Kids Bowl Free This Summer at Various Ventura County Bowling Centers

Here's a great summer deal that will bowl you over! Bowling alleys across the country are offering Kids Bowl Free deals during the summer months once again this year!

Up to two games per kid on designated days and times, subject to lane availability. Note that applicable ages for Kids Bowl Free vary up to 15 to 18.

The deal also does not apply to parties, camps and other organized events. And lastly, the deal does not include bowling shoe rental. With no further ado, here are local alleys in Ventura County and nearby areas that are participating in Kids Bowl Free!

NOTE: You first must visit www.kidsbowlfree.com and register with specific bowling alleys. After registering your children, you will receive coupons via email or through mobile devices, and in turn redeem them at the time of purchase. In addition to the 2 FREE Games, you may be able to purchase a family package (at participating centers) and generally must pay for standard shoe rental rates at the time of bowling.

Harley's Camarillo Bowl offers Kids Bowl Free Monday through Wednesday from 9:30am to 4pm for kids 17 and under, from June 9 to August 30, 2024.

Harley's Simi Bowl offer Kids Bowl Free Monday, Wed, Thurs and Fri from 9am to 4pm for kids 15 and under, from May 28 to August 28, 2024.

Harley's Valley Bowl offers Kids Bowl Free Tuesday through Friday from 10am to 4pm for kids ages 18 and under, from June 6 to August 29, 2024.

Click this link to pin down information about all the local Ventura County area bowling alleys.

The World's Biggest Bounce House Comes to Santa Barbara August 23-25

The Big Bounce America, featuring the world’s largest bounce house, will be featured at Ellings Park in Santa Barbara Friday through Sunday, the weekend of August 23-25, 2019.

There are three featured attractions:

• The World’s Biggest Bounche House is the largest bounce house in the world, featuring ball pits, climbing towers, live DJs, confetti blasts and more.

• The Giant is a 900+ foot tall inflatable obstacle course.

• AirSPACE is a bouncy attraction with friendly aliens, spaceships, giant planets, moon craters and more.

Three hour access tickets are available for a timed session on The World’s Biggest Bounce House and unlimited access to the other attractions at thebigbounceamerica.com/family/tickets.

Options include a Toddler Session (ages 3 and under) for $16 (Friday only), Junior Session (ages 7 and under) for $25 (Sat/Sun only), Bigger Kid Session (ages 15 and under) for $25 (Fri-Sun) and Adults Only Session (ages 16+) for $30 (Sat/Sun only).

Must wear socks at all times.

Big Bounce America | 2019 Tour Promo (Fy) from The Big Bounce America on Vimeo.

2017 Summer Meal Service Sites in Ventura County

If you know of folks with school aged children in need of a meal during the summer months, there are some useful tools available to help them. 

An example of what you receive when you text "food" to 877877. 

No Kid Hungry has made this simple. Just text “food” to 877-877 (or “comida” for a reply in Spanish). You will receive a prompt reply asking for your address or zip code. After submitting that, you will be given local meal site options. No Kid Hungry developed this system with the USDA.

Or you can visit www.fns.usda.gov/summerfoodrocks to find a meal site via on online map.

Lastly, you can also visit the California Department of Education website at www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sh/sn/summersites17.asp to find local meal sites throughout California. Or drill down specifically to Ventura County sites at www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sh/sn/ap/summersites.asp?year=2017&countyname=Ventura.

Generally the sites are open from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm but contact the specific site to verify. The Conejo Valley USD sites are open until 1 pm. There are no income parameters associated with this program. You just need to be between the ages of 2 and 18.

(Special thanks to Katrina R, who tipped us off to the handy No Kid Hungry text system.)

New Playground Equipment at Walnut Grove Park in Thousand Oaks

The Conejo Recreation and Park District recently introduced new and improved, raceway-themed playground equipment at Walnut Grove Park, 400 Windtree Avenue, Thousand Oaks.

This 6 acre neighborhood park also has an off-leash dog area, basketball courts a handball court (not many of these around town) and a large grassy area. No restrooms, however. www.crpd.org/parkfac/parks/walnutgrove.asp

Self-Sealing Water Balloons are Saving Me Hours of Time This Summer!

As a parent of two boys and trusty husband, willing to be at the beck and call of serving the needs of my family, one of the most dreaded requests I receive is, "please fill up the water balloons." 

Yes, even here in drought-stricken Southern California, we're entitled to some fun with water balloons every now and then. They actually don't take a lot of water to fill them. But filling them and tying them rank fairly high on my list of dreaded tasks. It just takes awhile to do, some of them pop in my face, tying them is a pain in the next, etc.

So when I came across these "self-sealing" water balloons, I was intrigued. Do they really work? Are they worth it? (They are a bit more expensive than buying a standard package of water balloons.) 

So with little ado, I purchased several packages of these Zuru "Bunch O Balloons" and hid them away in the garage. Then finally I decided to surprise the kids with them.

Odd little buggers. Basically each package (which costs roughly $11 to $14) comes with 3 bunches of balloons attached to a hose connector. Each balloon has a tiny rubber band pre-attached to it. You screw the connector to the hose, turn the hose on, and the balloons start filling up. Within seconds, they start popping off the connector, each balloon nicely tied up and ready to become a projectile missile!

It was beautiful. Except when the kids started chasing me around the backyard, nailing me repeatedly with them. I was soaked, but thrilled that I didn't have to spend an hour filling the balloons up in back-breaking fashion.

I was amazed at how easy this was and how well it worked. Out of the initial two packages of balloons (200 in total), a single balloon has a leak.

Was it worth it!? Absolutely. For roughly 12 cents per balloon, it saved me hours of backbreaking time filling these up. I'm definitely buying more! Check it out and have fun!

Ribbon Cutting for Phase I of Rotary Dreamcatcher Playground in Thousand Oaks Took Place Today

Working with the Conejo Recreation and Park District, the Rotary Club of Thousand Oaks Sunrise has been working to raise $500,000 by 2016 to expand and refurbish the existing special needs playground at Old Meadows Park in Thousand Oaks. The Therapeutic Recreation Unit of CRPD provides special programs for residents with disabilities and is located at the park. The playground, available to special needs and all children, has been named the Rotary Dreamcatcher Playground.

Today the ribbon cutting for the $300,000 Phase I of the project took place. Phase I expands the size of the playground and contains mat surfacing, rolling turf hills, large shaded areas, tree log swings, seagull swings, harmony chimes, hammocks, pod seats, picnic tables and many other cool features.

Phase I was possible due to the tremendous fundraising efforts of the Rotary, CRPD and Play Conejo and with generous grants from the Tull Family Foundation, County of Ventura, Farmer’s Insurance, City of Thousand Oaks, the TO Rotary Club and the Rotary Foundation, Kenrose Kitchen Foundation, Verizon, CBC Federal Credit Union, and Harrison Industries.

Old Meadows Park is located at 1600 Marview Drive, Thousand Oaks, off of Erbes Road.

Phase I is done but the fundraising continues! Visit www.rotarydreamcatcher.org to learn more and to support the effort.

New Splash Pad and Picnic Shelters at Rancho Tapo Community Park

A new and improved splash pad was set to premier on Friday, May 22nd BUT HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED TO NEXT WEEK at Rancho Tapo Community Park in Simi Valley. The new splash pad is 55% larger, has a water treatment and recycling system and had three different play areas! Yay!

New Fully Accessible Challenger Field Premiered in Simi Valley on March 22nd

Challenger Field on Opening Day (Photo: Colleen Janssen, Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District)The Amanda McPherson Foundation, Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District, City of Simi Valley, Simi Valley Unified School District and Simi Valley Little League all contributed towards the construction of Challenger Field, a fully accessible field to make it easier for special needs players to play baseball.

The grand opening of Challenger Field was Saturday, March 22, 2014. It is now the "home" field for Challenger Division players. The entire field is solid, yet looks like grass and dirt, allowing for easy mobility by

The whole field is solid (looks like grass and dirt, but is not), allowing easy mobility by players, even if in a wheelchair. Pretty neat! What a great addition to the community.

Challenger Field is located behind Apollo High School at 3150 School Street, Simi Valley. More information and photos at www.rsrpd.org/park/challengerfield/challengerfield.html.