Events by Ana Baker

Ventura Poinsettia Dance Club meets every Monday from 7:30 p.m. to 9:45p.m. at the Poinsettia Pavilion, 3451 Foothill. Ballroom, swing, Latin, mixers and line dancing. Members $9, non-members $11, first time dancers are free. Call 407-9971 for more information.
Free admission stage show, 2p.m. to 4p.m. First Sunday of every month.  Old Time Country Bluegrass Gospel Music Assoc. Poinsettia Pavilion. For more Information call 517-1131.

DBSA Ventura, the local chapter of the Depression & Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) hosts two regular, confidential, peer-led, self-help support groups. The evening meeting takes place every Tuesday from 6:30p.m. to 8p.m. Hope for recovery at Bible Fellowship Church,6950 Ralston Street in Room 301 of Building 300. Attendees should enter the parking lot off Johnson Drive. Email [email protected], visit facebook.com/DBSA.Ventura or call 253-3289 for more information.
The daytime meeting is from 1p.m. to 3p.m. at the New Visions Center on the first and third Saturdays of the month. Turning Point Foundation’s New Vision Center is located at 1065 E. Main Street. Email [email protected], visit facebook.com/DBSA.Ventura or call 746-3106 for more information.

May 14: Population changes of seal and sea lion species at the Channel Islands, including the recent high abandonment rate of California sea lion pups, will be discussed by marine biologist Dr. Brent Stewart during the From Shore to Sea lecture. Stewart is a Senior Research Scientist at Hubbs-Sea World Research Institute. At 7p.m. on the second Thursday of May, September, October, and November at the Channel Islands National Park Visitor Center, 1901 Spinnaker Dr. The programs are free and open to the public.

May 16: Families and children invited to free Kids Swap Meet, at Barranca Vista Park 7050 Ralston St. Shop for gently used games, toys, clothes, bikes and books at the City of Ventura’s annual Kids Swap Meet. Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.  The swap meet “for kids by kids” up to 18 years of age encourages them to clean out their closets or garages of items to sell or trade. Some children, service and church groups have used their booths to raise money for camps, mission trips and charity causes such as breast cancer, MS or disaster victims.

May 16: A crowd will join hands forming a line across the beach in a local “Hands Across the Sand” gathering. This is one of hundreds of synchronized events globally to raise awareness about the dangers of dirty fuels and the need to speed the transition to available, affordable clean energy solutions.  Citizens from Ventura County will be joined by Surfrider Foundation and Ventura County Climate Hub at noon on Saturday, at Surfers Point Park.

May 16: Ventura County Genealogical Society Monthly Program
Saturday, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm.
Ventura County Public Health Center, 3147 Loma Vista Rd.
The speaker will be Eric Seiss. Topics “Follow the Path to the Old Country with Emigration Records and the GPS (Genealogical Proof Standard)”

May 17:  “A History of A People: The LGBTQ Movement” at noon. This program will feature Michael Oliveira, archivist at ONE Gay & Lesbian Archives at USC on the history of the LGBTQ movement in the U.S., the role of the Archives, and preserving personal papers and photographs for research and future generations. Unitarian Universalist Church of Ventura, 5654 Ralston St. For more information, call 665-3323 or [email protected]. Presented by Interweave LGBTQ & Friends of Ventura UU Church.

May 17: The Jimmy McConnell 18 Piece Big Band is the feature band at the Channel Cities Jazz Club.  Bring your dancing shoes, your friends and be a part of the wonderful world of swing. Dancing starts at 1 p.m. to 4:30p.m. Sunday at the Pacific Corinthian Yacht Club2600 South Harbor Blvd. Oxnard. The Jazz club audience consists of all classes and ages from mature jazz fans to students, who are discovering this vital American roots music for the first time. Members $7 and General Public $10.  All meetings and events are open to the public

May 18: Channel Islands Parliamentarians will feature a lesson, “Let Me Interrupt,” presented by Sharon Hillbrant.  The meeting is held at 7p.m. at the Main Street Restaurant and Steakhouse, 3159 E. Main.  Those wishing to order food should arrive at 6p.m. Non-members are welcome.  Membership is $25 per year. For information call 390-4518.

May 19: Ventura Retired Men’s Group will meet from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Ventura Elks Lodge, 2126 Knoll Drive.  Meetings are held on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month.
Steve Treanor, retired Southern California Division Chief of the Calif. State Park System, will tell about the CA State Parks and the Ronald Reagan Ranch. For more information on the Group & future events, visit http://www.VenturaRetiredMen.org/fp.html or call Gene Wink at 647-2513.

May 21: Mark your calendars for the Mayor’s reception with readings by the winners of the 2015 Art Tales contest. Reception and poetry readings will be held at the E.P. Foster Library second floor at 5:30 p.m. A record 104 poets and writers entered the contest.  Details will follow when winners are announced here in the next week to ten days. Winners also have the opportunity to participate in the Library’s Thursday night poetry series.

May 21: Circus Vargas, America’s favorite traveling Big Top circus continues to thrill and enchant children of all ages with their new and amazing 2015 edition, Arlequin.  Steeped in tradition and devoted to all things magnificent and happy, Circus Vargas presents an array of unparalleled artists and performers dedicated to captivate and astound you. A world of wonder and awe await you under the big top at the Ventura County Fairgrounds May 21 thru 25.

May 24: The Ventura Tennis Club, in cooperation with the Ventura Recreation and Community Services, is hosting its bi-annual Ventura Tennis Day on Saturday, from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event will be held at the Camino Real Tennis Park.
The event will include clinics for adults and kids from 10:30 to 12:00 p.m. with tennis pro Scott Burton and other staff. Then there will be racquet demos. After the clinics, there will be a barbecue lunch at noon followed by organized doubles play.
The Ventura Tennis Club is a non-profit community based club bringing tennis enthusiasts of all abilities together for social and competitive play.
Information: http://www.venturatennisclub.com

Footworks Youth Ballet is proud to announce a unique production of the classic fairy tale Snow White with performances on May 30 and 31 at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center. Snow White is not known as a traditional classical ballet but is often choreographed in the classical ballet tradition.

Artistic director and choreographer Kirsten Oakley from Oakley Ballet Center (the studio associated with Footworks Youth Ballet) has hand-selected classical music to accompany her original choreography to tell this enduring tale of good overcoming evil.

After spending hours researching and listening to different classical music, Oakley primarily landed upon the Russian composer Alexander Glazunov, a leading composer in the generation after Tchaikovsky (composer of The Nutcracker, Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty). A Romanticist at heart, Glazunov’s music, puzzle-fit together by Oakley, became the inspiration for the characters to develop within the story of Snow White. By hand-selecting the music, Oakley could also create choreography to showcase her young dancers, their personalities and their individual abilities. Snow White is performed by Ariana Castillo (Saturday) and Katelyn Sanchez (Sunday), Mikaela Roth performs the Evil Queen, and the three mirrors—Envy, Vanity and Pride—are performed by Evelyn Augros/Katelyn Sanchez, Ariana Castillo/Grace Story and Maya Holbrook. Snow White’s sweet friend, the Bluebird, is performed by Tessa Gallagher and the lead Deer is performed by Grace Story/Evelyn Augros.

The remaining cast of 65 dancers, ranging in age from 6-18 years of age, represent the woodland animals that Snow White encounters and the ever-endearing Seven Dwarfs.

Aside from the usual humor that Oakley injects into her ballets, an aspect of particular interest is the drama of the Queen who, in Oakley’s interpretation, is plagued by her character flaws of Envy, Vanity and Pride. She tries to rid herself of these evil traits, but when she goes to the Mirror, they always rise up and take control of her.

True to their mission to provide educational opportunities to young people through the art of ballet, Footworks Youth Ballet employs classical ballet as a teaching tool for their students. Each year they perform two full-scale productions.

Footworks Youth Ballet also continues to reach to the community through Outreach Performance, providing access to school children who might otherwise not be able to attend. The Snow White Outreach Event is sold out and will reach over 3,000 students on May 29th at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center.

Family Educational Hour is held one hour prior to each show. Learn about this unique production, the costumes, ballet history and the original score of this enchanting forest fantasy.

Snow White , Saturday May 30th and Sunday May 31st  2 p.m.

Tickets at http://www.footworksyouthballet.org or  486-2424.

Circus Vargas, America’s favorite traveling Big Top circus continues to thrill and enchant children of all ages with their new and amazing 2015 edition, Arlequin! Steeped in tradition and devoted to all things magnificent and happy, Circus Vargas presents an array of unparalleled artists and performers!

An amazing experience, built on tradition with vision and innovation, to create new and treasured memories for generations to come!

A world of wonder and awe await you under the big top at the Ventura County Fairgrounds May 21-25!

On May 17th, dozens of volunteers will fan out across Ventura to harvest fresh surplus fruit from backyard fruit trees in the first annual Citrus Sunday, sponsored by Food Forward.  All of the harvest will be donated to local food pantries feeding our neighbors in need. Volunteers can either register for a pick organized by Food Forward or harvest their own trees in a Do It Yourself (DIY) pick using boxes and equipment provided by Food Forward.  After the event, Food Forward will host a picnic at their office at 77 N. California St. (Across from city hall)

“We are seeking fruit trees to harvest, and volunteers to participate,” said Jim Mangis, Food Forward’s Ventura County Branch Manager. “This will be a great day of food rescue, fellowship, and sharing. Citrus, kumquats, vegetables, are all perfect foods for our program. “

Volunteers, and fruit donors can sign up at foodforward.org or by calling 630-2728.   DIY(Do it Yourself) Pick participants can pick up boxes to fill with fruit prior to the event and then drop off once they have collected fruit. For more information, and pick up and drop off locations contact [email protected].

Food Forward is a non-profit organization that organizes volunteers to harvest fresh, local produce that would otherwise go to waste, connecting this abundance with people in need. 3,600 volunteers have harvested over 9,000,000 pounds of fruit since 2009.