend with their family or giving back to their community.”

“I am particularly excited about the interplay of Ventura’s auto center and Focus Area One,” says LaVere. “The Auto Center is the number one sales tax generator in Ventura and provides close to a thousand jobs. Together, the new Focus Area One and a strong Auto Center have the potential of being the economic center of east Ventura.”

All in all, the project is set to encourage a stable, diversified, and well-balanced economy, to add to the job base within the city and to create a more beautiful shopping area going up according to plans.

Kids’ Arts surfboard raises $800 for program

Teresa and Eric of Duke’s Griddle ’N Grill on Seaward Ave. won the auction bid at $800.

Kids’ Arts is excited to announce that Teresa and Eric of Duke’s Griddle ’N Grill on Seaward Ave. won the auction bid at $800.00 for the Kids’ Arts surfboard at the Surf Rodeo event on July 16!! We thank you for your generous support through the years. They will “hang” the board at Duke’s for all to admire. Thanks, also, to Tim Reeser of Tribal Surfboards who shaped the board and donated it to Kids’ Art for the kids to decorate with their ocean theme and JD Drury of Surf Rodeo for naming Kids’ Arts as one of the beneficiaries of the event and supporting their mission to provide visual and performing arts classes for children.

Kids’ Arts is a nonprofit children’s art center that has provided free creative arts classes to children, 5-14 years old, for 25 years in Ventura. Visit them on Saturday mornings from 10:00 – 12:00 at 295 S. Arcade Dr. and let your creativity soar.

That’s them with Lynne Thurston from Kids’ Art. Call 628-9150 for more information or at www.kidsartsventura.org

The ‘C’ Street / Surfrider’s Point Beach Cleanup August 26

by James Francis Gray

Mark your calendars. The next Surfrider Foundation, Ventura County Chapter cleanup is August 26th, 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. Meet in Ventura on the beach promenade at the end of California Street.

They are breaking their previous year records each month. Using 124 volunteers, last month alone, the total collection was 396 pounds of trash, including 3,500 cigarette butts and two Star Wars characters.

So for tons of fun, join in for two + hours of cleaning up.

This group is one of the most successful out of eighty Surfrider Foundation chapters in America. It’s one of the best recreational opportunities in Ventura County. Bring your friends and family. Be a part of this worthwhile cause.

A volunteer,Ryan Power exclaimed, “Heads up: September 16, 2017 is the record breaking Coastal Cleanup day, the biggest volunteer event in the world!”

This vibrant chapter of volunteers, compromising of ocean enthusiasts interested in all aspects of beach management and ocean protections is waiting for you.

General meetings are every first Tuesday night of the month, 6:30-8:00 p.m., at Patagonia – Great Pacific Iron Works, 235 W. Santa Clara St. All are welcome.

Surfrider Foundation, Ventura County Chapter: serving our local community for over twenty years. For more information and details, please go to ventura.surfrider.org

Ventura City Municipal Art Acquisition Program

In May of 1999, the City Council established the Municipal Art Acquisition Program to document the history of visual art in Ventura through the annual purchase of important works of art created by area artists. The collection provides increased access to art of the highest quality and of distinctive merit through its display in the public areas of City Hall and other municipal buildings. The 2004 pastel by Bill McEnroe (1922-2015) can be enjoyed in the art collection in the corridors at City Hall.

Ventura Family YMCA making news

Dan Lyon, Danielle Brinkman and Ric Ruffinelli and Pattie Braga honored by the YMCA.

The Ventura Family YMCA has received a grant from Autism Speaks which will provide funding for Water Safety & Swim Lessons for children and adults with Autism.

“Learning to swim and safety around water are necessary life skills. We are grateful to Autism Speaks for their financial support and are pleased to partner with them to provide these important lessons and safety tips,” said Mrs. Eads, Support Services and Development Director of the Ventura Family YMCA.

These free lessons are one-on-one and available on a first come, first served basis. Membership is not necessary to qualify. For more information Nicole Eads at [email protected] or 642.2131 x 11.

The YMCA Board of Managers has announced the election of Pattie Braga as its new Board Chair for a 2-year term. Pattie has served as a member of the Y’s Board for four years and Chair Elect for one year.

“I was born and raised in Ventura and have a strong sense of ownership for our wonderful community,” said Ms. Braga.

As Board Chair, Braga will lead a board of 21 volunteers and work closely with the Executive Director on many strategic endevors.

The YMCA held a celebration to honor Board Members who have reached milestones in their service on the board.

Ric Ruffinelli was recognized for serving 15 years as a board member and Dan Lyon was recognized for serving on the board for 20 years while Pattie Braga and Cherie St. Jean were both recognized for serving on the board for 5 years.

In addition to honoring these outstanding long term volunteers, the Ventura Family YMCA celebrated outgoing Board Chair, Danielle Brinkman who served 3 years as the Ventura Family YMCA’s Board Chair.

For more information about the Ventura Family YMCA, visit http://www.ciymca.org/ventura/ or call 642-2131.

Top notch happy hour at Rhumb Line

Just a few of the wonderful Happy Hour selections at Rhumb Line.

by Jennifer Tipton

A Rhumb Line is the course of a ship that keeps a constant compass direction, good name for a restaurant that delivers consistently great food and service!

Also called “The Sunset Restaurant”, Rhumb Line is located where the old Scotch and Sirloin used to be in the Ventura Harbor. If you haven’t lived in Ventura for long, you probably have no idea where this is – 1510 Anchors Way Drive. With plenty of parking, the location provides beautiful views of the harbor just about anywhere you sit, there are indoor bistro type tables, a more formal dining area, bar seating that faces the harbor and a dog friendly outdoor patio also overlooking the harbor.

Everyone knows the best way to advertise (only second to running an ad in the Ventura Breeze) is word of mouth, so when a friend shared his experience at Rhumb Line, we all went to see for ourselves and what we found was indeed notable!

A Happy Hour is about the “tapas” or “small plates”, the adult beverages and great company, Rhumb Line delivered just that with the beauty of the boats and water as an added bonus.

The menu includes items you may not find anywhere else such as Blackened Ahi Sliders, Beef Sliders with bacon and blue cheese, a variety of Flatbread Pizzas and Oysters. These range from $5 to $10 each. The adult beverages selection offers the usual well drinks, beers and house wine for $5 and specialty cocktails such as Fresh Margaritas and one called a Rubedo (that sounded pretty tasty) for only $8 each.

The clever way to do happy hour is with a group so that each can choose a different selection and then share to taste a variety of tapas. We shared the Baby Back Riblets with a Szechuan glaze, the Ahi Poke served on large fried wontons with a sauce that again was delectable, the Shrimp/Chicken Quesadillas with pepper jack cheese, spinach and Pico de Gallo, Fried Calamari with a lemon aioli, Shrimp Bruschetta Bites with an aged balsamic glaze and the Lamb Sliders with arugula, tomato jam and goat cheese served with shoestring fries! The portions were not small, the flavors were fabulous and not one of us could choose a favorite, two of us even said, “wow, that calamari was good, and I don’t even like calamari!”

Service was good although we were missing a place setting and waited on a glass of water, but our plates were replaced with fresh ones for each dish which I thought was a nice touch and our server was very personable and kind.

A big shout out to Tommy Alizotis who we had a chance to meet, he is one of the 3 new owners that took over Rhumb Line about a year ago and is also the General Manager and Kitchen Manager – very impressive!

Rhumb Line’s Happy Hour is open every day from 3-7pm with all these tempting tapas and refreshing beverages, but bring your own great company (although the staff is very friendly). You could even invite me to join you.

Vol. 10, No. 22 – Aug 2 – Aug 15, 2017 – A View from House Seats

by Shirley Lorraine

Billy Elliott Dances into Simi

Billy Elliott, the Musical is the current offering by Actors’ Repertory Theatre of Simi, now playing at the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center. Based on the 2000 film, the staging features music by Elton John with lyrics and book by Lee Hall. Hall also wrote the screenplay for the film.

The story takes place in England and centers around Billy, young son of widower Jack Elliott, a coal miner. The family has been struggling to make ends meet since the death of Billy’s mother and now find themselves amid a union strike at the mines. Through a chance opportunity, Billy joins a ballet class and discovers that he both enjoys dance and has a talent for it. However, his father thinks he is taking boxing lessons. Emotions run high as his father comes to grips with Billy’s ambition to pursue dance, fearing that his own masculinity will be questioned by the other miners.

The Simi staging, directed by David Ralphe, provides a raw look at the values of family, community, unity and ambition. Peppered with talent both onstage and on the creative team, the production is a standout in the season. The cast uniformly handles the challenging accents well throughout, even though sometimes the words were hard to make out due to the unfamiliar phrasing. The gamut of emotions is covered, bringing anger, joy, surprise and even tears in all the right places.

One word of caution – the language used in script and song for both the adults and the children may shock some. However, the crude unsophisticated language is fitting for the setting, the situation and the characters.

The title role of Billy is played by Marcello Silva, who displays triple-threat skills. He has a strong singing voice, is a quite competent dancer in both ballet and tap, and carries his role with skill and confidence.

The large cast features solid performances by all, most notably Andy Mattick as Dad, Kayla Bailey as Dead Mum and MarLee Candell as Mrs. Wilkinson, the jaded ballet school teacher.

Stellar character roles are imbued with energy and depth. Kathleen Silverman plays it up as Grandma and Adam Womack kicks up his heels in a hysterical display of artistic expression. Noah Godard offers surprises as Billy’s friend Michael, including some fancy footwork.

Choreography by Becky Castells is creative. Even the miners and the police are given their turns to add a few steps, all well done. The cadre of young ballet girls pirouette and point with excitement and varying capability befitting their young ages. They complement Billy’s obvious dance training nicely.

A large orchestra provides more than ample sound which the actors must work to overcome in places, even with microphones. With the orchestra in front of the stage, patrons in the first few rows of seats will doubtless strain to hear the dialogue.

Billy Elliott won’t appeal to everyone due to its argumentative style. However, the characters pull you in and envelope you in the end. It is a performance well worth attending.

Billy Elliott continues through August 27. Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center, 3050 Los Angeles Ave, Simi Valley. $25 general admission, $22 seniors and students, $18 children 12 and under. 583-7900, simi-arts.org.

Ventura artist Noel Diotte

Ventura artist Noel Diotte has finished his amazing wetlands mosaic located by the Ventura “ponds.”

On his site he says “Wetlands Mosaic is done…..except polishing, scraping old glue, grout. May make a ceramic Lizard on the top….the butterfly flew to the ground….shattered!”

Would you like to know where this is located? [email protected] will tell you.

Photo by Pam Baumgardner