Category Archives: This ‘n’ That

CAPS media crew on location

CAPS crews recorded informative messages for the public with the Ventura Police.

CAPS Media’s is continuing to expand production services with the City of Ventura to share information about what’s happening in the community and at City Hall. Working in collaboration with Ashley Bautista, Interim Communications Manager for the City, CAPS crews recorded informative messages for the public with Ventura Police and California State Parks Lifeguards relaying 4th of July regulations and beach safety. At another location CAPS crews interviewed Meredith Hart, the City’s Safe and Clean program manager, who explained the city’s various outreach and clean up programs. The videos appear on the City website, various social media platforms and air and stream on CAPS Media Channel 15.

Echoing the expanding collaboration with the city, CAPS Media welcomes the newest members of the City management team: Akbar Alikhan, Assistant City Manager, Peter Gilli, Community Development Director, Barry Fisher, Deputy City Manager, Michael Coon, Finance & Technology Director, Phillip Nelson, Public Works Director, and Susan Rungren, Ventura Water General Manager.

Recently CAPS recorded Ventura Education Partnership’s Launch program recognizing outstanding and innovative educators in our community. CAPS Media crew members were also on hand to record the Ventura Chamber of Commerce Economic Outlook Breakfast at the Ventura Beach Marriott. In addition, CAPS Media continues to record local community council meetings throughout the city. All air on CAPS Media Channel 6 and stream on capsmedia.org.

The CAPS Media board of directors has openings for a couple of new board members. In the next few weeks CAPS Media Member/Producers will elect members to fill positions for board members who have moved out of the community or whose terms of office have expired. This is a great opportunity to get involved in the continuing development and future of CAPS Media. All CAPS community members are eligible to join the board of directors. Any CAPS member interested in joining the board needs to complete and submit a statement of interest/nomination form which is available at the CAPS Media Center. Forms are due by August 1st with appointment of Board members at the Annual meeting in October.

Let us show you what’s inside the CAPS Media Center located at 65 Day Road on the Ventura College campus, directly across the street from Foothill high school. Everyone is welcome to drop by and tour the center. Tours can be arranged for any community group including nonprofit, faith based organizations, youth groups, service clubs and more. In addition, the CAPS Media Center conference room, which accommodates up to 30 people, is available to nonprofit and educational groups for community meetings. Schedule a tour or reserve the conference room for a meeting at the CAPS Media Center. Contact CAPS at [email protected] or call 805-658-0500.

The extensive resources and training classes at the CAPS Media Center are available to anyone who lives, works or attends school in Ventura. Membership and privileges are also available to members of nonprofit organizations within Ventura County. To find out more go to capsmedia.org/events, sign up for the next orientation class on the first Thursday of the month and discover that for a low annual membership fee members can receive hands-on instruction in videography, video editing, radio production (additional fee required) and more. Go to capsmedia.org, or you can call 805-658-0500 to get complete information.

Students earn diplomas through Career Online High School at Ventura County Library

Michael Diaz, Natalia Moreno, Everardo Moreno, Virginia Ruiz and JuanCarlos Gonzalez-Hernandez are now high school graduates. Photo by Bernie Goldstein

Family, friends, and the community attended as graduates from Ventura County Library’s Career Online High School received their diplomas. During the graduation ceremony, held on Wednesday, June 26, in the Topping Room of the E.P. Foster Library, graduates in cap and gown shared their stories and their plans for the future.

Career Online High School (COHS) is offered by the Ventura County Library’s READ Adult Literacy Program in partnership with Gale, a Cengage company. COHS provides adults the opportunity to earn an accredited high school diploma and career certificate by utilizing the flexibility of the Internet to accommodate busy adult schedules, at no cost to students.

Career Online High School is one of several programs offered through the Ventura County Library READ Adult Literacy Program, and is an ongoing program accepting signups throughout the year. To learn more about the READ Adult Literacy programs and ways you can help, call (805) 677-7160.

Don’t miss Ranky Tanky’s “get funky” Jazz and Soul

Get funky in Ventura. Photo by Peter Frank-Edwards

by Richard Newsham

Ranky Tanky—which means “get funky” in Gullah—will bring their Jazzy pollination of Gospel, Folk, R&B and Afrobeat music from the Carolina Coast to the Ventura College Performing Arts Center on Saturday, July 20, at 8 pm for the final weekend of the 25th anniversary of the Ventura Music Festival.

Hailed for their authentic “take me to church” “mainline Soul,” the dynamic quintet from Charleston performs in Ventura one week after appearing in New York City’s Central Park SummerStage and releasing of their second album Good Time and streaming EP Stand By Me.

Led by powerhouse vocalist and American Idol alum Quiana Parler, Ranky Tanky’s self-titled debut album soared to the top of the Billboard, iTunes and Amazon Jazz Charts within a month of release after NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross profiled the band in 2017.

Last summer Ranky Tanky took the Skirball Center’s Sunset Concerts by storm and The Today Show recently featured the band with their high-spirited arrangements of music passed down by generations of West African slave descendants from the Georgia and South Carolina coast.

Nobody can “do Gullah”—raise up a song—like this band, with their faithful, buoyant, heartbreaking and healing songs by their “We want freedom” Gullah ancestors, says the glowing press that is following their current nonstop tour of the U.S. and Europe.

As “ambassadors for a whole resilient culture” of praise, rebellion, joy and tragedy, they are “spreading the gospel of Gullah”—a fresh Southern sound that “makes the past new all over again.”

Don’t miss the Ranky Tanky experience that is sweeping the nation!

Richard Newsham is a Ventura Music Festival consultant.

Rubicon Theatre Company offers its Fearless Shakespeare Camp

Rebecca Graham as Prospero works her Tempestuous magic while daughter Miranda (Lauren Sherman) and spritely servant Ariel (Jonny Sinklier) look on in wonder.

Once again, Rubicon Theatre Company offers its Fearless Shakespeare Camp, marking the tenth season the organization has presented a youth production by the Bard. The 2019 production of The Tempest will be special though. For the first time ever, Rubicon is making free tickets available for students and teachers in our region. Kirby and Beverly Ward, Co-Directors of Education and Outreach at the theatre, got the idea after hearing about the inception of Joseph Papp’s famous Shakespeare in the Park in NYC. “I was watching a TED Talk with Oskar Eustice,” says Beverly, “when he referenced his predecessor at The Public Theatre, the great Joe Papp. According to Eustice, Papp believed that the classics should be free for everyone – not just the wealthy.” “More importantly, he thought they should see the very best renditions of these plays,” says Kirby Ward, Beverly’s husband and partner at Rubicon. “Anyone who’s seen one of Joseph Fuqua’s Fearless Shakespeare productions knows, his spin on these Masterpieces is spectacularly creative and his direction is first-rate.”

Fuqua is a Yale Drama grad and a member of the professional company at Rubicon. His students are fiercely loyal to him, often returning many years in a row. He’s known for his humor and insight into the minds of teenagers. “When adapting these plays for Fearless Shakespeare, my focus is to make them easily understood by an American audience. We use modern dress, put it in a contemporary setting, but still honor Shakespeare’s exalted language,” says Fuqua. He brings a verse coach, Louis Lotorto, into the camp to work with the kids to make certain they’re fully grasping the meaning behind Shakespeare’s words.

Rubicon’s policy is that no child should be excluded from their camps because of financial limitations. “We meet the need of every student who applies for financial assistance,” says Kirby. Beverly adds, “So why wouldn’t remake the performances free? It’s a natural next step toward our mission of entertaining, enriching and educating the community.”

The Tempest opens Friday, July 12 with a performance at 7:00 p.m. and runs Saturday, July 13 at 2:00 and 7:00 p.m., closing on Sunday, July 14 with a 2:00 p.m. matinee. This full-length adaptation will run approximately 2 hours with an intermission. Tickets are $16 plus a $4 service fee for adults. All children and students or teachers with ID can access their free ticket to any performance by visiting the Rubicon website at www.rubicontheatre.org or calling Guest Services and using the code FREESHAKES. Guest Services is open Tuesdays through Saturdays, from noon until 6 p.m. Tickets can also be purchased at the door, based on availability. Adults who aren’t teachers will pay a $5 up-charge for purchasing at the door. All performances are at the Theatre, 1006 East Main St.

Essay awards presented at Sunset Elementary

Dad Ryan Bernardi reading Brandon’s essay to the assembly at Sunset school. Photos by Bernie Goldstein

On Tuesday, June 4, Ventura City Fire Chief David Endaya visited Sunset School to present a fire safety essay award to the winning students at an assembly at the school. He brought with him fire-fighting gear and a fire truck was brought there.

More than 800 students submitted their essays and one winner, and two runner ups were chosen.

Fire Chief Endaya with essay winner Cyrik Bodel and his parents.

This is a portion of Brandon Bernardi’s runner up essay:

In this informative essay I will write about what I learned at the Ventura County Fire Academy. Three things that I learned and will tell you about are how to keep you and your family safer, the gear that the firemen need, and cool things I was told about being a firefighter.

First I will tell you about how to keep you and your family safer. One way is to sleep with your door closed. The reason why you do this is because if there was a fire in your house it will reduce smoke from going into your room. The next thing is to check and have a smoke alarm. The last thing is to have a spot where your family would meet if there was a fire.

I will tell you about the gear that the firemen need. One piece is their helmet. The helmets are cool because if they are red that means the person that wears that helmet is a boss or a chief. If the helmet is yellow they are not the boss. Another thing are the suits that they wear are fireproof even the ones that they wear when they are not fighting fires. The last thing that I will tell you about is the piece of equipment that they have on their shoulder. What the device does is if you’re in trouble is there is a button you can push and it will give an alert to the other firefighters and they can help them as soon as possible.

This was the part that I was looking forward to. I get to tell you about cool things when you’re a firefighter. I know I’m not a firefighter, but these are all thing that I was told. One you get to help people. Another thing is you get to drive a firetruck with a bunch of cool stuff. You also are able to spray a firehose that has quite a bit of power. And the last thing that I will tell you about in this paragraph is a ladder that will go 100 feet in the air, which I think is pretty cool.

In conclusion, you have learned about how to keep you an your family safer, the gear the firemen need to do what they do, and cool things about being a firefighter. I hope you liked my essay, and I hope I have a chance at winning this contest.

Derek Pekar: A Born Competitor

There’s a great deal of respect and tough love between head coach Kory Anderson and his protege Derek Pekar.

by Mira Reverente

High school senior Derek Pekar had some memorable parting gifts for his alma mater, Ventura High School – two impressive finishes at the recent CIF State Championship Finals.

The 18-year-old finished 8th in long jump and 9th in the 110m hurdles at the finals held over Memorial Day weekend in Clovis. It was Pekar’s second appearance at the state finals, with his junior year being the first.

“I’m comfortable competing,” he says, when asked if he ever gets the jitters. “I visualize a lot and watch videos of my races.”

The Ventura Tigres is a youth track and field club for boys and girls between the ages of 7-16.The season runs from Mid-February through late May/early June.-

He attributes a lot of his mental tenacity to track and field head coach Kory Anderson. “He pushes me. I wouldn’t have gotten into decathlon if not for him,” says Pekar who started running with the Ventura Tigres at age 6.

“There’s a lot of tough love definitely,” says Anderson. “But over the years, our relationship has evolved from coach-athlete to friends where there’s a great deal of respect and trust.”

Anderson was one proud coach after hearing that his star athlete earned admission to the University of Virginia this fall. “I have no doubt he’ll do really well there,” he says of his protege.

The coach describes Pekar’s work ethic and success. “He’s successful because of concentrated effort. He has done everything I’ve ever asked him to do,” says Anderson who is on his 14th year of coaching.

“He’s never anxious or stressed,” he adds. “He’s just a born competitor.”

Anderson also talked about the incredible support system the coaching staff has. “We are blessed with good athletes, parents and coaches. We are really fortunate.”

Pekar’s parents have showed nothing but all-out support for their second-born. His older brother, a Marine, also ran for Ventura High School. “Between the two of them, they’ve probably missed two meets in four years of competing in high school,” says Pekar.

Other notable showings from Ventura High School: Carlos Aviles placed 9th in shot put. Aviles is headed to Ohio State this fall. Junior Madeleine Locher came in 10th in the 3200m.

Operation Splash celebrated completion of 11th year with Family Float Night

The aim of the program is to teach children how to become water-safe.

The Ventura Aquatic Center hosted a fun event on Friday, May 31, to celebrate the completion of another successful year of Kaiser Permanente’s Operation Splash program which provides free swimming lessons for underserved youth in our community. For the past 11 years, through the Operation Splash grant, more than 400 elementary school children each year receive free swim lessons at the Kimball Aquatic Center in Ventura through the City’s PEAK afterschool program.

As the school year comes to an end, to celebrate the culmination of this year’s program, the Ventura Aquatic Center held a special private Float Night for all of the Operation Splash kids and their families. This free event provided open swim time in the main pool and activity pool for the children and their families from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., and despite the chilly evening the pools were filled with laughing children – fulfilling the Operation Splash goal of making sure children are safe in the water.

The aim of the program is to teach children how to become water-safe in a fun and healthy environment and teach them that healthy activities like swimming can positively impact their health. The Operation Splash program has been a huge success here in Ventura and to help celebrate, Kaiser Permanente was on hand at the event, passing out healthy eating information and KP-branded beach balls which quickly filled the pool with a rainbow of color. Balls were bouncing back and forth as children who might not have even ventured into the pool at the beginning of the school year confidently swam back and forth tossing them to each other.

Since its inception in Ventura, Operation Splash has helped thousands of local children learn to swim. Many of the children who started in the program during the early years have gone on to become excellent swimmers, participate in competitive swimming and water polo and become junior lifeguards.

Operation Splash is part of Kaiser Permanente’s Healthy Eating, Active Living, (HEAL) efforts to reduce obesity in the community by increasing opportunities for safe physical activity and access to healthy and affordable foods. Kaiser Permanente has granted nearly $7 million for Operation Splash since the program’s inception more than 12 years ago.

For more information about Kaiser Permanente’s participation in Operation Splash, please visit the web site at https://community.kp.org/about/program/operation-splash.

Calling all photographers for the 2019 Ventura Land Trust Nature Photography Contest and Exhibit

A solitary Giant Lupine stands over the southern end of California’s Carrizo Plain National Monument. Photo by Dan Holmes

Sustainability Now News
by Maryann Ridini Spencer
(@MaryannRidiniSpencer)

Ventura Land Trust is inviting all amateur and professional photographers to submit original nature photographs for consideration in the 2019 Ventura Land Trust Nature Photography Contest and Exhibit. The contest, which began in May, will run through July 13, 2019.

“Ventura is home to spectacular seascapes, stunning wide-open spaces, and unique wildlife,” said Ventura Land Trust Development and Marketing Director, Adrienne Stephens. “We decided to hold a contest because we felt capturing nature’s beauty through the work of local photographers is a creative and fun way to highlight Ventura Land Trust’s mission to permanently protect the land, water, wildlife, and scenic beauty of the Ventura region for current and future generations.”

The contest, the first of its kind for the Land Trust, encourages individuals to explore Ventura’s natural beauty with their camera, whether it’s in their backyard or a public space. Entrants can submit up to three original nature photographs of wildlife, landscapes or scenic beauty by July 13. There is a $20 per person entry fee.

The esteemed panel of judges for the contest include Dan Holmes of Ventura, a professional freelance photographer, California Master photographer, and PPC Certified Image Competition Judge; George (Hutch) Hutchinson of Westlake Village, an accomplished amateur photographer and longstanding member of Photographic Society of America; Sherron Shepard of Ventura, an accomplished photographic artist, PPA Master Photographer, and PPC Certified Image Competition Judge; and Luisa Hyatt of Santa Barbara, art curator for Rincon Brewery.

Final judging for the contest will occur between July 14 and 16, and all finalists will be informed by email. Submissions will be judged on subject, composition, framing, lighting, and overall “wow” factor. All Finalist and Winner photos will then be publically announced at an Opening Reception on September 5 to be held at Rincon Brewery, 4100, Telegraph Road, where the images will be exhibited (and available for sale) from September 5 through November 30, 2019.

“Ever since my childhood, when I would pour over the beautiful photos in National Geographic, I’ve loved nature photography. I’m so excited that the walls of Rincon Brewery will soon be covered with the Land Trust’s contest winners. It will be a beautiful sight!” said Stephens.

For complete contest information, and to download the application, go to venturalandtrust.org and click on the Photography Contest tab. For more information, contact Adrienne Stephens, [email protected] or (805) 643-8044.

The Ojai Valley Lavender Festival to burst forth in bloom

The festival draws thousands annually to Ojai.

Lavender magic returns for the 16th year as Ojai festoons herself in fragrant, purple glory to celebrate an especially bountiful and breathtakingly beautiful season of local lavender. While drought and fire affected last year’s crop, Mother Nature has been most tender with temps and generous with rain in 2019 to produce a banner year for the versatile herb.

Always held the last Saturday in June to coincide with Ojai’s peak lavender bloom Festival will be Saturday, June 29th, 10am-5pm at Libbey Park. The festival draws thousands annually to Ojai for a family-friendly day of art, music, food, games, speakers, prizes and over 100 vendors offering a wide array of lavender and lavender-inspired products, including oils, vinegars, honey, aromatherapy and beauty products, culinary items, candles and of course plenty of freshly cut, dried and potted lavender. Local shops, restaurants, wineries, breweries, java cafes and overnight accommodations love to participate in the lavender celebration, too, and many feature unique lavender items and sales specials.

The sober side to this exciting event is that 2019 will be the final festival, at least as of the moment of this writing. The Ojai Valley Lavender Festival (OVLF) committee – tiny but fierce – has produced this incredible event for 16 years. The all-volunteer team lead by Executive Director Neil Friedrichsen, President Cindy Mullins and Vice President Joy Brown, is ready to retire. Yes, it’s a lot of work but it brings so much joy to so many. Hopefully another group or organization will step up and assume the lavender mantel to carry the festival into the future. Interested? Please contact Cindy Mullins at www.ojaivalleylavenderfestival.org to learn more.

Start with a 10:00 am performance by musician Richard Kaller on Libbey Park’s front patio. The all-day music lineup at the gazebo will feature the Old Time Fiddlers, District 8 at 10:00 am; Hal Waite and the Gaddis Boys at 11:15 pm; Lynn Mullins and Coyote Creek at 12:30 pm; Smitty and Julija at 1:45 pm, Cindy Kalmenson and the Lucky Ducks at 2:45 pm; and Jon Gindick at 3:45 p.m.

The festival speakers’ tent will present Renee Roth at 12:00 pm with “Greywater Reclamation,” and Amanda Mullins at 2:00 pm with “Make Your Favorite Foods Nutritious and Delicious.”

Art, including entries in the 2019 Ojai Valley Lavender Festival Art Contest, will be on display and for sale in the festival’s art pavilion.

OVLF’s popular Passport Game will offer fun, adventure and plenty of chances to win great prizes donated by festival vendors.

Another favorite, local Frog Creek Lavender Farm will again join the festivities, offering farm visits with U-pick lavender at its Upper Ojai farm 10:00 am- 5:00 pm on festival day, June 29th, and 10:00 am-3:00 pm weekends through July. www.frogcreekfarmojai.com for directions and details.

As a nonprofit organization, the Ojai Valley Lavender Festival has long supported the community through scholarship awards and community grants. This year’s $2,500 OLVF David Mason Scholarship Award goes to Claire Hankins. Additional $2,000 OVLF Scholarship recipients are Karen Romero Sanchez, Angela Zirpolo, Aliyah Zweig and Giovanni Torres.

The free event offers free parking managed by Chief Peak 4-H, with complimentary parking shuttles run by HELP of Ojai. OVLF warmly thanks these organizations, as well as Ojai/Ventura Teen Challenge, Von’s, Ojai City Council, and OVLF’s many new and returning volunteers, vendors and festival guests, for helping to make the Ojai Valley Lavender Festival a joyful, memorable, and successful community event year after year. It’s been a really great romp through the lavender. Learn more at www.ojaivalleylavenderfestival.org

Tattooing For Change

Local tattoo artist preps Nichole Franklin for a tattoo for the SNAFI fundraiser.

by Amy Brown

It’s 9:30am on a Sunday and there’s already a long line out the door at Roses and Rivets Gallery and Body Art studio in Santa Paula. Folks had been queued up for some time, waiting to be tattooed by Steph Sparrow at her second annual fundraising event for Still Not Asking For It (SNAFI), a tattoo flash fundraiser event for sexual assault and rape survivors. All proceeds go to organizations which aid in prevention, healing and justice of survivors. Ventura resident Sparrow was selected as the only tattoo artist in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties to participate in the national event, and she chose the Coalition for Family Harmony’s rape crisis center in Oxnard as the organization to receive the money raised from her efforts in the event.

Sparrow tattooed participants from morning into the night, and raised $2,200 for the Coalition, twice what she raised in the event last year. Flash events have pre-drawn tattoo designs relevant to the cause, and available at a reduced price.  Customers are tattooed on a first come, first served basis. “Word definitely gets around that I’m doing it, and it’s kind of intense, with hardly any time for bathroom breaks or to eat, it’s crazy!” said Sparrow.

She shared that she was expecting the crowds, but wasn’t expecting the number of people who also shared their own stories of rape or incest during the event. “The tattoo chair is always kind of a confessional, and I’ve had people tell me about their childhood abuse; it’s a really powerful thing,” said Sparrow. “Tattooing itself gives people the sacred space to own their own bodies; it’s such a powerful ritual. Tattooing did that for me. I’m honored that so many people came out to support the event, and to see so much money being donated to the Coalition.”

Nichole Franklin, a native of Ventura and currently residing in Santa Paula, was one of the first in line for the event. “Steph is a phenomenal artist, plus, she’s a pilot, has been a teacher and a musician—she’s basically my spirit animal,” said Franklin. “This is a great cause—all the events she does are great—but this one is a little more personal for me,” said Franklin, who chose a whimsical Stegosaurus tattoo design with the words “Don’t Touch” below it, in homage to the SNAFI cause.

“We’ve basically been waiting our whole lives for a woman-owned tattoo shop in this area,” said Morgan Williamson, as she waited patiently to get a cute baby porcupine design with “Don’t Touch” under it on her left forearm. When asked why she chose that design, she said “It’s an adorable way to get a little bit of closure, now I’ll be able to look down at something pretty.”

Sparrow who has been tattooing for 12 years, is essentially a modern Renaissance woman; with a PhD in Music Composition, she was also a former college professor, and currently holds a private pilot’s license, and is an avid long-distance runner on the Ventura trailheads. Opposing stereotypes comes with her territory and her brand. “Every single day is an exercise in combatting stereotypes,” she says of her shop, and being a woman-owned business, not to mention tattoos in general. “Tattooing is an outlet of self-ownership, and self-expression, and to be able to empower other people in that way in a safe space is a real honor.”