CAPS Membership is available to anyone who lives, works, or attends school in Ventura.

Are you interested in learning more about CAPS and becoming a member? Join us on Wednesday, November 8 from 4-8 pm for a special Orientation with the CAPS Crew open to anyone who is interested in becoming a CAPS member or just learning more about CAPS. No reservations needed.

The Information Orientation will last 30 – 40 minutes and includes how to become a CAPS Member, learn about programming and distribution information by Donald McConnell, CAPS Operations Manager. Meet the CAPS crew members who will train you in videography, studio production, video editing, radio & podcast production and register for classes. Plus, see all the CAPS gear that is available for members to use at no cost to create their own productions, including cameras, tripods, sound gear, editing computers and more.

CAPS Membership is available to anyone who lives, works, or attends school in Ventura. The CAPS Creative Community includes families, teenagers, young adults, mid-career professionals, educators, storytellers, retirees, and more. Plus, nonprofits, faith-based groups and community service organizations throughout Ventura County can become CAPS Members. Our member-produced programming includes community event coverage, local organizations, talk shows, music and dramatic performances and shows by, for and about local youth.

The CAPS mission is to create an engaged and informed community through participation in electronic media. CAPS needs you, our community, neighbors, and friends, to help us continue to fulfill that mission by helping you uncover your creative talent and master the skills you need to create and launch your own media projects.

Over the past few weeks CAPS Crews have been busy – managing multiple city council and other meetings at City Hall, and produced a wide variety projects in collaboration with the County and the Museum of Ventura County including Voices of Ventura County, a special collection of previously unheard local oral histories from the MVC archives remastered by CAPS, Feast of Flop, a fun and engaging cooking show that combines the culinary world with the treasures of the Museum archives, and the video component of the major MVC presentation: Ventura County, The Place We Call Home, a photography exhibition that highlights the diversity of our communities.

CAPS ECTV Crew members were on the scene at the County 150th Celebration Extravaganza in Santa Paula getting on-the-street comments and interviews with festival goers. CAPS recently produced a major video presentation for the Ventura College Community Foundation that premiered at the Museum on Friday, October 20th.

The CAPS Media Center is located a 65 Day Road, between Loma Vista and Telegraph, on the east side of Ventura College directly across from Foothill High School. CAPS is Ventura’s public access media center, managing Channel 6 (public) and Channel 15 (government and education), plus KPPQ radio at 104.1 with all channels and station streaming. CAPS crew members provide expertise and service to the City of Ventura by covering City Council and other meetings at City Hall, as well as producing informational public service videos more.

Join us on Wednesday, November 8 between 4-8pm for Orientation sessions at 4, 5, 6 or 7pm. For those who dropped by the CAPS Open House in October, this is a good time to learn more. The November 8 sessions will offer everyone an opportunity to discover a world of limitless creative possibilities at CAPS.

The last time Hokulea sailed down the coast of California was 28 years ago.

Legendary Hawaiian canoe Hōkūleʻa, revered for reviving the lost art of Polynesian voyaging and navigation, is currently docked in the picturesque coastal city of Monterey, California. The traditional double-hulled canoe has been sailing from Southeast Alaska down the Pacific Coast since June, 2023, when the Polynesian Voyaging Society (PVS) launched the Moananuiākea Voyage and began its four-year circumnavigation of the Pacific. Hōkūleʻa is set to make several stops in Southern California as part of this historic journey including Ventura, Marina Del Rey, Newport, Dana Point, and San Diego..

The last time Hokulea sailed down the coast of California was 28 years ago in 1995. From October 17-24 it will dock at the Ventura Yacht Club where it can be viewed.

The Moananuiākea Voyage will cover an estimated 43,000 nautical miles, 36 countries and archipelagoes, nearly 100 indigenous territories and more than 300 ports. Led by the Polynesian Voyaging Society (PVS), the Voyage is a global educational campaign that will amplify the vital importance of oceans and indigenous knowledge through port engagements, education and storytelling. The goal of the voyage is to ignite a movement of 10 million “planetary navigators” by developing young leaders and engaging communities around the world to take part in navigating earth towards a healthy, thriving future.

She is more than a voyaging canoe—she represents the common desire shared by the people of Hawaii, the Pacific, and the World to protect our most cherished values and places from disappearing. https://hokulea.com/voyaging-canoes/

Are you interested in becoming a CAPS Member?

Thanks to everyone who joined us for the CAPS Open House on October 5. Every CAPS Staff and Board Member enjoyed meeting our guests and showing off the CAPS resources with the hands-on demonstrations on videography, studio, radio and podcast production, live streaming, video editing and more.

Are you interested in becoming a CAPS Member or learning more about CAPS? Join us on Wednesday, November 8 from 4-8 pm for one of the Information Orientation sessions which includes membership sign-ups, programming and distribution information by Donald McConnell, the CAPS Operations Manager. There will be specific workshops with time to schedule future training classes with each department- videography, video editing, radio & podcast production and beginning production. Plus, guests will see all the CAPS gear that is available to members to use at no cost, including video cameras, tripods, sound gear, editing computers and more.

The informative Q&A sessions, scheduled at 4, 5, 6 and 7pm, are open to anyone to become a member or just learn more about CAPS. No reservations are needed, and everyone is invited to join us.
CAPS Membership is available for anyone who lives, works, or attends school in Ventura. The CAPS Creative Community includes families, teenagers, young adults, mid-career professionals, educators, storytellers, retirees, and more. Plus, nonprofits, faith-based groups and community service organizations throughout Ventura County can become CAPS Members.

The CAPS mission is to create an engaged and informed community through participation in electronic media. CAPS needs you to help us continue to fulfill that mission by helping you unleash your creative talent and learn the skills to create and launch your own media projects.
Concurrently the CAPS creative team has been working on various projects to celebrate Ventura County’s 150 Anniversary. Go to VenturaCounty150.com and to VenturaMuseum.org to view and listen to them all. Additional projects include the Ventura County Fire Safe Council, the Ventura College Foundation 40th Celebration video and more.

The CAPS Media Center is located a 65 Day Road, between Loma Vista and Telegraph, on the east side of Ventura College directly across from Foothill High School.

CAPS is Ventura’s public access media center, managing Channel 6 (public) and Channel 15 (government and education), plus KPPQ radio at 104.1 with all channels and station streaming. CAPS crew members provide expertise and service to the City of Ventura by covering City Council and other meetings at City Hall, as well as producing informational public service videos more.

Join us on Wednesday, November 8 between 4-8pm for the Information Orientation sessions at 4, 5, 6 or 7pm. Discover a world of limitless creative possibilities at CAPS. You may be surprised and enjoy the people you’ll meet and what you’ll discover inside the CAPS Media Center.

Beachside Bash held at San Buenaventura State Beach Park. Photos by Yana Khiyod

The three Rotary clubs of Ventura presented the End of Summer Beachside Bash on September 23, at San Buenaventura State Beach Park.

A national ribeye steak cookoff, car show, live bands and food trucks were at San Buenaventura State Beach Park. The event marks the end of summer and was sponsored by the Rotary Clubs of Ventura, Ventura East, and Ventura South.

Fun for all ages, with fabulous food and drinks, a car show and a steak cook off, plus celebrity chef demonstrations and live music. All proceeds from this event will go to local charities.

Last year collectively the Rotary Clubs gave $770,056 to service-oriented organizations.

The cookoff was sponsored by the Steak Cookoff Association, in Ventura for the first time. Ventura bands Nautical Thrust and The Bomb will entertain with yacht rock, Latin soul, and funk. Grill demonstrations by award-winning BBQ chefs Kyle Matuszewski and Phil “the Grill’ Johnson. Visitors enjoyed a variety of offerings from food trucks, beer and wine, and shopped at local vendors.

“On behalf of Ventura’s three Rotary clubs, I am thrilled to invite our community to join us for a day of joy, connection, and giving back at Ventura’s First Annual End of Summer Beachside Bash” said Neal Lassila, President of the Rotary Club of Ventura.

49 children at Camp Hope summer retreat.

To provide hope and foster resilience in childhood victims of domestic violence, human trafficking and physical and sexual abuse, the Ventura County Family Justice Center (VCFJC) hosted 49 children at its annual Camp Hope summer retreat.

Since 2015, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office and VCFJC have hosted an annual five-day-long summer camp in partnership with Camp Hope America, the first evidence-based camping and mentoring program in the nation for children exposed to trauma. Camp Hope’s goal is to give healing, hope and childhood experiences back to children and teens who have been impacted by violence.

For the last two years, Camp Hope has been held at Camp Daley, a Salvation Army property outside Calabasas. Camp Hope activities included hiking, ziplining, rock wall climbing, recreational pool time, art, mindfulness, yoga classes and a dunk tank. The campers are supported by college-age counselors at a ratio of 3:1 to ensure campers have the safety and guidance they need. Staff from the district attorney’s office, doctors and donors volunteer, as well.

The VCFJC launched Camp Hope after the Ventura County district attorney’s office noticed the generational impacts of violence as members of the same families were appearing as both defendants and victims year after year. Camp Hope was intended to be a proactive, rather than reactive, response to childhood trauma, as well as a crime prevention tool.

“Hope is a powerful tool in overcoming childhood trauma. One of the things we teach on a daily basis is that you should believe in your dreams, believe in others and believe in yourself,” said Mike Jump, chief deputy district attorney and executive director of the Ventura County Family Justice Center. “Your past does not define your future. You are in control. We talk about that around the campfire.”

This year’s camp was paid for with funds raised by the Ventura County Family Justice Center Foundation’s inaugural Hope Gala on July 28. The gala raised $140,000, which exceeded expectations for the event.

The VCFJC has identified 600 children who qualify for the camp, but enrollment is limited based on funds. Depending on the generosity of donors, the VCFJC hopes that next year’s camp will include a second session to accommodate an additional cohort of 50 campers.

The Ventura County Family Justice Center is continuing to expand its footprint in order to assist more children and their families after experiencing violence. The county is currently moving forward with plans to convert a 32,000-square-foot-building in Oxnard into a secondary VCFJC location. Christine Mitchell, the project manager for the much-anticipated East County family justice center, which is in the early planning stages, stepped into her new role the day of the Hope Gala.

To support the Foundation by sponsoring the Gala visit here: vcfjcfoundation.org.

Photos by Patricia Schallert and Yana Khiyod

Pooch Parade is back

Presented by CARL the Annual Pooch Parade was held on Sept.24, at the Ventura Harbor Village main lawn. Canine Adoption and Rescue League is Ventura County’s largest all-breed, no-kill, non-profit dog rescue and sanctuary. Since 1996, they’ve helped thousands of dogs in need. Their creed is “Every Dog Deserves a Second Chance”.

The return of this dog day afternoon event engaged dog lovers with a fundraising dog walk, competitions and petexpo. C.A.R.L Pooches up for adoption showed off on a stroll down the promenade, then performed stunts and make friends while looking for their own forever home. The Pooch Parade is their biggest fundraiser of the year.

By enjoying a sunny day on the beach with food, sun, and dogs (so many dogs!). The dog competitions included agility, frisbee, treibball and obedience. The main event of the day was the dog parade.

This special canine event showcased over 20 vendors, a silent auction, an agility course, music, and captivating dog demonstrations.

Artist Elizabeth White opens her studio as part of this year’s Ojai Studio Artists Tour:

The Ojai Studio Artists (OSA) tour, set for Oct 7-9, features a stunning array of art and the opportunity to explore and immerse yourself in the private spaces where it’s made. This year OSA is celebrating its 40th anniversary, making it the longest-running studio art tour in California.

The Ojai Valley Museum hosts an opening reception on Friday Oct. 6 from 5-7 pm, offering visitors a chance to mingle with artists and help plan their journey over the three-day weekend. Work by all participating artists is featured in the Museum’s current show, “Turning Corners.”

Among the artists included this year are Spark Taylor, whose modern impressionist landscapes vividly capture familiar local scenes and Lucinda Yates, wearable art entrepreneur turned fine artist who turned a pandemic Zoom portrait project into a hugely successful series capturing a multitude of distinct people and personalities.

Work by all participating artists is on view until October 9 at the Ojai Valley Museum in the show “Turning Corners,” offering visitors a chance to get a one-stop overview of the work featured on the tour and begin to plan their personal itinerary.

Chamber On The Mountain, a chamber music concert series celebrates the opening of their Eleventh Season by presenting Project:CSQ – California String Quartet – on Sunday, October 15, 2023, at 3:00 pm in Logan House (located at the Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts in Upper Ojai). Tickets $35.00 at ChamberOnTheMountain.com. Audience members are invited to meet the artists at a lovely outdoor patio reception following the performance.