CANCELLED 51st Annual Galaxy of Gems Gem & Mineral Expo in Oxnard November 21-22, 2020

CANCELLED DUE TO PANDEMIC - NEXT YEAR!

The 51st Annual Galaxy of Gems Expo is planned for Saturday and Sunday, November 21-22, 2020 at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center, 800 Hobson Way, Oxnard. Hours are 10am to 5pm on Saturday and 10am to 4pm on Sunday. Free admission, parking and hourly door prizes! Visit www.oxnardgem.com for more information.

Great event to bring the kids to, with numerous displays and activities geared towards educating students about earth sciences.

Event features gems, minerals, fossils, jewelry, demonstrations, exhibits, dealers, silent auctions and kids' activities.

The Oxnard Gem & Mineral Society will be hosting about 50 display cases that will showcase the talents and artistic skills of members and guest exhibitors. Some of the displays and activities are directed towards teaching students about the earth sciences.

Activities throughout both days will include demonstrations of lapidary techniques, glass-bead making and wire wrapping. A silent auction will offer rock and mineral treasures.

On hand will be a select group of dealers with gems, minerals, fossils, stone beads, Idaho opals, silver craft, finished jewelry, tools, lapidary supplies and books about earth science and more.

Upcoming Events and Activities at the Camarillo Public Library

The City of Camarillo Public Library is located at 4101 Las Posas Road and is open Monday through Thursday from 10 am to 9 pm and Friday through Sunday 10 am to 5 pm. It can be reached at 805.388.5222. The library hosts year-round free activities and programs for the general public at www.camarillolibrary.org.

CANCELLED 46th Conejo Valley Home Remodeling Show on April 18-19, 2020 in Westlake Village

2021 event also cancelled.

The 46th Conejo Valley Home Remodeling Show, scheduled for April 18 and 19 at the Hyatt Regency in Westlake Village, has been cancelled due to COVID-19 (coronavirus). The fall home show is set to take place October 24 and 25, also at the Hyatt Regency.

Homeowners who are planning spring and summer projects around their house can talk with professionals for ideas and advice at the 46th Conejo Valley Home Remodeling Show.

Celebrating 25 years (shows are held twice a year), the event is Saturday and Sunday, April 18 and 19, at the Hyatt Regency Westlake (880 S. Westlake Blvd., Westlake Village) and is sponsored by The Folding Door Store.

New this year, the show will take place indoors, encompassing the Hyatt's entire first floor including foyer, Grand ballroom, Vista ballroom and Atrium area. Over 110 vendors will be on hand with information on everything from kitchen and bath remodeling to interior decorating to landscaping, pools and spas. As part of the 25-year celebration, the show will be giving away a $1,000 gift card to Lowe's. Gourmet food trucks will be at the show on Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., April 18. Food discounts at the hotel's Harvest Kitchen & Bar will be available to attendees both days.

Home Show hours: Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free passes are available online at www.conejovalleyhomeshow.com. Cost at the door: $4 per person. For more information, call 805-529-0760 or e-mail showkase9@gmail.com.

Santa Monica Mountains Recreation Area Programs in Ventura County

Free events and programs at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area locations in Ventura County and adjacent areas are highlighted below! (updated periodically to remove past activities). For additional details and other event locations, visit samofund.org/calendar.

Most activities subject to cancellation if there's significant rain.

7/24 8:30-10:30pm: The Moon in Action program at Paramount Ranch - Much like the sun during the day, the Moon is the dominant bright gem of the night sky. Join us at Paramount Ranch to learn about the surface features of the Moon and the influence it has on the Earth.

The program will start with a demonstration on how the Moon reflects sunlight and why we see the different phases. The demonstration will be followed by telescope and binocular viewings of the surface of the Moon, including interactive activities for children and families to learn about the surface features.

Sat TBA 8:30-10am - Birds of the Santa Monica Mountains Walk at King Gillette Ranch - Bring your binoculars, bird guide, and/or camera and join us for an easy bird walk around the grounds of King Gillette Ranch. This area attracts many songbirds, water birds, woodpeckers, and raptors and we are always treated to something interesting. Kids are welcome and the walk is less than a mile at a very easy pace as we stop often to observe the birds. We leave promptly at 8:30 from the flagpole. Heavy rain cancels (but I will be there for anyone who wants to walk in it!). See you there!

Santa Monica Mountains Interagency Visitor Center in Calabasas

King Gillette Ranch - View from near Inspiration Point

Satwiwa Native American Indian Culture Center in Newbury Park

Directions to various locations

Cheeseboro/Palo Comado Canyons: Ventura Fwy (101) to Chesebro Rd exit. Turn north on Palo Comado Canyon Rd then right on Chesebro Rd. Go north 1 mile to park entrance. Turn right and follow road to parking lot.

Circle X Ranch: Pacific Coast Hwy to Yerba Buena Rd. Turn inland; go 5.4 miles to Circle X Ranch contact station.

Sandstone Peak Trailhead: 1 mile north of Circle X Ranch contact station on Yerba Buena Rd. Parking lot is on left.

Mishe Mokwa Trailhead: 1.75 miles north of the Circle X contact station along Yerba Buena Road. Parking lot is on right.

King Gillette Ranch: Ventura Fwy (101) Exit Las Virgenes Rd. Go 3 miles south on Las Virgenes Rd to Mulholland Hwy intersection (traffic light). Turn left on Mulholland Hwy. Park entrance is 0.1 mile on right.

Malibu Creek State Park: Ventura Fwy (101) Exit Las Virgenes Rd. Go 3 miles south on Las Virgenes Rd to Mulholland Hwy intersection (traffic light). Park entrance is 0.25 mile south of the intersection on Las Virgenes Rd. From Pacific Coast Hwy: north on Malibu Canyon Rd to park entrance on left.

Paramount Ranch: Ventura Fwy (101) to Kanan Rd exit. South on Kanan 0.5 mile. Left on Cornell Way and veer to right. South 2.5 miles, entrance is on right side of the road.

Peter Strauss Ranch is located at 30000 Mulholland Highway, Agoura Hills.

Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa: Ventura Fwy (101) to Lynn Rd exit. South on Lynn Rd 5.25 miles to Via Goleta. Park entrance is on the left at Via Goleta. Continue all the way to a parking lot where the road ends. To get to the Satwiwa Native American Indian Culture Center, walk 0.3 mile up gravel road from the parking area to brown wooden building. 

Wendy Trailhead: Ventura Fwy (101) to Wendy Dr. exit. South on Wendy Dr to dirt pullout at intersection with Potrero Rd.

Santa Monica Mountains Interagency Visitor Center at King Gillette Ranch: From Ventura Fwy (101): Exit Las Virgenes Rd. Go 3 miles south on Las Virgenes Rd to Mulholland Hwy intersection (traffic light). Turn left on Mulholland Hwy. Go 0.1 mile and turn right into entrance of King Gillette Ranch. The visitor center is the first building on your right. 26867 Mulholland Highway, Calabasas.

Fall Open House at Camarillo Bird Museum on Saturday, October 12, 2019

THE WESTERN FOUNDATION OF VERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY, a.k.a, “THE CAMARILLO BIRD MUSEUM” INVITES YOU TO ITS 17th Annual Fall Open House!

The Museum will be open on Saturday, October 12, 2019 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for a rare opportunity to tour the Foundation’s extensive bird, nest, and egg collections!

Guest Appearance: Ojai Raptor Center's Live Birds of Prey

Raptors of Southern California & Behind the Scenes of the WFVZ

Chumash Storyteller Alan "Spirit Hawk" Salazar

Silent Auction, Arts & Crafts, Short films, and Raffles

Gift items will be available for purchase.

Admission is $5.00 per person. Free for kids 5 and under. Free for members!

439 Calle San Pablo, Camarillo www.wfvz.org 

Directions:  From south of Camarillo, take Hwy 101 to the Pleasant Valley/Santa Rosa Rd. off-ramp, and turn left at the end of the off-ramp, going back over the freeway. Follow Pleasant Valley west for 2 miles to where it crosses Lewis Road. Continue heading west on Pleasant Valley to the second street on the right, Calle San Pablo.  (If you cross the railroad tracks, you have gone too far.) Turn right on Calle San Pablo. The Foundation is the fifth building up on the left (439 Calle San Pablo).

From north of Camarillo, take Hwy 101 south to the Las Posas Rd. off-ramp, and turn right at the end of the off-ramp. Follow Las Posas for 0.8 miles to the intersection with Pleasant Valley Rd. Turn left onto Pleasant Valley, and follow it east for 1.6 miles to where it crosses the railroad tracks and comes to a stop sign. Be careful of traffic crossing at this intersection, since it does not stop. Proceed east after the stop sign to the first left -- Calle San Pablo. Turn left here.  The Foundation is the fifth building up on the left (439 Calle San Pablo).

30th Annual United Way of Ventura County Day of Caring on Saturday, September 28th

United Way of Ventura County invites the community to participate in its 30th Annual Day of Caring to take place on Saturday, September 28, 2019 from 9am to noon. This event will bring together teams and individual volunteers to help nonprofit organizations in the community with a variety of tasks. Volunteer projects are available in cities throughout Ventura County.

United Way is seeking volunteers to help community organizations across Ventura County. Day of Caring will be a fun, free and easy way for individuals, families and teams to work together and create real change in the community.

In 2018, over 550 individuals, families and teams volunteered at 29 project sites.

Some of the volunteer projects will include leading arts and crafts activities for children, painting and freshening up community centers, creating a garden of hope for cancer patients, sorting food at food banks and pantries and more!

Volunteers will receive a Day of Caring T-shirt for their participation. To register as a volunteer and to view full descriptions of the available Day of Caring projects, visit vcunitedway.org/day-of-caring.

Shelter Hope Pet Shop and Thousand Oaks Toyota Host Heart Warming Adoption Event on April 27th

Shelter Hope Pet Shop teams up with Thousand Oaks Toyota to give back to First Responders

This is the opportunity you’ve been waiting for. Shelter Hope Pet Shop and Thousand Oaks Toyota are teaming up to bring our community a Heart Warming Adoption event! Thousand Oaks Toyota, Celebrating 50th Anniversary and Counting, has generously offered to cover the adoption fees for First Responders who are looking to rescue a Shelter Hope Pet Shop doggie! First responders, including; Fire Department, Sheriff Department, Doctors, Nurses, and Police Department members. The group members can select or register to adopt an adoptable pet looking for a forever home and Thousand Oaks Toyota will pay the adoption fee.

Local residents are also invited to come out and take home their future family member, and help find forever homes for local shelter doggies. This amazing Adoption and Sales Event will be held on Saturday, April 27 from 12 NOON to 5 p.m. at Thousand Oaks Toyota, located at 2401 Thousand Oaks Blvd. Thousand Oaks.

During the event, Shelter Hope Pet Shop will be working with their volunteers to place available doggies with their forever families.

• Shelter Hope Pet Shop, will host a 5 star silent auction and have lots of doggies available for adoption.

• Camp Bow Wow, a doggie daycare and boarding facility located in Agoura Hills will be offering giveaways.

• Pet Food Express, a dog food and pet supply shop, will be there giving away tokens for a free dog wash at their Thousand Oaks, location.

Thousand Oaks Toyota will offer:

• Special Lease Incentives

• Special Purchase Incentives

• Additional Sales Personnel and Appraisers on site for this huge event

• Up to $500.00 Target Gift Card for Taking a Test Drive.

• Thousand Oaks Toyota will buy your vehicle, whether or not you buy a vehicle from TOT, for up to 110% of Kelly Blue Book

• BBQ

About Shelter of Hope

The Shelter Hope Pet Shop is in a storefront space, at Janss Marketplace, located off the Moorpark exit on the 101 Freeway at the intersection of Moorpark Road and Hillcrest Drive in Thousand Oaks. The shopping center has provided the free space to the non-profit animal rescue organization for eight years. Shelter Hope Pet Shop has rescued and placed over 6,000 dogs in their forever loving home. They provide a fun, friendly place where visitors and volunteers can meet and interact with animals needing adoption. Shelter Hope Pet Shop also sells pet merchandise with all proceeds helping save the lives of homeless pets.

“During this time of healing in Thousand Oaks it was very generous of Toyota to do an event like this, we are grateful for our community and appreciate all the support, we know that dogs can heal humans and are willing to help us right now” said Kim Sill, founder of Shelter Hope Pet Shop.

Shelter Hope Pet Shop is open on Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. and on Sunday from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. at Janss Marketplace. For more information about Shelter of Hope call 805.379.3538 or visit www.shelterhopepetshop.org. Or follow us at #shelterhope_petshop

About Thousand Oaks Toyota

Where Car Buying Experiences Meet Exceptional Customer Service Expectations In the market for your next vehicle? Ready to consider different finance options, service offerings and automotive part orders? For a professional experience centered on transparency and established trust, choose Thousand Oaks Toyota for an upcoming dealership visit. Our team values professionalism and a customer-first approach above all else, ensuring that each moment you spend on our showroom floor and at our dealer location proves both memorable, rewarding and successful. “Thousand Oaks Toyota and I have always been dog friendly, and want to make sure that the community of first responders can benefit by having the healing love of a companion pet. We know the value of having them as family and want to help our first responders by giving them a pet to love.” said, owner of Thousand Oaks Toyota, Anita Brodecky.

City of Thousand Oaks Annual Public Works Week Open House on May 21-22, 2019

Public Works Week is an open house event to educate the Conejo Valley and surrounding cities’ youth and adults on how Public Works provides service to the community. The two-day event will include demonstrations on tree maintenance, graffiti removal, street repair, water conservation, recycling, bicycle safety, water operations, and wastewater collection. Highlights include a bus ride through the car wash in a Compressed Natural Gas bus and demonstrations of the landscape aerial lift.

The two-day open house will be held on May 21-22, 2019, at the Municipal Service Center, located at 1993 Rancho Conejo Boulevard. Individual and group tours may be scheduled between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. each day. To reserve a tour, visit www.toaks.org/pww.

Celebrate the 5th Birthday of Ira the African Lion at Moorpark Teaching Zoo on Feb 2, 2019

Enjoy celebrating the 5th birthday of African Lion “Ira" at American's Teaching Zoo at Moorpark College on Saturday, February 2, 2019. Guests of this party will sing “Happy Birthday” to IRA as he claws and bites into his presents at 1pm. All party guests will get a piece of birthday cake and kids can make crowns to wear for this royal event! Adults $8, children and seniors $6, under 2 free. Hours are 11am to 5pm. Check or cash only. zoo.moorparkcollege.edu/events

Electric Car Show at Channel Island Harbor's Harbor View Park on Sunday, September 9, 2018

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.