Founded in 2000, the Thousand Oaks Philharmonic is a non-profit educational organization with a mission of providing young artists opportunities to perform with a professional symphony.
The Philharmonic performs three series of concerts per year at the Bank of America Performing Arts Center Thousand Oaks and several other locations.
For information about upcoming concerts, visit www.tophil.org.
The Santa Barbara Museum of Art was established in June 1941 at 1130 State Street, in a building that housed the Santa Barbara Post Office from 1914 to 1932. The Museum has been expanded to 60,000 sq ft over the years, including exhibition galleries, Museum store, cafe, a 154-seat auditorium, a library containing 50,000 books and 55,000 slides, a children’s gallery dedicated to participatory interactive programming and an 11,500 sq ft off-site facility, the Ridley-Tree Education Center at McCormick House.
As one of the leading art museums on the West Coast, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art serves a diverse audience of approximately 150,000 people annually. The Museum offers a wide variety of educational and interpretive programs.
The Museum’s strengths lie in the following areas: Ancient Art, Asian Art (Chinese, Japanese, Indian and Tibetan), French and English 19th and early 20th Century Art, 19th and early 20th Century American Art, International Modernism, Works on Paper, Photography and Contemporary Art.
Hours of operation are Tuesday through Sunday, 11am to 5pm; FREE Thursday evening admission from 5-8PM! Admission (as of September 2023) is $10 for adults and $6 for seniors, students with ID and children ages 6-17. Under 6is free. Free to Museum members. Closed most major holidays.
Visit www.sbma.net or call 805.963.4364 for more information.
The New West Symphony performs at the 1,800-seat Kavli Theatre at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, and the 695-seat Rancho Campana Performing Arts Center in Camarillo.
The New West Symphony is a 501(c)3 non-profit governed by a 50-member board of directors. The annual concert program features the great symphonic repertoire of the 19th through 21st centuries.
For more information, visit www.newwestsymphony.org.
Moorpark’s historic High Street Arts Center at 45 E. High Street is a jewel of a theater located in old town Moorpark. Owned by the city of Moorpark since 2005, the theater provides high quality theatrical performances. For more information, visit highstreetartscenter.com or call 805.529.8700.
The Bank of America Performing Arts Center (BAPAC) Thousand Oaks (formerly the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza) is one of the largest performing arts centers between Los Angeles and San Francisco at over 200,000 square feet.
The City of Thousand Oaks Cultural Affairs Department oversees theatre productions for the BAPAC, which encompasses two theatres – the 1,800-seat Fred Kavli Theatre and the 394-seat Janet and Ray Scherr Forum Theatre.
The performing arts center combines outstanding arts and entertainment with state-of-the-art technology and acoustics. Over 300,000 patrons and 50,000 children attend more than 400 performances annually. The BAPAC Thousand Oaks is funded through a unique public/private partnership between the City of Thousand Oaks and the Alliance for the Arts. It opened in 1994.
Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza
There is something for everyone at this venue....musicals, cabaret, Broadway musicals, dance, concerts, big bands, the New West Symphony, ballet, plays, well known speakers and events for the kids. In front of the plaza is the Mary and Richard Carpenter plaza park.
Next door to the Plaza is The Lakes of Thousand Oaks, a great place to grab a bite to eat, do some shopping and enjoy the lakes and playground on the property.
Between 1926 and 1968 this location housed the 170 acre Goebel's Lion Farm (later called Jungleland), where many of the famous wild animals in Hollywood pictures lived. There were elephants, lions, tigers, hippos, you name it. Leo, the MGM lion, Mr. Ed the Talking Horse, and Getta, Tarzan's chimpanzee all lived there at some point. Jungleland was a major draw in its day that played a large role in making Thousand Oaks what it is today.
A photo of Jungleland after it closed in 1969 (Image courtesy of Conejo Through the Lens, Thousand Oaks Library).
The BAPAC is located at 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Boulevard (take the 101 East, left on Rancho exit, right on T.O. Blvd, and turn right into parking structure at Dallas Drive). Visit bapacthousandoaks.com for more information or call 805.449.2787.
It takes good luck and timing for a novice photographer like me to capture the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza while driving south on the 101 freeway.
Located on Pepperdine's main campus at 24255 Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art is a small art museum with rotating exhibits year-round, as well as "meet the artist" events, family art events and more.
The museum, which opened in 1992, is open Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and is closed on Mondays and major holidays. There is no admission charge. For more information, call (310) 506-4851, or visit arts.pepperdine.edu/museum.
Ventura Boat Rentals, located at Ventura Harbor Village at 1575 Spinnaker Drive, Ventura rents out electric boats, paddle boats, kayaks, power boats, surf bikes. jet skis and sail boats to the general public. They also offer narrated harbor tours on weekends and select holidays, public dinner cruises, sunset cocktail cruises, private charters, private parties and public holiday tours.
Visit www.venturaboatrentals.com or call 805.642.7753 for more information.
We enjoy exploring the Ventura Harbor, thanks to Ventura Boat Rentals. Lots of small crabs hang out in these rocks.
Are you looking for a creative way to spend quality time with the ones you love? Paint ceramics with your friends and family at Color Me Mine Paint Your Own Ceramics Studio located at The Collection at Riverpark, at 2710 Portico Way, Oxnard!
Color Me Mine is a ceramic painting studio where you drop by anytime and paint a pre-made bisque pieces. For the price of a studio fee and the item you choose to paint, you can paint all day using 60+ colors and supplies! They then glaze and fire your work in a kiln and your work of art will be available in 5 to 7 days.
In addition to a vast array of tableware, painters can select from a variety of vases, frames, jewelry boxes, figurines, and more!
More information at www.oxnard.colormemine.com or call 805.981.8631.
The Fillmore Town Theatre at 338 Central Avenue is a 333 seat theatre owned by Mudturtle Theatrical, a nonprofit formed in 2021. The theatre is available for shows and kids programs. Learn about upcoming events at mudturtletheatrical.org.
The Calabasas "Bark Park" is located at 4232 Las Virgenes Road. To get there from the 101, take Las Virgenes Road south just under a mile. The entrance is on the left (east). If you're going fast, it is easy to miss it. It's a nice, local dog park open sunrise to 9pm with plenty of space for the doggies as well as a separate gated kids' play area and plenty of parking.
On the north side of the park is the trailhead to the Bark Park Trail, a 1.2 mile climb that links you up with the New Millenium Loop Trail. Round trip you're talking about a 2 1/2 mile hike.
It is a nicely maintained trail with a steady, uphill climb. I would call it a moderate climb for the most part. A good walk to take the kids on. But it can get a bit hot up here, so bring water and sunscreen on summer days.
Trail sign at the junction of Bark Park Trail and New Millennium Loop Trail.
As you can see from the sign, there's a lot more exploring you can do on these nicely maintained trails in Calabasas.
A view of the Bark Park from the trail above.
More on the Bark Park at www.cityofcalabasas.com/government/community-services-parks-recreation/parks-trails-and-facilities.
CReATE STUDIO originally opened at a venue in Westlake Village in 2009 but is now a mobile art studio geared towards creative exploration using a varied array of recycled, artistic and crafty materials. All ages can create treasured masterpieces using many interesting and everyday household materials to build, tape, glue, paint and invent!
To learn more, visit www.createstudiofun.com.
The main entrance into the 1,765 acre Wildwood Park is at the corner of Avenida de los Arboles and Big Sky Drive in Thousand Oaks. The Chumash Indians lived in Wildwood Park for nearly 8,000 years, until the early 19th century, when the Spanish colonized California. Eventually the park became owned by the Janss Corporation, which sold it to the Conejo Recreation and Park District in 1967.
Main trailhead accessible from the parking lot at Ave de los Arboles and Big Sky.
Wildwood Park is an extremely popular hiking and cycling spot and CRPD frequently hosts nature hikes there. The park has 14 trails covering 17 miles, including two year-round waterfalls, Paradise Falls and Little Falls. Wildwood is known for its spring wildflower displays from January to June.
The park hosted a number of movie/TV productions in the 1930s to the 1960s, including Spartacus, Wuthering Heights, Wagon Train, The Rifleman and Gunsmoke.
The following links provide additional details for a variety of hikes in Wildwood Park:
HIKE TO THE TEEPEE, LITTLE (FORMERLY INDIAN) CAVE AND PARADISE FALLS IN WILDWOOD PARK
LIZARD ROCK HIKE IN WILDWOOD PARK
SANTA ROSA LOOP HIKE IN WILDWOOD PARK
TWO SPRINGS (FORMERLY INDIAN CREEK) AND WILDWOOD CANYON TRAILS
LIZARD ROCK, PARADISE FALLS, TWO SPRINGS LOOP HIKE
SANTA ROSA TRAIL AND LOWER BUTTE TRAIL FROM WILDWOOD PARK TO CLU
Call the CRPD at 805.495.2163 for more information about the park. But for lots of detailed information about Wildwood Park, including trail maps and pictures, visit the Conejo Open Space Foundation website at cosf.org/trails/wildwood.
As far as facilities in the park, there are drinking fountains at the main parking lot as well as at the Teepee, at Paradise Falls and the two restroom areas in the park. One of the restrooms are located at Meadows Center, a small building located across the bridge that is adjacent to the short trail to Little Cave. CRPD often hosts short hikes from the main parking lot to Meadows Center for fun, games and s'mores.
Bridge over creek that connects Wildwood Canyon Trail to Meadows Center, which has restrooms and a drinking fountain.
The other restrooms are at the bottom of Wildwood Canyon. You can get there by taking the Tepee Trail roughly 1/2 mile to the bottom of the canyon, or alternatively from Paradise Falls about 1/4 mile down the Wildwood Canyon Trail. The Arroyo Conejo Creek runs down from Paradise Falls to here and is fun to explore (keeping in mind still that this is partially urban runoff and thus you don't want to play around in it too much).
Additional restrooms at the bottom of Wildwood Canyon.
Sign at Paradise Falls indicating this particular water is partially urban runoff and best not to swim in.
Leo Carrillo State Park consists of 1.5 miles of beach for swimming, surfing, windsurfing, surf fishing and beachcombing, as well as tide pools, coastal caves and reefs. Giant sycamores shade the main campgrounds.
Among the many great features of Leo Carrillo, the most engaging activity for me and the kids is the tide pools. They are exposed twice daily at low tide and provide hours of engagement with sea stars, sea anemones, mussels, sea slugs and more.
Nature walks and campfire programs are offered and a small visitor center has interpretive displays.
Trails include Yellow Hill Fire Trail for panoramic views of the beach and the Channel Islands, and the steeper Nicholas Flat Trail, which brings you to a pond.
There are 135 family campsites at Leo Carrillo with restrooms and token-operated showers. Visit ReserveCalifornia.com and search for “Leo Carrillo SP” to make reservations.
The park was named after Leo Carrillo (1880-1961), actor, preservationist and conservationist. Leo Carrillo served on the California Beach and Parks commission for 18 years and was instrumental in the state's acquisition of the Hearst property at San Simeon. Leo's greatest fame came from his portrayal of Pancho, the sidekick to Duncan Renaldo's Cisco Kid, an early 1950's TV series.
Leo Carrillo State Park is located at 35000 W. Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. The park office phone is 310.457.8143. Visit www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=616 for more information.
Parking is currently $12 in the parking lot for the day (or $3 per hour)...but free on PCH if you can find a spot. There are plenty of parking spots available in the lot. After you park, you can walk in a tunnel underneath PCH to get to the beach.
The muraled tunnel that takes you underneath PCH to Leo Carrillo Beach.
Dogs on a leash are allowed in the Park's day use areas, campground and north beach (north of lifeguard tower 3). Dogs are not allowed on backcountry trails or south beach (south of lifeguard tower 3).
DIRECTIONS
The most direct way of getting to Leo Carrillo from the Conejo Valley is via Westlake Boulevard (CA-23) (aka Decker Canyon) south, which for some is a fun 14 mile drive, but for others, not so much. It is a bit winding, hilly, steep at many junctures. I take this route during daytime hours but coming home I'm not too keen on it. After getting to PCH, turn right and drive 2 1/2 miles to get to Leo Carrillo.
Another more popular, though less direct route is via Kanan Road. Either take Kanan Road straight down to PCH, turn right (west) on PCH about 9 miles to Leo Carrillo, or take Kanan to Encinal Canyon, which is about a 3 mile drive on PCH to Leo Carrillo.
Lastly, if you are in Newbury Park, you can take Potrero Road west to Las Posas down to PCH. In about 11 miles you will reach Leo Carrillo.
Conejo Valley Guide covers events, activities and things to do throughout Ventura County and surrounding areas.
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