Local Buzz covers new businesses, restaurants, closures, local politics, goings on around town and other buzzworthy items in the Conejo Valley and Greater Ventura County. Have a lead? Contact us. Click here for an archive of Local Buzz postings.
Local Buzz covers new restaurants, closures, local politics, goings on around town and other buzzworthy items in the Conejo Valley and Greater Ventura County. Have a lead? Contact us. Click here for an archive of Local Buzz postings.
Post other items directly to the Community Announcements section of the site.
House of Bamboo tiki lounge is in process of being built at 2227 Ventura Blvd in Old Town Camarillo, between Elm and Fir, across from the Studio Channel Islands Art Center. No other details or timing at this time, other than this looks to be quite a unique place. Follow @hobtiki on Instagram for updates.
UPDATE: Lola Betty’s Kitchen will be opening on Saturday, August 10th,from noon to 6pm. www.facebook.com/lolabettyskitchen
Lola Betty's Kitchen Filipino Cuisine is coming soon to 2071 Ventura Boulevard in Old Town Camarillo. This spot was previously occupied by drive-through market Quik & Ezy, which closed in early 2020. lolabettyskitchen.com
The family-friendly light experience, Imaginarium “Where Light Meets Magic,” is brightening summer nights in Camarillo with over one-and-a-half acres of dazzling displays and luminescent wonder for a limited engagement at the Camarillo Premium Outlets.
Imaginarium is a spectacular world of enchanting forests, storybook creatures and a luminescent flower field with over 20,000 gorgeous LED roses. The exclusive engagement, running from June 14 through August 4, encompasses more than 20 eye-catching attractions, zones and experiences and includes over five million vibrant lights.
Imaginarium at Camarillo Premium Outlets’ unique collection of visual delights and incomparable attractions includes:
The Rose Garden – a dreamlike garden filled with over 20,000 gorgeous LED roses in full bloom. The luminous garden setting is perfect for a romantic date night stroll and has even been the backdrop for several marriage proposals.
The Enchanted Forest – a whimsical land of fantasy inhabited by more than 25 larger-than-life interactive creatures illuminated by millions of twinkling lights.
Endless Mirrors – visitors can step into a kaleidoscope of mirror chambers where every turn reveals a journey into a realm of boundless fascination. Each of the nine imaginative rooms will leave guests spellbound and immersed in the illusion of unending light.
Photo Boxes – guests can snap memories that will last a lifetime surrounded by visually captivating settings filled with flowers, hearts, lights, stars and more.
Immersive Activity Rooms – adults and kids alike can navigate through laser mazes, manipulate interactive art, jump on bouncing balls or maneuver through a field of punching bags as they venture through each entertaining room.
Circus Performances – delight in a collection of fantastic human feats & astonishing stage performances. The circus will present three free performances each night.
Imaginarium at the Camarillo Premium Outlets, located at 740 E. Ventura Blvd., will be open from 7 to 11 p.m. on Tuesday through Thursday and on Sundays; and from 6:30 to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Snacks and beverages are available for purchase. General admission tickets start at $21 per person, with discount ticket prices available for children ages three to 12, seniors over 62 and military with valid I.D. Children under three are free. Parking is free. Additional information and tickets can be found at imaginarium360.com and by calling (725) 272-2700.
About Imaginarium:
Founded in 2011 by a team of entertainment fanatics who set out to create the first-ever Chinese Lantern Festival in the United States, the International Culture Exchange Group has to date successfully launched over 50+ acclaimed family entertainment attractions. Follow Imaginarium on Instagram and become a fan on Facebook at @imaginarium360. For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit imaginarium360.com or call (725) 272-2700.
UPDATE: The Curry Leaf is now open.
The Curry Leaf, which previously operated in Camarillo on Mission Oaks Blvd but closed a couple years ago, will be re-opening soon at 4952 Verdugo Way in Camarillo (previously St. Francis BBQ), near the Old New York Deli. The Curry Leaf offered (and will soon be offering) delicious Indian food. See their menu and check for updates at gotcurryleaf.com or call (805) 482-8880.
Throwback Thursday Food Truck Fest at the Camarillo Ranch is planned from 5-8PM on Thursday, June 27th and Thursday, July 25th, 2024. Events feature food trucks, including beer and wine, live music, house tours and kids’ activities. Free admission. Located at 201 Camarillo Ranch Road.
For more information, visit camarilloranchfoundation.com/tbt-food-truck-festival..
Kaia Tollefson, Jenn Perry, Asha Ramachandra, Matthew Vestuto, Richard Yao, Salvador Tumamait-Ambriz
A Chumash dialect spoken by the Barbareño/Ventureño Band of Mission Indians thousands of years ago is alive and thriving with a new online Chumash language dictionary hosted by CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI).
Ventureño Chumash, also called mitsqanaqan, is one of six (some say seven) documented Chumashan languages, each named after a mission. There have been other Chumashan dictionaries, but this is the first online dictionary specific to the Barbareño/Ventureño Chumash. These are the indigenous people who lived in Ventura County and the northern Channel Islands for thousands of years.
Matthew Vestuto, Chairman of the Barbareño/Ventureño Band of Mission Indians (BVBMI) Tribal Council who is a self-trained linguist, has been working for years to get an online presence for the mitsqanaqan dictionary, which was developed by Cal State Fullerton (CSUF) Linguistics Lecturer Timothy Henry-Rodriguez and released in 2019.
Henry-Rodriguez began developing the dictionary when he was in graduate school in 2005 and was later aided by a National Science Foundation Documenting Endangered Languages award for $25,000. He studied the notes of linguist and ethnologist John Peabody Harrington (1884-1961), who specialized in California indigenous people.
After graduate school, Henry-Rodriguez met Vestuto, who helped do more research with the aid of other members of the BVBMI.
“Our last native speakers died in the 1960s and so we’re reliant upon the archival record,” Vestuto said.
When the dictionary was released in 2019, Henry-Rodriguez described it as a labor of love for him, his student researchers, and the researchers from the Barbareño/Ventureño tribe.
“First and foremost are the various Chumash speakers who, despite oppressive social conditions and economic constraints, still understood the importance of recording their language and the urgency to do so,” Henry-Rodriguez wrote. “While they may not have known that all their hard work would come to fruition in the form of a dictionary, it is my hope that this work will honor all the hard work they did. Their bravery and strength truly inspire me continually.”
Although Henry-Rodriguez did the initial research and created the dictionary, he credits the BVBMI with working to get it online, which took place recently thanks to the expertise of CSUCI’s Information Technology Services team and the John Spoor Broome Library staff.
Vestuto and fellow researcher Salvador Tumamait-Ambriz were guests at a recent campus event in which the first phase of the dictionary was rolled out, with phases two, three and four to follow in the future.
CSUCI President Richard Yao took the podium to talk about the campus tradition of honoring the place where the University now sits, and the people who dwelled here. Yao also spoke about the President’s Chumash Advisory Council (PCAC), which was formed in 2023 between CSUCI and the BVBMI.
“In creating this Council, we acknowledge that the Chumash are the first people of the lands on which the University operates, and that CSUCI’s campus is on the unceded territory of the BVBMI,” Yao announced when the council was formed. “CSUCI has the responsibility and desire to maintain strong relationships with the BVBMI, and together we share a commitment to working in collaboration to be stewards of the land and of its natural and cultural heritage.”
The language began to disappear when the Spanish missionaries arrived in 1769 to build 21 missions up the California coast, forcing Chumash to work for them and introducing European diseases to which the Chumash had no natural immunity. The Chumash way of life - and their language - changed.
“The age-old American story is that when indigenous people went to boarding schools, they were taught their language was savage and not worthy and to not speak it,” Vestuto said. “That affects people. For a university to say, we hold your language in high esteem - to say it’s something we want to support - also affects us in a good way.”
CSUCI Professor of Anthropology and Executive Director of Regional Educational Partnerships Jennifer Perry, explained why this project is named the “House of Language.”
“By calling it the House of Language, we are referring to a living repository,” Perry said. “It’s not intended to preserve a static language, but to keep it alive and in practice and constantly evolving.”
Plans are underway to incorporate the Chumash language into the signage around campus, offering the name of a tree or plant, for example, in both English and Chumash. There are also plans to incorporate the Chumash language into the University curriculum.
“To us, the language is not imposed upon the land it comes from the land,” Vestuto said. “Language all around the world is like a living entity that pulses through the ages carrying crucial knowledge through the centuries, but it requires new breath. Our language was disrupted. We’ve developed a partnership with this campus and in doing so, we’ve also developed a friendship. The hosting of an online dictionary in our language is a major step toward assisting us in our healing.”
To access the mitsqanaqan (Barbareño/Ventureño Band of Mission Indians) dictionary, visit ciapps.csuci.edu/ChumashDictionary.
The new Freedom Dog Park, located at Freedom Park at 275 E. Pleasant Valley Road in Camarillo, will host a grand opening event on Monday, October 2nd from 6-8PM. Located near the Camarillo Airport and Ventura County Animal Services. Great place to bring the pooch at night as they have lights! Open until 9pm. www.pvrpd.org/freedom-dog-park-c1fe3e4
UPDATE: Axolotl opened briefly after this was posted.
Axolotl Traditional Mexican Food is coming soon to the former, extraordinarily short-lived home of Culichi Town Mexican Food at 1755 E. Daily Drive in Camarillo. Culichi Town opened this past March. See www.axolotlrestaurant.com and follow their Facebook page for updates.
It appears that a new restaurant - Azafran - will be coming to the former home of Dorothy’s Chuck Wagon at 2344 Ventura Boulevard (at Palm Drive) in Camarillo. Azafran means saffron. That’s all we’ve got at this point. Stay tuned.
Conejo Valley Guide covers events, activities and things to do throughout Ventura County and surrounding areas.
