Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Conejo Valley Family Fun Run 2K Mud Dash on Sat, April 15th

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Conejo Valley invite youth to ‘get a little muddy’ at the Family Fun Run 2K Mud Dash on Saturday, April 15, 2017 at Redwood Middle School, 233 W. Gainsborough Road, Thousand Oaks.  Check-in begins at 8 a.m. and the first wave of runners starts at 9 a.m.

The 2k course is designed for the entire family to participate and starts and finishes at the same point.  Participants will have fun as they loop in and out of tires, jump hay bales, climb mini-walls and, of course, get a little dirty!  Finisher medals and t-shirts will be provided to all participants.  An Easter Egg Hunt will also be part of the event beginning at 10:30 a.m.  Music will be provided by Oakheart County Music Festival.

The Family Fun Run is presented by Logix Federal Credit Union and Variety, The Children’s Charity.  The cost for early registration is $10 for 9-year-old and under & after-school members and $20 for 10-year-old and up.  Day-of-race entry is $15 for 9-year-old and under & after-school members and $30 for 10-year-old and up.

Registration can be made at www.active.com.  To inquire about sponsorship and volunteer opportunities, call 818-706-0905 or visit the website at www.bgcconejo.org.

About the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Conejo Valley

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Conejo Valley are open before and after school, during lunch, on weekends, throughout the summer for the camp program and all day during school vacations with tours of the Clubs available upon request.  For more information about supervised youth programs, to donate, volunteer, or register online, visit www.bgcconejo.org or call 818-706-0905.

Commemorative Air Force Airpower History Tour in Camarillo April 18-23, 2017

The Commemorative Air Force Airpower History Tour, a National Air Tour of Historic WWII Aircraft, flies in to the Camarillo Airport at the CAF So Cal Wing, 445 Aviation Drive, on Tuesday, April 18 through Sunday, April 23, 2017 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.

Ramp access cost is $15 for adults and $8 for youth (ages 11 to 17. Children 10 and under are free. Price includes B-29 cockpit tour when the aircraft is available. 

Aircraft tours available as follows:

• Tues-Fri 4/18-4/21: Aircraft tours start at 9 a.m.
• Sat-Sun 4/22-4/23: B-29 flies at 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Tours available after noon.

Attending aircraft include the B-29 Superfortress FIFI, the premiere bomber of WWII (ride times available at Sat/Sun online), C-45 Expeditor Bucke of Bolts (ride times sold onsite - seats start at $75), T-6 Texan, the legendary trainer of WWII (ride times sold onsite) and Fairchild PT-19, an open cockpit trainer (ride times sold onsite).

Visit www.airpowersquadron.org to learn more.

36th Santa Monica Mountains Trail Days in Point Mugu State Park, April 28-30, 2017

The Santa Monica Mountains Trail Council is looking for volunteers to help improve local trails Friday through Sunday, April 28-30, 2017. No experience required.

Trail Days is a weekend for individuals and groups to build new trails and restore old ones. And help restore native plants. Volunteers can either meet on Saturday/Sunday morning and work for the day or alternatively, the park service is providing free camping on Friday and/or Saturday nights at the Danielson Multi-use Area located under the sycamores and oaks in the heart of Point Mugu State Park.

In addition to providing a great public service, volunteers will also obtain a better understanding and appreciation for local trails and plants, a chance to meet and work with some great local people and some outstanding exercise in the outdoors!

Bring lunches, beverages, snacks and water. Tools are provided but you can bring your own. There's also a Saturday night barbecue free for volunteers. RSVP for camping reservations requested by April 24th.

Campers will meet on Friday/Saturday late afternoon/early evening on the Newbury Park side of Point Mugu State Park (off of Reino/Potrero) and others will meet at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday/Sunday mornings. Additional details and register online at www.smmtc.org/maint/traildays.php.

Contact the SMM Trails Council for more information at 818.222.4531 or visit www.smmtc.org.

1920s Tea by the Sea at Heritage Square in Oxnard on Saturday, May 13th

The Friends of Heritage Square will offer their annual Spring Tea on Saturday, May 13, 2017. This year takes on a 1920s theme, honoring 1926, when Oxnard was considered “The New Hollywood”.  Visitors can enjoy a total Roaring Twenties experience, including the lingo of the day, how to do the Charleston and find out why Tinsel Town stars came to Oxnard to live, work and play.

An expanded Marketplace featuring 1920s items and more will open at 11:00 AM for last minute Mother’s Day gifts. Participants can also shop for their favorite gift baskets provided by The Friends of Heritage Square.

Guests are encouraged to wear 1920s themed outfits for a chance to win a prize. Ideas for 1920s styles will be posted on www.heritagesquareoxnard.com and www.facebook.com/heritagesquareoxnard. Search Heritage Square’s Tea by the Sea.  For those who don’t have time to create their own 20’s look, there will be moderately priced items available for purchase to slip into before tea time.

Seating and tea service begins at 1:30 pm.  Piano music of the Roaring Twenties will be provided by Ray Mautner.  Refreshments include tea sandwiches, scones and desserts, catered by La Dolce Vita Restaurant. Tea service will be delivered by costumed docents. 

In addition to tea service, “Prohibition Cocktails” will also be available, no host, compliments of Ventura County’s 1920s woman bootlegger.

Prices: $40 per person, $35 per person for group of 6. Tables available for groups of six or eight. $20 for children under 12.  Tickets available online www.heritagesquareoxnard.com or call 483-7960.

Proceeds benefit the Friends of Heritage Square and their educational programs. A portion of the ticket price is tax deductible.

The Friends of Heritage Square (FOHS) is a self funded volunteer organization founded 25 years ago. The mission of the FOHS is to help people of all ages to appreciate the importance of our local cultural and historical heritage as well as the art and architecture of the homes that were moved to Heritage Square.  This is accomplished through tours and special events throughout the year that celebrate history as well as educate and entertain the public.

Calabasas High Cross Country and Track Teams Host 5K Fun Run on Saturday, Feb 25th

The Calabasas High School Cross Country and Track teams are hosting the Team Something Yellow 5K Fun Run and 400 Meter Kids' Dash on Saturday, February 25th at 3:30pm.

Proceeds support the Kevin Cordasco Foundation: Something Yellow & Concern Foundation, in support of former CHS student Kevin Cordasco. Cordasco had neuroblastoma at age 10 but has not let that get in the way of his accomplishments. He will be at the event.

More details at www.raceentry.com/race-reviews/something-yellow-5k-fun-run-and-400-meter-kids-dash

Ojai Studio Artists Second Saturday Open Studios - Free Event on January 14, 2017

The Ojai Studio Artists Second Saturday mini-tours begin on January 14 with four open studios in downtown Ojai. Featured this month are Andrea Haffner, Rex Kochel, Marta Nelson and Iris Williams. Studios will be open from 10am - 3pm. Admission is free, and the studios are all located within a few miles of each other.

With enthusiastic response from the community to the Second Saturday tours, OSA is scheduling mini-tours from January through July. "It gives people a chance to spend some in-depth time with each artist," Ms. Moran says. "With over 60 artists on the October Studio Tour, people really have to pick and choose who to see. This is a more leisurely tour."

A professional artist for the past 18 years, Andrea Haffner's resin cast pieces are unique and delicate. Inspired by the natural form - from yucca capsules to maple samaras, Haffner assembles and suspends bits of natural material in resin colored with transparent dyes. With a background in both photography and glass, light is a primary consideration in her work. Elegant yet abstract, she encases her assemblages within small sterling silver or larger steel frames. She creates jewelry pieces as well as large commissions. Haffner has exhibited extensively across the country and recently completed numerous large-scale commissions for hospitals, hotels and private residences.
After 34 years as an educator in the Ventura School District, Rex Kochel is now a full-time artist. His whimsical style evolved primarily from the use of blind continuous line drawings. He begins his watercolors on location, then continues to modify them in his studio before he begins to paint. His work reflects his travels to Mexico, Peru, Panama, Argentina, as well as time spent in San Francisco and Ventura County. He maintains a strong compositional focus in all of his artwork, frequently moving in the direction of abstract realism. His work can be seen at the new Remax Building in Ventura, for which he created 54 paintings which are part of their permanent collection.

Marta Nelson is a painter, printmaker and sculptor and a founding member of Ojai Studio Artists. A lifelong artist, she won her first art scholarship at 10 years old, and attended her first figure drawing classes at Chouinard Art Institute. She later taught at Bakersfield College, teaching painting and sculpture. Her art often reflects her interest in dance, her garden in Ojai as well as exotic scenes from her travels around the world. Her paintings and prints hang in private collections across the United State, Mexico and Japan. Marta is also deeply committed to the International Peace Movement. Incorporating peace doves in all her work, Marta was instrumental in establishing the first Peace Pole in Ojai.

Iris Williams sees art as a silent language. Her oil paintings are often mischievous and whimsical and also involve some aspect of storytelling. “Art was the agent that allowed me to speak,” she explains. She uses her art to explore her imagination and dreams. In all her work, whether still life, landscape or figurative work, she aims to elicit a feeling of wonder. As co-owner of Ojai Creates along with her husband Kirk Lowry, Williams sells art supplies to the community and has a longtime association with the Ojai Art Center.

A map for the January 14th event can be printed from the OSA website: ojaistudioartists.org. Any changes or additions to the list of artists will be posted there.

The Super Run 5K in Ventura on Saturday, April 22, 2017

The Super Run 5k at San Buenaventura State Park in Ventura on Saturday, April 22, 2017 is a superhero themed run where you become a real life superhero!  Grab your cape and fly over to for a 5k fun run, music, festivities and more.  

Every participant gets an authentic event SUPERHERO CAPE and collectable run bib.  The finishers get a super finishers medal!

The run starts at 9am. Registration at 8am. More details and sign up at thesuperrun.com/locations/ventura-ca-superhero-5k-run.

Sankta Lucia Service at Cal Lutheran Thousand Oaks on Thursday, December 8, 2016

Cal Lutheran to hold Sankta Lucia service

Student elected by classmates wears crown of candles

California Lutheran University’s dramatic Sankta Lucia Festival, in which a student wears a crown of lighted candles, will be held at 11:25 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 8, in Samuelson Chapel.

Undergraduate students select five female and five male representatives whose depth of character and faith make them leaders in the Cal Lutheran community. In the festival, Lucia, her attendants and their escorts enter to the accompaniment of an ancient hymn and read an adaptation of the legend. Attendants then light the candles in Lucia’s crown.

The Swedish ceremony pays homage to the Christian martyr who died at the stake on Dec. 13, 304 A.D. and symbolizes the spirit of a centuries-old legend of Christian service. The tradition, which was brought to America by Swedish immigrants, has been part of the university’s holiday celebrations since its early years. The festival honors the character traits of mercy, humility and purity of heart, as seen in the Beatitudes in the Gospel of Matthew.

The Office of Campus Ministry at Cal Lutheran is sponsoring the free event.

The chapel is located at 165 Chapel Lane on the Thousand Oaks campus. Additional parking is available in the lot at the corner of Olsen Road and Mountclef Boulevard. For more information, contact Elizabeth Lohr-Myers at campusministry@callutheran.edu or 805-493-3228.

Hanukkah Celebration at Cal Lutheran in Thousand Oaks on Monday, December 5th

Cal Lutheran hosts Hanukkah celebration

Hillel students organizing service activity, ceremony

California Lutheran University is hosting its annual Hanukkah celebration from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, Dec. 5.

Organized by students in the university’s Hillel club, the event will be held in Lundring Events Center on the Thousand Oaks campus.

The ceremony will feature the lighting of the candles on the menorah. The community can also join faculty, staff and students in enjoying traditional food and activities.

For the first time this year, participants are invited to bring a toy and assemble holiday packages during the event for children served by Many Mansions. Hillel members are volunteering for the nonprofit throughout the year.

This year Hanukkah takes place from sundown on Dec. 24 through Jan. 1. Every year, Jewish people around the world celebrate Hanukkah to commemorate the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem after the Maccabees defeated the army of the Greek ruler Antiochus Epiphanies and won their religious freedom.

Hanukkah is referred to as the Festival of Lights because, according to tradition, a rekindled menorah burned for eight days although it only held enough oil to burn a single day. The holiday is a reminder to rekindle our spiritual lights and shine for the world.

Although Cal Lutheran has long hosted Hanukkah celebrations, the Hillel club in recent years has organized more events for the campus and the nearby community. In 2012, Rabbi Belle Michael took over as the adviser for Hillel and became the first Jewish member of the university’s Campus Ministry staff. The Oak Park resident also began helping to lead chapel services.

The number of Jewish students at Cal Lutheran is growing and currently stands at about 150. Hillel, led by president Briana Shneyder of Encino, provides a community for the Jewish students and opportunities to explore their identity with one another and community members. Celebrations draw students from many faiths and perspectives, and club members participate in the campus’s interfaith activities as well as social justice events. The club recently put together an advisory board made up of community leaders, parents, alumni, faculty and staff.

Lundring Events Center is located in the Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center, which is on the north side of Olsen Road between Campus Drive and Mountclef Boulevard.

Cal Lutheran’s Office of Campus Ministry is sponsoring the free event. For more information, contact Shneyder at bshnede@callutheran.edu or Michael at bmichae@callutheran.edu.

37th Annual "Santa Comes to Westlake/Agoura and Beyond" Food Drive on December 10, 2016

Santa may be the busiest guy you know around the holiday season, but he is taking his time out of his toy-making schedule to once again help the Westlake Village Junior Women’s Club host the 37th annual Santa Comes to Westlake/Agoura & Beyond food drive.

This year's non-denominational event takes place in the Agoura Hills’ DIY HomeCenter parking lot on Saturday, December 10, 2016, from 8:30am-11:00am. Participants can help bag collected food and assist in the deliveries.

Founded originally by George Annino and the Agoura Optimist Club, the annual food drive has helped over 21,000 Conejo Valley families. Its goal is to brighten the holiday season for predetermined local families in need by delivering bags of groceries directly to their door step. Numerous organizations including local churches, schools, the Boy Scouts of America, and the Girl Scouts of America participate in hosting food drives and sorting canned and packaged foods for delivery.  In addition, residents of the Conejo Valley help by donating money towards a bag of groceries for a family in need.

How can you help?

1. The Westlake Village Juniors encourage the community to join them on December 10 to sort and deliver the food. This is a great opportunity for groups, families with kids, and individuals to help their neighbors and spread the holiday joy.

2. Purchase a bag of groceries for a needy family. It is $20 per bag. Checks can be made out to the Westlake Village Junior Women’s Club and mailed to: P.O. Box 4412, Thousand Oaks, CA91359. 

3. Donate at one of the designated food drives.

Community Food Drives

Visit www.westlakejuniors.org/events/santa-comes-to-westlake-agoura/overview for updates on food drive locations.

For questions contact santa@westlakejuniors.org or visit www.westlakejuniors.org