Dia de los Muertos Celebration at Three Santa Paula Locations on Sunday, November 2, 2025

Guests of all ages are invited to celebrate Día de los Muertos at three locations in downtown Santa Paula on Sunday, November 2, 2025! This free, family-friendly community celebration at the Santa Paula Art Museum, Pierce Brothers Santa Paula Cemetery, and the Museum of Ventura County’s Agriculture Museum offers traditional craft-making activities, music and dance performances, altar installations, face painting, and more. Día de los Muertos attire is encouraged. Admission and activities are free for everyone.

Visitors can begin at any of the three locations and proceed to the others. Pick up an event passport at any site and have it stamped at all three locations to be entered to win a raffle prize. Free parking is available at the Santa Paula Art Museum, Pierce Brothers Santa Paula Cemetery, and the Museum of Ventura County’s Agriculture Museum. Hours and activities vary by location. Please see the schedule of events below:

Santa Paula Art Museum’s Cole Creativity Center
123 N 10th Street, Santa Paula, CA 93060
Día de los Muertos activities from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
www.santapaulaartmuseum.org

Visit the Santa Paula Art Museum’s Cole Creativity Center to create your own papel picado, tissue paper marigolds, block-printed calacas led by IDEA Center Ventura, and more. Guests can enjoy free face painting and special Día de los Muertos art installations. Visitors will also have access to the Museum’s current exhibitions, which include a fun iSpy activity for kids.

Pierce Brothers Santa Paula Cemetery
380 Cemetery Road
Día de los Muertos activities from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
www.pbsantapaula.com

Pierce Brothers Santa Paula Cemetery will celebrate with a day full of festivities to enjoy with family and friends. Build an ofrenda on a loved one’s grave or contribute to a community altar. Have your face painted, decorate a sugar skull, and listen to Mariachi music. Visit various vendors and enjoy a tamale and a cup of champurrado. Experience Aztec and Folklórico dancers, and participate in a procession through the cemetery. Catholic Mass will be held at 1:00 p.m., with the blessing of graves to follow, led by Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish.

Museum of Ventura County Agriculture Museum
926 Railroad Ave., Santa Paula, CA 93060
Día de los Muertos activities from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
www.venturamuseum.org

Join Santa Paula’s Agriculture Museum in celebrating Día de los Muertos with a special DIY turmeric anthotypes activity using marigolds. With this project, guests will learn the cultural significance of marigolds and how plants can be used as natural dyes to decorate handkerchiefs. Visitors will also have access to the Museum’s outdoor garden and exhibition, “Enfoque: Voces Indígenas Mexicanas del Condado de Ventura/ In Focus: Mexican Indigenous Voices of Ventura County.”

4th Annual Spook-Tacular Celebration in Port Hueneme on Wednesday, October 22, 2025

The City of Port Hueneme’s Annual Spook-Tacular Celebration is planned for Wednesday, October 22, 2025 from 5-8pm at Moranda Park, 200 Moranda Pkwy. Free event to include music, treats, a pumpkin patch, carnival games, a community pumpkin carving contest, and much more!  www.ci.port-hueneme.ca.us/1452/2025-Spook-Tacualr

Westlake High School Instrumental Music 15th Annual Food Truck Festival on Sunday, October 12, 2025

Westlake High School Instrumental Music Boosters presents its 15th Annual Food Truck Festival on Sunday, October 12, 2025 from 11am to 3:30pm at Conejo Creek Park North, adjacent to the Thousand Oaks Library at 1379 E. Janss Road.

Enjoy a beautiful day, with great music, delicious food from gourmet food trucks, kids activities, silent auction and raffle.

Ticket prices $10 presale and $15 at the event. Food sold separately. Buy tickets and learn more at whsband.org/foodtruckfestival.

Proceeds support WHS Instrumental Music programs.

2025 Peace Pumpkin Fest in Camarillo on Saturday, October 25th

The 15th Annual Peace Pumpkin Fest at Peace Lutheran Church, 71 Loma Drive, Camarillo is planned for Saturday, October 25, 2025 from 10am to 3pm.  Free admission.  There will be hay rides, carnival games, inflatables, craft vendors, kids’ art show, Lionel train exhibit, Lego train exhibit, food available for purchase, pumpkins available for purchase, and more. www.peacecamarillo.com/pumpkin-fest.html

17th Annual Sounds of Conejo Marching Band Celebration at Thousand Oaks High School on Saturday, September 27, 2025

The 17th Annual Sounds of Conejo marching band field show exhibition will feature the performances of the Thousand Oaks, Camarillo, Moorpark, Oxnard, Westlake, Buena, Rancho Campana, Simi Valley, Ventura, El Camino, and Oak Park high school marching bands. The event will be held at the Thousand Oaks High School Football Stadium on Saturday, September 27, 2025 at 7PM (gates open at 6PM).
 
The event will conclude with a grand finale, combining all high school marching bands playing together on one field, a sight you will not see at any other band show this season.
 
Tickets will be $20 for adults and $15 for students, seniors and military. Pay with cash or credit card at the field box office.
 
The Thousand Oaks High School Football Stadium is located at 2323 N. Moorpark Road.

tohsband.org

Christmas at the Ranch with Santa at the Camarillo Ranch House on December 2-3, 2025

The Camarillo Ranch presents its annual Christmas at the Ranch on December 2 and 3, 2025 from 5-8pm.

Give your family the gift of a beautifully unique Christmas experience by visiting Camarillo’s very-own historic landmark, magically transformed for the holiday season. Join the Camarillo Ranch Foundation for a special historic home tour of Adolfo Camarillo’s 1892 Queen Anne Victorian Mansion plus the 1905 Red Barn transformed into Santa’s Workshop. Learn about Camarillo family Christmas traditions as you step back in time with visions of bygone eras.

This year’s event features:

• Photos with Santa by a professional photographer ($20)

• Tours of the holiday-dressed Camarillo Ranch House (free; donations appreciated)

• Visit Santa’s Workshop in the Red Barn

• Victorian carolers

• Local craft vendors

• Festive beverages and treats for purchase

camarilloranchfoundation.com/christmas-with-santa

4th Annual Native Plantpalooza & Eco Fest in Thousand Oaks on Saturday, October 11, 2025

The Conejo Open Space Foundation (COSF) will host its fourth annual Native Plantpalooza & Eco Fest on Saturday, October 11, 2025, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Conejo Creek North Park Lakeside Pavilion area. This free family-friendly outdoor festival celebrates native plants, sustainable living, and environmental conservation — with a strong focus on fire prevention and community resilience.

With wildfire season a pressing concern in the Conejo Valley, this year’s event will showcase how native plants and sustainable landscaping practices play a critical role in creating fire-safe communities. Experts will share information on designing defensible space, choosing fire-resistant native plants, and maintaining landscapes to reduce wildfire risk.

Activities to include:

• Fire-safe landscaping education: Learn how native plants can reduce fire danger while supporting biodiversity and saving water.

• On hand experts: Meet fire prevention specialists, environmental leaders, and wildlife advocates on how to keep homes and open space safer.

• Exhibitors: Over 35 eco-focused organizations and vendors will be on-site, including Ventura Firesafe, The Theodore Payne Foundation, Wild Birds Unlimited and The California Wildlife Center.

• Interactive kids’ activities: Families can explore hands-on stations, including microscope explorations, temporary tattoos, planting and crafts.

• Native plant & compost giveaways: Free resources to encourage residents to plant wisely and reduce fire risk, including free compost from Athens Services (bring your own bucket).

• Food trucks & community gathering: Local favorites, including Chendo’s Tacos, will serve up delicious food and drink for attendees.

Located at 1379 E. Janss Road, Thousand Oaks (behind the Thousand Oaks Library).

https://cosf.org/about-native-plantpalooza-eco-fest/

Register at https://secure.lglforms.com/form_engine/s/T4jjfa4YQzmeCp2w2n7YHA?field_30=dposter

Inaugural Pumpkin Paddle at Channel Islands Harbor on Saturday, October 25th

The Channel Islands Harbor will host its inaugural Pumpkin Paddle at 10 a.m. on Saturday, October 25, inviting kayakers and paddleboarders to dress up in costume and celebrate Halloween on the water. This new event is part of the Harbor’s ongoing 60th anniversary celebrations, bringing the community together for festive and family-friendly activities.

Event will start at East Bank Day Dock (between Fisherman’s Wharf and the public launch ramp), then paddle to the docks at Peninsula Park.

Costume Contest

Participants are encouraged to wear costumes. A costume contest will be held following the paddle, with winners receiving gift cards to dine at local Harbor businesses SeaFresh Channel Islands and Harbor Mart. The grand prize winner will receive 4 tickets to Six Flags Magic Mountain, courtesy of Cumulus Media.

Registration & Giveaways

Registered participants will receive:

• A pair of festive pumpkin sunglasses

• Additional Harbor giveaways

BE SURE TO REGISTER IN ADVANCE TO ENSURE YOU RECEIVE A GIVEAWAY

Need Equipment?

If you don’t own a kayak or paddleboard, don’t worry – there are several ways to get on the water.

Hopper Boat Rentals and Channel Islands Kayak Center both offer rentals within the harbor.

Nights of the Jack Halloween Experience at King Gillette Ranch in Calabasas September 26 to November 1, 2025

Nights of the Jack is back at King Gillette Ranch in Calabasas from September 26 to November 1, 2025.

Local residents will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in a Halloween wonderland, filled with thousands of hand-carved Jack O’Lanterns at this ranch, which is steeped in history. Legend has it that in 1824, at the top of the Calabasas grade on the original El Camino Real, a rancher from Oxnard spilled a wagonload of pumpkins while en route to Los Angeles. Sometime later, hundreds of pumpkin seeds sprouted alongside the road. As a result of the surprising event, the area was dubbed Las Calabasas—"the place where the pumpkins fell."

The trail is about 2/3rds of a mile and is self-guided. Guests typically spend 1 to 1 1/2 hours on the grounds.

Tickets range from $29 to $50 per person general admission. Ages 2 and under are free. Parking is $16.

Tickets are on sale now at nightsofthejack.com.

King Gillette Ranch is located at 26800 Mulholland Hwy, Calabasas.

"Boo at the Zoo" Event at The Teaching Zoo at Moorpark College, October 18-19, 25-26, 2025

The Teaching Zoo at Moorpark College, 7075 Campus Road, Moorpark, turns wildly spooktacular the weekends of October 18-19 and 25-26, 2025 from 11am to 4:30pm for “Boo at the Zoo,” the annual Halloween-themed event that features animal shows, trick or treating, kids’ scavenger hunt, food trucks, free kids’ crafts and more.

For the family-fun event, the Zoo will be draped in decorations, and people of all ages can closely view the more than 100 animals cared for at the Zoo.

Admission is $12 for ages 12-64, $10 for ages 3-12 and $10 for seniors (65+). Kids ages 2 and under are admitted free. Tickets available at zoo.moorparkcollege.edu/boo-at-the-zoo.

The Teaching Zoo at Moorpark College is the only zoo in Ventura County and is the home of the Exotic Animal Training and Management Program, which started in 1971. The program offers preparation for those interested in entering the expanding animal care industry. The students study zoo keeping, basic medical care, wildlife education and training using positive reinforcement methods.