THOUSAND OAKS, CA - The California Lutheran University Wind Ensemble will present “An American Celebration” at 2 p .m. Sunday, May 6, in Conejo Community Park.

Michael D. Hart will direct the 50-member Wind Ensemble performing popular works byAmerican composers. The program will include a tribute to firefighters, police, military personnel, teachers, nonprofit employees and others who serve the community and make it a great place to live and work.

CLU’s Music Department and Community Leaders Association are sponsoring the free concert.

Conejo Community Park is located at Dover Street and Hendrix Avenue in Thousand Oaks. Bring blankets or low chairs for lawn seating.

For more information, call the Music Department at 805-493-3306 or visit www.callutheran.edu.

Greater Conejo Valley and Ventura County Visual and Performing Artists are invited to be a part of the 9th Annual Thousand Oaks Arts Festival to celebrate the visual and performing arts of the area. The fine art Festival is set for September 22 and 23, 2012, at Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, Mary and Richard Carpenter Plaza Park, 2100 Thousand Oaks Blvd., and The Lakes at Thousand Oaks. Festival admission is free for the public and hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Festival will feature more than 60 local visual arts exhibitors, live performances through-out both days, art demonstrations, and children’s interactive hands-on exhibits. Visual Artist 10 x 10 booths are $250 if application is postmarked by July 18, 2012 with a $35 application fee. Artists must provide their own table and chairs. The Festival will provide canopies for all artists. Performing artists can apply to perform 10-15 minute sets on one of two stages at the event. Friday set-up is encouraged for visual artists as overnight security is provided.

Artist prospectus and application and performing artists applications are available on the Festival website, www.toartsfestival.com or call the Festival’s Visual Arts Chair Craig Morton, (818) 991-6158 to have one mailed. Performing Arts Co-chair Francine Sprigel can answer performing arts questions at (805) 381-7362.

Jesse Plemons

THOUSAND OAKS, CA - The next event in California Lutheran University’s “Conversations With …” series will focus on young Hollywood, with two 20-something actors sharing their advice with students and community members.

Doug Brochu and Yvonne Zima will speak at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 25, in Preus-Brandt Forum on the Thousand Oaks campus. Actor, writer and director Markus Flanagan, who teaches at CLU, will moderate an informal one-hour discussion on the craft of acting followed by a question-and-answer sessionwith the audience.

Brochu plays gregarious funnyman Grady Mitchell in the Disney Channel sitcom "So Random" and played the same role on the predecessor, “Sonny With a Chance.” He is the co-host of “Snap!,” a reality special for the Disney Channel. Other television credits include recurring roles on Disney XD’s “Pair of Kings” and Nickelodeon's, "iCarly," a guest-starring role on "Zoey 101" and voice roles on the animated series “Fish Hooks” and “Kick Buttowski.” He also starred in theater productions of "My Fair Lady,""Smokey Mountain Christmas," and "The Play's the Thing."

Zima currently plays Daisy Carter, a “deranged Lolita,” on the daytime serial drama “The Young and the Restless.” She was 5 when she landed the recurring role of Rachel Greene in the drama “ER.” During the next three years, she was cast in the movies “Heat,” “Executive Decision” and “The Long Kiss Goodnight.” She took time off from show business during her teen years to focus on school. At 16, she wrote a novel titled “The Rise and Fall of a Deliberate Weirdo” that satirizes high school, Hollywood and celebrity-obsessed culture. She now writes screenplays.

The “Conversations With …” talks provide theater arts students and other aspiring actors with advice from professionals. They take the approach laid out in Flanagan’s book, “One Less Bitter Actor: The Actor’s Survival Guide,” which explains how to make it in the business of acting while staying sane and focused.

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 email info@westlakeactingstudio.com.

SANTA PAULA, CA – A live concert with popular Santa Paula country rock band Lucky Sons will be held at the Santa Paula Art Museum on Saturday, April 21, 2012 at 4 p.m. Concertgoers can enjoy wine, beer and hors d’oeuvres as the band covers the best country and rock music classics. The cost of admission to the show is $20 for Museum members and $25 for non-members.

Lucky Sons consists of members Ray Magee on pedal steel guitar, Brian Hernandez on drums, Jim Stephenson on bass and Paul Skeels on guitar. The concert will feature an entertaining setlist including songs first made famous by musicians such as Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Willie Nelson, and the Eagles. “A concert at the Museum is a fun way to spend a Saturday evening in Santa Paula, with great music and great friends,” said Museum Director Jennifer Heighton. All proceeds from the concert will benefit the Santa Paula Art Museum.

The Museum is located at 117 North 10th Street, Santa Paula, CA 93060. Reservations for the concert are recommended. The Museum’s regular hours are Wednesday – Saturday, 10 AM – 4 PM, and Sundays, 12 PM – 4 PM. More information is available by calling the Museum at (805) 525-5554, or by emailing info@santapaulaartmuseum.org.

Re-work 2012 - Untitled by Christine Brennan
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Original – Margaret Fuller’s Storm by Elise Pogofsky Harris.
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Re-work 2012 – After the Storm (Oil on canvas) by Elise Pogofsky Harris.
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Original – Gold Trees with Purple (Gouche on Rice Paper) by Richard Amend
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Re-work 2012 – Blue Trees with Gold (Oil on wood panel) by Richard Amend
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Original – Tulip (Polaroid Transfer) by Cindy Pitou Burton.
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Re-work – Tulip Umbrella (Digital Image) by Cindy Pitou Burton.
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Sculptor Katie VanHorne
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Roger Conrad & Michele Pracy
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Fred Kidder & Michele Pracy
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Hang 10
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The prestigious Ojai Studio Artists celebrate ten years of showing together at the Ojai Valley Museum. The exhibit, “Hang 10”’, runs, from April 19 through June 10, 2012, at the museum.

“Hang 10” features fifty-seven Ojai Studio Artists. Michele Ellis Pracy, Ojai Valley Museum Director, asked the participating artists to select a piece of their artwork, created ten years ago, and re-work it as a new, 2012 piece. This contemplative exercise encouraged the artists to look back over time, and explore how their medium, style, subject matter, and palette have evolved in the last ten years.

A critical component of the exhibit will be photographs of the original artwork placed adjacent to the re-worked pieces. Visitors will be able to compare the early work to the re-configured art, and see the evolution of each artist during the last decade. The participating artists also have the option to create a new work of art unrelated to an early piece, and instead explore the passage of time and the meaning of “10” in mythology or symbology. “Hang 10” is indeed a dual celebration, the group’s 10th anniversary of showing together, as well as a display of the individual artists’ personal journey.

The exhibit, as in past years, will include student artwork by Ojai Studio Artists’ scholarship recipients. Each year, OSA selects young, burgeoning Ojai area artists for financial aid, that helps further their careers in the art field. Artworks by the scholarship winners are a part of the exhibit. The selected artists will be given scholarship awards at a special reception and awards ceremony on June 2, 2012.

The Ojai Valley Museum, established in 1967, is generously supported in part by Museum Members, Private Donors, Business Sponsors and Underwriters, the Smith-Hobson Foundation, Wood-Claeyssens Foundation, City of Ojai, and the Rotary Club of Ojai.

The museum is located at 130 W. Ojai Avenue, Ojai, CA. Admission: free for current 2012 members, adults - $4.00, students - 18 and under - $1.00, children 6–18 - $1.00 and children 5 and under – free. Gallery Hours are Tuesday – Saturday 10 to 4 pm; Sunday, noon to 4 pm. Tours are available by appointment.

For more information, call the museum at (805) 640-1390, ext. 203, e-mail or visit the museum website at http://www.ojaivalleymuseum.org/

Resonating tone and graceful movement will highlight appearances by The Water Drum Percussion Musicians and De Anza Academy of Technology and the Arts Mariachi Ballet Folklorico on Sunday, May 6 at the Museum of Ventura County. The two groups of students from De Anza Academy of Technology and the Arts will perform free from 1:00 until 2.30 p.m. during the museum’s monthly Free First Sunday. Instruction for the water drum percussion students has been provided by the Bell Arts Factory in conjunction with Luis Perez and the Vita Art Center, through a grant by the Smith-Hobson Foundation. Luis Perez will conduct the young musicians.

On the first Sunday of every month the Museum of Ventura County in Ventura now offers free admission to its galleries and any event scheduled that day. Free First Sundays is also held at the museum’s Agriculture Museum satellite in Santa Paula, where on May 6 there will be a show and sale of Zapotec weavings, from noon to 4:00 p.m. The museum’s new Free First Sunday replaces Family Times, once held on third Sundays.

The Museum of Ventura County is located at 100 East Main Street in downtown Ventura, is open 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. The Museum of Ventura County’s Agriculture Museum is located at 926 Railroad Avenue, Santa Paula, and is open 10 a.m. –4:00 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.

Admission to either location is $4 adults, $3 seniors, $1 children 6-17, free for Museum of Ventura County members, and for children ages 5 and younger. On first Sundays of the month, admission is always free. For more museum information go to www.venturamuseum.org or call 805-653-0323 for the Ventura location and 805-525-3100 for the r Santa Paula location.

A show and sale of weavings from the Bii Daüü Zapotec Arts Center in Oaxaca, Mexico will be held at the Museum of Ventura County’s Agriculture Museum in Santa Paula, on Sunday, May 6, from noon until 4:00 p.m. That Sunday is the museum’s monthly Free First Sunday, with no admission charged for events or exhibits. The Arts Center dedicates itself to using original designs related to the ancient Zapotec traditions, and they use only organic dyes. Ventura artist and weaver Porfirio Gutierrez, whose work will also be among the pieces shown, will be on hand to answer questions in English or Spanish. Gutierrez uses traditional methods but applies a modern interpretation to his Zapotec-inspired designs.

On the first Sunday of every month the Museum of Ventura County in Ventura and its Agriculture Museum satellite offer free admission to galleries and events. On May 6 from 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. the Ventura location will host free performances by The Water Drum Percussion Musicians and Mariachi Ballet Folklorico from De Anza Academy of Technology and the Arts.

The Museum of Ventura County’s Agriculture Museum at 926 Railroad Avenue, Santa Paula, is open 10 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. The Museum of Ventura County, located at 100 East Main Street in Ventura, is open 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.

Admission to either location is normally $4 adults, $3 seniors, $1 children 6-17, free for Museum of Ventura County members, and for children ages 5 and younger. On first Sundays of the month, admission is always free. For more museum information go to www.venturamuseum.org or call 805-525-3100 for the Santa Paula location and 805-653-0323 for the Ventura location.

The Moorpark College Symphony Orchestra presents a variety of well-known orchestra compositions written by famous composers from the City of Vienna, a cultural capital of Europe during the Hapsburg era. Performances: May 5, 2012, 8 p.m.; May 6, 2012, 2 p.m. Experience the power and popularity of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, the "Choral" symphony, as the orchestra and the choral music program present the finale movements of this monumental composition. Other Viennese favorites will be performed, including a sextet from Mozart's "Cosi Fan Tutte," featuring student vocalists. Moorpark College Symphony Orchestra: James J. Song, Music Director. Moorpark College Choral Music Program: Jinyoung Jang, Director. Tickets at the Box Office: Adult $15, Student/Senior/Child/Staff $10. Advance tickets purchased online are discounted 20% at www.moorparkcollege.edu/PAC. Parking is $2 per day Monday-Friday from 7 a.m.-5 p.m. There is no charge to park on weekends. Pricing and dates subject to change. Check the website or call the Box Office (805) 378-1485 to confirm. Moorpark College, 7075 Campus Road, Moorpark, CA 93021.

The Moorpark College Dance Department presents an evening of dance showcasing the talents of Moorpark College student choreographers, faculty, and guest artists featuring ballet, modern jazz, tap, and hip hop dance styles. Performances: April 26-28, 2012 at 8 p.m.; April 29, 2012 at 2 p.m. Directed by Robert Salas. Features Guest Artists Nancy Evans Dance Theatre & Megill & Company. Faculty Choreographers: Wendi Baity, Nancy Paradis, and Robert Salas. Student Choreographers: Tiffani Carrasco; Nyk Dabit; Rebecca Hansen; Oscar Humberto; Tray Kennedy; Tess Listick; and Demitre Sullivan. Tickets at the Box Office: Adult $15, Student/Senior/Child/Staff $10. Advance tickets purchased online are discounted 20% at www.moorparkcollege.edu/PAC. Parking is $2 per day Monday-Friday from 7 a.m.-5 p.m. There is no charge to park on weekends. Pricing and dates subject to change. Check the website or call the Box Office (805) 378-1485 to confirm. Moorpark College, 7075 Campus Road, Moorpark, CA 93021.

Essay series by Greg Cooper, Visual Journalism Educator at Brooks Institute.
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Essay series by Greg Cooper, Visual Journalism Educator at Brooks Institute.
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The Ojai Photography Club welcomes Greg Cooper, who currently teaches Visual Journalism full time at Brooks Institute, as our guest judge for April.

Ojai native Cooper graduated from Western Kentucky University in 1996, with a double major in photojournalism and anthropology.

Cooper was hooked by photojournalism in 1988, while attending classes at Ventura College. During his time in junior college, Cooper worked as a staff photographer at the Ojai Valley News. He spent the next eight years finishing up an associate’s degree, traveling abroad, working part-time in photo labs, shooting freelance, and working as a staff photographer.

After leaving Western Kentucky, he returned to Southern California, where he worked at the Ventura County Star. The Columbus Dispatch lured him away to work as the Sunday picture editor. Three years later, Cooper returned once again to Ventura County, this time to pursue his Master’s Degree in Photography at Brooks, where he graduated in December of 2004. While studying at Brooks, Cooper did his Master’s thesis on the future of digital photography at newspapers -- “Still Photography at Newspapers: It’s Uncertain Future as a Medium.”

Most recently, Cooper has been cutting his teeth in video and Web design. A graduate of the Platypus Workshop, and Apple certified in Final Cut Pro 7, Cooper continues to tell stories with a variety of media, including the iPhone. In the fall of 2010, Cooper was the education fellow at The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tenn.

The meeting will begin at 7:00 pm, April 17, at Help of Ojai’s Kent Hall, 111 Santa Ana Street, Ojai, CA..

The Ojai Photography Club, which is devoted to education, inspiration, and camaraderie, meets on the third Tuesday of each month, February – November. Visitors are always welcome, but only members may submit images for critique. For more information, please visit http://www.ojaiphotoclub.com/

Eastern and Western influences intertwine in Christine Leong’s artwork, which is the subject of the next exhibition at the Buenaventura Gallery.

“Palette of Nature” is the title of the show, which will be on view April 24 to May 19 in the downtown Ventura gallery operated by the nonprofit Buenaventura Art Association. A reception for the artist will on April 28 from 4-7 p.m. In addition, Leong will be on hand during First Friday Gallery Crawl on Friday, May 4 from 5-8 p.m.

Leong, who immigrated to the Camarillo area from her native China 10 years ago, uses the techniques and materials of her homeland — Chinese watercolors on rice paper — to create colorful glimpses of the natural world. Her specialties are koi and florals, she says.

“Nature has a unique language,” Leong says. “My paintings reflect my desire to capture the moment to be displayed and enjoyed in a traditional Asian manner.”

Her passion for creative arts is divinely inspired, in a way: When she was 8 or 9, she says, her parents gave her paper and a pencil at church on Sundays, and “I drew through the whole service without creating trouble.”

Soon after coming to America in 2002, Leong began entering shows locally, earning awards in many venues. Since 2006, she’s been an artist in residence at Studio Channel Islands Art Association, and has held membership and leadership roles in several area arts organizations, including the Santa Barbara and Thousand Oaks art associations. A fine arts instructor as well, Leong also served as president of the Camarillo Art Center from 2006-09.

Examples of her work can be found at www.artofchristineleong.com and www.asianartstrokes.com.

The Buenaventura Gallery is at 700 E. Santa Clara St. Hours are noon-5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays. For more information, visit their website at www.BuenaventuraGallery.org.

Oxnard College presents the 31st anniversary performance of the Ballet Folklórico Mestizo—a cultural fusion of indigenous and European influences in dance and music. The program features traditional dances from six regions of Mexico, and the dancers are students, staff, faculty, and alumni of Oxnard College. Director Mati Sanchez studied dance at the University of California Santa Barbara, and Folklórico dance at the University of Mexico City. Mati is founder of the OC Ballet Folklórico Mestizo and Department Chair of the Oxnard College Fine and Performing Arts. This show is open to all audiences, and whether you are a seasoned or first-time observer of Ballet Folklórico, you are sure to thrill at the precision, color, and professionalism of this group.

Performance times are Friday, April 20, and Saturday, April 21, at 7:30 p.m. at the Oxnard College Performing Arts Building, 4000 South Rose Avenue in Oxnard. General admission is $12. Advance tickets can be purchased at the Student Business Office, Tel. 805.986.5811, the Oxnard College Bookstore, Tel. 805.986.5826, or at the Door Box Office at 6 p.m. on the evening of the performances. Event Contact: Mati Sanchez, Tel. 805.986.5800 (x1944) or email msanchez@vcccd.edu.

Ventura College Theatre Arts Department presents "The 39 Steps," a spoof of Alfred Hitchcock's famous film -- a mix of juicy spy novel and a dash of Monty Python. Performances will be held at the Wright Library, 57 Day Road, on Friday/Saturday, April 13-14, 2012, 8 p.m.; Thursday/Friday, April 19, 20, 21, 8 p.m.; and a Sunday matinee on April 22, 3 p.m. Tickets available at the door only: $10 General Admission, $7 Students/Staff/Seniors. A FREE preview performance will be held on Thursday, April 12, at 8 p.m. Event contact: Jay Varela, Ventura College, Tel. (805) 654-6400 (x3194).

Victor Thasiah

THOUSAND OAKS, CA - A panel including California Lutheran University faculty and students will discuss an Evangelical Lutheran Church in America draft statement on faith and criminal justice as part of the Sixth Annual Festival of Scholars.

A panel discussion on “Hope for All: Faith and Criminal Justice” will take place at 7 p.m. Monday, April 23, in Lundring Events Center on the Thousand Oaks campus. An ELCA synod hearing on the draft statement will follow at 8:30 p.m.

On March 15, the ELCA released a draft social statement on criminal justice that addresses law enforcement, the judicial and correctional systems, and related social issues and pastoral concerns. While the ELCA affirms the fundamental principles of the U.S. criminal justice system, the draft says reform is needed to address overly harsh sentencing, persistent inequalities based on race and class, and other issues. The ELCA Criminal Justice Task Force will consider feedback from the hearings while developing a revised statement.

Task force consultant Victor Thasiah, an assistant professor of religion at CLU, will moderate the discussion on the development of the ELCA social policy and teaching. Before joining the CLU faculty, Thasiah served as the director ofsocial policy at the national ELCA office and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Lutheran Ethics.

Panelists will include assistant professor of criminal justice and sociology Molly George, whose current research explores the sociological and criminological dynamics of immigration enforcement anddetention, and assistant professor of religion Colleen Windham-Hughes, the director of CLU’s new Theology and Christian Leadership Program. The panel will also include Ojai resident Anamaria Schmid, a member of the Criminal Justice Task Force who specializes in public interest law. The student panelists are senior criminal justice major Casey Hickman of Texas and junior political science major and Associated Students of CLU President Jesse McClain of Hemet.

The weeklong Festival of Scholars showcases scholarly work of undergraduate andgraduate students from the College of Arts and Sciences, the Graduate School of Education and the School of Management.

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

For more information on the free event, contact Victor Thasiah at vthasiah@callutheran.edu.

THOUSAND OAKS, CA - The annual spring art exhibit showcasing the work of graduating seniors at California Lutheran University will run from Saturday, April 21, through Saturday, May 19.

The opening reception for the Senior Art Exhibit is at 4:30 p.m. April 21 in Kwan Fong Gallery of Art and Culture.

The students featured in the show are graduating in May with bachelor’s degrees in art. They are Ashley Bowman of Tustin, Yesenia Castro of Nipomo, Devin Cook of Santa Barbara, Cassandra Ebner of Granada Hills, Samantha Loe of Newbury Park, Nathan Maxwell-Doherty and Samantha Ruchman of Thousand Oaks, Caitlyn Melillo of Lynnwood, Wash., Luis Peña of Oxnard, Claire Peterson of Rancho Santa Margarita and Cody Yan Yow Kwong of Tombeau Bay, Mauritius.

The exhibition, which includes a variety of ceramics, drawings, paintings, photography and printmaking, is part of the Sixth Annual Festival of Scholars that runs from April 23 through 27. Art is available for purchase.

CLU’s Art Department is sponsoring the free exhibit and reception.

The Kwan Fong Gallery is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. It is located in Soiland Humanities Center on Memorial Parkway on the Thousand Oaks campus. Visitor parking is available in the parking lots on Mountclef Boulevard south of Olsen Road.

For more information, contact Kristi Colell at kcolell@callutheran.edu or 805-797-3018.

THOUSAND OAKS, CA - The California Lutheran University Creative Arts Division will present “Jekyll & Hyde” at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza.

The evocative tale of the epic battle between good and evil will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2:30 p.m.Sundays from April 20 through 29 in the Janet and Ray Scherr Forum Theatre.

Senior Brent Ramirez, a former bank manager from Simi Valley who returned to school to study theatre arts, plays the title role of Jekyll/Hyde. Oak Park resident Kristi McClave, a junior psychology major who has sung with pop rock bands and performed a song on the “Legally Blonde 2” soundtrack, plays Lucy Harris, the main attraction at a disreputable nightclub.

Also starring in the production are senior theatre arts major Martha Sadie Griffin from Alexandria, Minn., as Jekyll’s fiancée, Emma Carew; senior theatre arts major Jordan Skinner from Phoenix as Jekyll’s lawyer and best friend, Utterson; senior music major Jeffrey Shaner from Simi Valley as Emma’s father, Sir Danvers Carew; and sophomore theatre arts major Ashton Williams from Reno, Nev., as Nellie, manager of the Red Rat.

“Jekyll & Hyde” is based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic story about a brilliant doctor whose experiments with human personality create a murderous counterpart. Convinced the cure for his father’s mental illness lies in the separation of man’s evil nature from his good, Dr. Henry Jekyll unwittingly unleashes his own dark side, wreaking havoc in thestreets of late 19th-century London as the savage maniacal Edward Hyde. Familiar songs in the production include “This is the Moment,” “Once Upon a Dream” and “Someone Like You.”

Theatre arts professor Michael J. Arndt is directing the production. Professor Daniel Geeting is music director and conductor. Angela Hicks is vocal music director and Barbara Wegher-Thompson is choreographer.

The CLU Theatre Arts Department was one of the first groups to perform at the Scherr Forum Theatre and the first to present a fully staged musical with orchestra. Since 1994, CLU has staged a production at the forum every other year.

Steve Cuden and Frank Wildhorn conceived of “Jekyll & Hyde” for the stage. Book and lyrics are by Leslie Bricusse, music is by Frank Wildhorn, orchestrations are by Kim Scharnberg and arrangements are by Jason Howland.

The forum is located at 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd. Tickets are $21 and may be purchased at the Civic Arts Plaza Box Office or through Ticketmaster.

Camarillo, CA - CSU Channel Islands (CI) invites the public to experience one of the nation’s leading Beatles tribute bands during a free outdoor concert, Thursday, April 19, from 7 to 9 p.m., in front of the John Spoor Broome Library on the CI campus.

Paperback Writer, critically acclaimed as one of the country’s most authentic Beatles tribute bands, will take the audience on a trip through the musical years of the world’s most successful and popular rock group of all time.

The concert is being held as part of a new course, The Beatles: Music, Fashion and Culture, offered jointly by CI’s Performing Arts and Art programs. The course explores the music, fashion, films and cultural impact of the most influential band in the history of popular music. It also examines how the Beatles both affected and reflected popular music, society and culture from the 1960s to present day.

The concert exposes the students to an authentic Beatles tribute band experience and also enables them to complete a review of the act as part of a class assignment.

“As students learn about the Beatles, they learn about the history and culture of the 1960s,” said Dr. Paul Murphy, Lecturer in the Music program, who developed the course for CI. “The course exposes students to the evolution and social significance of the music of the Beatles and gives them a greater appreciation for the group’s many innovations and their impact on pop culture worldwide.”

First offered in the fall semester, the course became so popular that CI created two sections for spring. With 80 students currently enrolled, there’s a wait list for future semesters.

“It is a class that no one will regret taking, simply because of how much fun it is,” said Laura Pederson, a senior liberal studies major. “It's not everyday you get to listen to the Beatles songs that have influenced and inspired so many. Dr. Murphy provides great insight into the band through Beatles archive footage that features live performances and interviews.”

In addition to attending twice-weekly lectures, taking exams and writing reports, students in the class have the opportunity to hear directly from special guest artists who worked with the Beatles. During an upcoming class on Thursday, April 5, Laurence Juber, a Grammy award-winning guitarist who toured with Paul McCartney, will perform and speak to the students.

“We are truly lucky to have this course offered at CI,” said Ana Flores-Sierra, a senior nursing student. “The course not only covers each album and song, but also society's reactions to their music and the influence that many songs and albums had on later music.”

“The Beatles have contributed more to our culture and society than we really can possibly grasp,” Pedersen said. “Their music brought people together, young and old. Beatlemania swept America in 1964 and, in reality, it never left.”

There will be very limited complimentary parking on campus. To ensure you are able to find parking, the University encourages guests to carpool or take the CI VISTA bus. The CI VISTA bus, which departs from the Camarillo Metrolink Station will be complimentary to all guests who are attending this event. Please inform the bus driver that you are attending the Beatles Tribute Concert event. For more information regarding the VISTA bus schedule please visit: http://www.csuci.edu/parking/alternativetransportationresources.htm.

For more information on the Paperback Writer tribute concert, contact Merissa Stith, Events Coordinator, at 805-437-8548 or merissa.stith@csuci.edu.

For information on the Beatles course, contact Dr. Paul Murphy, at paul.murphy@csuci.edu or 310-804-3581.

To learn more about Paperback Writer, visit www.paperbackwritersite.com.

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.

THOUSAND OAKS, CA - California Lutheran University will show a documentary that follows four diverse children on a journey to become bilingual.

“Speaking in Tongues” will be screened at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 17, in Lundring Events Center as part of CLU’s Reel Justice Film Series, which examines the themes of equality and social justice. A panel discussion with a faculty member from CLU’s Department of Languages and Cultures, and a former principal, current parent and student from Montalvo Elementary School in Ventura will follow. Montalvo has had a two-way immersion program since 2000.

Attitudes about language reflect much bigger concerns, with language as a metaphor for the barriers that come between neighbors, be they across the street or around the world.

“Speaking in Tongues” by filmmakers Marcia Jarmel and Ken Schneider showcases a world where these communication barriers are being addressed. The film features four pioneering families who put their children in public schools where, from the first day of kindergarten, theirteachers speak mostly in a foreign language.

An African-American boy from public housing learns to read, write and speak Mandarin. A Mexican-American boy, whose parents are not literate in any language, develops professional-level Spanish while mastering English. A Chinese-American girl regains her grandparents’ mother tongue, a language her parents lost through assimilation. A Caucasian teen travels to Beijing to stay with a Mandarin-speaking host family. Their stories reveal the promise of a multilingual America.

However, many Americans warn that the United States is becoming a modern-day Babel and our national identity is at risk. Thirty-one states and some cities have passed laws making English the official language. But in our diverse country and our increasingly international world, is knowing English enough?

Jarmel and Schneider founded PatchWorks Films in 1994. They specialize in films that explore contemporary social issues through intimate character stories. “Speaking in Tongues” is PatchWorks’ third feature documentary.

Lundring Events Center is located in Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center at the corner of Olsen Road and Mountclef Boulevard on the Thousand Oaks campus.

CLU’s Center for Equality and Justice, the Graduate School of Education, Multicultural Programs and International Student Services, and the Department of Languages and Cultures are sponsoring the free event. For more information, contact Sam Thomas at sthomas@callutheran.edu or 805-493-3693.

Caroline Cottom

THOUSAND OAKS, CA - A California Lutheran University alumna and former director of the Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign will talk about the political role of unconditionallove and her experiences in the halls of Congress, the United Nations and the former Soviet Union at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 17.

Caroline Cottom will discuss her book “Love Changes Things … Even in the World of Politics,” which will be released April 9, in CLU’s Samuelson Chapel. Light refreshments and a book signing will follow.

Cottom also directed the campaign to end nuclear test explosions in the Nevada desert, an effort involving 75 national organizations that brought an end to U.S. nuclear testing in 1992.

Among the students who enrolled at CLU in its first year, Cottom was chosen as Outstanding Female Student in 1962 and 1964 and was involved in student government, editing the annual, contributing to the literary journal and organizing a service project that included one-fourth of the student body.

After graduating magna cum laude with a degree in English literature in CLU’s first commencement in 1964, Cottom became a classroom teacher and writer. In 1978, she obtained a doctorate in educational policy and worked with the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools system as well as Common Cause-Tennessee.

In time, quite unexpectedly, she found herself in Washington, D.C., involved in the politics of nuclear arms control. Led by dreams and a sense of God calling to her, Cottom began building relationships with members of Congress and two U.S. administrations, defense analysts, Soviet officials and others including Al Gore in his roles as U.S. representative, senator and finally vice president. These relationships, which Cottom describes as based on unconditional love, were crucial to the campaign's success. The U.S. signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty in 1996.

Since then, Cottom has carried her spiritual-political work to Ecuador, Fiji, Mexico and other countries, creating projects and character-development programs. She received the CLU Alumni Association’s Humanitarian Concerns award in 1989.

CLU’s Master of Public Policy and Administration program and Alumni Relations office are sponsoring the free event.

The chapel is located south of Olsen Road near Campus Drive on the ThousandOaks campus.

For more information, contact Rebecca Cardone at rcardone@callutheran.edu or 713-492-4231.

Michael Messner

THOUSAND OAKS, CA - A candlelit walk, a Clothesline Project display and a talk on male activists will mark Take Back the Night at California Lutheran University on Friday, April 13.

The activities, which are free and open to the public, will begin at 5 p.m. in Buth Park.

Take Back the Night marches, rallies and events encouraging people to take a stand against sexual violence, particularly incidents involving female victims, have been held around the world for more than 30 years.

Michael Messner, a sociology and gender studies professor at University of SouthernCalifornia, will deliver the keynote address on male activism and gender-based violence. He is conducting a life-history study of two generations of men who have been active in the campaign against gender violence. One group came of age in the 1970s during a time of explosive feminist grassroots activism, and the other is fueling a resurgence of anti-violence activism on college campuses and through media-based campaigns today. The study explores how activists make sense of their anti-violence work and how they have strategized to stop men’s violence within the two different historical contexts.

As part of The Clothesline Project, shirts decorated by women affected by violence will be displayed. The event also will feature student performances and resource tables hosted by community and CLU organizations.

Buth Park is at the corner of Memorial Parkway and Luther Avenue.

CLU’s student club Feminism Is… and Center for Equality and Justice are sponsoring the event. For more information, call 805-493-3694 or email cej@callutheran.edu.