Category Archives: Home Page Links

Explore nature with the Ventura Hillsides Conservancy at Family Fun Day

Paul Meehan, gives his kids Claire and John a lift at the Ventura Hillsides Conservancy’s Big Rock Nature Preserve. Photo by Kyle Sparks.

On Saturday, August 6, the Ventura Hillsides Conservancy (VHC) will host Family Fun Day at their Big Rock Nature Preserve from 10 a.m. – 12. This free, family-friendly, open-to-the-public outdoor event will include nature-themed crafts, an environmental scavenger hunt and a biologist-led hike along the banks of the Ventura River.

“It has been several months since our generous volunteers helped us plant the 500 trees that are taking root at our Big Rock Preserve and we are eager to show off our work,” said Derek Poultney, VHC Executive Director.

Family Fun Day is appropriate for people of all ages but children must be accompanied by an adult. Attendees should wear long pants, sturdy closed-toe shoes, sunscreen and bring a water bottle. Please note that the trails at Big Rock Preserve are not stroller friendly. There is no cost to attend but reservations are strongly encouraged. To RSVP, visit www.venturahillsides.org and click on the Events tab.

VHC is seeking support for future outdoor educational programming. For more information, contact VHC Development Director, Adrienne Stephens at 643-8044 or [email protected].

Soroptimist International of Ventura installs officers and directors for 2016-2017 Club Year

Sherri Tarpchinoff Bennett, President Elect; Trevor Summerlin, 1 year Director; Kellye Edwards Patterson, Recording Secretary; Shirley Lorraine, Vice President (And Breeze contributing writer); Ann Hewitt, President; Kay Armstrong, Corresponding Secretary; Pamela Pecarich, Treasurer; Cindy Daly, 1 year Director. Not shown Cyndi Damron, 2 Year Director and Sandra Masiel, 2 Year Director.

The Soroptimist Club of Ventura installed new officers and directors in June. The incoming President Ann Hewitt, thanked outgoing President Kay Armstrong for her service this past year. She welcomed the incoming officers and directors and expressed her appreciation for their willingness to serve. She announced a club theme for the year of “It starts with us!”

The installation of the new officers and directors was conducted by Sherry Cash, District 1 Director of the Camino Real Region of Soroptimist International.

Soroptimist International is a part of the world’s largest classified service organization for executive and professional women. SI has more than 100,000 members in 1,500 clubs in 21 countries. For more information about Soroptimist of Ventura go to www.soroptimistventura.org. To find out how you can become a member, please call Sandra Masiel at 278-3607 or email [email protected].

Learn about visiting Ventura’s sister city – Loreto, Mexico

Loreto was the first Spanish settlement on the Baja California Peninsula.

For the first time since former Ventura Mayor Cheryl Heitmann officially exchanged keys to the city with Loreto, Mexico, in 2015, the Ventura/Loreto Sister City Committee is inviting Venturans to travel with them to explore their sister city.

Planning is underway for biannual visits to Loreto including hotel and non-stop flights from LAX. These trips are meant to promote and strengthen the sister city relationship between the cities, and the cost of the trip includes a donation to support the Ventura/Loreto Sister City Committee whose objectives include collaboration on tourism, culture, education, environment, and business initiatives.

Loreto is a small city of approximately 17,000 people that sits on the east coast of Baja California, facing the Sea of Cortez. It was the first Spanish settlement on the Baja California Peninsula and is the starting point for the historic El Camino Real corridor that follows north along the ancient route of the Spanish missions.

Loreto is also home to Loreto Bay National Park where Coronado, Del Carmen, Danzante, Montserrat and Santa Catalina Islands are home to over 800 species of marine life. With breathtaking cliffs, spectacular beaches and dramatic rock formations, these islands are a perfect landscape for the ecologically-minded or those who delight in a vast array of marine life.

For more information, visit visitventuraca.com/sistercity. Trip inquiries should be directed to Stephen Joyce with Ventura Travel Professionals at 805-218-1962.

For more information on, or to join the Ventura/Loreto Sister City Committee contact Fiorella Calderoni at [email protected] or visit visitventuraca.com/sistercity.

New firefighters join Ventura Fire Department

Congratulations to Firefighter Paramedic Trainees, Austin Araiza, Austin Foulke, Brian Mulvehill, Alex Ramirez, and Russell Skinner.

After an intensive 18 week fire academy, five new firefighter paramedic trainees have graduated and have joined the Ventura City Fire Department.

At the 52nd Ventura County Firefighter Academy graduation ceremony on June 3 Fire Chief David Endaya was quoted as saying “I need efficient, effective, safe firefighters and paramedics from Day 1. So we’re really looking forward to bringing them on, developing them from the moment they hit the ground, and turning them into future leaders starting right now. We’re really excited to lead them into the future, so congratulations to them, and we’re really looking forward to them putting on the badge.”

Training Battalion Chief Jack Hansen, who was also in attendance said, “We have to be prepared for any type of emergency or urgent type call to help out the community and serve the public in any capacity, whether it be a major emergency or something where we’re just going to try and help them out. So any time it’s not a crime, we end up doing that. I think moving forward, what we need to do is continue to find those calls where we have some weakness and continue to train. “

Chief John Spykerman stated “ One of the things we like to push is that these are core competencies for the fire service that are built here. We want them to continue to train and develop throughout the future. Over 30 years, as new things pop up that we haven’t done before, we want them to be prepared to be future leaders and build their skills and talents. The fire academy training process has gotten them ready to serve.”

Channel Islands Harbor Arts Festival July 9–10 at Harbor Landing in Oxnard

This 15th annual Channel Islands Harbor Art Festival will feature accomplished artists presenting their original work in all mediums of two and three dimensional fine art, including paintings in acrylics, oils, watercolors, photography, and sculpture in glass, metal, and wood. Each artist will be present to meet with the public and discuss their work. All work is available for purchase.

In addition to fine art, fine crafts will also be presented. Festival attendees will find blown glass, semi-precious jewelry, ceramics, and an array of high quality crafts.

Harbor Landing is located at 2800 Harbor Blvd., at the corner of Channel Islands Blvd. The hours of the event are from 10:00 am until 5:00 pm on Saturday and Sunday. Admission and parking are free to the public.

Beatles and me on tour book signing and music event

When Ivor Davis isn’t signing books he keeps fit at the Pierpont Racquet Club.

On Saturday, July 16, 6pm to 7pm. Gallery V will host a musical book signing event featuring author Ivor Davis and singer/composer Brooke Halpin. Gallery V is located inside Very Ventura Gift Shop at 540 E. Main Street, Downtown Ventura. The event is free.

In the summer of 1964, budding journalist Ivor Davis set off to New York on his first “Big Job:” to report on a hot, British Rock Band making their debut concert tour in America. What followed was a fever-pitched twenty-four-city tour over thirty-four days with four young musicians catapulting into forever stardom as The Beatles. Ivor Davis will share enjoyable antidotes from his book, “The Beatles and Me on Tour”.

Brooke Halpin is an accomplished broadcaster, pianist, composer, painter, and published author. He currently hosts the hit, syndicated radio show “Come Together with The Beatles,” on KBU, 97.5 in Malibu and online at www.kbu.fm.

Along with meeting Mr. Davis and Mr. Halpin, guests will be able to visit with the artists exhibiting at Gallery V. The current show Good Vibrations: A Harmony of Art & Music is a fine art collective with music and sound as motif. The Beatles will always be a part of musical history. Still to this day, albums such as Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band are still enjoyed, maybe even with the addition of Graham Slee HiFi – preamp platform, to help improve the sound from the vinyl player. Either way, The Beatles did make a large impact on the music industry and someone like Ivor was there to witness it.

Gallery V owners Angela Rosales and Michael Mendelson have a steadfast passion for Ventura and coastal living. Gerald Zwers serves as curator of the gallery. Gallery V was launched in 2016, when the couple moved the business to its current location. Ms. Rosales describes the fine-art gallery as “a natural expansion to a business that is dedicated to serving the local economy and prolific arts community.”

$10,000 in Ojai Studio Artist Art Scholarships awarded in city hall reception

Scholarship recipients Hugo Castillo, Marissa Gonzales, Lizbeth Zamora, Logan Werner, Leah Kopp, Ashley Konzmann, Jonathan Weiser, Bailey Huerta, Amber Talbot, and Kayla Petrucci. Not pictured are Reiko Heartland and Audrey Hernandez.

Audrey Hernandez of Nordhoff High School was presented the top Ojai Studio Artists’ 2016 art scholarship at a celebratory reception at the Ojai City Hall.

OSA Scholarship Committee Chair Richard Franklin presented the promising art student the “Ojai Award” of $2000. In all, Franklin awarded over $10,000 in scholarships to nineteen Ventura County art students.

Three runner-ups for the award received $1000 each. They are Marissa Gonzales of Adolfo Camarillo High School in Camarillo and Hugo Castillo, California State University of Channel Islands, and Lizabeth Zamora from Nordhoff High School.

Three students received $800 scholarships. The Rotary Ojai West Award of $500 was awarded to Kayla Petrucci of Ojai, a student at Ventura College. Three other artists were awarded $500 scholarships and smaller amounts to other students..

In OSA’s 23 year-old scholarship program, the art organization has awarded over $210,000 in scholarships. This year’s $10,000 total marked a new high in scholarship fundraising. The prestigious Beatrice Wood and Otto and Vivika Heino awards honor the legacy of these important Ojai artists and past OSA members. The Ojai and Rotary West Ojai awards go specifically to local students.

Selected works by the scholarship winners will be shown at a two-month exhibition at City Gallery, located at 410 S. Ventura St. The Ojai Arts Commission generously hosted and installed the show throughout City Hall for the benefit of the public.

On Saturday, July 23, at 2 p.m. join international artist M. Nicole van Dam at the Ojai Art Center, for smiles and a spirited blend of art, humor, poetry and prose, based on Nicole’s book “Tempo – The Rhythm and Rhyme of the Artist.” Nicole’s artwork and writings are licensed internationally, creating lovely products, and Nicole’s work has been publicly exhibited for many years, including at Santa Barbara City Hall and Community Memorial Hospital. One of Nicole’s solo exhibitions was recorded by the Montecito History Committee, and Nicole has been named an artist to watch by the “Montecito Journal.” For a sneak peek at Nicole’s unique blend of art and writing please visit www.ArtSanctuary.us. Ojai Art Center 113 S. Montgomery St. Suggested Donation $5.

“Annie Get Your Gun” is the rough riding, exciting fictionalized love story of sharpshooters Annie Oakley and Frank Butler in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show, composed to the beloved songs of Irving Berlin. This Tony Award winning musical runs from July 1 – 31 at Ojai ACT, 113 S. Montgomery St.; at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are only $20 general, $18 for seniors and Art Center members and $15 for students. Reserve your seat at 640-8797 or online: www.OjaiACT.org.

There will be a special Opening Weekend Gala for “Annie Get Your Gun” on Sunday, July 3 featuring a Prosecco Reception a half hour before the 2 p.m. matinee. It also includes reserved priority seating and a cocktail party after the show with the cast at a private home in Ojai. Only 50 tickets are available at $50 per person for the Sunday Special, available at http://tinyurl.com/AnnieCelebration

Sergio Mendes leads largest VMF concert

A Celebration of 50 years of Brazil 66.

Sergio Mendes has signed on to lead the largest concert of the 2016 Ventura Music Festival: Sergio Mendes: A Celebration of 50 years of Brazil 66. The music legend will bring his cool factor, along with a company of musicians and singers, for an exciting evening of the pop/jazz/bossa nova sound that’s as alluring today as when it landed him in the Grammy Hall of Fame! Mendes opens the Festival’s 2nd weekend on Friday, July 22nd. The venue for the Mendes concert only is the Oxnard Performing Arts Center – with food trucks and a pre-concert dance party in the PAC Courtyard from 6 to 7:30.

All other concerts of the 2016 Festival take place in the Ventura College Performing Arts Center.

The Festival leads off the first weekend on July 15th with the chart-topping Anderson & Roe Piano Duo who have captivated audiences with “outrageous and transcendental” performances and music videos viewed by millions. How good are they? “Even the most jaded of concert goers sat forward in their seats and dropped their jaws in amazement.” A sensational start to the Festival.

Tickets to all concerts of the Ventura Music Festival are on sale now at VenturaMusicFestival.org or 648-3146.

Donations needed for City of Ventura American flag program

Keep the flags waving in Ventura. Photo by George Robertson

The City of Ventura is asking the community and local businesses to support the longstanding tradition of displaying American flags across the city by helping to fund the purchase of new flags. Contributions of any size will help the city continue to fly the stars and stripes on city streets, the historic Ventura Pier and the Veterans Memorial located at the Ventura County Government Center.

Members of the public can support the program and help replace existing flags that have become damaged or deteriorated from the sunlight. To donate, the public can purchase flags at a discounted price from American Flags & Cutlery, 305 E. Main Street. Or donors can make a contribution by sending a check payable to “Veterans of Foreign Wars” to PO Box 1297 Ventura, CA 93002. All donations are tax deductible and donors will receive a letter acknowledging the contribution.

The City of Ventura has worked with Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Flags & Cutlery for many years to collect donations that support the display of American flags along California Street, Main Street, Thompson Boulevard, Ventura Avenue, the Promenade and the Ventura Pier from Memorial Day through Independence Day. This program also supports flags for each branch of the US Armed Forces that fly at the Ventura County Government Center Veterans Memorial.

For more information, contact City of Ventura Councilmember Jim Monahan at 643-4275.

Arts for Earth Foundation: Green Street Ventura comes to the July 4th Street Fair

by Karen Helen Szatkowski

Can passion for the arts create compassion for the earth? Arts for Earth Foundation, (AFEF), was created to do just that. Recently, founder Michelle Nosco, hosted think tanks on behalf of local environmentalism: Sierra Clubs’ Wildlife Corridor, iMatterYouth’s Climate report-card and Surf Rider’s Matilija Dam Wetlands project. Now AFEF is sharing the wealth of Ventura’s artists and environmentalists with the public bringing “Green Street” to Ventura’s July 4th Street Fair! Their booth, sponsored by the Ventura Climate Hub and Rincon-Vitova, unveils a 20’ hand painted tourist map mural highlighting local green projects.

Simply put, the arts community and the organizations for sustainable living in our beautiful city are logical partners to inform and inspire everyone. The intent of AFEF is to involve hundreds, even thousands of people at the festival to join the many different campaigns supporting the natural world right here at home. “It’s all about reconnecting aesthetically to become healthy. One gains a sense of well-being at an affordable price, and much of it is free. Organic Gardening with neighbors for family and FOOD Share is sustainable. Trading work for Ventura Timebank hours is a great way to shop local.” Says Nosco

See you at the Street Fair! You’ll also meet the CA Native Plant Society, Bicycle Hub, Ventura Food Co-Op, Community Roots Garden, Abundant Table, artists: D.Bell, M.Brasa, S.Foster, ArtByJudd, Burton, K.Mann, “Kimo”, MJ.Murphy, M.Nosco, G.Pocock, C.Quan and L.LeTourneau. www.ArtsForEarth.org

Sidebar