by Jill Forman

Updates from Dolly Knight, Senior Ventura Librarian

Hill Road is now back to pre-pandemic hours, including Sundays which are now staffed.

In person Story Times are back at Hill Road and Foster. In addition, the Museum of Ventura County is having monthly Story Times. Here is their press release describing past and future dates and subjects:

The Museum of Ventura County has partnered with the county library to bring in-person Story Time on the 2nd Saturday of each month at 11:30am, through the end of the year! On October 9th, we’ll gather for a spooky story about Monsters. On the 13th of November, just in time for Thanksgiving, we’ll feature a story about Gratitude. And finally, on December 11th, our focus will be on Family. Join us for stories, then play & learn in the Children’s Garden, a fabulous and FREE outing for ALL!

Discover Science will also be back in person at Foster and Hills Road with STEAM subjects. See the library website for dates, or ask the staff at your library.

Linked-In Learning offers job-searching skills:  https://vencolibrary.org/library-collection/linkedin-learning

Message from Online Bookstore Manager, Leslie Bellmore

VFOL Online Bookstore has recently added Vintage books and comics for online selection. The fiction selection has been expanded and we still have an outstanding selection of children’s books. Shop online and pick up at Foster Library Bookstore. Orders placed Friday through Sunday are available beginning Tuesdays. Orders placed Monday through Thursday available beginning on Saturdays. Just ask the cashier for your order.

Other Library Offerings

READ Adult Literacy trains tutors to work with adult learners. Training is currently being done via ZOOM. Call 805-677-1760 for application.

Brainfuse HELP Now – Homework Help: interact with live tutors in math, science, reading/writing, and social studies. 1-10 pm PST every day. A 24-hour Writing Lab allows students to submit essays and other forms of writing for constructive feedback.

Adult learning center (also Brainfuse) – A library of GED learning content, professional assistance in resume and cover letter writing, U.S, citizenship prep, MS Office Essential Skills Series. And more…

While you’re at it, learn to play chess! Learn strategies and improve cognitive abilities with an expert chess coach.

To access Brainfuse, go to vencolibrary.org, select the eLibrary, then go to HELP NOW-BRAINFUSE.

Teen Volunteers

The library offers volunteer opportunities for students needing school community service credit and teens 13-17 who want to help the library in a virtual and/or in-person environment. Teen volunteers research and recommend books for the library to purchase, find missing volumes, research and recommend websites for Teens Boredom Busters and STEAM resources. They also help develop Summer Reading Challenge, STEAM and Makerspace activity ideas.

In other words, they are valuable members of the library team!

Applications are at the branches, or email [email protected]. For more information, call 805-648-2716.

So big, in fact, that it’s being called a Holiday Spectacular! Channel

Islands Choral Association (CICA) and the Channel Islands Chamber Orchestra (CHICO) in collaboration with the CSU Channel Islands University Chorus, and the Santa Paula High School Concert Choir are presenting excerpts from Morten Lauridsen’s Lux Aeterna, George Frideric Handel’s Messiah, and Camille Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony No. 3. This celebratory program will be conducted under the skilled baton of Dr. KuanFen Liu, Artistic Director and Assistant Professor of Performing Arts at CSUCI. Concert dates are scheduled for Saturday, December 4 at 7:00 PM at St. Mary Magdalen Church, 25 N. Las Posas Road in Camarillo, and Sunday, December 5 at 3:00 PM at First United Methodist Church, 1338 E. Santa Clara Street in Ventura.

“It’s definitely a time to celebrate with music,” says Artistic Director, Dr. KuanFen Liu. “We have waited for almost 2 years to be able to safely return to live, in-person concerts, and we couldn’t be more excited to bring to the community this glorious and uplifting program.” This program was intentionally selected to reflect the joy it is to sing choral music once again in a more traditional way. For three seasons, CICA has been hosting an all-virtual program. “We had great success and fun creating our virtual programs for our members and audiences. These virtual programs allowed us to explore the underrepresented music of women and Black choral composers. And, now that we have been given more of a green light to resume in-person singing, we want to celebrate with you music that has resonated with mankind for centuries and still inspires us today.”

CICA President, Dean Butler tells us some of the ways that CICA and the CSU University Chorus are able to safely return to what he is calling their “bridge back.” “All our members are now required to show proof of vaccination. In addition, we have combined both virtual rehearsals with in-person, outdoor rehearsals on Saturdays. Our members are learning how to sing all masked and socially distanced, but this doesn’t seem to bother any of them as the joy of singing in-person is greater than any of the inconveniences.”

Concert-goers ages 12 and older attending the performances will need to show proof of vaccination. Face coverings will be required to be worn by everyone. Dr. Liu states, “Our audiences will be able to enjoy the performances in a very traditional way – the orchestra will be on the main platform with the choir distanced in the balconies of both concert venues. This will give our audience a beautiful sense of choral singing that for centuries was the custom while keeping everyone as safe as possible.”

Tickets are a suggested $20 donation to CICA and are only available at the door. All seats are first-come, first-serve. For more information, visit the CICA website at cicachoir.org or the CHICO website at chicovc.org.

Finally, after nearly two years away from the stage, Gold Coast Concert Chorus is celebrating the holiday season with an in-person concert! This joyous event, Home Again for the Holidays, will be holiday fun for all, and will salute the strength of this community of singers.

Throughout its more than 30-year history, Gold Coast Concert Chorus has regularly performed three annual concerts, sung for community events at hospitals and the Ventura County Fair, and traveled to Carnegie Hall and Europe. But never did they expect to find themselves singing virtually from their living rooms.

Under the fearless direction of Elizabeth Helms, Artistic Director, and Jessica Helms, Associate Artistic Director, the Chorus kept singing over the last two years. Many members quieted their fears of being “too techno-challenged”, clung together, and, with brave and talented technicians, presented two successful virtual concerts by recording their own voices at home. However, chorus members spent two years wishing for a chance to sing together again for a live audience. And when that chance came, they took it.

“Whenever a group of people decides to do the same thing at the same time, it is very powerful” said Director Elizabeth Helms, as she gathered the Chorus back together. “That’s us! Flexible, powerful, and ready for another adventure!” Since September, singers have been bundling up together for outdoor, COVID-safe rehearsals to prepare their holiday concert. The repertoire features playful, upbeat versions of holiday standards, arrangements by four of Gold Coast Chorus’ own members, and pieces that capture the beauty of this season of light.

Be sure to circle your calendars for Home Again for the Holidays, Friday, December 10th at 7:30pm and Saturday, December 11th at 2pm at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Oxnard. Audience members must wear masks and provide proof of COVID vaccination and I.D. at the door. Livestream tickets are available for Saturday only.

In-person tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for children ages 5-12, and $15 for live streaming. Visit www.GoldCoastChorus.org to purchase tickets. Questions? Call (805) 293-4196.

Gold Coast Chorus is excited to share their holiday cheer with friends and neighbors after such a long wait. Come celebrate the soul-filling exhilaration of singing in-person, recall the hopeful expectation of time apart, and remember the deep gratitude of togetherness.

Kids & Families Together (K&FT), and Heart 2 Heart, invite you to participate in our annual Season of Giving in support of Ventura County foster/resource, kinship, adoptive and bio-families working in programs with Kids & Families Together. There are many ways to donate and many opportunities to volunteer … we hope you join us this holiday season!

The 12th annual Cozy Holiday Gift Away will provide holiday gifts, toys, blankets and pajamas to 150 foster/resource, kinship, adopted and bio children from families who are currently working in programs with Kids & Families Together.

Here’s how you can support Cozy Holiday 2021 …
To make a financial donation visit https://igfn.us/form/9066oA
Or text 21FAM to 91999

To purchase items directly off the Amazon Wish List please visit: https://a.co/eoggBUm
Donations may also be dropped off at our newest Community Partner, Ford of Ventura located at 3440 East Main Street in Ventura, Mon – Sat 9am – 6pm and Sun 10am – 5pm.

You can schedule a pick up by calling (805)643-1146 ext. 131 or by emailing [email protected]. Please donate only NEW items.

The Adopt-A-Family campaign is searching for donors (individuals, families, service groups, businesses, churches, temples, etc.) willing to adopt families caring for children who are not able to be at home. Ventura County foster & kinship families are needing your support this holidays season and we will match you with the right family needing this special care and connection.

Adopt a family by clicking on the link: Adopt-A-Family for the holidays: Adopt-A-Family Sponsorship Form 2021.

Upon matching you with a family: a wish list for the children and family will be sent to you (along with other pertinent information). We ask that you arrange with the family you are adopting for drop off your gifts on or before December 25th. Suggested gift amount: $70 per child with one larger gift, 1 smaller gift/stocking and a $50 minimum gift card for the family to enjoy a nice meal together. Thank you for your kind willingness to sponsor a KFT family for this holiday season! We are grateful for your generosity. You will be helping to make this holiday season cozy and joyful for children in care!

For more information visit: www.kidsandfamilies.org/giftaway-events For volunteer opportunities visit: https://www.kidsandfamilies.org/seeking-volunteers/
Contact 805-643-1446
Jeni Futvoye ext. 108 Carrie McAuliffe Sandoval ext. 131 email: [email protected]

Kids & Families Together (K&FT) is a nonprofit that has been serving foster/resource, adoptive, kinship, and birth families throughout Ventura County since 2000. K&FT works with children who have experienced trauma, abuse, neglect, loss, and multiple placements. K&FT also works with caregivers who need specialized education, support, and strategies to help raise safe, healthy, nurtured children who thrive. For more information about K&FT please visit us at: https://www.kidsandfamilies.org/

Every year, Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation (TBCF) kicks off their Season of Hope campaign by requesting various in-kind donations for Project Turkey, Project Christmas and Holiday Drive-Thru parties to spread cheer and needed resources to local families battling pediatric cancer.

TBCF has a goal to deliver meals and grocery gift cards to at least fifty families this year. “For families struggling with economic hardship due to a cancer diagnosis, or worse still, stuck in the hospital for treatment, this joyful time of year can sometimes become a nightmare.

Every year TBCF delivers Christmas, or a family’s chosen holiday in December, to over thirty families battling pediatric cancer in the tri-counties with presents for each child in the family and culturally appropriate décor and gift wrapping. The goal of Project Christmas is to alleviate the financial stress, as well as the time and energy associated with shopping for gifts. Often, it is simply not possible for parents to go shopping as they are under severe financial constraints and can’t leave their sick child; COVID-19 has only added to these stresses.

The TBCF Programs team invites the community to help bring hope and holiday cheer to the families by sponsoring a child for $100. Volunteers can shop for the child’s wish list directly or provide a monetary donation and have TBCF do the shopping. Additional donations (monetary or in-kind) are accepted for a family’s holiday tree, decorations, $50 gift cards for meals, and goodies like hot-cocoa and candy canes. 

In partnership with Cottage Hospital, and through support of the Linden Family Foundation, TBCF aims to spread holiday cheer and provide a memorable event with their highly anticipated annual holiday party in December.

Donations of $25 gifts for ages 0-12 or $25 gift cards for teens are greatly appreciated to support TBCF’s holiday drive-thru events. TBCF aims to provide gifts to over two hundred children through the holiday drive-thru events.

For questions about donations or to sponsor a child or family for Project Christmas, please contact Tessa Boyce, Community Outreach Manager at [email protected] or 805-617-0847 or visit teddybearcancerfoundation.org/project-holiday.

To donate toys and gift cards valued at $25 each, community members can drop them off or ship them to: Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation, Attn: Holiday Party, 3892 State St, Ste. 220, Santa Barbara, CA 93105.