The competition’s finalists are selected from dozens of high school musicians.

Serving as competition judges, renowned musicians Bevan Manson, Eddie Arkin, Tom Buckner and Tom Scott selected the winners of the Ventura Music Festival 2020 Student Jazz Competition. Each year the winners receive $500, $250 and $100 cash prizes for first, second and third place, respectively. The students also receive multiple opportunities from VMF to perform for the public throughout the year, including the annual Rising Stars concert in May and other events to be announced.

First place went to Andre Burton, a junior at Adolpho Camarillo High School, on the drums. Second place went to Benny Conn, a senior at Agoura Hills High School, on trombone. Third place was a tie between Mak Yorihiro, a senior at Century Academy High School, on tenor sax, and Finn Dunham, a junior at Thousand Oaks High School, on alto sax.  And, honorable mention was given to Cole Petridis, a junior at Agoura Hills High School, on trombone.

The annual competition’s finalists are selected from dozens of high school musician entries. For the live competition, each musician plays a piece they’ve chosen, spotlighting their improvised solos of original or classic jazz or blues tunes. They’re backed up by professionals: this year, Bevan Manson on piano, Tom Etchart on bass and Sinclair Lott on drums.

The 2020 Competition performance took place on January 26 at the Pierpont Inn, in Ventura.  Mistress of Ceremonies was Ventura Music Festival Executive Director, Susan Scott and Master of Ceremonies was drummer, Charles Levin.

Happy D-Jays at KPPQ training with Lyn Fairly.

KPPQ-LP, CAPS Media Center’s local community radio station is celebrating its third birthday. KPPQ-LP has been serving the Ventura community for three years bringing local programming to over 100,000 residents. Our community producers are creating engaging and professional programs. Elizabeth Rodeno and Evan Carpenter built the station from the ground up converting a storage room into a professional production studio. They spent many hours, learning as they went, planning and building the only local community radio station and production facility in town.

Broadcasting 24/7, KPPQ hosts music and interview shows. Mark Levitt’s “Pure Rock Show” features hard rock and metal bands and has a nationwide following.

“The Pam Baumgardner Music Hour”, hosted by local music celebrity and expert Pam, features Ventura bands and those that come to play in the 805. Listen and learn about the eclectic and talented performers from Ventura County.

“Cool Jazz and Smooth R&B” hosted by Jace Martyn. shares a wide variety of Jazz and R&B, cool and smooth, of course. Riley Real’s “Straight From The 805” airs rap and then some from artists from the 805 and San Francisco. You will hear dark wave, punk and 60’s classic hits on “Soundz”. Kevin Wallace’s “Ojai Dream” is a musical journey through the decades.

“In the Women’s Room”, Kathleen Good’s long running program features guests who share their experiences as women and address social and health related issue to name but a few. Tune in to “Ventura Vibe!” with Nadine Piche. Nadine gets to meet interesting community and nonprofit organizations that care about and support Ventura in each their own way. She also shares some local treasures. “Teen Centric” hosts poetry by a vast and unique group of students finding their voice. Let’s not forget the students from the award winning ECTV. They are producing their own show and podcast. “The Shiver Shows’” unique sci fi and horror storytelling will scare the pants off you. “Adventures in Step” parenting is just that.

Sheldon Brown produced a fascinating community focused show called “The Face of Ventura” and we look forward to his return. There is much more entertaining and informative programming from throughout the world featured each day, 24/7. The schedules and tons of other information about the radio and how you can be part of the audio world – both radio and podcasts. Training classes are held the 4th Wednesday and Thursday or every month.

Sunday, February 9 at the CAPS Media Center will celebrate CAPS Radio-KPPQ’s 3-Year Anniversary of delivering outstanding local radio production to Ventura. We will also Open House that night with opportunity for the public to take a tour of the CAPS Media Center, meet the CAPS Crew and learn more about becoming a Member/Producer. We also celebrate the Oscars so everyone can play along and guess who the winners will be. Doors open at 4pm. RSVP to [email protected]

Become a Member/Producer, learn the tools, explore any subject that interests you and CAPS will broadcast the story on television and stream it online. Who knows? Next year’s WAVE award could be yours.

The annual membership fee of only $40 with raining included. CAPS Radio requires an additional annual fee of $50 for DJs. Go to capsmedia.org/events to learn how to register for upcoming classes and become a Member/Producer.

The Ventura County Fair has announced that the 11th annual Fair poster contest for the 2020 Ventura County Fair is under way. The contest is open to young artists in grades 5 – 12 who reside in Ventura County.

The theme of the 2020 Fair is “A Country Fair with Ocean Air” and will serve as the familiar guideline to the imagery. Artwork can be traditional, whimsical, clever and stylized in any way the artist sees fit. Creativity and artistic license is encouraged.

Artwork may be created in any medium but may not include the use of glitter, metallic paint, or 3 dimensional objects attached to the artwork. Digital entries must be completely original and include no clip art, trademarked or stock images.

Poster designs will be judged on originality, creativity and theme. Entries will be accepted until the entry deadline, Friday, April 3.

Entries can be brought to the Fairgrounds administration office at 10 W. Harbor Blvd. in Ventura. Office hours are Monday through Friday from 8AM until 5PM. Please note, Fairgrounds administration office is closed weekdays from 12 – 1 pm for lunch and will also be closed on weekends and on Tuesday, March 31.

Rules, deadlines and other information can be found on the Fair website, www.venturacountyfair.org.  For more information about the contest call 648-3376 or send an email to [email protected]. (Please add “Poster Contest” to the subject line)

Prizes will be awarded to the top three entries, First prize: $500, Second Prize: $250, Third Prize: $100. All contestants will receive 2 admission tickets for the 2020 Ventura County Fair.

The winning design will be used to advertise the Fair on Fair posters, souvenirs, advertisements and other applications. Second and third place winners will also be used in various applications. All contestants’ entries will be displayed in the Youth Expo at the Ventura County Fair.

The Ventura County Fair will begin its annual 12-day run Wednesday, August 5 and continue until Sunday, August 16.

For more information about the Fair, or the poster contest, please call the Ventura County Fairgrounds at 648-3376 or visit www.venturacountyfair.org. Keep up to date when you follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The VVCB staff is proud to be winners again.

Continuing a four-year streak, the Ventura Visitors & Convention Bureau (VVCB/Visit Ventura) was honored with another prestigious gold award from Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) at the 63rd annual Adrian Awards, the world’s largest global travel marketing competition.

At the awards gala, held at New York’s Marriott Marquis on January 21st and attended by nearly 1,000 hospitality, travel, and tourism marketing executives, HSMAI recognized the Ventura Visitors & Convention Bureau for their innovative welcome of the 2019 Amgen Tour of California bicycle race. VVCB painted Ventura’s ambigram brand mark in a big way (48-feet long and 17-feet high) on the streets and the roofs of buildings, shouting Ventura’s community pride to the skies and thanking North America’s biggest professional cycling race for coming to town.

“With the eyes of the world focused on Ventura, we wanted to unleash a joyous visual extravaganza to celebrate America’s biggest professional cycling race and draw attention to our special town,” said Marlyss Auster, President & CEO of the Ventura Visitors & Convention Bureau. “But, just as important as highlighting Ventura pride, our ambigram (the same viewed backward and forward) brand mark also highlights our town’s belief. You see things as you see them. You be you. Everyone is welcome in our town.”

This marks the fourth year in a row VVCB has received an Adrian gold. Past winners of this coveted award include such industry giants as Choice Hotels International, Visit California, Hilton Worldwide, Marriott International, and Royal Caribbean International. VVCB’s string of wins are a “little engine that could” fairy tale come to life.

“It’s a remarkable streak, but for those who know the work of the VVCB it’s not surprising,” said Ventura Mayor Matt LaVere (also a huge cycling fan). “Instead of thinking outside the box, they just put aside the box altogether. Our town welcomed the riders and the race in one-of-a-kind fashion. We were all proud to be Venturans.”

VVCB’s work was judged to be exceptional by expert hospitality, travel, tourism, and media professionals. Judges were asked to evaluate each entry based on its own merit and success in achieving its objectives.

Winning entries are viewable in the winners’ gallery on the Adrian Awards website. Visit www.AdrianAwards.com for more information on the event and competition and to view the Adrian Awards Winners’ Gallery.

Visit Ventura is a non-profit organization designed to increase visitor expenditures, tourism revenues, and local employment opportunities through the promotion of Ventura as a travel destination. For travel and accommodation information or a free copy of the Ventura Inspiration Guide, the public can write to the Ventura Visitors Center, 101 S. California Street, Ventura, CA 93001; call (805) 648-2075; visit www.visitventuraca.com; email [email protected]. Follow VVCB on Twitter @visitventura or become a Facebook fan at www.facebook.com/visitventura.

The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) is committed to growing business for hotels and their partners and is the industry’s leading advocate for intelligent, sustainable hotel revenue growth. The association provides hotel professionals and their partners with tools, insights, and expertise to fuel sales, inspire marketing, and optimize revenue through programs such as the Marketing Strategy Conference, Adrian Awards, and HSMAI ROC. Founded in 1927, HSMAI is a membership organization comprising more than 5,000 members worldwide, with 40 chapters in the Americas Region. Connect with HSMAI at hsmai.org, HSMAI Facebook, HSMAI Twitter, and HSMAI YouTube.

Our Ventura TV recently surpassed 1000 productions

Have a message you want to get out to the community?

Our Ventura TV is an award-winning, weekly talk-show television series broadcast on Ventura Cable channel 6 TV and also published on OurVentura.com, as well as on social media networks. For over ten years the programs have features stories from nonprofits, community advocates, leaders, artists and organizations who contribute in some way to the Ventura County community.  In fact, anyone who contributes to the theme of “People doing good things in Ventura County” is welcome to be interviewed as a guest.

The show’s executive producer, George Alger stated, “In the past decade we’ve posted over 1000 segments online and broadcast programs on Ventura cable channel 6.”

The show director, Michelle Hoover, said, “We have a fantastic crew who are all about keeping things running efficiently.”  The weekly cable TV series is sponsored by Nonprofit Fire, Skyworks Marketing and GWC Productions.

Additionally, the production team also creates video and TV productions for commercial messages and businesses in the community.

Our team of television hosts help guests share their stories.  Our Ventura TV Host, Sandra Siepak, stated, “It’s an honor to present discussions about all kinds of people doing good things in Ventura County on our program.”

Our Ventura TV shows are broadcast on Ventura Cable channel 6 on Sundays at 2:00 pm, Tuesdays at 9:00 pm and Saturdays at noon, as well as additional floating times. Every week there is a new show and each program is broadcast 5 times per week.

For more information and to become a guest on Our Ventura TV, just visit OurVentura.com and click “Contact.”

Congratulations to Spelling Bee winners.

PEAK & ASES are after-school partnerships that include the City of Ventura Department of Parks & Recreation, Ventura Unified School District and Ventura Police Activities League (PAL). PEAK was formed in 2002 to develop and implement an inclusive after-school program for elementary and middle school children serving 630 kids per year. ASES programs began in schools in the fall of 2011. To enroll, please contact your school principal for site-specific guidelines.

To provide a safe and supervised after-school education, enrichment and recreation programs for students. After-school is a partnership including the City of Ventura, the Ventura Unified School District and the Ventura Police Activities League.

Goals

• Keep kids safe
• Improve academic achievement
• Give students choices and provide opportunities
• Provide recreational, cultural and enrichment activities
• Improve social development and self-esteem
• Provide leadership and character development opportunities

The Annual PEAK/ASES Afterschool Program Spelling Bee program is one of many enrichment activities sponsored by the Ventura Police Community Foundation.

Students came from Montalvo, Portola, Elmhurst, Lincoln, Sheridan Way, EP Foster and Westpark.

Congratulations to Spelling Bee winners:

1st- Zoey Batten- Montalvo

2nd- Nick Feltner- Lincoln

3rd- Leah Mayoral – Sheridan Way

Judges included past Board Member Suzannah Underwood and Detective Misti Henderson. Emcee was Dave Daniels from KHAY.

For more information about either program please contact Mario Robinson, Youth Programs Supervisor, at 805-654-7807 or by email, Jamie Gill, After-School Programs Coordinator, at 805-658-4748 or by email or Anita Diaz, Westpark Coordinator at 805-648-1895 or by email.

5-year-old Emmanuel Sandoval with 10-month-old brother Sammy after receiving a Christmas tree through Teddy Bear.

Each year, Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation (TBCF) pairs families in the Tri-County area who have a child with cancer with supporters to help make their Christmas dreams come true through their holiday program Project Christmas.

Through the Project Christmas program, TBCF staff collect each child’s specific wish lists and shop for the items they want and need. Then, TBCF staff finds supporters to “adopt” a family for the holidays. Adopting a family entails purchasing a gift for not only the child undergoing cancer treatment, but also their brothers and sisters. The value of each gift is $100. Additionally, each family that is adopted is provided a Christmas trees, Christmas lights, a $50 grocery gift card for a holiday meal, stockings, hot chocolate and candy canes. Lastly, the trees and gifts are delivered by TBCF to the family’s home in time for Christmas!

The goal of Project Holiday is to alleviate the financial stress of shopping as well as the time and energy associated to it. Often, it is simply not possible for parents to go shopping due to the fact that they are under financial duress or can’t leave their sick child.

“The holidays can be a difficult time for these families whose sole focus is on the health of their sick child,” said Lindsey Leonard, Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation Executive Director. “Through Project Christmas, our hope is to provide some joy to these children and families while bringing some needed relief for the parents/caregivers. Being able to help families and see children’s faces light up is what the holiday season is really all about,” said Leonard.

To make these efforts happen, Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation has relied heavily on the support of our generous community in the Tri-County area.

“Getting to deliver Project Christmas gifts and trees has been such a highlight of our holiday season for the past six years. Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation treats each family they serve as if they are their own family. It is such a blessing to work with them.” stated Susie Perry, a long-time supporter and volunteer with TBCF.

“This has been an eye-opening experience being able to help these families, while they are going through so much. I hold these families near to my heart, even though I don’t know them personally. Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation is such a wonderful organization with the most amazing people that are so dedicated to these families. I feel truly lucky to be able to be involved in the efforts.” exclaimed Summaer Cole,

“We really appreciate everything you (TBCF) have done for us since the very beginning. You are always so attentive and always thinking about us said the Sandoval Family.

The Sandoval family received Project Christmas as well as a Project Turkey delivery of Thanksgiving food last month through the Project Holiday Program.

This year, Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation projects they will help 190 families in the Tri-Counties.

Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation is a non-profit organization providing financial and emotional support to families of children with cancer living in Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Luis Obispo counties. Services are providing to families that have a child diagnosed with cancer up to age 18 and continue until they reach 21 years of age. To learn more about Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation and how you can support families that have a child with cancer please visit www.teddybearcancerfoundation.org, 805-962-7466 or www.teddybearcancerfoundation.org.

Welcome to a New Decade.  All of us at CAPS Media want to express our sincere thanks for the tremendous support demonstrated by Friends of CAPS who created videos, sent letters, emails and made calls to City Council Members and City staff expressing your appreciation for CAPS.  Your continuous support has been extremely helpful in giving our city officials a better understanding of the depth of services provided by CAPS throughout the community.

This remarkable and effective CAPS’ member based, grass roots campaign is what democracy is all about and exactly what CAPS and public access television is all about.  The First Amendment guarantees every citizen freedom of speech, and thanks to all of you, the public has spoken loud and clear.

Everyone at CAPS is looking forward to 2020 and working with Member/Producers, colleagues and partners to expand our services throughout the community.  All year long the CAPS staff trains new members and mentors existing members in the use of media and storytelling tools to help them create their own programs and projects to air on television and radio and stream online.  CAPS provides a place for Member/Producers to share local news and regional history, in-depth interviews, faith-based programming, community messages, educational information and more.  CAPS Radio – KPPQ, 104.1FM, continues to grow with new local voices and programs developed and broadcast on the airwaves.

For the city, CAPS Media crews record, broadcast and live stream City Council meetings, City Planning, Design Review and other city public meetings as well as create informative and educational segments for the public with the Ventura Police and numerous other departments.  These services are expected to expand in 2020.

CAPS’ community support includes collaboration with the Ventura Unified School District to record, broadcast and stream VUSD Board meetings throughout the year.  In 2019 CAPS’ coverage of Community Council meetings increased to include East Ventura, Ventura College area, MidTown and  Westside Community Councils.  The local Community Council meetings are a great way for Ventura citizens to interact with and receive first-hand reports on City services and plans from City Councilmembers, Ventura Police Department officers, and other officials and leaders in the community.  In addition, numerous faith-based and community organizations recorded and broadcast services and informative programs for the community on Channel 6.

Every month CAPS crews produce Mayor for a Moment profiles featuring outstanding 5th grade students throughout VUSD for recognition at City Council and school board meetings.  And ECTV, the outstanding media education/mentorship program at El Camino High School at Ventura College, continues to produce award winning programs in the CAPS Media studio and in the community.

The start of the New Decade is a great time to become a Member/Producer at CAPS Media.  If you have an interest in community television or radio production, or are just curious, drop by the CAPS Media Center and learn how to become a member of CAPS and join our community of enthusiastic and engaged community of videographers, editors, radio DJs, storytellers and more.  Go to capsmedia.org for more information.

2019 has been a very productive year at CAPS Media.  The entire staff eagerly looks forward to a New Year of community Engagement, Education and Entertainment in 2020.

Kassandra Ramirez

by Mira Reverente

Some families started showing up early, eager and excited for what lays ahead, undeterred by the heavy downpour and gloom on that last Sunday before Christmas.

Hot cider and cookies greeted all the families who came in for the first annual bike give-away for kids at Bike Hub, a one-of-its-kind community bike shop along Ventura Avenue. Raffle tickets were given out to all the kids upon arrival.

Michelle Gerardi of Ojai brought her daughters. The youngest of the three, two-year-old Brighton, immediately had her sights set on a pink Minnie Mouse bike with training wheels, which she won.

It will be the first bike for Brighton, but not for nine-year-old Nani, who has always shared a bike with her 10-year-old sister. “Now we each have a bike and don’t have to wait for our turns,” she says.

Volunteers were on hand to assist and help contain the excitement during the give-away. Ventura resident and avid cyclist Mike Steinbaum was one of them. “It’s nice to help people who need bikes or depend on bikes as their primary mode of transportation,” says Steinbaum, a long-time volunteer.

For $5 an hour, anyone can come in and use the equipment and tools at the shop. Volunteers can get credit for pitching in at the shop, from sweeping the floor to assisting customers. Steinbaum explains, “It’s a collaborative effort vs. a drop-off type of repair shop. There’s always something that we could use help with even for those who are not gandy with bikes.”

Bike Ventura is the parent organization of Bike Hub, a non-profit and grassroots group that actively promotes and advocates for bike safety and education all throughout Ventura County.

“We help fix bikes and provide instruction to people who bring in their bikes for repairs,” says Joey Juhasz-Lukomski, executive director of Bike Ventura. The Bike Hub is open most afternoons except Mondays, from 3:00 to 7:00 pm, with longer hours on Sundays. Says Juhasz-Lukomski, “There’s always someone available to help, whether it’s one of our staff or the countless volunteers we have.”

Deputy Mayor Sofia Rubalcava, donning a Santa hat, also graced the event and mingled with the families.

Leading up to the event, volunteers put in countless hours working on used and donated bikes and ensuring all are safe and road-worthy. Through word-of-mouth, social media and community partnerships, families learned of the local holiday event.

Girardi found out about the event through Facebook but managed to keep it a secret from her daughters until the day of. “I really wanted it to be a surprise,” she says.

Brighton’s big sisters Christabella, 12 and Jazzlyn, 10, also got their first picks. Says Christabella, “We can’t wait till it’s not cold anymore so we can ride our bikes to school.”

Over 30 bikes were up for grabs for the almost 20 kids that were in attendance. Everyone went home with bikes and big smiles.

VENTURA BIKE HUB 490 N. Ventura Avenue
(805) 641-2665. For more information, go to bikeventura.org.

Photos by Bernie Goldstein