Channel Islands Choral Association (CICA) and Channel Islands Chamber Orchestra (CHICO) join together in a collaborative concert program of dynamic and uplifting choral and orchestral music. Over 100 singers from across Ventura County will be on stage to perform Christopher Tin’s Baba Yetu and Dan Forrest’s Jubilate Deo. The Spectacular Chorus is comprised of CSU Channel Islands University Chorus, Pleasant Valley School District Chorus, Santa Paula High School Cardinal Concert Choir, Ventura High School Chorale, and Rancho Campana High School Concert Choir. Audiences will also be treated to the world premiere performance of Bevan Manson’s Odesa Overture, dedicated to the people of Ukraine.

The concerts are conducted by Dr. KuanFen Liu, Associate Professor at the California State University of Channel Islands and the Artistic Director of both CICA and CHICO. Concert dates are scheduled for Saturday, April 22 at 7 PM and Sunday, April 23 at 3 PM. Performances are at Rancho Campana High School Performing Arts Center, 4235 Mar Vista Drive in Camarillo.

The choral portion of the program features compositions in eight languages. Baba Yetu, a Swahili language setting of the Lord’s Prayer, is the theme song for the 2005 video game Civilization IV. This critically acclaimed piece is the recipient of the first Grammy® Award for video game music and has transcended its genre into mainstream popularity. Jubilate Deo, set in Latin, Hebrew, Arabic, Mandarin, Zulu, English, and Spanish, brings to life the global aspect of the traditional Psalm 100 text “O be joyful in the Lord, all ye lands”.

“I am thrilled to bring a musical program of global representation to Ventura County audiences,” says Artistic Director, Dr. KuanFen Liu. “I am especially inspired that we are performing a newly commissioned work that commemorates the bravery and resilience of the people of Ukraine. The Odesa Overture calls for peace and a more harmonious world.”

Tickets are a suggested $20 donation 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.

680 students from DATA Middle School will dive into outdoor recreation and ocean-related activities after months of environmental education with MERITO Foundation’s “From the Avenue to The Channel Islands” Program

Last fall, the MERITO Foundation launched a new program in partnership with De Anza School of Technology & the Arts (DATA) Middle School, Ventura Unified School District, and the City of Ventura, titled “From the Avenue to The Channel Islands” (ATCI). The program gives students from DATA, many of who reside in the community of the Avenue, the opportunity to take part in outdoor recreation and environmental education in their local community and in natural areas.

DATA students in the ATCI program have been learning about environmental, ocean and climate sciences, as well as participating in environmental restoration, exploration and monitoring. In addition, this month all 680 DATA students will partake in an array of exciting outdoor recreation activities, such as kayaking, hiking, surfing, sailing, and camping. DATA science teachers enrolled in the ATCI program were given a variety of educational and recreational opportunities to choose from for their students based on specific grade levels.

The core focus of study for 6th graders in the program is watershed science. Last December, students biked from their school on the Avenue to the Ventura River estuary with our partners at Once Upon a Watershed where they learned the importance of keeping our watershed clean. Students also planted vegetables and native plants in their native habitat garden and harvested lettuce as part of the Garden Club. In May, they will be catching some waves, taking surfing lessons with Surf Class at Surfers Point.

7th grader ATCI participants are immersed in environmental and ocean science topics, such as urban runoff, coastal and island ecology. Students have had field experiences at the Ventura Water Reclamation Facility where they toured operations, performed water quality testing and monitored wetland birds.

The focus of education for 8th-grade students in the ATCI program is on ocean and climate topics such as ocean circulation, sea level rise and plankton ecology. On April 12 and 13, they boarded the Mystic Whaler, a 100’ Tall Ship replica, where they collected water samples, measure physical parameters, and identify plankton while learning the basics of sailing.

The pinnacle experience for all DATA students in the ATCI program will be 2 night/3 days camping trips to Santa Cruz Island! 220 students in grades 6 and 7 (accompanied by 30 chaperones) will camp, hike, kayak, and snorkel, all while learning more about the natural history of the Channel Islands National Park and National Marine Sanctuary. Approximately fifty 7th-grade students from DATA Middle School will partake in the first trip scheduled for April 26, 2023. Subsequent trips are scheduled for May 10th, June 5th, and June 7th.

The ATCI program also provides DATA students with leadership opportunities as “Youth Outdoor & Environmental Stewards”. Currently, there are eleven youths chosen as stewards, who are providing 50 hours of community service. They support MERITO and partner organizations at outreach events, field experiences, and assist with the DATA Middle School leadership program. As stewards, they also have the opportunity to job shadow professionals at work with our partner organizations, including the Port of Hueneme, Ventura Water, and Buenaventura State Parks.

After a lengthy closure, Harmon Canyon Preserve re-opened to the public on Friday, April 7.

This is a partial re-opening. The preserve will be open up to the 1.5 mile mark. The upper canyon of the preserve will remain closed for repairs. Here are a few important reminders as you return to the preserve:

Please stay on roads and trails. Off-trail travel to look at those beautiful wildflowers degrades sensitive habitat.

Do not walk in creek channels except at designated crossings. Please do not build rock bridges in the creeks or move or throw rocks. Exercise caution when crossing creeks.

Dogs are allowed, and must be on-leash.

No e-bikes are allowed at Harmon Canyon Preserve. All cyclists must wear a helmet.

Leave extra time for parking. We expect the preserve to be busy. Overflow parking is available on Kimball Road.

VLT’s conservation of Harmon Canyon Preserve and all of our protected open spaces is based on thoughtful, sustainable stewardship.

We appreciate your trust and support of our work to protect these cherished natural landscapes, and your patience while we made repairs to public access infrastructure.

Support is still needed while we restore roads and trails in Harmon Canyon Preserve. Give to the Repair & Recovery Fund today.

by Richard Senate

In 1929 the good people of Ventura woke to find a gambling ship moored beyond the three-mile limit off our coast! It was the Johanna Smith, a 257-foot wooden lumber schooner, converted into a floating gambling palace. As it was beyond the legal limit it could legally operate without fear of local or state laws. The craft had restaurants, entertainment and, naturally gambling tables and slot machines. What would be seen as tame today was viewed as the epitome of sin and degradation in 1929. The ship had operated off Long Beach before she pulled up anchor and moved to more profitable waters, as other gambling ships set up shop at her area. It was hoped she could attract new customers in Ventura County and in that she was correct. Large advertisements appeared in all the local newspapers announcing the arrival of the “amusement steamer” with a grill, cabaret, music and dancing. They even advertised a three-course meal for only a dollar, fifty!

To Visit the ship one had only to take a a speed boat called a “water taxi” from the end of the pier out to the moored vessel. The trip was a thrilling ride bouncing over the waves and many said that was the high point of the adventure. It cost only a quarter for the trip. At the ship visitors were greeted by Hawaiian singers and musicians and hula girls in grass skirts. Lots of people came to Ventura to see the ship and leave their money on the gambling tables and slot machines. People came up from LA, and down from Santa Barbara to enjoy the pleasures of the palace of the seas. But, its popularity proved its undoing. People parked all over, filling the streets, blocking driveways, and becoming a nuisance. Not only that people came home from a night on the steamer, drunk, singing and making noise, waking people up at all hours.. The benefits were outweighed by the headaches caused by the gambling ship. Besides that, the profits all went to the gangsters who operated the craft.

Church leaders warned of sin and corruption brought by the ship. Newspapers editorialized against the evils of the thing, even political people spoke out to force the craft away from Ventura. Soon laws were passed and the water taxis forbidden to operate off our pier. At last the ship moved on, back to Long Beach where she was moored and operated till 1932. But for a few months, Ventura was a bit like Las Vegas. Perhaps, to balance the state budget, the gambling ships should be brought back. A ride on a high-speed water taxi sounds rather fun, and it would be a lot closer than the Chumash Casino.