Events in and around Ventura County and surrounding areas, including Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, Newbury Park, Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Malibu, Simi Valley, Moorpark, Somis, Fillmore, Santa Paula, Ojai, Camarillo, Ventura, Oxnard, Santa Barbara and Port Hueneme.
Find events in Ventura County and surrounding areas in this section, by category at this link and in the Events Calendar. Community events of broad public interest can be submitted at this link for possible inclusion in this section (at our discretion).
We encourage posting of other events, activities, fundraisers, classes, workshops, sales, shout-outs, etc. directly to the COMMUNITY FORUM section!
Oxnard Recreation invites you to Run Oxnard in its first public 5K event on Saturday, August 28th at Oxnard State Beach Park, 1601 S. Harbor Blvd. Event starts at 8 am. Participants will have a chance to run, walk, or jog a 5K. This unsanctioned 5K is open to runners, joggers, and walkers with all levels of experience and those who just want to have fun.
Learn more and register at www.oxnard.org/recreation.
CANCELLED DUE TO PANDEMIC
Select local restaurants will again compete for the title of “Ventura County’s Best Chowder” at the 6th Annual CHOWDERFEST on Sunday, August 2, 2020, 2-6pm at the Channel Islands Maritime Museum.
A competition judged by both professional judges and guests, chowder tastings are complemented by wine tastings from local wineries and fine craft beer provided by Firestone Walker Brewery. Live music will create a festive mood with Kelly’s Lot and Friends. Local friends and visiting guests will gather at the summer’s most relaxing harbor-front garden party!
Chowderfest is an annual collaborative fundraiser hosted by the Channel Islands Maritime Museum, IOGB (International Order of the Blue Gavel), and local Yacht Clubs. Local restaurants will donate exceptional flavors to the Chowder Cook-off (clam, corn, Manhattan, potato, conch, veggie…) and support the Channel Islands Maritime Museum: a non-profit which celebrates Five Centuries of Art that Sails and gives back to the community nearly every day of the year.
Tickets will be sold on the museum website and at the museum for $25 pre-sale and $30 the day of the event. The price includes chowder, beer & wine tastings; a variety of side dishes; and free Museum admission. The museum welcomes the public and community to attend.
Proceeds from this fundraiser will benefit the Channel Islands Maritime Museum.
Tickets: cimmvc.org or at the Museum
The Channel Islands Maritime Museum is open M/Th-Sat 10-4pm, Sun 12-4PM and closed Tues and Wed for group tours and private member events, also, closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. Located in Oxnard’s Channel Islands Harbor at 3900 Bluefin Circle. Explore galleries full of rare and beautiful maritime paintings dating back to the 1600’s, more than sixty world-class models of historic ships, rotating thematic fine arts exhibitions, and interactive exhibits that encourage visitors to expand their horizons about everything maritime. Museum entry is free for members and children under 6, $7 adults, $5 seniors/military, $3 children (ages 6-17), and free on the third Thursday of the month. Info: cimmvc.org or (805) 984-6260.
The 2020 City of Oxnard “Physically Challenged and Special Needs” Day at the Park at Oxnard Beach Park, 1601 Harbor Blvd. is planned from 11am to 2pm on May 23, June 20, July 12, Aug 15, Sept 19 and Oct 17.
An afternoon of group & individual activities, arts & crafts and board games. Bounce house and City Corps Train are also present at events. For more information, call (805) 385-8019. Event is free, however, participants must pay for parking.
www.oxnard.org/recreation/special-populations/day-at-the-park
2020 EVENT CANCELLED; TO RETURN IN 2021 www.facebook.com/Tower2TowerStairClimbOxnard/photos/a.642328759193439/3006506966108928/?type=3&theater
The Tower 2 Tower Stair Climb Hosted By Oxnard Fire Explorer Post 9244 is planned for Saturday, June 6, 2020 at Topa Financial Plaza Towers, 300 East Esplanade Drive, Oxnard. Check in starts at 9 am. Start by running up then back down the stairs in the 14-story City National Bank tower. Head out and cross the parking lot through a series of obstacles (obstacles are optional). This course will lead you to the larger Morgan Stanley tower. Enter the north stairs then race up 22 flights. Water will be available every seven floors and on the rooftop. Exit to the roof, cross the finish line, then take a moment to enjoy the spectacular view and to revel in your run.
50 floors, 1,089 stairs, 500 feet!
Post race, join your family and friends at Public Safety Day. Demos will be ongoing from Fire and Police Departments, K9s and other public safety teams from the county. Enjoy music and food with the entire family. Food trucks on hand until 3pm.
Register at www.active.com/oxnard-ca/climbing/tower-2-tower-stair-climb-2020.
The holiday season wouldn’t be complete without a photo with Old Saint Nick. Presenting sponsor Oakmont of RiverPark gives families and friends the opportunity to meet and take photographs with Santa in his custom Beach House.
Monday - Thursday 3 — 8 p.m.
Friday - Saturday 12 — 8 p.m.
Sunday: 12 — 7 p.m.
Open for Santa’s arrival on Nov. 16, from 12 p.m. — 7 p.m. Closed on Thanksgiving. Open Dec. 24, from 9 a.m. — 5 p.m. Santa will occasionally be unavailable for photos when attending events and on Milk and Cookie breaks.
thecollectionrp.com/connect/events/detail/286/santa-photos
FOOTWORKS YOUTH BALLET presents two full-length performances of the Christmas classical ballet THE NUTCRACKER, performed with The Footworks Community Orchestra and singers from the Carpe Diem Chorus. A free family educational lecture and story time will begin one hour prior to the performance time.
Performances will take place at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center – 800 Hobson Way, Oxnard. General Public MATINEES Saturday, December 14th, 2:00 P.M. Sunday, December 15th, 2:00 P.M.
Tickets: $19, $24, $29
Ticket Hotline: (805) 486-2424
Online Ticket Orders: www.footworksyouthballet.org
See the magic unfold in this family performance of the classic holiday story of The Nutcracker. A traditional holiday party and a very typical sibling rivalry set the stage for an entertaining fantasy journey to the Land of Sweets. With a cast of about 60 children and teens, Footworks Youth Ballet’s 14th annual production of The Nutcracker will dazzle audiences with its colorful costumes, professional sets and live orchestra and choir. In keeping with the mission of Footworks, student dancers often perform in principal roles such as the Sugar Plum Fairy or Snow Queen, giving young artists opportunities not found elsewhere.
Join Footworks Youth Ballet for their Family Educational Hour one hour prior to each show to learn about the production, costumes, ballet history and music. To provide more family-friendly options to attend the performances, Footworks Youth Ballet offers matinees on both regular performance days (December 14th and 15th at 2 p.m.).
Footworks Youth Ballet is a nonprofit ballet company whose purpose is to provide educational opportunities to young people through the art of ballet.
For New West Symphony’s season-closing concert, violin superstar Philippe Quint will take your breath away with the electrifying Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. Plus, the Symphony performs the powerfully evocative score to Alexander Nevsky with mezzo-soprano Taylor Raven and the Los Robles Master Chorale.
Saturday, May 4, 2019 | 7:30 PM
Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza
Sunday, May 5, 2019 | 3:00 PM
Oxnard Performing Arts Center
Mikhail Agrest, guest conductor
Philippe Quint, violin
Taylor Raven, mezzo-soprano
Los Robles Master Chorale, Lesley Leighton, director
Borodin | Overture to Prince Igor
Tchaikovsky | Violin Concerto
Prokofiev | Alexander Nevsky
Tickets at newwestsymphony.org/cvg.
Philippe Quint, violin
Lauded by Daily Telegraph (UK) for his “searingly poetic lyricism” violinist Philippe Quint is carving an unconventional path with his impassioned musical desire for reimagining traditional works, rediscovering neglected repertoire to commissioning works by contemporary composers. His dedication to exploring different styles and genres with an award-winning discography has solidified him as one of the foremost violinists of today.
Philippe Quint plays the magnificent 1708 “Ruby” Antonio Stradivari violin on loan to him through the generous efforts of The Stradivari Society®.
His recordings have received multiple “Editor’s Choice” selections in Gramophone, The Strad, Strings, and the Daily Telegraph. His remarkable degree of lyricism, poetry and impeccable virtuosity has gripped the eyes and ears of audiences in Asia, Australia, Latin America, Africa, Europe and the U.S. with what The Times (London) describes as his “bravura technique, and unflagging energy.”
Born in Leningrad, Soviet Union (now St. Petersburg, Russia), Philippe Quint studied at Moscow’s Special Music School for the Gifted with the famed Russian violinist Andrei Korsakov, and made his orchestral debut at the age of nine, performing Wieniawski’s Concerto No. 2. After moving to the United States, he earned both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Juilliard. His distinguished pedagogues and mentors included Dorothy Delay, Cho-Liang Lin, Masao Kawasaki, Isaac Stern, Itzhak Perlman, Arnold Steinhardt and Felix Galimir.
Mikhail Agrest, guest conductor
Scion of the great Russian conducting tradition, Mikhail Agrest has honed his craft at the Mariinsky Theatre for over a decade, acquiring a considerable body of operatic and symphonic repertoire and gaining crucial insights into orchestra development and artistic leadership. Simultaneously, he forged meaningful artistic relationships with a number of the world’s premiere ensembles.
The following passage from The Herald of Scotland offers a good summary of his reviews by the UK critics: “Agrest conducted a concert that progressed from intriguing to alluring to utterly gripping… the sheer musical tension was riveting. More of Mikhail Agrest, please.”
Born and raised in St. Petersburg, Mr. Agrest immigrated to the United States with his family as a teenager and received a degree in violin performance from the Indiana University (Bloomington). He then followed his true passion back to St. Petersburg to study conducting from the legendary Ilya Musin, whose other alumni include Valery Gergiev, Yuri Temirkanov, and Semyon Bychkov.
Taylor Raven, mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano Taylor Raven is in her second-year of the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program at the Los Angeles Opera. This season, she sings Annio in La clemenza di Tito at Los Angeles Opera conducted by James Conlon, as well as Tebaldo in Don Carlo and the Sandman in Hansel and Gretel.
Ms. Raven was recently a Pittburgh Opera Resident Artist in the 2016-2017 season where she performed as Oronte in Handel’s Riccardo Primo and Hannah after in As One for its Pennsylvania premiere. In the summer of 2016, Ms. Raven performed in the Schwabacher Summer Concert with San Fransisco Opera’s Merola Opera Program. She recently performed the role of Marian Anderson in Deep River: Marian Anderson Journey with Virginia Opera. As a Young Artist with Central City Opera in 2015, Ms. Raven was seen in scenes of Carmen, Street Scene, and The Ballad of Baby Doe.
Los Robles Master Chorale, Lesley Leighton, director
Los Robles Master Chorale (LRMC), led by Artistic Director Lesley Leighton and lauded for its “robust choral tapestry” (Artillery), is one of Southern California’s premier choirs. Celebrating a rich legacy and hailed for its remarkable sound, striking versatility, and commitment to commissioning new choral works, the 100-voice Ventura County-based chorus harnesses the power of music to enrich people of all ages. With repertoire ranging from early music and great choral masterworks to folk, contemporary and world music, LRMC presents its own concert series each season and performs with leading music organizations across the Southland in such iconic venues as Walt Disney Concert Hall, Hollywood Bowl and Royce Hall. The chorale has appeared with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, New West Symphony and Ventura Symphony, among others.
Hear Frédéric Chopin’s mesmerizing Piano Concerto No. 2, performed by International Chopin Piano Competition winner Yulianna Avdeeva, in her New West Symphony debut. Newly-appointed Music Director Michael Christie conducts the piece, along with Schumann's Fourth Symphony.
Chopin composed both of his piano concertos as calling cards for his move from his native Poland to Paris, meant solely to show off his virtuosity at the keyboard. Robert Schumann’s 4th Symphony is overflowing with German romanticism with great sweeps of melodic invention and pulsing rhythms. Schumann structured the four movements of the Symphony to be played without pause, linking them in a continuous whole.
Plus, Maestro Christie conducts a piece by Mason Bates, the same composer with whom he collaborated and won a Grammy for The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs. Garages of the Valley is an homage to "The garages that dot the landscape of Silicon Valley," which “housed the visionaries behind Apple, Hewlett Packard, Intel, and Google."
Michael Christie, conductor
Yulianna Avdeeva, piano
Chopin | Piano Concerto No. 2
Bates | Garages of the Valley
Schumann | Symphony No. 4
Arrive early for Hear & Now Live! - an insightful and informative pre-concert talk, one hour before the concert! All ticket holders are welcome to attend.
Three performances:
Thursday, April 4, 2019 | 7:30 PM
The Broad Stage in Santa Monica (special performance!)
Saturday, April 6, 2019 | 7:30 PM
Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza
Sunday, April 7, 2019 | 3:00 PM
Oxnard Performing Arts Center
TICKETS AT www.newwestsymphony.org/cvg
Michael Christie, conductor
Michael Christie is a thoughtfully innovative conductor, equally at home in the symphonic and opera worlds, who is focused on making the audience experience at his performances entertaining,
Music heals. And there will be a time for that.
Right now is the time for families to embrace and for our community to try to comprehend the devastation that has befallen us.
In respect for everyone affected by the events of the past week, our November 17 and 18 concerts in Thousand Oaks and Oxnard are being rescheduled for future dates.
Watch for further details regarding new dates, arrangements for ticket holders, and how the New West Symphony will honor our community’s love and resiliency at future concerts.
The New West Symphony presents its November program, “The Romantics,” on Saturday, November 17th at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza and Sunday, November 18th, at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center.
The Romantics Music Director Candidate Fawzi Haimor leads a program of three works from the romantic era, featuring the talents of Cleveland International Piano Competition Gold Medalist, Martina Filjak, in her New West Symphony debut. It also marks the Symphony’s first performance of American composer Edward MacDowell’s virtuosic, Liszt-inspired Piano Concerto No. 2. Closing the program is Johannes Brahms’ majestic First Symphony, which took Brahms 14 years to complete, and which, with its soaring final movement chorale, has often been called the Beethoven 10th.
Weber | Overture to Der Freischütz
MacDowell | Piano Concerto No. 2
Brahms | Symphony No. 1
Tickets available at www.newwestsymphony.org/the-romantics for the 7:30 p.m. show on the 17th in Thousand Oaks and the 3 p.m. show on the 18th in Oxnard.
One of the most exciting young artists to emerge in recent years, Martina Filjak is garnering international praise for her poetic passion and technical mastery at the keyboard as well as for her charismatic personality and magnetic stage presence.
Martina Filjak came to international attention by winning the Gold Medal, the 1st prize and the Beethoven prize at the Cleveland International Piano Competition in 2009, which brought her numerous engagements in the United States and internationally. Prior to that, she won 1st prizes at the Maria Canals Piano Competition (Barcelona) and the Viotti Piano Competition (Vercelli), and was a laureate at the Busoni Piano Competition.
In recent years, Ms Filjak has performed with esteemed orchestras including The Cleveland Orchestra, San Diego Symphony Orchestra, The Florida Orchestra, the Strasbourg Philharmonic, Barcelona Symphony, Bilbao Symphony and the Granada Symphony; the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, the Staatskapelle Weimar; the Israel Chamber Orchestra as well as the Orchestre Symphonique de Nancy. She has been heard in major international venues such as the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Konzerthaus Berlin, l’Auditori and Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York, Boston’s Jordan Hall, Teatro San Carlo in Naples, Sala Verdi in Milan, Salle Gaveau in Paris, Musikverein and the Konzerthaus in Vienna, NDR Hall in Hannover, Residenz in Munich, Auditorio Nacional in Madrid.
Her most recent conductor collaborations include JoAnn Falletta, Michael Schonwandt, Christoph Poppen, Hans Graf, Sebastian Lang–Lessing, Josep Caballe-Domenech, Tito Munoz, Christopher Warren-Green and Stefan Sanderling.
The artist’s extensive repertoire ranges from Bach to Berio and encompasses more than 30 piano concertos. She is dedicated to continuous exploring of piano literature and various concert formats. Performing with orchestra takes the biggest part of her time and she frequently states that she enjoys the interaction and the exchange of energy between so many musicians on the stage. An avid chamber musician, she frequently takes part in chamber music festivals, and has participated in the recording of Schumann’s Andante and Variations with cellists Jan Vogler and Christian Poltera, released on Sony Classical (August 2013). Her recording of Sonatas by Padre Antonio Soler was released in 2011 on the Naxos label.
During the 2014-2015 season, Miss Filjak appeared in Brazil and Japan and performed with the Osaka Century Symphony Orchestra and Alan Buribayev, the Slovenian Philharmonic and Marcelo Lehninger, the Sinfonieorchester Aachen and Kazem Abdullah, the Zagreb Philharmonic and Hans Graf. She debuted with the Orchestra Sinfonica La Verdi in Milano as well as at Milan’s Serate Musicali. Performances in 2015-16 featured her with the Staatskapelle Halle and Josep Caballe Domenech, the Bremen Philharmonic Orchestra and Markus Poschner, the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra and Stefan Sanderling, the Phoenix Symphony and Tito Munoz the San Antonio Symphony and Karina Canellakis, the Las Vegas Philharmonic and Donato Cabrera, and the Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra and David Danzmayr in performances of concerti by Beethoven, Ravel, Brahms, Saint-Saens and Rachmaninov.
Martina speaks seven languages. Fortunately, for an active performer, she loves to travel.
Fawzi Haimor has worked with Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover, WDR Funkhausorchester Köln, Orquesta Sinfonica do Porto, Oulu Sinfonia and Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi. In the US, Haimor conducted orchestras such as The Florida Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony, New West Symphony and New Mexico Philharmonic. He also made an acclaimed debut with the Grant Park Symphony in July 2017. Further afield, he collaborated with Qatar Philharmonic, Kyoto Symphony and the New Zealand Symphony.
Upcoming guest appearances include a return to the Louisiana Philharmonic, and debuts with orchestras including Deutsche Radiophilharmonie Saarbrücken, Philharmonie Zuidnederland and Bilkent Symphony Orchestra.
Haimor’s broad repertoire includes a focus on the late romantic Germanic works, 19th and 20th century Russian and American composers, plus he is a committed advocate of contemporary music and has performed premieres by composers such as Mason Bates and Kareem Roustom. An eloquent and compelling speaker from the podium, he equally excels in outreach and education projects.
Haimor was born in Chicago in 1983 and educated in the Middle East and in San Francisco. He completed his violin training at the Jacobs School of Music in Indiana University, and studied conducting under David Effron and Arthur Fagen. He earned bachelor’s degrees in both music and neurobiology, a master’s degree in conducting from the University of California-Davis, and second master’s in instrumental conducting at Indiana University. He was previously Assistant Conductor at Alabama Symphony Orchestra, where he was also the first Music Director of the Alabama Symphony Youth Orchestra. Until 2015, he was Assistant Conductor and Resident Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, where he led a variety of concerts including classical, pops and outreach. While in Pittsburgh, he also served as a cover to esteemed conductors including Manfred Honeck, Leonard Slatkin, Gianandrea Noseda, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos and Yan Pascal Tortelier.
The Channel Islands Harbor will host the 3rd Annual Electric Car Show from 9:30 to 3 p.m. on Sunday, September 9, 2018 at Harbor View Park (also referred to as West Channel Park) near Marine Emporium Landing.
If you are interested in electric vehicles and would like to learn more, plan to visit and check out the variety of makes and models that will be on display. Talk to electric vehicle owners and learn from their experiences. Learn about very low cost commuting that also lowers air pollution.
If you are an electric vehicle owner – register and bring your car to the event. Share your real life experience about driving an electric vehicle with others in your community and network with other electric vehicle drivers and educate the public about the advantages of electric vehicle use and ownership. This is an opportunity for us to come together to make connections and influence change.
This National Drive Electric Week event is presented by Plug In America, the Sierra Club and the Electric Auto Association. Local sponsors include the Los Padres Chapter Sierra Club and the Sustainability Council of Ventura County. On the ground support and organization is being provided by the EV Advocates of Ventura County.
Learn more at www.channelislandsharbor.org/event/3rd-annual-electric-car-show.
Conejo Valley Guide covers events, activities and things to do throughout Ventura County and surrounding areas.
