Brahms, Tchaikovsky pieces featured

THOUSAND OAKS, CA. - California Lutheran University faculty and students will present Brahms and Tchaikovsky: The Height of Romanticism at 4 p.m. Sunday, March 27, in Overton Hall.

The concert will feature faculty members Melissa Phelps on violin and Joyce Geeting on cello. The featured students are sophomore accounting major Jiachang Guan of Beijing, freshman music major Antonio Foreman of Agoura Hills, senior music major David Mason of Ventura and junior political science major Rebecca Cardone of Katy, Texas. Louise Brown, a professional violist from Santa Clarita, will also perform.

The musicians will present Brahms’ Sextet and Tchaikovsky’s “Souvenir de Florence.”

Overton Hall is located south of Memorial Parkway near Regent Avenue on the Thousand Oaks campus.

A $10 donation is requested. For more information, e-mail joycegeeting@yahoo.com.

 


 
Event features the music of Michael Schelle
Michael Schelle
Michael Schelle

THOUSAND OAKS, CA. - California Lutheran University’s 9th Annual New Music Concert will feature the music of two-time Pulitzer Prize nominee Michael Schelle.

CLU faculty, students and guest performers will present the concert at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 26, in Samuelson Chapel. Schelle, who has a theatrical and eclectic musical style, will participate in a question-and-answer session at the beginning of the event.

Schelle will play piano on “Prayer.” His wife, Miho Sasaki, will be the featured pianist on “Straight, No Lithium,” which Schelle wrote for her to perform. Commissioned for the 2010 Decay and Regeneration in the Arts symposium in Japan, the piece includes “regenerated” parts of two of Sasaki’s favorite works by Brahms and Chopin and a final movement that “regenerates” her favorite Bach prelude.

The program will also include “Say Goodnight, Gracie,” “Blue Plate Special,” “Gimme Shelter” and “The Viola the Wind Swept Away.” Other guest performers will include Lynn Angebrandt on cello, Darius Campo on violin and Amy Wilkins on harp.

More than 200 orchestras and professional ensembles across the United States and abroad including the Chicago Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra have performed Schelle’s work. Recent critically acclaimed international performances of his music include Kammerorchester Basel in Switzerland, the Kremlin Chamber Orchestra in Moscow and the Contemporary Music Ensemble of Tokyo.

Schelle has been the Composer-in-Residence at Butler University in Indianapolis for 30 years and is the founding director of the college’s JCFA Composers’ Orchestra, which is dedicated to the preservation and presentation of music by “not-dead-yet” composers. A frequent guest composer at universities and new music festivals across the country, he has received composition grants from many prestigious arts organizations including the National Endowment for the Arts, the Rockefeller Foundation and the American Symphony Orchestra League. He is also a restaurant critic and the author of a book on film music and was a finalist in the International Humour in Poetry Competition in Paris.

The chapel is located off of Campus Drive south of Olsen Road on the Thousand Oaks campus. Additional parking is available in the lot at the corner of Mountclef Boulevard and Olsen Road.

Donations will be accepted. For more information on the concert, call the Music Department at (805) 493-3306 or visit http://visit www.callutheran.edu/music. For more information on Schelle, visit http://www.schellemusic.com.

 


 
‘8: The Mormon Proposition’ part of Reel Justice Series

THOUSAND OAKS, CA. – California Lutheran University will show a documentary about the Mormon Church’s campaign in support of Proposition 8 in California at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 30.

“8: The Mormon Proposition” will be presented at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 30, in Lundring Events Center as part of the Reel Justice Film Series.

Director Reed Cowan initially planned on making a documentary about gay teen homelessness and suicide in Utah but he soon turned his focus to the idea that the homophobia that prompts otherwise loving parents to kick teenagers out of their homes is deep-seated in current Mormon ideology. Cowan and his fellow filmmakers, who experienced firsthand what it was like to grow up gay in the Mormon faith in Utah, turned their attention to the historic campaign by the Mormon Church to pass Proposition 8 in California. The film is their emotional outcry to what they found.

The Reel Justice Film Series, which examines the themes of equality and social justice, will continue with "Living Downstream" on April 6.

Lundring Events Center is located in Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center, which is on the north side of Olsen Road near Campus Drive on the Thousand Oaks campus.

CLU’s Center for Equality and Justice and Gay-Straight Alliance are sponsoring the free screening. For more information, contact Sam Thomas at sthomas@callutheran.edu or (805) 493-3693.

 
Come Fiddle Around!

California State Old Time Fiddlers, District 8, meet Sunday, March 13, 1:30 - 4:30 at Oak View Community Center, 18 Valley Road, Oak View.

Join the fiddlers for another afternoon of listening or dancing to Country, Western, & Blue Grass music. No admission or parking charge.

Refreshmentsavailable. Info: 640-3689, 517-1131, www.calfiddlers.com.

 
Exhibit showcases the best student works

THOUSAND OAKS, CA. - The CLUFest 2011 Multimedia Showcase slated from March 26 through April 15 will feature the best in digital and interactive media created by students.

An opening reception will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 26, in the Kwan Fong Gallery of Art and Culture at CLU.

The exhibit recognizes CLU’s most talented and promising student graphic designers, photographers, illustrators, animators, digital filmmakers and computer artists. All students were invited to submit works. Featured pieces will include digital photography, digital illustration, 3-D artwork, animation, video and audio.

Working with a local prop company, students in the Multimedia Capstone class designed the gallery and displayed the pieces to reflect a music theme, although the artwork did not need to deal with this subject.

The gallery is located in Soiland Humanities Center, which is on the south side of Memorial Parkway at Regent Avenue on the Thousand Oaks campus. It is open to the public from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

The Multimedia Department is sponsoring the free exhibit. For more information, contact Tim Hengst at (805) 493-3241 or thengst@callutheran.edu.

 
Four Days Only: March 24-27, Special Presentation March 26

The Braceros of Ventura County, a traveling exhibition presented in conjunction with California State University Channel Islands, will illustrate the impact of the Bracero Program on Ventura County history. It is on view from Thursday, March 24 through Sunday, March 27, in the Museum of Ventura County’s Martin V. and Martha K. Smith Pavilion. Admission is $5, and includes entry to all museum galleries. On Saturday, March 26th at 3 p.m, exhibit visitors can attend the illustrated lecture presented by José M. Alamillo, Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Chicana/o Studies Program at California State University Channel Islands.

The exhibition explores the Bracero Program in Ventura County from 1942 to its end in 1964, through interviews, photographs, posters, and artifacts. Begun as a temporary war measure to address labor needs in agriculture and the railroads, it eventually became the largest guest worker program in U.S. history.
The Museum of Ventura County is located at 100 East Main Street in downtown Ventura. Hours are 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. For more museum information go to www.venturamuseum.org or call 805-653-0323.

 

Scientists estimate that one third of the world’s food crops and four-fifths of its flowering plants depend on some form of insect pollination, mainly by bees. Yet honeybees and native bees around the globe are declining in numbers.

Join us at the UC Hansen Agricultural Center on UPDATE: DATE HAS BEEN CHANGED TO APRIL 2nd!!! March 26th for another Saturday at the Farm. Speaker, Anna Howell, MS, Entomologist UC Cooperative Extension-Ventura will present: Beefriending Your Local Bees. Discover the fascinating world of bees, pollination and its impact on eco and agricultural systems, observe collections of native bees and demonstration on how to build native bee nests. 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Free. Space is limited, reservations required. Call 805-525-9293 ext 214 or email: sbmiller@ucdavis.edu.

The UC Hansen Agricultural Center will be open on March 26th from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. for self-guided Faulkner House, garden tours, and Master Gardener plant sale. If you would like to participate in these activities, no reservation required. For more information visit our website at www.uchansentrust.org. UCHAC is located at 14292 W. Telegraph Rd in Santa Paula. Admission to the farm and parking are free.

 
"Hope Street"
"Hope Street"
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Hilda Kilpatrick is a visual storyteller. Her new body of work, titled “Hope”, is a pictorial narrative that reflects the artist’s interpretation of the sentiment. Light-hearted in concept, Kilpatrick’s new paintings will be featured in a solo exhibit at the Buenaventura Gallery from March 29 to April 23, 2011. Opening reception is Saturday, April 2 from 4-7pm.

The inspiration in Kilpatrick’s subject matter derives from the notion that her scenery may be drastically different in a few years, or gone altogether. Environmental changes, overpopulation, urban growth—are but a few factors that attract the artist to capture the current landscape.

Her characteristic loose brushwork, warmth-infused surfaces and fresh painterly approach are evident in this new body of work. Yet, Kilpatrick’s impressionistic new series incorporates some new elements---figures, cars, signs, animals—which create the aspect of the narrative.

She has shown her work at the Museum of Ventura County, City of Ventura Mayor’s Office, been honored with the City of Ventura 2007-08 Artist Fellowship; se was awarded the Founders and People’s Choice at the 70th Annual Santa Paula Art & Photography Show and has been featured in national publications such as SkyWest Magazine, Southwest Art Magazine and the Los Angeles Times.

This is her third solo show with Buenaventura Art Association.

The Buenaventura Gallery is located at 700 E. Santa Clara Street , Ventura , CA 93001 . Gallery hours are Tuesday-Friday, 12-5pm and Saturday from 11am to 5pm. (805) 648-1235 or visit www.buenaventuragallery.org.

 
April 16, 2011

Fine art and delicious fare highlight this Spring’s Art Alfresco Invitational Exhibition and Art Sale, presented by the Museum of Ventura County on Saturday, April 16, from 2:00-6:00 p.m.

Stroll through the easels and sculpture of thirty of the region’s finest artists, exhibiting and selling their work in the museum’s plaza and Martin V. & Martha K. Smith Pavilion. Admission is $20 per person, and includes food samplings from local purveyors and entry to all museum galleries. A portion of the proceeds from each artwork sold will support museum programs. To make reservations, call (805) 653-0323 x 304.

Artists participating in the invitational include Catherine Day Barroca, Virginia Beale, Kitty Botke, Sherri Cassell, Michele Chapin, Gayel Childress, Roger Conrad, Raymond Cuevas, Steven Curry, Bill Dewey, JoAnne Duby, Fran Elson, Gail Faulkner, Maribel Hernandez, Dan Holmes, Norman Kirk, John Nichols, Susan Petty, Chris Provenzano, Roxie Ray, Pamela Kendall Schiffer, Larissa Strauss, Arline Tepper, Andrea Vargas-Mendoza, Susan Vogel, Laura Wambsgans and Hiroko Yoshimoto.

The Museum of Ventura County is located at 100 East Main Street in downtown Ventura. For more museum information go to www.venturamuseum.org or call 805-653-0323.

 
His specialty is science fiction, comic book characters
Doug Jones
Doug Jones

THOUSAND OAKS, CA. - Actor Doug Jones will talk to California Lutheran University students and the community at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 23, as part of the “Conversations With … “ series.

The second in a series of informal discussions with actors on their craft will be held in the Preus-Brandt Forum on the Thousand Oaks campus. Actor, writer and director Markus Flanagan, who teaches at CLU, will be the moderator for a one-hour talk followed by a question-and-answer session with the audience.

The youngest of four brothers, Jones grew up in Indianapolis, Ind., and studied theatre, mime and contortionism at Ball State University. He moved to Los Angeles in 1985, and has not been out of work since.

Jones is best known for his work under heavy makeup and prosthetics playing science fiction and comic book characters. His performance as Abe Sapien in “Hellboy” brought him to prominence and he went on to play Pan in the “Pan's Labyrinth.” He also portrayed the Silver Surfer in “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer” and Abe Sapien, the Angel of Death and the Chamberlain in “Hellboy II: The Golden Army.” He also had roles in “Doom,” “The Benchwarmers” and “Lady in the Water.”

His most satisfying performance to date was a starring role written for him in the independent film “My Name is Jerry.” The movie won numerous awards and Jones earned a Best Actor award at the 3rd Strasbourg International Film Festival in 2010.

Jones has also acted in many commercials, television series including “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” and “Criminal Minds,” and music videos with the likes of Madonna, The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Marilyn Manson. He has done extensive voice work, including the role as Abe Sapien in the “Hellboy” animated series, on the indie short movie “Rise,” and in the animated movie “Quantum Quest - A Cassini Space Odyssey.” He and his wife also mentor young people who are beginning their careers in the business.

Flanagan, a 24-year veteran in the industry, has appeared in 10 movies and more than 100 TV shows. He also lectures for acting programs throughout the country.

Flanagan’s 2007 book, “One Less Bitter Actor: The Actor’s Survival Guide,” explains how to make it in the business of acting while staying sane and focused. The “Conversations With …” talks at CLU take the same approach, providing theatre arts students and other aspiring actors with advice from professionals.

Donations will be accepted. Proceeds will benefit the CLU Theatre Arts Department.

Preus-Brandt Forum is located south of Olsen Road near Mountclef Boulevard.

For more information, call (805) 493-3415 or e-mail dramadpt@callutheran.edu.

 
Proceeds from the Gold Dust Gala are used for breast cancer detection and treatment, cervical cancer screening and vaccines, and needed diagnostic equipment benefitting women in our community who lack access to life-saving exams

Ventura, CA. - Little Texas, “America’s Favorite Rockin’ Country Band,” whose 12 Billboard Top 20 singles include “My Love,” a No. 1 hit in 1993, as well as the catchy anthem of the Lone Star State, “God Blessed Texas,” will headline the 21st annual Gold Dust Gala at Ventura County Fairgrounds in the San Miguel Hall on Saturday, April 16.

The Gold Dust Gala, sponsored by the Community Memorial Healthcare Foundation, begins at 6 p.m. with cocktails, a silent auction, raffle and tribute tree where you can honor a loved one. A dinner featuring a variety of fine Italian cuisine and dancing will follow at 6:30 p.m., with Little Texas taking the stage at 8:30 p.m.

For more information please visit www.golddustgala.org. Tickets and sponsorship packages may be purchased online at www.golddustgala.org or call the Foundation office at 805-667-2881.

Proceeds from the Gold Dust Gala are used for breast cancer detection and treatment, cervical cancer screening and vaccines, and needed diagnostic equipment benefitting women in our community who lack access to life-saving exams. These services are provided by Community Memorial Health System.

In 2010, CMHS’s Healthy Women’s Program also sponsored five free public breast cancer screening days that assisted 154 women. Also, last year, 127 women received breast cancer treatments ranging from mammography exams to biopsies and surgical interventions at the Breast Center at Community Memorial Hospital. Another 43 women received cervical cancer screenings and vaccines.

Formed in 1988, Little Texas enjoyed its greatest success in the 1990s with a string of Top 10 hits. In addition to “My Love” and “God Blessed Texas,” they include: “What Might Have Been,” No. 2 in 1993; “Amy’s Back in Austin,” No. 4 in 1995; “You and Forever Me,” No. 5 in 1992; “Kick A Little,” No. 5 in 1992; “Life Goes On,” No. 5 in 1995; and “Some Guys Have All the Love,” No. 8 in 1992.

Little Texas also was nominated for a 1996 Grammy Award for “Amy’s Back in Austin” in the “Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group” category.

Little Texas disbanded in 1997 but four of its five members - Duane Propes, Del Gray, Porter Howell and Dwayne O’Brien - reunited in 2004.

Duane Propes (bass guitar), Del Gray (drums), Porter Howell (lead guitar and lead vocals), and Dwayne O'Brien (rhythm guitar and background vocals) decided to reunite Little Texas in 2004. In 2007, the band released a live album, “The Very Best of Little Texas: Live and Loud.” The live album was followed one month later by the studio album “Missing Years” that has produced three singles – “Missing Years,” “Your Woman” and “Party Life.”

About CMH
Community Memorial Hospital is a member of Community Memorial Health System, a not-for-profit health system, which is comprised of Community Memorial Hospital, Ojai Valley Community Hospital, and nine family-practice health centers entitled Centers for Family Health. The health system is located in Ventura County, California.

 

Ojai, CA -- The Ojai Visitors Bureau (OVB) invites both amateur and professional photographers to participate in an online photo contest entitled “Destination Ojai: Through Your Lens” to capture Ojai's unique attributes, attractions and activities that make it a desirable destination. Categories for photo submission include:

· CULINARY - Ojai dining, wine tasting, farmers market, and other culinary experiences

· EVENTS - Ojai special events and signature festivals

· RECREATION - Outdoor recreation in the Ojai Valley

· PLACES TO GO – Interesting businesses, spas, shops and historic places

· ARTS - Ojai arts and culture including galleries, theatre, museums, exhibits

· SCENIC BEAUTY – Vistas, hiking trails, back country, mountains, landscape

The Grand Prize winner will receive a $300 Ojai fun package including a $125 gift certificate to The Day Spa of Ojai, $75 gift certificate to Suzanne’s Cuisine, a $50 gift certificate at Feast Bistro and a $50 gift certificate to the Ojai Art Center. First place winners in each of the six categories will receive a $15 gift certificate to Knead Bakery and an Ojai calendar from Made in Ojai. Winning images and other favorite photos may also be featured with photo credit in marketing collateral for Ojai including website, advertisements, brochures and photo galleries.

The deadline for the photo contest is April 15, 2011. Contest details and online submissions are available at www.ojaivisitors.com . For more information call Ryan Curran White at the Ojai Visitors Bureau at 1-888-OJAI-NOW.

 
2010 Awesome Art Winners. Photo by Les Dublin.
2010 Awesome Art Winners. Photo by Les Dublin.
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Thursday, March 10 - Sunday, April 17, 2011
2010 Awesome Art Reception. Photo by Les Dublin.
2010 Awesome Art Reception. Photo by Les Dublin.
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2010 Awesome Art Reception. Photo by Les Dublin.
2010 Awesome Art Reception. Photo by Les Dublin.
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"Old Soul” - 2010 First Place in Painting by Laura Tisserand and Luke Jackson. Photo by Les Dublin.
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“Untitled” Assemblage – 2010 Best of Show by Lily Mays. Photo by Les Dublin.
“Untitled” Assemblage – 2010 Best of Show by Lily Mays. Photo by Les Dublin.
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Awesome Art 2010 Photographic Entry Wall. Photo by Myrna Cambianica.
Awesome Art 2010 Photographic Entry Wall. Photo by Myrna Cambianica.
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2010 Awesome Art, Students at Reception. Photo by Myrna Cambianica.
2010 Awesome Art, Students at Reception. Photo by Myrna Cambianica.
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Reception and Awards: Thursday, March 10, 4 – 6 p.m.

Special Enrichment Event: Sergio Aragonés, Book Signing & Gallery Talk:
Sunday, April 10, 2 to 4 p.m.

2011 marks the 10th consecutive year that the annual student art exhibit, “AWESOME ART,” will be mounted in the changing gallery at the Ojai Valley Museum, Ojai, California. The exhibition runs March 10 through April 17, 2011 and showcases upper level student artwork from Nordhoff High, Thacher, Besant Hill, Ojai Valley School, Villanova, and Oak Grove schools.

On average, the “AWESOME ART” group exhibition features 150 works of art, including ceramics, sculpture, drawings, paintings, photography, graphic design, digital, and mixed media pieces. Please note that many of the artworks are available for sale. This is an opportune time to collect new talent, purchase a special & affordable original gift, and support the Ojai Valley Museum programs.

In addition to museum exposure for the burgeoning Ojai student artists, the AWESOME ART show is an award opportunity for the participants. Every year since 2005, siblings Karen O’Neill and Michael Burgos have granted monetary awards to selected exhibiting students in memory of their mother, Marion E. Smith. Mrs. Smith was a longtime Ojai resident, an Ojai Valley Museum docent and a youth art supporter. The monetary awards, given in her name, are for merit and scholarship. The judges of “AWESOME ART, 2011” are Donna Granata (Photography/Digital Art), Larry Carnes (Ceramics), and Tom Hardcastle (Painting and Drawing).

The Award Reception will be held Thursday, March 10, 2011 at the Ojai Valley Museum between 4 and 6 p.m. This special event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. Please remember exhibited work is available for purchase, and that donations to the Museum are always welcome.

A special community outreach event for this exhibit features local Ojai resident and world famous cartoonist, Sergio Aragonés, whose presentations always attract students, visitors and aficionados! He will have a book signing for his recent publication, “Mad’s Greatest Artists: Sergio Aragonés,” and give a gallery talk on Sunday, April 10th from 2 to 4 p.m. in the museum’s rotating gallery.

The Ojai Valley Museum is located at 130 W. Ojai Avenue and is open Thursday and Friday from 1 to 4 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from Noon to 4 p.m. Specials tours can be arranged for Wednesdays.

Adult admission is $4.00. The O’Neill and Burgos grant also allows free admission to all students visiting the exhibit as well as to the Sergio Aragonés Book Signing/Gallery Talk event on April 10th.

For more information call the museum at (805) 640-1390, email ojaimuseum@sbcglobal.net or visit the museum website at http://www.ojaivalleymuseum.org

 
CLU Choir
CLU Choir
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Performances will conclude with home concert

THOUSAND OAKS, CA. - The California Lutheran University Choir is embarking on a tour that will begin at Carnegie Hall and end with a performance on campus.

The varied program will include music by Franz Joseph Haydn, Robert Schumann, Vaclav Nelybel, William Hawley, David Dickau and CLU faculty member Mark Spraggins. The concert will conclude with spirituals, gospel songs and crossover pop arrangements of music by U2, Annie Lennox and Dolly Parton. Wyant Morton, chair of the music department, will conduct the 77-voice choir.

For the home concert, the CLU Women’s Chorale will join the choir and the CLU Honors Quintet will perform instrumental music.

The CLU Choir is the university’s premiere choral ensemble. It has performed tours throughout the United States and in England, Italy, Norway and Sweden. The choir has earned a reputation for its commitment to performing the finest in choral literature from all eras in the original languages. While dedicated to performing works that represent the university's Lutheran heritage, the choir also embraces innovative new music and multicultural pieces.

The 2011 Concert Tour includes the following performances:

· 8:30 p.m. Sunday, March 13, at Carnegie Hall in New York, N.Y. The CLU Choir is part of a program headlined by the Masterworks Festival Chorus and the National Festival Chorus. Tickets are available at http://www.carnegiehall.org.

· 8 p.m. Monday, March 14, at Stretansky Concert Hall at Susquehanna University, 514 University Ave., Selinsgrove, Pa.

· 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 15, at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 1 Trinity Place, Greenville, Pa.

· 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 16, at Lutheran Church of Our Savior, 204 Wayne Ave., Haddonfield, N.J.

· 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 18, at First Evangelical Lutheran Church, 3604 Chatham Road, Ellicott City, Md.

· 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 22, in Samuelson Chapel at CLU, 60 W. Olsen Road,
Thousand Oaks, Calif.

For more information, call the Music Department at (805) 493-3306 or visit http://www.callutheran.edu/choirtour.

 

The Ventura County and Santa Barbara County chapter of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors will meet Sunday, March 20, at noon at Ventura College, Building B, in the cafeteria. The NAWCC is a nonprofit organization whose members include hobbyists, collectors, and professionals. The common bond is a fascination with the art and science of timekeeping and timepieces. You can learn more about the NAWCC at www.nawcc.org. And more about Chapter 190 at www.nawcc-ch190.com

Everyone interested in watches and clocks, (modern or antique), is invited to visit and join our chapter. Members of the public are also invited to attend. There is a three dollar admission charge. Watches and clocks will be on display. There will be a mart followed by an informational meeting and a program.

This month’s program on March 20 will begin at 1:15 PM and is entitled “Santa Barbara's Time Piece takes its place in the History of American Tower Clocks". It is presented by Dr. David Bisno; he will share with us the story of discovering Santa Barbara's Seth Thomas clock of 1929, his vision of turning the dark and dingy storage room within the courthouse into a world-class gallery of horology and a short history of the role tower clocks played in American history.

He will share with us the story of discovering Santa Barbara's Seth Thomas clock of 1929, his vision of turning the dark and dingy storage room within the courthouse into a world-class gallery of horology and a short history of the role tower clocks played in American history. David Bisno, a retired ophthalmologist, with degrees from Harvard, Dartmouth and the Washington University School of Medicine, has been an avid historian of science. For the past 19 years, he has, with his wife, Fay, presented a myriad of discussion topics for retirees within institutes for lifelong learning in the United States and overseas.

The Ventura County Chapter 190 of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors was chartered in September, 2006, and distributes a monthly newsletter to members. Membership applications will be available at the meeting, or by calling 805-988-1764.

 
CI to present original play by faculty member

Camarillo, CA. - CSU Channel Islands (CI) has announced the fourth annual spring production, an original play written and directed by CI faculty member Bob Mayberry, Associate Professor of English. Performances will be held Wednesday, March 9 through Saturday, March 12 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, March 13 at 2 p.m.

The play, entitled The Donner Party Cycle, Part One, is the first of a two-part dramatic work completed during Mayberry’s recent sabbatical. Set in 1846, the play focuses on the ill-fated journey of the Donner Party as the settlers leave Springfield, Illinois and cross the western desert only to get stranded in the winter snows of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and Donner Lake. After struggling to survive, the party faced starvation. There were tales of cannibalism among the party before half the company ultimately perished.

Mayberry grew up in Reno, Nevada and had always had a fascination with the history of the Donner Party tragedy. In creating the play cycle he drew from historical materials and diaries kept by party members to reveal the key decisions the company made along the California Trail.

The production will include performances by the students of Performing Arts / Art 391. Music has been arranged and will be performed by Ina Veli and Nicolas Deuson, a lecturer in Performing Arts. The play is partially sponsored by the Martin V. Smith School of Business & Economics.

Tickets for the performance are available through Brown Paper Tickets at 800-838-3006, by visiting http://performingarts.csuci.edu/events.html, or can be purchased at the door with cash. Tickets for CI students are free, non-CI students $5, CI faculty and staff, $10 and $15 for the general public.

Limited complimentary parking is available on campus in designated spaces only. Upon arriving at the campus, please follow event parking signs. Free parking is available at the Camarillo Metrolink Station/Lewis Road parking lot in Camarillo with bus service to and from the campus. Riders should board the VISTA Bus to the campus; the fare is $1.25 each way. Buses arrive and depart from the Camarillo Metrolink Station every 30 minutes from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday. For exact times, check the schedule at www.goventura.org.

For additional information contact Catherine Burriss, Assistant Professor of Performing Arts, at CSU Channel Islands at 805-437-3126 or catherine.burriss@csuci.edu.

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About California State University Channel Islands

CSU Channel Islands (CI) is the only four-year, public university in Ventura County and is known for its interdisciplinary, multicultural and international perspectives, and its emphasis on experiential and service learning. CI’s strong academic programs focus on business, sciences, liberal studies, teaching credentials, and innovative master’s degrees. Students benefit from individual attention, up-to-date technology, and classroom instruction augmented by outstanding faculty research.

 
Lone Oak
Lone Oak
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March 18 - 20

The Museum of Ventura County will present a landscape photography workshop on March 18, 19 and 20, designed for those interested in making better outdoor photographic art.

Veteran landscape photographers Tom Gamache and Van Webster will conduct the workshop, which includes classroom time at the museum in Ventura and field trips to Rancho Sierra Vista Satwiwa in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation area, and to the Wildwood Park area of Thousand Oaks. Cost is $350 for the general public and $295 for museum members; photography equipment and transportation are not included. Participants must be in good health and able to hike and carry their equipment to and from the offsite photo shoots. For reservations or more information, call 805-653-0323 x 305.

Gamache has been photographing the Santa Monica Mountains for more than 30 years. A retrospective exhibition of his prints continues through March 15 at the Santa Monica Mountains Range National Parks Visitor Center in Thousand Oaks. He is also the co-author of the book Range on the Edge-The Santa Monica Mountains. Webster's photography focuses on landscape and architectural subjects in California, Arizona, Nevada and Hawaii. With an extensive background in media production, he was a UCLA Arts Extension faculty member and program chair for more than 20 years. The two photographers have been presenting “Wandering Around Outdoors” photography workshops for a number of years. For more information, go to tomgamache.com.

The Museum of Ventura County is located at 100 East Main Street in downtown Ventura. Go to http://www.venturamuseum.org for information on Museum exhibits and events.

 
 
J.T. Ledbetter to share works on Midwest childhood
J.T. Ledbetter
J.T. Ledbetter

THOUSAND OAKS, CA. - A longtime California Lutheran University professor will read from his latest book of poetry at 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 7, in Lundring Events Center.

J.T. Ledbetter will share pieces from “Underlying Premises” during the free presentation.

Published in 2010, the collection of poems is set among the farms and small towns he knows from growing up in the Midwest. In his review of the book, Kevin Prufer, former editor of Pleiades Press, wrote, “Ledbetter’s uneasily graceful poems describe, through the eyes of a child and the lens of memory, the complexities of sex, death, and rural family life … These subtle, finely crafted, unerringly lovely poems surprise me at every turning.”

A CLU professor emeritus, Ledbetter taught English at the university for more than 30 years and continues to teach classes as an adjunct faculty member. His numerous publications include poetry, anthologies, magazine articles, works of fiction and music. In 2007, he and E. John Solem, CLU art professor emeritus, published “Blue Galaxy Iris: Connecting with Beauty and Nature’s Rhythm.” The book juxtaposes Ledbetter’s poems with Solem’s artwork.

Lundring Events Center is located in the Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center, which is north of Olsen Road near Campus Drive on the Thousand Oaks campus.

For more information, e-mail Jack Ledbetter at ledbette@callutheran.edu.

 
The Artists Guild of Fillmore recently hung a new show of small images at the Fillmore Library. This is their third show at that location. The artists shown are Karen Browdy, Wana Klasen, Lady Jan Faulkner, Luanne Perez, Judy Dressler and Virginia Neuman.
The Artists Guild of Fillmore recently hung a new show of small images at the Fillmore Library. This is their third show at that location. The artists shown are Karen Browdy, Wana Klasen, Lady Jan Faulkner, Luanne Perez, Judy Dressler and Virginia Neuman.
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