About Libraries and Friends
by Mary Olson

The Ventura County Library’s Summer Reading Program, “Read Beyond the Beaten Path”, concluded in August with well-attended wrap parties. After visiting over the summer, patrons, young and older, are all eager for more library programs to come in the Fall.

Storytime will continue at E.P. Foster Library, indoors on the 2nd Floor, on Mondays at 10:30 am and at Hill Road Library, indoors in the Children’s area, on Wednesdays at 10:30 am. For storytimes at the other branches, and to check for updates, visit Ventura County Library website’s Storytime page: https://vencolibrary.org/storytime

Paws for Reading continues at E.P. Foster (Thursdays, 4:00 – 6:00), Hill Road (Wednesdays, 3:30 to 5:00), and Ojai Library (Wednesdays, 1:30 – 2:30).

Paws for Reading is a reading program designed to help improve a child’s reading skills through reading aloud to a registered therapy dog. Join PAWS dogs for one-on-one reading sessions. Arrive at the library early to choose a book and get in line to read to a special pooch.  Children of all ages are welcome!   

An in-person Minecraft program will be offered at the E.P. Foster, Hill Road, and Ray D. Prueter Libraries simultaneously on the same server.  Computer availability is first come, first served.  Arrive at the library early to get signed up. This program is limited to participants ages 5-17 years old. 

Have Minecraft JAVA edition (for PC/MAC) and want to play from home?  If so, please contact [email protected].

Email or visit the library’s Minecraft page for scheduling and more information: https://vencolibrary.org/minecraft

Ventura County Library is seeking volunteers!  Please visit the teen volunteers page for more information: https://vencolibrary.org/teen-volunteers and contact [email protected] with your interest.

Ventura Friends of the Library is also seeking volunteers!

Currently, we could really use volunteers who would be interested in researching both the value and potential market for the large collection of Civil War books we recently received, as well as Cd’s and vinyl records.

We can always use more volunteers to sort and price donated books, work in the bookstore in E.P. Foster and work at our quarterly book sales.

You can see what we’re up to at our website: https://venturafriendsofthelibrary.org and find there, in the right sidebar, links to shop at our online store and to subscribe to our monthly email newsletter.

You can always contact us at [email protected] or stop by our bookstore in E.P. Foster Library, open 11 am to 4 pm Tuesday through Saturday.

Channel Islands Choral Association (CICA) Is inviting CSUCI students, faculty/staff, alumni, community members, and, in a project called, Project: Lights On, area highschoolers to audition and participate in their 2022-23 concert season.

“Walk onto many area high school campuses and ask to see their choir room. I think you will get some strange looks,” says CICA President, Dean Butler. CICA is hoping that Project: Lights On will reenergize high school choral singing by giving highschoolers the opportunity to perform with the university and a professional orchestra.

Dr. KuanFen Liu, Associate Professor of Music at CSUCI, currently serves as CICA’s Artistic Director. “It was encouraging to see so many highschoolers sharing the stage with us at our Carnegie Hall performance” says Dr. Liu. “I believe that this was an extraordinary, positive experience for them.”

CICA has planned an multigenerational concert season. “De Colores, A Choral Celebration of Colors & Cultures,” a concert highlighting multicultural choral compositions, will be performed on December 2 and 4.

In April, CICA along with the Channel Islands Chamber Orchestra, will present their annual Choral Spectacular! “I have chosen music for this performance with the young student voice in mind,” says Dr. Liu. “Highschoolers will be able to have their own chance to sing a prepared piece, a combined piece, and then a grand finale piece with the added excitement of a full symphonic orchestra.” Dates for the Choral Spectacular! are April 22 & 23, 2023. A full performance of Dan Forrest’s “Jubilate Deo” will be featured at the concert.

For non-registered CSUCI students, auditions are now underway. We especially encourage area high school students and CSUCI faculty, staff, alumni and community members to join us. For more information or to schedule an audition, please contact Dr. KuanFen Liu at [email protected] or visit cicachoir.org.

Menu from the Royace Maddox that was located on Main. Can you imagine the year? Photographed at the Museum Research Library by Patricia Schallert.

by Richard Senate

I enjoy the Travel Channel program “Mysteries at the Museum” where displayed artifact are used to tell stories of the past. While watching the show I speculated on if such things can be found in Ventura Counties’ Museums and it came to me that we house a really weird mystery at the Albinger Archaeological Museum on Main Street, Ventura.

Its a big rock with marks on it. The artifact is listed as a mystery stone.  It was found by archaeologists near the old Mission in 1972.  The marks seem to be made with some really hard stone or metal tool. It is a bunch of lines cut into the rock. The question is–what was it?  The team suggested it may have been used to make shell beads, or perhaps to teach the use of a chisel to Native Converts. Some even speculated it might be a treasure map (there is a big “X” on the stone).

In the 1980s a couple visited the museum and  came to the conclusion it was really “Ogam.” a sort of writing developed in Ireland in the Middle Ages. Stones with such markings are found in Ireland and even the east coast of the United States, leading some to believe that Irish Monks may have discovered America before Columbus!

Records do say that an Irish Saint named Brendan did make a voyage west to the new world  in the 6th Century (maybe he visited Oak Island?) .  They copied the lines on the stone and later informed the city they could translate the message as saying ” This is the western boundary.”  Ogam was used on boundary stones in the Old World but what could it mean?

Was Ventura the farthest west the sons of Ireland claimed? A unique piece and one that may well need to be studied further. When your downtown one weekend, visit the Albinger Museum and see if you can interpret the mysterious  stone.   If the Irish got here first it may well re-write the history of the Golden State and the story of the west!

We asked Breeze staff what they liked best about the Fair.

Patricia Schallert
I really enjoyed being at the fair when the gates opened. The anticipation and the looks on the attendee’s faces was priceless. I then spotted the big ice cream cone with no line. I don’t eat ice cream very often but the big giant cone called my name and I had to have it. The combination of vanilla and chocolate soft ice cream made my day at the fair.

Amy Brown
My favorite part of the County Fair was attending my first fair concert! I can’t believe I’ve lived here all these years and had not experienced that before, I’ll definitely do more next year. It is such a great venue for live music, plenty of room, seats and a great stage. I was at the Cheap Trick concert (another first—strangely, since I’ve always been a big fan.) It was so much fun, and getting to interview their diehard fans was wonderful, as well. I also loved seeing so many happy faces in general—people were clearly thrilled to have the fair back in full swing.

Shirley Lorraine
This year was a treat for me. I attended on three separate days, primarily to volunteer in the San Buenaventura Women’s Club information booth. We interacted with an extraordinary mix of people and enjoyed people-watching. Each day has its own special atmosphere. I loved taking my time looking at exhibits and wandering through the halls to see the varied creativity of entry, from youth to super seniors. That is my favorite thing – to see the marvelous things people do with their time. It was a pleasure to see some friends who work the fair circuit, as well as meeting new friends. I’ve been coming to the VC Fair for over 50 years and just love it. So glad it’s back.