The Ventura Jazz Orchestra and the Ventura Poinsettia Dance Club presents the Annual September Swing Big Band Dance featuring vocalist Lisa Pardini.
Friday Sept. 22 8 to 10:30pm. Come early for a free rumba lesson at 7pm taught by Paul Sulzman.
Poinsettia Pavilion Ball Room 3451 Foothill Road $15 at door
Free refreshments and parking. For more information 648-1143.
Every month CAPS Media offers new member orientation meetings on the first Thursday at 6pm. The orientation includes a tour of the CAPS Media Center, a presentation by a CAPS Media staff member and an open Q&A. For CAPS Media Member/Producers instructional classes are scheduled every month. The HD videography/camera classes are held on 2nd Thursday, Final Cut postproduction editing classes are on the 3rd Thursday, and CAPS Radio (KPPQ, FM 104.1) training is on the 4th Wednesday and Thursday of the month. Member/Producers receive hands-on instruction in videography, video editing, radio production and more. All classes begin at 6pm at the CAPS Media Center, 65 Day Road.
CAPS is pleased to be working with the Ventura City and County Fire Departments and we appreciate all of their hard work in keeping citizens safe throughout the country. The Ventura Police Department will be coming into KPPQ CAPS Radio to provide the community with a weekly crime report and tips. Tune in to 104.1FM for local information and programming throughout the day. Is there something you want to ask or share? Please let us know. Call 658-0500 or email [email protected].
The ECTV students, over a dozen of them, are back at CAPS Media Center. Phil Taggart, supervising educator, is running the students through their paces. They are researching, contacting talent, fine tuning their scripts and getting the practical training necessary for producing excellent video programming and new this year, radio shows. This year should be a great one. The kids are ready. We are too.
CAPS Radio (KPPQ, FM 104.1) is hosting an open house and community information discussion on Wednesday October 4th at 6pm at the CAPS Media Center at 65 Day Road. Everyone interested in community radio is invited to tour the center and join the exchange of programming ideas and direction for the radio station.
Go to capsmedia.org to see a programming schedule, view programs, get general info about membership and classes. CAPS Media’s mission is to create an engaged and informed community through participation in electronic media. Anyone who lives, works or attends school in the city of Ventura is eligible to become a Member/Producer. Annual fees are only $25 for an individual and $75 for a non-profit organization. CAPS Radio DJs require an additional annual fee of $50. For complete information go to capsmedia.org.
The tough choices and tradeoffs the United States may have to make to find a workable solution in healthcare will be the focus of a free Ethics in Healthcare event that Community Memorial Health System is holding as part of its 2017 Speaker Series. The seminar starts at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 27, at the Museum of Ventura County.
James Hornstein, M.D., CMHS Bioethics Committee Chair, will moderate the latest Ethics in Healthcare event, titled, “How Healthcare Controls Us: Reform Efforts in Uncertain Times.”
In addition to Hornstein, featured speakers will include Gary Wilde, CMHS president and CEO; and Lucien Wulsin, J.D., health policy expert and author of “California at the Crossroads: Choices for Healthcare Reform.” The seminar will address the following topics:
Registration is free but reservations are required. To secure reservations, please visit www.cmhshealth.org/rsvp or call Brown Paper Tickets at 800-838-3006.
These are some of the questions that Ventura’s residents will explore during three Community Conversations hosted by the Ventura County Library System. The first “Conversation” will take place at the E. P. Foster Library- Topping Assembly Room (9/13), followed by gatherings at the Bell Arts Factory – Community Room (9/27), and the Jose Flores Community Center in Saticoy (10/19). Each program will last from 6 to 8 p.m.
The questions in each “Conversation” were designed to help the library understand the vision people hold for Ventura, the concerns they have, and ideas they believe will make a difference in strengthening our community. Your participation is important.
These gatherings are free and open to the public. For additional information, contact Irma Morales, Sr. City Librarian, at 648-2715 or 2716.
The E.P. Foster Library hours of service are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday.
Bell Arts Factory is at 432 N. Ventura Ave.
Jose Flores Community Center 1168 Violeta St., Saticoy.
“From the Peace Corps to the Port” is topic of September speaker series hosted by the Museum of Ventura County
Keynote speaker Will Berg, Port Hueneme City Council member, will present “From the Peace Corps to the Port” at the Sept. 12 “Speaking Of Ventura County” lecture series, 1–2:30 p.m., at the Museum of Ventura County, 100 East Main Street, Ventura. Berg will share the fascinating history of Richard Bard’s vision to build a port to serve the citizens of Ventura County, the port’s growth and its current position as one of America’s top ports for fresh fruit.
Berg is the former Director of Marketing and Public Information at the Port of Hueneme Oxnard Harbor District. A sitting member of the District Export Council’s Leadership Task Force of Southern California, a federal appointment, Berg serves many community organizations, including Cal State University Channel Islands Business Advisory Council and the university’s International Affairs Advisory Board, Outreach Committee of the Ventura County Workforce Development Board, the Ventura College Business Division Advisory Board and the Land Use and Business Development Committees of the Oxnard Chamber of Commerce.
Admission to the event is free for MVC members; $5 for non-members. Light refreshments provided. For more information, visit www.venturamuseum.org or call 805-653-0323.
The Museum’s “Speaking Of” series takes place at the Museum of Ventura County on the second Tuesday of the month, September through June. Major funding for this program is made possible in part by the City of San Buenaventura and the County of Ventura.
Two exciting new development projects are underway at Ventura Harbor that will offer Ventura visitors and residents additional opportunities to stay ocean side. The Board of Port Commissioners has approved a proposal from H. Parker Hospitality that will bring two new hotels to Ventura.
The “Harbor Cove Inn,” was approved for the 2.07-acre site next to the Channel Islands National Park Visitor Center and Harbor Cove Beach, at the end of Spinnaker Drive. Plans call for an upscale 64-room hotel, complete with restaurants, rooftop pool, fitness center, casual patio dining, beach club program, dock which would serve as a launching spot for fun and excursions to the Channel Islands, whale watching, diving, sport fishing and other harbor activities such as a water taxi service.
Expanding on the seaside brand of Ventura Harbor as home of the Channel Islands National Park, the second hotel property will be located at the area between Ventura Harbor Village and Island Packers and is named “Adventure Lodge,”. The Parcel 5 property is about two-thirds of an acre, where H. Parker Hospitality proposes building the hybrid hostel-lodge inclusive of a public pocket park located within the large lawn area that is now the location of many outdoor events.
“We’re thrilled to bring new lodging options to Ventura Harbor and are grateful for the community support we’ve received for these exciting projects,” said Port District General Manager Oscar Peña, who noted that over a dozen speakers supported the projects at the Port District meeting on May 24. H. Parker Hospitality owns and operates several other popular hotels in California including the Fess Parker Resort in Santa Barbara.
Port District commissioners say both sites are valuable but have been underused. Their proximity to Ventura Harbor Village, the Channel Islands National Park Visitor Center, Island Packers and beautiful Harbor Cove Beach make the sites ideal for hotels, Peña said.
Before any construction can begin, the developer must win approval from the Ventura City Council and the California Coastal Commission, among other steps which means the project is many years away from starting construction.
John Cressy with his dogs Baron, Dog and Whiddle near the mouth of “the raging Ventura River,” as John joked on Facebook.
The Ventura Breeze would like to honor the memory of John Cressy, who died recently after a courageous battle with metastatic cancer of the esophagus.
Cressy was a longtime friend of the Breeze. He spent his last 17 years as part of the team at Whisenhunt Communications. A consummate professional, Cressy insisted on continuing to work even as he grew weak from the disease and the battery of treatments he underwent to fight it. He was still sending us press releases the week before he died, on Sunday, Aug. 6.
“The last few years when he was battling cancer, John was simply amazing,” said Stan Whisenhunt, owner of Ventura-based Whisenhunt Communications. “He wanted to keep working and he did that right up to the end.”
Cressy was born June 16, 1953, in Hayward, California, the middle of nine children. He graduated high school in 1971 and in 1975 earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Humboldt State University. After working a year at Alameda Glass and Paint, he returned to Humboldt and in 1978 earned a degree in journalism.
A lifelong sports enthusiast, Cressy spent the next 22 years in newspaper journalism, primarily as a sports writer and editor, for the Arcata Union, the Santa Maria Times and the Ventura Star-Free Press. Starting as a sportswriter, Cressy went on to become a popular sports columnist at the Star-Free Press and in 1987, he was promoted to sports editor by then-managing editor Whisenhunt.
Cressy went on to work at the Ventura County Star and the Santa Barbara News-Press before leaving journalism in 2000, when he returned to work for Whisenhunt, who’d left journalism in the early ’90s to create his public relations firm.
In addition to his work as a writer and photographer for Whisenhunt, Cressy also taught writing skills at workshops for Custom Training. His personal passions revolved around his family and his love of sports and sports trivia. He also loved photography, hiking, the beach, classic movies and classic rock.
He died peacefully on Aug. 6 at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura, surrounded by loved ones.
He is survived by his wife, Kathleen; stepchildren Laura and Darren Mills; sisters Susan Verhees; Ann Zammattio (Duilio) of Italy; Peggy Figueira (Ray); brothers Danny, Steve, Bob and Brian Cressy (Rosalee); brothers-in-law Pat Williams and David Kimbrough; mother-in-law Suzanne Kimbrough and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. Other survivors include his faithful maltipoo Whiddle, who was at his side when he died, and his catnapping companions Rascal and Oscar Eddie.
A rare man of honor, heart, humility and humor, Cressy was a truly good person with a remarkable work ethic whose passing has left a huge hole in the lives of those who knew him and worked with him. We’re grateful to have had that privilege, and we’re grateful for all his service to journalism, particularly to us these past 10 years.
Cressy will be remembered by his large and loving family and loyal friends in a private memorial service. Donations may be made in his honor to the Humane Society of Ventura County.
Join the riders at San Buenaventura State Beach. Photo by Murray Robertson from 2016
Theresa Brees has participated in the CCC multiple times with her husband and sister as “Team Sluggy”. She’s riding again this year, in honor of her 14 year-old daughter Mia, who was diagnosed with arthritis when she was 6, and has been a honoree at the Santa Cruz stop of the tour.
The Annual California Coast Classic Bike Tour is one of the Arthritis Foundation’s top fundraising events, whose goal is to raise over $1.2 million. Funds raised support the Arthritis Foundation’s mission to conquer the disease by spreading awareness and raising money for research. Arthritis affects over 50 million adults, or one out of five, and 300,000 children nationwide.
The Arthritis Foundation’s California Coast Classic Bike Tour is a scenic bike ride that takes place over 8 days and is estimated to cover an additional 45 miles over 2016 and 2700’ of elevation over the course of the tour. The Tour starts in San Francisco and ends in Pacific Palisades with a stop in Ventura.
The California Coast Classic Bike Tour will be coming through Ventura and you’re invited to meet the riders, volunteers and staff. Join the riders at San Buenaventura State Beach Day 7, Friday, Sept. 15.
Where they will camp out. Festivities include CCC Social Hour (4-6 p.m.), dinner (6:30 p.m.) where there will be great opportunities to interview riders and tour staff.
The next day, Saturday, Sept. 16, the last day of the tour cyclist will have breakfast (6:30-8:30 am) and then ride 55 miles and climb 1,800 feet of rolling hills along the gorgeous coast into Malibu, and cross the finish line at 2 p.m. as a group in Pacific Palisades to fanfare and an emotional welcome.
For more information on the California Coast Classic Bike Tour, visit californiacoastclassic.org.
Seaside backdrop for Ventura Art & Street Painting Festival to benefit FOOD Share of Ventura County and Kids Arts Inc. At Ventura County’s only chalk art event, more than 40 talented chalk artists will transform Ventura Harbor Village sidewalks into beautiful works of art during the family-friendly Festival, Sept. 9th and 10th from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. This festival is hosted by Ventura County Art Events, Inc.
Visitors to the seaside event will watch as street painters create spectacular chalk pastel murals along the promenade, and enjoy original artwork available for purchase including paintings, sculptures, woodwork and wearable items. Children visiting the festival can also create art on the sidewalk in the Children’s Chalk Area, run by local group Kids’ Arts, Inc. For $10, children will receive a small box of their own chalk and a sidewalk square where they can create their own masterpiece.
This year, the festival welcomes two world-renowned chalk artists. Ventura resident Tracy Lee Stum, an internationally recognized American street painter and author of “The Art of Chalk”, and Rod Tryon, a Santa Barbara resident who has been street painting for 30 years and has been featured in numerous events in the U.S. and abroad.
Stum, who was the official artist for the US House at the 2010 Winter Olympics, is also known for her chalk artwork at the Super Bowl XLIX game.
“For me, street painting is absolutely the most joyful form of creative expression I have engaged in,” says Stum. “An event like the Ventura Art and Street Painting Festival is so important because it keeps art alive in our community.”
A veteran street painter, Tryon has been featured in numerous street painting events as well as a documentary film entitled “Life Beyond Earth” and a music video for iCarly’s Miranda Cosgrove.
Complimentary rides to the festival are available on the Downtown-Harbor Trolley from California Street, Pierpont neighborhood, and hotels along the waterfront.
Event information:http://www.venturaartfestival.com/ or VenturaHarborVillage.com.
