Special Events Around Ventura

22nd Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade

The County Ventura St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee has announced the theme of the 21st Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade. It will be "21 and Still Green", in celebration of the 21st anniversary of the annual county celebration. Bands, floats, car clubs, clowns and horses from all over Ventura County will go green once more, and join in marking the 22nd year marching down Main Street in historic downtown Ventura to the delight of friends, neighbors and children of all ages from throughout Ventura County.

The Grand Marshal for the 22nd Annual Parade is Zachary Levi.  ZachariLevi is an actor best known for his television roles of Kipp Steadman in Less Than Perfect and Chuck Bartowski in Chuck.

After the parade, fun and excitement awaits in downtown Ventura and at the beach! The day will be complete with holiday menu offerings and St. Patrick's Day specials in the many local restaurants and businesses.

The 22nd Annual County Ventura St. Patrick's Day Parade will step off at 10 AM on Saturday, March 13 at the San Buenaventura Mission and make its way up Main Street past the reviewing stand at Chestnut Street where they will put their best foot forward to impress the judges in order to win one of the many trophies that will be awarded. 

Help Us Plan the Ventur Botanical Gardens!

The first community workshop for the design of the Ventura Botanical Gardens.

Make the gardens at Grant Park a place that inspires, informs and matters.  This is an opportunity for all Ventura County residents to share ideas.  Led by acclaimed landscape architect Mia Lehrer + Associates (www.mlagreen.com)

Night Train To Murder (30s)

World famous Caesar Deville and his crew have just completed location work on the new Pandamount Picture. Everyone is excited because Prohibition has just ended, and for now, anything goes: maybe even murder. Come and join us, its 1930, and who knows what may happen right before your eyes.  Dinner includes choice of prime rib or chicken cordon bleu.  Great entertainment provided by P. Maxwell Productions troupe. 

Saint Patrick's Day Party @ BROOKS

St. Patrick's Parade Party @ BROOKS

Saturday Artist Spotlight Series (formerly known as the Tuesday Talk Series)

Ten artists have been selected for Focus on the Masters (FOTM) formal documentation by a distinguished jury of educators and artists for the 2010 season. An artist will be featured each month  as part of FOTM's popular Saturday Artist Spotlight Series (formerly known as the Tuesday Talk Series), now entering its sixteenth year in programming.

AfterGLOW Special Events will be planned after each interview. The gatherings will offer our supporters the opportunity to visit with the featured artist in an intimate setting while enjoying a light supper in the company of dedicated arts supporters.

2010 Artists Chosen for FOTM Formal Documentation

March 13 - Richard Matzkin: Sculptor, Musician, Therapist and Writer. Richard and his wife Alice dedicate their time and talent to the art of aging, gaining admiration for their love of older subjects. A coffee table book on the subject of their art was published in 2009. in prestigious competitions.

St. Patrick's Day @ J's Tapas

Enjoy your St. Patrick's Day weekend with some fun vocal jazz at ~~

J's Tapas (that martini bar next to Jonathan's)

Downbeat:  7pm, ending around 10

Toni Jannotta - vocals
Tilford Jackson - keyboards

St. Patrick's Day Parade Headquarters - Watermark

Who's looking from some good 'green' fun!

Watermark & W2O are pleased to announce that we are your St. Patty's Parade headquarters again for 2010.

Mini Driver will perform! Drink specials all day long!

Don't test your luck...come be green with us Saturday March 13th!

Wild and Wooly Ventura

Take a walk on Ventura's wild side--Main Street circa 1850-1866--full of saloons, bordellos, cowboys and violent deaths as we meet at the Albinger Museum and walk to the old jail, a haunted alleyway and an historic Adobe with guide Richard Senate.

Whale Watching Cruises

Every year the Pacific Gray Whale migrates 6,000-10,000 miles to secluded lagoons in Mexico to breed and bear their young then journey back to their feeding grounds in the Bering Sea.

Island Packers invites you to observe these magnificent animals as they pass through the waters of the Santa Barbara Channel. Half-day and all-day Whale Watching tours begin December 26th and continue through March.

Read more about the Humpback whales at the Los Angeles Times article: Humpback Whales Mugging for vessels in Santa Barbara Channel http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/outposts/2009/03/post-2.html

 Photo by Donna Hendricks

Trying @ Rubicon Theatre

Written by Joanna McClelland Glass
Directed by Jenny Sullivan

Trying is a play about Francis Biddle, the Attorney General under President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Chief Judge of the War Crimes Commission. The play is set in 1967 when Biddle is 81-years-old and trying to put his life in order. This drama explores the relationship between the irascible, impatient and irritable Biddle, who is in pain physically and trying to retain his dignity and memory; and Sarah, a young, pragmatic and vulnerable woman from the Canadian plains who has been hired as his secretary.

Based on a true story, the piece is ultimately a beautiful and poetic story about the growing friendship between two people with very different backgrounds. Robin Gammell (Waiting for Godot, A Delicate Balance, You Can't Take it With You) as Biddle plays opposite Obie Award-winner and recent Ovation nominee Angela Goethals (Virginia Woolf?). Artistic Associate Jenny Sullivan directs.

Art Show by Nomi Wagner and Karen Santo @ Fox Fine Jewelry

Nomi Wagner and Karen Santo will display their art in A Passion for Painting, a show at Fox Fine Jewelry running from January 21 through March 15, 2010.

Artists' Reception will be Saturday, January 23rd, 6 - 9 pm.

Wagner is a digital portrait artist. The process begins with a blank canvas on a computer screen. She uses a photograph for inspiration, but does not manipulate the original image. Instead, she paints stroke by stroke in a conventional watercolor style. Technology has given her the freedom to experiment and innovate. It has enabled her to paint not just the likeness, but to catch the true essence of her subjects as well.

Karen Santo's paintings invite you to step inside. Lie on your back and view the crimson sunset, picnic amongst the autumn leaves by the river, or wind your way through the desert wild brush. Santo's careful use of tone and color create a three dimensionality to her canvases.

[Mis] perceptions - Exhibit by Ricardo Rodriguez

Ricardo Rodriguez's work questions the ordinary, finding alternate realities in every day objects.  [Mis] perceptoins is a photographic exhibit that plays with the verisimilitude of the medium and how it affects the viewer.  By shifting the typical presentation of an object, through size, scale and isolation, the viewer's perception of the object also shifts.  A new reality emerges and the essence or meaning of the object changes, a transformed truth.

 Artists' Reception: February 11, 5-7:30pm

Refreshments served and free parking for reception.

"Between Moments" -Art Show @ Red Brick Gallery

Between Moments explores the transitional light of dusk and dawn and how the colors or the early morning and evening are reflected on the subjects they cast light upon.  Several new artists will be exhibiting their oils, pastels, acrylics and photography depicting the environment they are most inspired by.  

 Artist Reception March 6^th from 6-9pm  

Remember When...

Remember When...

You could buy many different sodas and candy in one store? Those days are here again!  The Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shop is a one stop shop for all your soda pop and candy cravings.

500 different bottled sodas, 750 different candies.

Taffy Tuesdays 1-7pm, Soda Thursdays 1-7pm

2010 National Tour of the Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival

The Ventura Hillsides Conservancy has been selected as a host for the 2010 National Tour of the Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival.

Join us at the Poinsettia Pavilion this March for two evenings of inspired, informative and innovative cinema, Friday & Saturday, March 12-13, 2010 from 7-10 pm.  Custom selections from the 2010 National Tour will be screened in a program of inspiring and educational films designed to motivate people to make a difference in their communities and around the world. This is a great chance to get involved with the Conservancy as this event is part of our 2010 Membership Drive.  Deals for new and exisitng members will be offered.

On Friday March 12, the theme will be "Land," and the program will feature youth in action.  The Festival will open with the charming Lady Bug Swarm, a three-minute short film that focuses on the discovery of the magic of nature through the eyes of a child.  Other highlights include Trading Bows and Arrows for Laptops, featuring Chief Almir Surui working with the Google Earth Outreach team to train over 20 tribes in Amazonia to use the power of the Internet to preserve their land and culture.  A Year in the Desert: Anza Borrego, presents a nearby but surprisingly exotic landscape filled with a dizzying array of creatures and topography.  Year in the Desert filmmakers have won numerous Emmys for their work.  A focal point of Friday's program will be the screening of Brower Youth Award - Alec Loorz.  This 2009 Earth Island Institute awardee is Ventura's own Alec Loorz, a 15-year old El Camino High School student.  Loorz won for his leadership in bringing attention to global warming.  He will speak in person after the film's screening.

The Saturday, March 13 program has been themed "Water," and will feature eight films that explore this essential resource from different perspectives.  In Big River, filmmakers travel to an Iowa cornfield on a mission to explore the farm's impact on North America's largest watershed as they canoe from the grain belt to the Mississippi Delta. 

Get Up, Stand Up highlights aquatic pleasures familiar to many Venturans - surfing.  In this short film, board riders carve the faces of Wyoming's Snake River.  In Sheltered Sea, marine biologists and conservationists explore the establishment of the California's Marine Life Protection Act.  The film won Best Ocean Conservation Film at the Blue Ocean Film Festival. 

A highlight of Saturday's program will be the screening of award-winning Watershed Revolution, which explores how four County organizations are working in different ways to restore our own Ventura River watershed.  Rich Reid's film includes a look at the Ventura Hillsides Conservancy.  Reid will speak at the Saturday night event.

Gun Show

Gun show.

The Gastronomic Stimulus Package @ BROOKS

Enjoy your favorite BROOKS menu items from the BROOKS Classic Menu available Tuesday - Sunday for dinner.
Three Course Dinner | $33

Course 1: Choice of  Seasonal Soup, Fried Oysters or Chopped Hearts of Romaine
Course 2: Choice of  Shredded Short Rib, Scottish Salmon or Free Range Chicken Breast
Course 3: Choice of  Cinnamon Roll Bread Pudding, Tiramisu, or Maytag Blue Cheesecake

Tasty Thursday Night@ The Wine Rack (Former Weaver Wines)

Enjoy gourmet oils, tapenades and nuts while tasting or drinking wine. Complimentary with your wine purchases from 6:00- 8:00pm.

Seasons Catering Cooking Classes

Creativity Threads Through Art Quilts Exhibit

Quilts aren't always made to keep you warm on a winter night. Some are created to hang as art, and might include photo transfers, digital, sun printed or painted textiles, hand and machine stitching, beading, appliqués, and unexpected patterns and subjects. See how 28 quilt artists from Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties prove the point in Museum of Ventura County's Becoming Art at the Seams: a Juried Exhibition of Art and Contemporary Quilts. Opening with a free public reception from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, March 12, the exhibit continues through June 20.

The 38 selected quilts are by Betty Amador of West Hills, Madeleine Bajracharya of Glendale; Loris Bogue of Simi Valley; Linda Cassirer of Santa Barbara; Margery Coler of Camarillo ; Susan Conn Italo of Ojai; Sherry Davis Kleinman of Pacific Palisades; Isabel Downs of Santa Barbara; Sally Gould Wright of Los Angeles; Ranell Hansen of Carpinteria; Becky Haycox of Ventura; Margarete Heinisch of West Hills; Patty Latourell of Ventura; Rebecca Lowry of Los Angeles; Rodi Shemeta Ludlum of Oak Park; Pat Masterson of Ventura; Linda A. Miller of Culver City; Lorna Morck of Los Alamos; Roger Nguyen of Ventura; Kristin Otte of Goleta; Pamela Price Klebaum of Ventura; Karen Rips of Thousand Oaks; Carolyn Ryan of Thousand Oaks; Judy Rys of Goleta; Gayle Simpson of Thousand Oaks; Jeanne Surber of Santa Barbara; Susie Swan of Ojai; and Susan West of Santa Barbara.

Much of American quilting today includes traditional techniques passed down through the generations. However, quilters have historically embraced innovations, such as advances in textile printing in the 1700s, the introduction of the sewing machine in the 1800s, and ready-made patterns in the 1900s. In the 1970s, artists and craftspeople began to seriously make quilts for art exhibitions, exploring newly available materials and methods.  In 1971, the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York was the first major art museum to display quilts as art objects, according to the International Quilt Study Center and Museum at the University of Nebraska.

Image: Quilt by Sally Gould Wright

“In.ter.pre.ta.tion” – Watercolor Paintings

Gallery 255 will be showcasing watercolor paintings done by adult students of art instructor Julie Merrill from February 18 through March 13, 2010.  The title of the exhibition is "In.ter.pre.ta.tion".  Exhibiting Students: Debra Alderson, Charlotte Lucero, Helen Faul, Laura Hansen, Jean Scott, Molly Thomas, Pete Plascurian, Steve Ward, Roger Varian, Sheila Wenzel, Betsy Held, Kathy Stoddard, Donna Cabrera, Linda Newhard, Mary Chandler, and Linda Cowen

Opening Reception, Saturday, February 20 6:00 - 9:00 pm

Figures and Spaces Art Exhibit @ Buenaventura Gallery

Figures and Spaces an exhibit of fused glass and steel by Helle Sharling-Todd will be at the Buenaventura Gallery 

Opening reception is on Saturday, March 6, from 4 - 7 pm.

Figures and Spaces is a collection of episodes, as Sharling-Todd titles them, depicting moments of human interaction. Her inspiration comes from observing people and the drama they create among themselves, simply by being alive. "To observe humans and their activities never ceases to amaze me, and to create little dramas between a group of figures is fascinating," explains Sharling-Todd.  By isolating the activity of a single individual, the fallen figure or the helping hand, Sharling-Todd's linear compositions tell a story of expression and relationship. The colorful frozen narratives portrayed in glass and steel have a historical quality to them, like a psychological thesis. The theories and results of these "episodes" have been visually preserved for posterity.

Sharling- Todd is widely traveled and has studied mosaics and stained glass throughout the world.  A graduate of Bauhaus School of Architecture and Design in Krefeld, Germany and the University of Aarhus, Denmark. Sharling-Todd also studied mosaics at Art Academy in Ravenna, Italy and the Mexican mural movement at the National School of Art in Mexico City.

Sharling-Todd has created well over fifty public art projects around the world and locally, including the gateways at Ventura Avenue, the tile mural at the Senior Center, the Wright Library garden mosaic, and the mosaic "Water Lines" that run throughout the Port Hueneme library.  Serving on the board for the International Contemporary Association of Mosaic Artists, Sharling-Todd has spoken and shown her work in Japan, Brazil, Egypt, Turkey, and Germany.

Brunch @ The SideCar Restaurant

Join us for Sunday Brunch!

The SideCar Restaurant supports local and organic producers whenever possible.

The Happiest Hour at Watermark

Drink specials.  20% off appetizers.

4th Annual Collegiate Student Art Competition @ Harbor Village Gallery

 Artist Reception & Awards: Friday, March 12, 5-8pm

Brilliant Paintings & Amazing Ceramics@ Sylvia White Gallery

Brilliant Paintings & Amazing Ceramics

Please join us for an opening reception, Saturday, March 13, 4-7pm

Sylvia White Gallery is pleased to present "Brilliant Paintings & Amazing Ceramics" guest curated by Betty Ann Brown.  This eclectic selection was created by a diverse group of Southern California artists: Craig Antrim, Holly Boruck, Jenny Calaba, Patsy Cox, Madden Harkness, Steve Horn, Linda King, Erika Lizee, Jim Morphesis, Michele Ogilvie, Milo Reice, Sandra Rowe, and Blandine Saint-Oyant. The artworks range from meditative abstractions to erotic flowers, from surreal clay and glass creatures to poetic reinterpretations of historically resonant subjects. The paintings and ceramics are connected by a shared sensual engagement with the materials and processes of art, whether paint or pencil or porcelain; pouring with abandon or drawing with precision. They direct us beyond this quotidian existence to the imaginative realms of spirit and fantasy.

Guest curator Betty Ann Brown is an art historian, critic, and curator. A professor of art history at California State University, Northridge, she has written books about women artists, Surrealism, and how artists are stereotyped in the mass media. Her last exhibition was at the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art. Brown is currently working on a retrospective exhibition of the work of performance artist and painter John White.

Dudley House Historic Recording Series & Open House