The Christmas Day Music Show will be on Friday December 25 at 4pm.  featuring host Saint Pierre with original arrangements of holiday songs you love. Holiday art exhibit, name that tune game, door prizes, the Garrett Hull Christmas Trio, plus other featured guest singers. Proceeds benefit kid artist student scholarships. At Amigos 546 E. Main Street . $20 per person includes a gourmet soup bar, tortilla bar, 1 drink, and show. Family gift certificates available. 479-4000 www.ConcertArtShows.org.

This is  a non-profit 501 (c) 3 for public benefit and education. Who are dedicated to help provide opportunities to nurture youth to achieve their artistic dreams and goals. They seek out young gifted kids with the desire and potential talent in music and art who are financially unable to provide the means to nurture their goals.

by Sheli Ellsworth

Local couple Kay and Jerry Rich never dreamed of a life in the theatre. Nor did they ever envision hobnobbing with thespian types . . . but sometimes life has plans of its own.

The Riches moved to Ventura from Santa Clarita in 2005. They had a beach home on Silver Strand and decided to make it their permanent one when they retired. Kay taught fourth grade and had always stayed busy raising her family and earning a master’s degree. “After retiring and moving to the beach, I wanted to connect and make new friends.”

Kay Rich started volunteering  for Assistance League of Ventura County  where she met Penny Barnds and Bill Brewer, meal coordinator for Habitat volunteers. “Penny encouraged me to become involved with the Rubicon Theatre’s Grandes Dames and the feeding of the cast and crew.” Since 2007 Kay Rich has been preparing meals for the theatre’s cast and crew. For a couple of years prior to that she helped feed the folks that built Homes for Habitat. “When there are matinees and evening performances, the crew must be fed in between. In addition, we (Grandes Dames) provide meals for the cast and crew’s Meet and Greet and two meals during Tech Week”.  The labor of love amounts to a dozen or more meals per year. “When the production is large, like Fiddler on the Roof, My Fair Lady and A Christmas Carol, there may be 40 people to feed.” Rich is not afraid to ask her friends for help and her husband has become a permanent part of the preparation, transport and set-up crew.

How does Rich do it? “I’m not a gourmet chef. I’m an industrial cook, specializing in comfort foods. Costco, Von’s and Ralph’s help me a lot.” Rich prepares the dishes at home keeping in mind gluten-free, non-dairy and vegetarian requirements. “There is always a green salad. After that I can prepare with happy abandon.” Rich says her vegetable soup, meat loaves, enchiladas, lasagnas, beef stew and chicken casseroles are very well received. The Riches then transport the meal and set it up buffet style, see that everyone is fed and then clean up. They receive no compensation or reimbursement for the cost of the food.

What keeps the Riches in love with Ventura (besides all that work)? “There is the fabulous weather . . . the attitude of the people living in Ventura and the surrounding area is relaxed, friendly and community oriented. We are lucky to have some many fields of berries and other produce to keep a sense of connection to the earth.”

If the feeding of the stars isn’t enough, Rich also volunteers for her other passion, the Assistance League of Ventura County, an organization dedicated to enriching the lives of Ventura County’s youth. The Assistance League School helps three to five-year-olds with speech and language delays; their Operation School Bell provides new clothing for needy school age children; the Girls Club/Teen Club is an after-school enrichment program and the B.U.F.F.Y Bear program provides cuddly bears for children in crisis. Rich volunteers at least twice monthly at The Bargain Box an upscale thrift shop, and major fundraiser for the organization.

How does Rich find the energy for her volunteer activity? “I swim a mile at the Pierpont Racquet Club a couple of times a week and attend Sizzlin’ Seniors exercise classes.”

Kay Rich definitely sizzles.

By Irene Chiang

Jabe Swierkocki, a 13 year old Ventura local, has a bright future ahead of him as he masters surfing. Sponsored by Roberts Surfboards, Fox, Prolite and Sun Bum, Jabe surfs Ventura’s waves for four hours or more dailly, all the while training hard for his next surfing competition.

Making time for schoolwork and surfing, he attends the California Virtual Academy at Los Angeles (CAVA). Surfing since he was five years old, Jabe and his mother Samara realized that the constant trips between surfing competitions and between home did not allow enough time for schoolwork or surfing. They needed another learning option for Jabe, and they found it at CAVA, a tuition-free, online public school available to local students in grades K-12 who are residents of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. At night he can do his studying as part of his online curriculum. Jabe says the thing he is most proud of are his grades. If you are looking to get into surfing then it might be wise to start with bodyboarding. You might want to look at some bodyboards for sale from Ann’s Cottage if this interests you.

On top of training hard for surfing competitions, Jabe maintains an honor roll at his online school, and skateboards as another hobby. The desire to challenge himself and continue to improve his surfing inspires him to get out in the ocean every day. Keep up with his adventures on Instagram at @jabe_swierkocki

Educating and informing
By Elizabeth Rodeno

The second episode of ECTV, the news and information series produced by our El Camino Interns, is airing on CAPS Channel 15 this week. You can view it every Saturday and Sunday at 9:30AM.  The topics include Common Core education, Ghosts and the Spice epidemic among teens in Ventura County. These students are doing what media journalists around the world do; research, ask tough questions and wrap it up in an interesting episode format.  We are looking forward to the upcoming episodes. The Digital Storytelling Assets program at Ventura High School produced a great video and shared their story of the making of “The Raven”.

VC Innovates, a workforce innovation program, sponsored students from Santa Paula High to tour CAPS Media to learn about media production and bring their enthusiasm back to school. We want to share our technology and the paths to a creative career in media.

The Foothill High School’s production of Every 15 Minutes went off without a hitch. The film crew, with the support of Jamie Cawelti, Evan Carpenter and Phil Taggart, blasted through the video with great skill. The crash scene event is always exciting to see our Emergency Services team work together to show how it looks and what happens in the aftermath of a drunk driving accident.

The launch of the Ventura County News Network was well received. Go to www.vcnewschannel.com to see shows featuring Ventura County, produced by CAPS for Bill Nash, the show’s host. We have four shows in the can with more to go. It’s a fascinating look at interesting and unknown finds around Ventura County.

We provided support for the launch of the 150^th Anniversary Celebration of Ventura at the County Museum with a special video of our upcoming Ventura Legacies program. A full CAPS crew was out capturing the event. Of course, the snacks were yummy too. It is going to be a year packed with events and activities to celebrate the 150^th which officially happens on April 2, 2016.

Don’t forget that not only is CAPS Media capturing important events in Ventura, you, as a member, can do the same. With our professional training and gear you can get out there and make history. CAPS Media is here to create an engaged and informed community through participation in electronic media. A yearly membership is only $25 and includes training, equipment, and use of our studio and edit suites. Share your history with over 20,000 Ventura residents on channel 6 and 15. For more information go to www.CAPSTV.org or stop by CAPS Media Center on 65 Day Road and schedule a tour.