Ventura, CA – Best known for its cozy, beachside atmosphere, Ventura bursts with activity during the holiday season, inviting visitors and locals alike to enjoy a full calendar of special events, musical performances and holiday happenings. The following are a number of activities scheduled in Ventura for this holiday season:

Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony

On the evening of Saturday, December 3rd, gather around to celebrate the lighting of a towering pine tree planted in the late 19th century at the Mission in Downtown Ventura. Along with caroling by local church groups, it’s rumored that Santa Claus will ride into Downtown Ventura on a fire engine to greet the children. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 805.641.1090 or visit www.downtownventura.com.

Ventura Winter Wine Walk and Street Fair
On Saturday, December 3rd, the day’s festivities kick off with a Street Fair on Main Street featuring holiday vendors and live entertainment. As the sun begins to set, wine enthusiasts are invited to explore Downtown Ventura one sip at a time. Participants in the self-guided tour can sample fine wines and delicious appetizers. Times and ticket information to be announced. More information and tickets will be available at www.venturawinterwinewalk.com or by calling (805) 765-4294.

Small Images and Ornament Competition at the Harbor Gallery

For the art-lovers on your holiday gift list, visit the Harbor Gallery, which is selling mini versions of their prints. At 14 inches or smaller, these pieces are affordable and make the perfect gift. They are available at the Harbor Village Gallery from November 16th, 2011 to January 1st, 2012 and at the Buenaventura Gallery from November 8th, 2011 to January 7th, 2012. Plus, the Harbor Gallery’s Artisan Store will feature gifts and packaging made just for the holidays. See www.HarborVillageGallery.com or call (805) 644-2750 for more information.

Holiday Parade of Lights, Ventura Harbor

This two-day celebration set for Friday, December 16th and Saturday, December 17th, marks the 35th anniversary of this fun filled occasion. During Saturday evening’s lighted boat parade, themed “California Dreamin,’” guests can expect to see boats decorated to the tune of the Golden State’s iconic attractions and personalities, beach and surf culture, history and symbols. The parade commences at 7 p.m. and is followed by a fireworks display. There will be a family carnival where little ones can ride the antique carousel and visit Santa. The event is free to the public and free parking is provided. For more information, call (805) 477-0470 or visit www.venturaharborvillage.com.

Ventura Harbor’s Winter Wonderland & Carnival

Rediscover the joy of holiday shopping while wondering through a festive seaside village at the popular Ventura Harbor’s Winter Wonderland & Carnival held Saturday, December 17th from Noon to 5 p.m. Highlights include faux snowfall every 15 minutes, a full carnival with rides and games, visits with Santa & Mrs. Claus, two live reindeer, fudge tastings, Dickenson carolers, a strolling toy soldier band, ice sculpting demonstrations and much more. Admission is free. For more information, call (805) 477-0470 or visit www.venturaharborvillage.com.

Chanukah Festival at the Harbor

The Chabad Jewish Centers of Ventura, Oxnard and Camarillo will hold their annual Chanukah Festival on December 25th, from 3-5 pm, at the Ventura Harbor. Enjoy live music, hot Latkes and a Judaica boutique. To top off the celebration, behold a lighting ceremony of a giant 20 foot Menorah. Made possible by a grant from the Jewish Federation of Ventura County, the festival is free of charge and open to the public. For more information, call (805) 382–4770 or visit www.chabadventura.com.

California-Style Sleigh Rides
Hop on board the good ship Dreamer for a holiday sleigh ride – California style! Sail the waters of the Ventura Keys and Ventura harbor from December 4th to December 31st and enjoy the sparkling Christmas lights adorning shoreline homes and casting picturesque reflections in the nighttime waters. Cruise every night from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Each cruise offers a full bar, sodas and seasonal concoctions, such as “reindeer milk” (an adult beverage with a secret recipe) and hot chocolate. Cruises cost $20 for adults and $10 for children 2-12 years old. Call (805) 642-7753 or visit www.venturaboatrentals.com for more information.

Victorian Holiday Boutique at the Dudley House

Celebrate the spirit of holidays past at the historic Dudley House. The boutique features quality crafts, home décor, antiques and collectibles, homemade candies, and a tearoom with silent auction, refreshments, bargain items and a kids’ craft table. The event will be held the weekends of November 26-27, December 3-5, and December 10-12 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Dudley House is located at the corner of Loma Vista and Ashwood Street. See www.dudleyhouse.org for more information.

Holiday Caroling Cruise and Parade of Lights Cruise
Ride and sing with ISLAND PACKERS aboard the 64’ catamaran “Island Adventure” which departs from 1691 Spinnaker Drive in the Ventura Harbor. Tours depart at 6:30 p.m. and return about 7:30 p.m. on the nights of December 6, 7, 8, 14, 15, 20, 21 & 22. Enjoy the harbor lights and the decorated boats in the marinas and Harbor Village while singing holiday songs with the crew and passengers. Tickets cost $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and $9 for children. Hot and cold beverages and snacks are available for purchase. In addition, Island Packers is also offering a special cruise for the annual Ventura Parade of Lights on Saturday, December 17, so visitors who don’t have to have their own boat can to be part of the parade. Departure is at 6:30 p.m., followed by two laps around the harbor, and returning at 8:45 p.m. Fare is $32 for adults, $29 for seniors and $22 for children. For reservations, call Island Packers at (805) 642-1393 or visit www.islandpackers.com.

Olivas Adobe Candlelight Tours
On Sunday, December 11th, discover how the holidays were celebrated on Rancho San Miguel in Old California. Costumed guides lead small group tours into the Adobe courtyard to observe vignettes of how the Olivas family prepared for its holiday celebration in the 1860s. Enjoy costumed historical skits, live entertainment and refreshments. Tours take place every hour from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Admission is free, but reservations are recommended. Call 805-658-4726 for reservations.

Dinner with Santa Trains

Gather the family for a dinner hosted by Santa Claus! On Friday, December 9th and 16th, the Fillmore & Western Railroad Co. will be inviting young and old to this memorable holiday occasion. On the train, have your “wish lists” ready to discuss with Santa as well as an opportunity for a picture with him. Costs, which include the train ride and dinner, run $47 for adults and $26 for children 2-12. Children under the age of 2 are free, but required to sit on the lap and no meal is included. Trains depart at 5:30 p.m. This event is by reservation only and can be made by calling (800) 773-8724 or visiting www.fwry.com.

Christmas Tree Holiday Train and The North Pole Express

Every Saturday and Sunday from November 26th to December 11th, visitors and locals alike are invited to hop onboard Fillmore & Western’s Christmas Tree Train and chug through Ventura County’s picturesque Heritage Valley on the way to select and cut down their own Christmas tree. Trains depart at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., and the rides cost $24 for adults, $22 for seniors 60+, $14 for kids 4-12, $10 for kids 2-3 and kids under 2 are free on lap.

Children will delight in storytellers dressed as elves and the chocolate milk and cookies, while the North Pole Express journeys to the “North Pole” to “pick up Santa.” The North Pole Express runs from November 26th to December 26th. Call reservations or check the website for departure and return times. Tickets cost $29 for adults, $19 for kids 2-12 and kids under 2 are free on lap. Call (800) 773-8724 or visit www.fwry.com for reservations or more information.

For information on Ventura accommodations and attractions, visit www.ventura-usa.com or phone (800) 483-6214. The Ventura Visitors Center, located at 101 S. California Street in downtown Ventura, is open Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. A non-profit organization, the Ventura Visitors & Convention Bureau enhances tourism and the economy by positioning the City of Ventura as a visitor and conference destination.

THOUSAND OAKS, CA - California Lutheran University will present the first of two Tennessee Williams plays this season from Oct. 27 through Nov. 6.

Shows of the Fall Mainstage Production of “Summer and Smoke” are slated for 8 p.m. Oct. 27, 29 and 30 and Nov. 3, 4 and 5 in the Preus-Brandt Forum. A matinee will be presented at 2 p.m. Nov. 6.

Set in Glorious Hill, Miss., the play centers on the spiritual/sexual romance that nearly blossoms between a high-strung, unmarried minister’s daughter named Alma Winemiller and a wild, undisciplined young doctor named John Buchanan Jr. who grew up next door. She is refined and identifies with the Gothic cathedral “reaching up to something beyond attainment,” while Buchanan is a sensualist.

Susan Angelo, a lecturer in CLU’s Theatre Arts Department, directs the production. Angelo has also directed plays for the Kingsmen Shakespeare Company, the professional theater company of CLU.

CLU will present Williams’ “Suddenly Last Summer” from Nov. 10 through 20.

Preus-Brandt Forum is located south of Olsen Road near Mountclef Boulevard on the Thousand Oaks campus.

Admission is $10. For more information, call the Theatre Arts Department at 805-493-3415.

THOUSAND OAKS, CA - An expert in stalking and workplace violence will speak at California Lutheran University from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26.

Rhonda Saunders with the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office will present “Personal Safety in Diverse Social Contexts: Legal Responses to Stalking and Harassment” in Lundring Events Center. A welcome reception will begin at 5:30 p.m.

Saunders, who has served as a criminal prosecutor for 25 years, is an internationally recognized expert in stalking, workplace violence and criminal threats. She established the Stalking and Threat Assessment Team for the L.A. District Attorney’s Office and the L.A. Stalking Task Force.

Although Saunders is well known for successfully prosecuting people who stalked or threatened Steven Spielberg, Gwyneth Paltrow and Anna Nicole Smith, more cases involve ordinary love affairs gone awry than celebrities. Studies have found that between 50 and 60 percent of women who have been physically abused were stalked by their former partners following the breakup of a relationship. Stalking can occur in the workplace, online and in other settings. Four out of five stalking victims are women.

Saunders revised sections of California’s Stalking Law Penal Code so that law enforcement and the courts can better protect victims. She has lectured to prosecutors, law enforcement and victim advocacy groups in the United States, Canada and Great Britain. In 2005, the German government invited her to lecture at the country’s first Stalking Symposium. She also has been featured as an expert on many television shows including “Today,” “Dr. Phil” and the “Nancy Grace Show.” She received her doctorate in law from the University of Southern California Law School.

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

CLU’s Department of Criminal Justice and Center for Equality and Justice are sponsoring the free presentation. For more information, contact Bob Meadows at 805-493-3484 or meadows@callutheran.edu, or Herb Gooch at 805-493-3348 or gooch@callutheran.edu.

SANTA PAULA, CA – The 18th Annual De Colores Art Show will open at the Santa Paula Art Museum, 117 N. 10th Street, Santa Paula, on Saturday, October 15th with an opening reception from 4 – 6 p.m. The cost is $5 for members and $10 for non-members. Students of all ages are free. Delicious appetizers will be provided by La Cabana Restaurant and music provided by "Chato Rios and his Trio Los Principes.

The first De Colores Art Show was created in March 1995 in Santa Paula by artist/musician and activist, Xavier Montes. For the last 18 years, Xavier has presented contemporary art created by Latinos which expresses the Latino experience, culture and history in its traditions, pain and sorrow, and controversies through art. After much consideration, Xavier has decided that this will be the final De Colores Art Show. He will continue to set his sights on other projects that involve art, music and culture in our community.

The art show will feature over 40 paintings and sculptures by Southern California artists. The mission of the De Colores Art Show is to bring together the community of professional artists, promote Santa Paula, to recognize diversity, and to remember the plight of the farm worker.

An important inspiration for the De Colores Art Show was the work of Cesar Chavez and Delores Huerta. It was their commitment to the improvement of the lives of the campesino or the migrant worker. In addition, Mr. Montes seeks to generate community involvement with local citizens and motivate young aspiring artists.

The De Colores Art Show is sponsored by Santa Paula Latino Town Hall, Amigos 805, La Cabana Restaurant and DIVA tu!

The exhibit will run until January 29th, 2012 and may be viewed during regular Museum hours: Wednesday – Saturday, 10 AM – 4 PM, and Sundays, 12 PM – 4 PM. The Museum is located at 117 North 10th Street, Santa Paula, CA 93060. For more information call 805-525-5554 or email info@SantaPaulaArtMuseum.org.

Wana Klasen's original art work is on exhibit at Four Brix Winery located at 2290 Eastman in Ventura .The winery is open to the public on Fridays from 4-8 PM and Saturday and Sunday from noon until 5PM. Tasting of four delicious selections of wine is available for $10.00.

Wana will be present at the winery on the next three Fridays of October to talk about her art work , and enjoy spending time with guests.

Enjoy scenic Ventura County through the paintings and drawings of Ventura College students and Professor Dorothy Orr at the Blanchard Community Library in Santa Paula from November 1 through December 30. This exhibit will include Plein Air and Partial Plein Air works by students enrolled in Watercolor Painting, Ink Techniques and Landscape Painting classes.

Before there were cameras, artists worked on location. En plein air is a French expression which means "in the open air", and specifically is used to describe the act of painting outdoors. Many notable artists including Monet, Cezanne, Van Gogh and local Douglas Shively loved working in this manner. The plein air artist seeks to capture the atmosphere and essence of a location in an ever-changing natural light environment. Plein Air art works are started and finished on location. Partial Plein Air images are started and taken to a point of near completion on location, and then finished in the studio with focus on compositional adjustments and detail refinements.

Over thirty students, residents of Ventura County, will have art works featured on the Douglas Shively Memorial Wall for the duration of the show. Five included exhibitors were honored with awards at the Annual Ventura College Student Art Exhibition, 2011. The community is invited to meet the artists at a reception scheduled Thursday, November 10, from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Additional works will be available for viewing and sale at the reception only.

The Blanchard Community Library is located at 119 N. Eighth Street. Regular hours are Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from noon to 8:00 pm, Wednesday from 10 am to 6 pm, and Saturday from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. The Library is closed Friday, Sunday and holidays.

Phil Harvey, one of Ojai’s “Living Treasures,” has been an artist and nature photographer for over thirty years. Phil has an eye for the light of life and he creatively captures the essence of those moments that take our breath away. This gifted photographer expresses this essence in his collection of “Mystique of Ojai” images, which will be on display during Ojai’s annual Art Detour the weekend of October 8 and 9.

Phil founded the Ojai Photography Club in 1984. In honor of Phil and in celebration of the club’s 27 years, several members of the club will be joining Phil in exhibiting their photography. Their exhibit, “Mystique of Ojai Fine Art Photography - Phil Harvey and Friends: Myrna Cambianica, Sally Carless and Kaarina Tienhaara,” will be at Phil’s studio, 302 S. Montgomery Street, Ojai.

The Ojai Art Detour provides the opportunity to visit artists’ studios and galleries of some of Ojai’s accomplished and unique artists. The tour will take place Saturday and Sunday, October 8th and 9th from 10 am until 5 pm. It is free to the public and features more than 50 local artists. The Artist reception will be Saturday October 8th, 6-9pm at Bohemia, 214 W Ojai Avenue, Ojai, and is free to the public.

Ojai Art Detour maps can be found at the Ojai Visitor Center, Studio 201, Bohemia, Ojai House, Made in Ojai, Janis’ Art Workshop, area hotels (hotels week of the tour), and other shops around town. Tour maps can also be picked up the day of the tour at any of the tour studios.

For additional information go to Ojai Photography Club at: http://ojaiphotoclub.com/ and Ojai Art Detour at: www.ojaiartdetour.com/

Our Ever-Changing Earth: Earth Science Week at the California Oil Museum

Santa Paula, CA - Come journey through time with the California Oil Museum (1001 E. Main Street, Santa Paula, Wednesday – Sunday 10 AM to 4 PM) and discover “Our Ever-Changing Earth”! The Museum will be celebrating Earth Science Week 2011 from October 12 through October 23. This year's event will engage the public in actively learning about the varied and interconnected natural processes that shape our planet over time. From the water coming out of our faucets to the monitoring of ground movement, the geosciences are intertwined in our everyday activities.

“Planetary change raises important questions among young people, educators, and the public,” says Ann E. Benbow, Ph.D., AGI’s Director of Education and Outreach. “Earth Science Week 2011 will highlight the important roles that paleontologists, geologists, and other earth scientists play in building understanding of the complex interactions among the earth systems — atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, and biosphere — over time.”

Earthquakes and volcanoes are but two of the sudden changes that can affect our lives and are vividly displayed in the exhibit. Hands-on activities include a quiz testing earthquake savvy, shake blocks for viewing building resonances, and an experiment with liquefaction! The exhibit will also have visitors thinking about earthquake safety and provide checklists for families to put in place before an earthquake strikes.

October 12 is also National Fossil Day and one wall of the exhibit displays incredible specimens of local fossils and petrified wood from Ventura County, on loan from the Ventura Gem and Mineral Society and Oxnard Gem and Mineral Society. Adding to the display is a touch table of fossils large and small which can be viewed through lenses and microscopes.

California and Ventura County are famous for their natural seeps of oil and gas, both in the ocean and on land. These seeps are important indicators of the rich natural resources below the surface of the Earth and have contributed to our local oil history from the late 1800s to the present. The exhibit’s simulated natural seep shows the diversity of a changing surface and how life adapts to change.

Earth Science Week offers the public opportunities to discover the earth sciences and engage in responsible stewardship of the Earth, so please join us at the Museum this October and bring your budding young scientists! Earth Science Week is supported by the U.S. Geological Survey, the AAPG Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy, NASA, the National Park Service, ExxonMobil, and ESRI.

WHO: California Oil Museum

WHAT: Earth Science Week Celebration with Hands-on Activities

WHEN: October 12 – 23, 2011(Museum Hours: Wednesday through Sunday 10 AM to 4 PM)

WHERE: 1001 E. Main Street, Santa Paula, CA 93060 (Admission: Adults $4, Seniors $3, Youth (6-17) $1, Children under 6 and Members FREE)

WHY: To engage students in discovering the Earth sciences and to remind people that Earth science is all around us.

THOUSAND OAKS, CA - Artists whose works adorned the cover of the magazine of the Automobile Club of Southern California for more than 50 years will be the subject of the first event in the 2011-2012 Scandinavian Lecture Series at California Lutheran University.

Morgan Yates, corporate archivist for the Auto Club, will present “Autos, Archives and Art” at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 23, in the Roth Nelson Room.

Yates, a regular contributor to Westways, will talk about Swedish-American artist Carl Oscar Borg and others who provided cover art for the Auto Club’s monthly member magazine. The cover art program began in 1928 when editor Phil Townsend Hanna ditched the original plain covers featuring the Auto Club logo in favor of original fine art as part of his plan to expand the magazine’s focus to include travel, the arts and regional culture.

Hanna began presenting works from artists widely recognized for their California painting. To begin, he commissioned a series of 12 landscapes including “Grand Canyon” by Borg. In 1931, Hanna asked Borg to paint a series of scenes from California history featuring Junipero Serra, John Fremont and other notable figures. Born in Sweden in 1879, Borg spent time living with Native Americans and is best known for his paintings of Hopi and Navajo Indians, cowboys and California and Grand Canyon landscapes. He taught at the California Art Institute in Los Angeles and the School of Arts in Santa Barbara. Borg died in Santa Barbara in 1947.

The Westways cover program was scaled back in the 1930s and 1940s, revived in the 1950s and ended in 1981, when photography fully displaced other visual arts on the magazine covers. Today, the corporate archives house more than 250 paintings, collages and assemblages representing the diverse and vibrant art scene of early- and mid-20th century Southern California.

Yates, who has co-curated many AAA-sponsored museum exhibitions, will also touch on the role Westways has played as a chronicler of the history, culture and natural landscape of Southern California for more than 100 years.

The Roth Nelson Room is located on Mountclef Boulevard near Memorial Parkway on the Thousand Oaks campus. Following the presentation, a reception will be held at the Scandinavian Center at 26 Faculty Drive, where a collection of Borg’s magazine covers is on display.

The CLU Art Department and the Scandinavian American Cultural & Historical Foundation are sponsoring the free presentation. For more information, contact Anita Londgren at 805-241-1051 or call the Scandinavian Center at 805-241-0391.

Camarillo, CA - CSU Channel Islands (CI) has announced the opening of “Filipinos in Ventura County” photo exhibit to take place on Wednesday, Oct. 12, from 5 to 7 p.m. in the John Spoor Broome Library Exhibition Hall. The opening program is being sponsored by CI’s John Spoor Broome Library, History Program, Kilusan Pilipino Club, and the Center for Multicultural Engagement. The opening program is free and open to the public.

Speakers for the opening program will be CI President Richard R. Rush; Amy Wallace, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs/Broome Library; Elnora Kelly Tayag, Outreach Coordinator; Dr. Rudy Guevarra Jr., Assistant Professor, Asian American Studies, Arizona State University; and Tony Grey, Executive Director, Filipino American Council.

The exhibit will present selections from the new image collection that documents the history of Filipinos in Ventura County dating to the early 1900s and their contributions to the community. Dr. Jose Alamillo, Associate Professor of Chicana/o Studies for CI’s History Program says, “The “Filipinos in Ventura County” photo collection is an important resource for students and scholars interested in teaching and researching local history and the Filipino American experience.”

The “Filipinos in Ventura County” photo collection was selected to be digitized by the California State Library’s Local History Digital Resources Project. In addition to project grant funding, the California State Library will also feature the digital collection in “Calisphere” and the “Online Archive of California,” both primary source databases that are a consortia of California libraries. Tayag explains, “I am tremendously excited that this grant has given our photo collection, the local Filipino community, and the John Spoor Broome Library state-wide visibility.” Tayag initiated efforts to collect the images for the library and hopes to expand the collection to eventually include oral histories and ephemera.

Wallace explains, “With the Filipino image collection, our Library is creating primary source materials for student research that support CI’s mission of fostering multicultural perspectives and interdisciplinary opportunities for student learning and engagement.”

The project is funded in part by grants from the California Council for the Promotion of History and the Institute of Museum and Libraries Services through the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), administered by the California State Library’s Local History Digital Resources Project.

Reservations for the opening program can be made by visiting: http://www.library.csuci.edu/about/news/filipino.htm.

Limited parking is available on campus and is complimentary. Follow signs to the designated event parking areas. Parking is also available at the Camarillo Metrolink Station /Lewis Road parking lot in Camarillo. Riders should board the CI 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 Ellie Tayag, Outreach Coordinator, at CSU Channel Islands at 805-437-3140 or elnora.tayag@csuci.edu.

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.

Christopher M. Cock

THOUSAND OAKS, CA - One of Franz Schubert’s most popular compositions will be performed at California Lutheran University at 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22.

Tenor Christopher M. Cock, director of choral and vocal activities at Valparaiso University in Indiana, will sing “Winterreise, Opus 89” in Samuelson Chapel. Pianist Nicole Lee will accompany him.

In his brief lifetime, Schubert wrote two of the most significant song cycles, or songs designed to be performed as a sequence, in the history of Western composition: “Die schöne Müllerin” and “Winterreise.” In the year before he died, he gathered a group of his friends to introduce them to the epic cycle “Winterreise.” In response to their cautious reaction to the melancholy mood of this group of songs, Schubert reportedly said, “I like these songs best of all, and you will come to like them, too.” Two hundred years of performance tradition have affirmed Schubert’s view that “Winterreise” would become one of the most performed vocal works of all time.

Cock holds the Phyllis and Richard Duesenberg Chair in Lutheran Music and is the founder and director of the Bach Institute at Valparaiso. He has forged a unique career path, combining the roles of conductor and performer. As a solo artist, his extensive range and communicative performances have established him as a premier lyric tenor. He has received wide acclaim performing the tenor parts of oratorios and Passions in the role of Bach Evangelist in more than 50 shows around the world, including a 2001 appearance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He has appeared at Carnegie Hall both as a soloist and a conductor and many times as a guest artist with the Oregon Bach Festival. He has recently sung with the Florida Orchestra, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, the Miami Bach Society, the American Sinfonietta, the Grand Rapids Symphony and the Seattle Chamber Singers.

Donations will be accepted. For more information, call the Music Department at 805-493-3306 or visit http://www.callutheran.edu.

THOUSAND OAKS, CA - California Lutheran University will screen a new documentary about the effect of media messages on teenage girls at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 19.

“Miss Representation” will be shown in Lundring Events Center as part of the Reel Justice Film Series, which examines the themes of equality and social justice. A panel discussion will follow.

The documentary film premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and received the Movies Matter Award at the 2011 Maui Film Festival. Oprah Winfrey acquired the broadcast rights and will air it on OWN on Oct. 20.

The provocative film by writer/director Jennifer Siebel Newsom weaves together the stories of teenage girls and interviews with Condoleezza Rice, Lisa Ling, Nancy Pelosi, Katie Couric, Rachel Maddow, Rosario Dawson, Jackson Katz, Jean Kilbourne and Gloria Steinem to provide an inside look at the media and its message.

The film examines women’s images in TV, movies, journalism and politics. It contends that the most persuasive and pervasive force of communication in our culture, the mass media, is teaching yet another generation that a woman’s primary value lies in her youth, beauty and sexuality—and not in her capacity as a leader. This makes it difficult for girls to reach their full potential and for women to obtain leadership positions. As technology advances and regulations decrease, children are seeing more images than ever before.

The 90-minute film provides startling facts and statistics. Fifty-three percent of 13-year-old girls are dissatisfied with their bodies; by age 17, that number increases to 78 percent. About two-thirds of women and girls have an eating disorder. Only 16 percent of films feature women protagonists. Women make up 51 percent of the U.S. population but only 3 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs and a mere 17 percent of the U.S. Congress. Experts and others in the film encourage people to take small and big steps to bring about change.

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

The Center for Equality and Justice is sponsoring the free showing. For more information, contact Sam Thomas at 805-493-3693 or sthomas@callutheran.edu.

Camarillo, CA. - The Art Program at CSU Channel Islands (CI) is pleased to announce the opening of “Eclectic Visions”, the annual Art faculty show now on display through Oct. 27 in the John Spoor Broome Library Art Gallery. A free public reception will take place on Thursday, Oct. 6 from 6 to 8 p.m.

The artworks in this exhibition reflect the vast research and vibrant imagination of the artists, expressed in bronze sculptures and conceptual installations, graphic design and paintings, mixed media and video, and photography and ceramics. The mesmerizing works of art expose the multiple concerns, subjects, and issues that preoccupy the CI Art faculty. Current topics, connections with communities and commentaries about the past are among them. Creativity and craft, subtly intertwined in all these works, unify the eclectic visual language to create a compelling conceptual and pictorial narrative.

CSU Channel Islands is located at One University Drive, Camarillo. The John Spoor Broome Library Art Gallery is located on the second floor. Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. For additional information contact the Art Program, at 805-437-8570 or art@csuci.edu.

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.

The Santa Paula Art Museum is excited to announce its preparation for a retrospective featuring Santa Paula’s own Mr. Sycamore, Douglas Shively. It is to open in February, 2012. Douglas was a well known and loved artist who lived and worked here in Santa Paula. We are seeking paintings from the entire span of his artistic career. “We are interested not only in the paintings but stories that might go along with them”, said Jennifer Heighton, Executive Director. If you have a Douglas Shively painting that you find particularly unique and would be willing to loan to the Museum for their exhibition, please call Jennifer Heighton or Julie Cluster at (805) 525-5554 or email to info@SantaPaulaArtMuseum.org.

The Museum is located at 117 North 10th Street, Santa Paula, CA 93060. The Museum’s regular hours are Wednesday – Saturday, 10 AM – 4 PM, and Sundays, 12 PM – 4 PM.

“Men Quilting! Quilts Made by Men” is the theme for the 13th Annual Heritage Valley Festival of Quilts to be on display from October 16, 2011 through February 5, 2012 at the California Oil Museum, 1001 E. Main Street, in historic downtown Santa Paula. The exhibit will showcase the talents of male quilters from Los Angeles, Ventura County and as far north as Morro Bay, California. The public is invited to attend the opening reception on Sunday, October 16 from 1-3 PM. Light refreshments will be served. A short gallery talk by guest curator Linda Wilkinson will be held at 1:30. The California Oil Museum is open from 10 AM to 4 PM, Wednesday through Sunday. Admission: $4 Adults, $3 Seniors, $1 Students (6-17), Free for Members & under 5.

This year the quilts on display are proof that designing and making quilts is not an accomplishment solely of women. Men were quilting professionally in England more than 200 years ago. Quilts constructed by English soldiers were prominently displayed during the 19th and early 20th centuries. In America there have undoubtedly been men who have quilted, but who gained no more recognition than did most of the anonymous women quilters through the years. With the resurgence of the quilt’s popularity since the 1970s, there has been greater notice of men who quilt. Partly because of the art quilt movement, where quilts are displayed on walls instead of hidden in bedrooms; partly because of the tools of the trade, long arm quilting machines, computer guided stitch controls, etc.; and partly because of the internet connecting people of like interests; quilting by men is becoming a small yet significant part of the quilting world.

Don Beld is from Los Angeles and is the founder of the Home of the Brave Quilt Project. He works almost exclusively with 19th Century reproduction fabrics. He is recognized as one of the nation’s experts on quilts made for Civil War soldiers. His quilt in this exhibit is a mosaic floor design adapted from St. Mark’s Duomo in Venice, Italy.

Rob Appell, owner of The Cotton Ball quilt shop in Morro Bay, will have three of his quilts in the exhibit, showcasing his varied interests in surfing, design, science, and protecting endangered species.

Ric Kajikawa, of Los Osos, will also have three quilts in the exhibit. As a retired math teacher, he has sought challenges in drafting and the use of color in his work.

Paul Brauckmann of Newbury Park was inspired to make his quilt “FRAZZLED” by his wife. He decided to take a quilting class taught by Carol Frye at the Cotton and Chocolate Quilt Company and anticipates designing and crafting more in the future.

Scott Godwin from Ventura has enjoyed entering quilts in the Ventura County Fair and two of his fair theme quilts will be on display.

Woody McWaters of Ventura has two of his quilts on display, a Christmas wall hanging and an optical illusion challenge with the title “Entwined”.

Roget Nguyen of Ventura has exhibited his art quilts at the Museum of Ventura County. A number of his innovative pieces will be on display.

Jerry Petersen, co-owner of Cotton and Chocolate Quilt Company, will have his first quilt on exhibit. The basket weave pattern of “The Ties That Bind” reminds him of family interconnections.

Kai Rogers is an eight year old who has just pieced his first quilt. It’s great to have his participation in this exhibit.

Who: Men Quilting! Quilts Made By Men
What: The 13th Annual Heritage Valley Festival of Quilts
Where: The California Oil Museum
When: Opening Reception October 16 at 1:30pm. Exhibit runs until February 5, 2012
Why: Because everyone loves quilts!

Contact: Linda Wilkinson, guest curator, at 525-2774 for more information.

The Museum may be contacted at:

California Oil Museum
1001 E. Main Street
Santa Paula, CA 93060
(805) 933-0076
jorcutt@spcity.org

Gregory Orfalea

THOUSAND OAKS, CA. - An award-winning author will discuss the Spanish missionary Junipero Serra’s complex relationships with women and American Indians in a two-part series Oct. 18 and Nov. 8 at California Lutheran University.

Gregory Orfalea, who teaches at Westmont College, will present “Serra’s Women: A Bilocating Nun, a Witch and a Sorceress” at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 18. He asserts that women such as Serra’s sister, guiding saints and an Indian sorceress played powerful roles in the life and times of the missionary.

The author will discuss “Serra and the Indians of California: A Hymn or a Horror?” at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8. Orfalea will show that Serra, as a latecomer to the colonial scene, brought a more complex mindset to his relationship with the California Indians than is commonly understood.

Orfalea, who has taught writing at CLU, has written eight books of fiction, nonfiction, poetry and memoir, including a 2010 collection of short stories titled “The Man Who Guarded the Bomb.” Scribner plans to release “Journey to the Sun: Junipero Serra and the Spanish Encounter with the California Indian” next year.

He has won awards for his writing, including grants from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and the California Arts Council, and has served as a judge for the PEN USA Award and the Arab American Book Award. He was a finalist for the 2010 PEN USA Award in creative nonfiction for “Angeleno Days: An Arab American Writer on Family, Place and Politics.”

Both talks will be held in Lundring Events Center, which is located in the Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center north of Olsen Road near Mountclef Boulevard on the Thousand Oaks campus.

CLU’s Artists and Speakers Committee is sponsoring the free presentations. For more information, contact Amanda Whealon at awhealon@callutheran.edu or 805-493-3918.

Camarillo, CA - The Art Program at CSU Channel Islands (CI) has announced an upcoming exhibition, “The Paper Bag Show” featuring a group of alumni artists at the CI Exhibitions Gallery located in Old Town Camarillo from Oct. 10 through Nov. 3. A free public reception will be held on Thursday, Oct. 13, from 6 to 8 p.m.

A group of recent Art alumni gathered at a local bar to discuss life and work after the spring semester ended. The bar served chips in a paper bag and as it would happen with any starving college student, the chips were gone in the blink of an eye. The paper bag soon began making its way around the table along with a pen, with each artist adding their own spin to it. Thus, “The Paper Bag Show” was born.

The guidelines were simple: use a brown paper bag in some way. This exhibition will feature the end results of one standard ingredient plus a summer to mull it over. Over 20 multi-talented artists will showcase their specialties, running the gamut from traditional painting and sculpture to graphic design and digital media.

The art gallery is located at 92 Palm Drive, Camarillo and is open and free to the public Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For additional information, contact the CI Art Program at 805-437-8863 or art@csuci.edu.

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.

Enlarge Photo

Enlarge Photo

Photographer Luther Gerlach will share how he uses the alchemy of the past to create his haunting, contemporary images, at the Museum of Ventura County on Sunday, October 16, from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. Gerlach will demonstrate how to make wet-plate collodion negatives and albumen prints from authentic mammoth glass plate cameras. He will also give a historical and technical overview of this early photographic process, which dates back to the mid 1800s.

Seating is limited to 60 people. Admission is $10, $5 for museum members, and includes entry to all museum galleries, including the exhibition In the Light of Blue: New Works by Luther Gerlach. For reservations call 805-653-0323 x 7.

Gerlach’s use of the wet-plate process and his collection of antique and artist-built mammoth glass plate cameras, reflect a love for what he calls “the truly handmade photographic image.”

Since 2006 Gerlach has given more than 125 on site demonstrations, lectures and workshops in wet plate collodion, albumen, platinum and photo gravure processes at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles and the Getty Villa in Malibu. He has instructed at Brooks Institute of Photography and at Art Center in Pasadena, as well as presenting lectures and demonstrations at the Natural History Museum in Santa Barbara, the University of California Santa Barbara, and Westmont College. His work is included in the collections of the Prague National Museum, the J. Paul Getty Museum, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, and President Barack and Michelle Obama, among others.

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. Admission is $4 adults, $3 seniors, $1 children 6-17, members and children under 6 are free. For more museum information go to www.venturamuseum.org or call 805-653-0323.

THOUSAND OAKS, CA - California Lutheran University students will present “The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged)” Oct. 13 through 16.

Performances of the zany romp through the Old and New Testaments will be at 8 p.m. Oct. 13, 14 and 15 and 2 p.m. Oct. 16 in the Black Box Studio Theatre.

Developed by The Reduced Shakespeare Company, the play features puns, silly songs and irreverent (but not blasphemous) humor. The production flies at breakneck speed and is sure to cause laughter of biblical proportions. The roller coast ride from fig leaves to final judgment tackles such great theological questions as “Did Adam and Eve have navels?,” “Did Moses really look like Charlton Heston?” and “Why isn’t the word phonetic spelled the way it sounds?” Adam Long, Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor wrote the play and Matthew Croke provided additional material.

Martin Gonzalez, a junior theatre arts major from Hesperia, is directing the production. The five-person cast, which portrays 62 characters, features the following: Will Cowles Meyer, a freshman from Spokane, Wash., who has not declared a major; Ally Crocker, a junior theatre arts major from San Diego; Bryana Gable, a junior music major from Fremont; Erik Groth, a junior music major from Newbury Park; and Cooper Smith, a freshman liberal studies major from Trabuco Canyon.

The Black Box Studio Theatre is located in the Theatre Arts Building on the north side of Memorial Parkway near Pioneer Avenue on the Thousand Oaks campus.

Admission is free. For more information, call the Theatre Arts Department at 805-493-3415.

Rosemary Radford Ruether

THOUSAND OAKS, CA - California Lutheran University is hosting a series of social justice events on Friday, Oct. 7, as part of a three-day, three-county conference.

“When the Bush Stops Burning: The Courage to Act for Justice” will provide participants with opportunities to learn about the intersection of faith and social justice, meet others who share their concerns and find the courage to take action.

The CLU events will begin at 9 a.m. with a presentation by members of the CLU Poetry Slam club in Samuelson Chapel.

Rosemary Radford Ruether, a groundbreaking figure in Christian feminist theology, will present “Social Justice as Integral to the Christian Gospel” at 9:30 a.m. A distinguished scholar, teacher and activist in the Catholic Church, she is the Carpenter Emerita Professor of Feminist Theology at Pacific School of Religion and the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, the Georgia Harkness Emerita Professor of Applied Theology at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Ill., and a visiting professor of feminist theology at Claremont School of Theology. Her many books include “Sexism and God-Talk: Toward a Feminist Theology.”

Joerg Rieger, the Wendland-Cook Endowed Professor of Constructive Theology in the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University, will speak at 11 a.m. on "Empire and Economics: The Difference a Faith Community Makes."

After lunch, activist theologian and writer Ched Myers of Oak View and other panelists will discuss what it means to be actively engaged in working toward justice within their communities. A biblical scholar and educator, Myers has been challenging Christians to engage in peace and justice work and radical discipleship for 30 years.

Participants can then choose from four breakout sessions featuring leaders from Bread for the World, Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE), the Abundant Table Farm Project and the World Hunger program of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) talking about their courage to act.

The other conference activities are on Oct. 8 at St. Cross Episcopal Church in Hermosa Beach and on Oct. 9 at Claremont United Methodist Church in Claremont and Irvine United Congregational Church. CLU, Bread for the World, Church Women United, CLUE - California, ELCA World Hunger and Thrivent Financial for Lutherans are sponsoring the events.

Registration for the CLU activities is $20, with a discounted rate of $15 for seniors. To register, go to http://couragetoact.wordpress.com. For more information, contact Donna Brown in Campus Ministries at 805-493-3228 or dsbrown@callutheran.edu.