Fruit, Vegetable and Other Food, Beer and Wine Festivals In and Around Ventura County

According to the California Department of Food & Agriculture, in 2021, California’s 69,000 farms and ranches generated $51.1 billion in revenue and was the largest producer of commodities in the country, producing 11.8% of the U.S. total. The top ten commodities in the state in 2021 were dairy products, grapes, almonds, cattle, pistachios, lettuce, tomatoes, walnuts, rice and chi

Ventura County ranks 26th out of 58 California counties in geographic size but in 2021 ranked 10th overall in terms of agricultural output, producing nearly $2 billion worth of strawberries, lemons, horiculture, raspberries and other commodities.

All that produce grown in Ventura County (as well as Santa Barbara County) and the hard work that goes into it must explain why we have so many nearby food related festivals and celebrations year-round! Specific dates each year are posted in the Local Events and Events Calendar sections of the site but here's a compilation for you to, ahem, digest. We also opted to include beer, wine and other long-standing festivals for your imbibing pleasure.

The Rotary Club of Thousand Oaks Chili Cook-Off is in the late April to early May time frame each year. It is a charitable fundraiser that has taken place since 1977.

The California Strawberry Festival takes place on the 3rd weekend of May each year. This popular event has taken place since 1984. Up until 2020 the event took place in Oxnard. For the first time in 2023, the festival moved to the Ventura County Fairgrounds.

The Soroptimist International of the Conejo hosts an annual "Margarita Mixoff" event in Thousand Oaks. For many years, the event took place in May. Since 2021, including the 21st annual event in 2023, the event has taken place in September.

The Ojai Wine Festival takes place in the June time frame at Lake Casitas has been around since 1987. They say over 5,000 people attend the event! The 35th annual event will take place in June 2023.

The Knights of Columbus of Simi Valley has been hosting an Annual Chili Cook-Off and Car Show since 1988. The 35th annual event is planned for June 2023.

The Casa Pacifica Angels Wine & Food Festival benefits Casa Pacifica Centers for Children and Families and has been running since 1994. Currently takes place in early June.

The Conejo Food & Wine Fest premiered in 2010 and takes place in Thousand Oaks in the June time frame.

The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History has hosted the Santa Barbara Wine Festival in the June time frame each year since 1988.

The Oxnard Salsa Festival has taken place each summer (currently July) since 1994 (except for 2020-2022 due to the pandemic). It will be back in July 2023.

Since 1988, the Meadowlark Service League has been hosting A Taste of Camarillo Wine & Food Festival. The event currently takes place in late July - the 36th annual event is July 30, 2023.

The California Wine Festival in Santa Barbara in July marks 2004 as its first year.

The Port of Hueneme Banana Festival took place for the first time in 2012 and its 10th annual (2020-2021 were pandemic years) event is planned for the last Saturday of September 2022.

The Calabasas Pumpkin Festival takes place in October. There is a small admission charge.

The California Avocado Festival in Carpinteria goes back to 1987 and claims to be the largest free festival on the west coast. It currently takes place the first full weekend of October.

The Santa Barbara Harbor & Seafood Festival originated in 2001 and offers live lobster, crab, prawns, BBQ albacore, clam chowder, fish tacos, seafood gumbo and other prepared dishes in the October time frame.

The California Lemon Festival also takes place in October in Goleta. Free admission. This one has been around since 1992.

The Oxnard Tamale Festival takes place in the early December time frame each year. It began in 2008. The 2023 event is planned for December 2nd.

List obviously subject to change! Contact us for additions. The list is meant to include recurring, annual events, not one-time events, that focus primarily on food and/or drinks.

Veterans Plaza at Rancho Tapo Community Park in Simi Valley

Rancho Tapo Community Park is located at 3700 Avenida Simi in Simi Valley. At the southeast end of the park is Veterans Plaza, a memorial area that opened in November 2002 to commemorate U.S. veterans. The Plaza includes a grass amphitheater area, a ceremonial area with descriptions of American wars going back to the Revolutionary War and an adjacent pond and fountain.

Free Admission Days at Museums in Ventura County and Adjacent Areas

The "Do Something" section of Conejo Valley Guide highlights over 250 things to do throughout Ventura County and surrounding areas, including over four dozen museums. Let's take a closer look at the museums on the list that offer free admission days.

The information below of course is subject to change, so be sure to contact the museums first to confirm.

Conejo Valley, Simi Valley, Moorpark

Admission to the Conejo Valley Art Museum is free year-round.

There is no admission charge at the Skateboarding Hall of Fame and Museum that opened at the Simi Valley Town Center in December 2018 (massive collection of vintage skateboards and skating artifacts). Open (as of January 2019) Thursday/Friday 2-9PM, Saturday 10AM-9PM and Sunday 11AM-7PM.

The Santa Susana Depot and Museum in Simi Valley is open to the public on weekends, free of charge.

Ventura, Camarillo, Oxnard, Port Hueneme

Historic Dudley House Museum in Ventura is open the 1st Sunday of the month most of the year and admission is free (donations encouraged).

Robert J. Lagomarsino Visitor Center at Channel Islands National Park located at the Ventura Harbor is open year-round free of admission.

Channel Islands Maritime Museum offers free admission on the 3rd Thursday of each month.

U.S. Navy Seabee Museum in Port Hueneme offers year-round free admission.

Free admission at the Museum of Ventura County in Downtown Ventura the 1st Sunday of the month. (ADMISSION FREE EVERY DAY IN 2023)

Free First Saturdays from 11am to 4pm at Studio Channel Islands Art Center in Old Town Camarillo.

There is no admission charge at the Pleasant Valley Historical Museum and Botanical Garden in Camarillo. Open weekends. (NOTE AS OF APRIL 2023 THE MUSEUM IS STILL CLOSED AS IT IS BEING EXPANDED)

There is no charge for looking through the windows into the A.J. Comstock Fire Museum in the Figueroa Street Mall in Downtown Ventura.

Ojai, Santa Paula, Fillmore

Ojai Valley Museum currently offers free admission the 3rd Friday of each month from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Museum of Ventura County’s Agriculture Museum in Santa Paula offers free admission on the 1st Sunday of the month (ADMISSION FREE EVERY DAY IN 2023)

Santa Paula Art Museum offers free admission on the 1st Sunday of the month.

Aviation Museum of Santa Paula is open the 1st Sunday of each month with no admission charge.

California Oil Museum in Fillmore is free admission year-round, though there is a suggested donation of $4.(CURRENTLY CLOSED AS OF APRIL 2023 BUT IS CURRENTLY “RE-ENERGIZING”)

Santa Barbara

Admission is free year-round at the Reagan Ranch Center Exhibit Galleries in Santa Barbara on State Street in front of the Amtrak Station.

Santa Barbara Historical Museum offers free admission year-round; donations are welcomed.

Free Family Days at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History on the third Sunday of January, February, March, April, September, October, November, and December. 

Other Areas

Nethercutt Museum in Sylmar offers free admission year-round to its showcase of vintage cars.

Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles offers free year-round admission.

Kidspace Kids Museum in Pasadena offers Free Family Night from 4pm to 8pm the 1st Tuesday of each month, except September.

The Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades is free of charge year-round.

California ScienCenter in Exposition Park is free admission year-round.

Bank of America offers free admission to over 150 museums around the country the first full weekend of each month.

1956 Rolls Royce Phantom Saloon at Nethercutt Automotive Museum.

You like FREE!? Click here for hundreds of other free activities and things in and around Ventura County!

The City of Thousand Oaks Announces "Trek & Brek" Pilot Program for Local Residents

The City of Thousand Oaks has announced a new program to encourage use of our beautiful open space. "Trek & Brek" offers residents who hike to designated pilot locations the opportunity to purchase some of their breakfast favorites.

Program Manager Stu Pidman remarked, "how many times have you trekked up Tarantula Hill, only to be distracted by the desire for a Venti Caramel Latte when you reach the top?" Now you can enjoy the view with a selected fresh brew.

Residents polled indicated a Jack in the Box breakfast is the ultimate incentive for strolling down the Mesa Trail. "What better way to burn off calories en route to Lizard Rock?" says 11 year resident Ivana Eeet. "Frankly I don't enjoy hiking, but knowing a Breakfast Jack is in my immediate future really gets me going."

Sally Fritter and her daughter Apple were the first duo to test the new Krispy Kreme vending machine on the Hill Canyon Trail in Thousand Oaks. Though in the initial pilot they tossed their glazed Krispy Kremes into the Arroyo Conejo after a swarm of bees came after the donuts, they enjoyed the fresh air.

Learn more at www.trekandbrek.com.

The Chumash House at Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa and Other Conejo Valley Locations

The Chumash home, or 'Ap, at Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa in June 2017 (it was subsequently taken down and rebuilt (see video below). unfortunately the newly built one also came down since then.

In front of the Satwiwa Native American Indian Culture Center in Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa in Newbury Park is a replica Chumash home called an 'ap. An 'ap is shaped like half an orange and is made by setting willow poles in the ground in a circle, bending them into shape at the top to form a dome.

What is obviously missing from the 'ap above is the outer, vertical layers, cattails laid out like shingles. The 'aps in the Chumash Indian Village at the Chumash Indian Museum in Thousand Oaks display what those look like, as does the video below from June 2020 showing the rebuilt Satwiwa ‘ap.

'Aps at Chumash Indian Museum's demonstration village. These were destroyed by the Woolsey Fire of 2018 but will be rebuilt.

Oakbrook Regional Park in March 2023 with two rebuilt ‘aps.

There is a hole at the top of the 'ap to allow for air circulation that was covered with an animal skin when it was raining.

The 'ap at Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa in June 2017. I spoke with the ranger about this 'ap, which is quite past its prime and has become misshapen. At some point what the Chumash do, when an 'ap is no longer of use and needs to be re-built, is take the willow poles down and burn them in a ceremony.

Funny that many folks, my kids included, wonder why the Chumash did not live in teepees (or tipis). Teepees are cone-shaped tents made of animal skins on wooden poles that were used primarily by Native Americans in the Great Plains section of the U.S. (Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota and portions of other prairie states). The Chumash did not live in teepees. 

There is also a Chumash 'ap on display as part of a Chumash Village exhibit at the Stagecoach Inn Museum in Newbury Park.

The teepee structure at Wildwood Park in Thousand Oaks is fun to hike to and sit under but is not something the Chumash Indians would ever have lived in.

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An informational sign describing an ‘ap anis (village) at Oakbrook Regional Park in March 2023.

The Beach Boys 1991 "Crocodile Rock" Music Video Filmed at Golf N' Stuff Ventura

"Crocodile Rock" was written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin and become Elton John's first U.S. number one single in February 1973. Eighteen years later, the Beach Boys recorded the song. Funny thing is that our own Golf N' Stuff in Ventura is featured in this kind of silly music video released in 1991.

Roughly half the video features familiar scenes from Golf N' Stuff, including several of the more prominent holes and structures as well as the bumper boats. Yes, the Beach Boys are featured on the bumper boats in their fedoras at Golf N' Stuff, along an offbeat display of scenes featuring a crocodile on the piano admired by a woman in a pink bikini, brief glimpses of Randy's Donuts and a cameo appearance by John Stamos.

Golf N' Stuff is often part of our family outings in Ventura County. Sign up for their email club and receive periodic special offers. Golf N' Stuff is among over 100 venues on this compilation of birthday party options in and around Ventura County.

The Corriganville Movie Ranch Site in Simi Valley is a Ventura County Historical Landmark

The Corriganville Movie Ranch Site in Simi Valley was designated a historical point of interest by the Ventura County Cultural Heritage Board in January 1982, then subsequently was redesignated as a historical landmark in August 1995.

Corriganville was a 1,500 acre piece of land in Simi Valley purchased by western film star Ray “Crash” Corrigan in 1937. The site was a working movie ranch for nearly three decades, and was used in the making of roughly 3,500 western films and television series such as Fort Apache, The Lone Ranger, and The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin. Actors like John Wayne, Gene Autry, Johnny Weissmuller, Tex Ritter, Joel McCrea, Dale Evans and so many others filmed movies here.

Corriganville today...the ranch burned down in the 1970s, leaving just these cement slabs and exterior walls.

In 1949, the ranch opened to the public as “Corriganville,” a western themed amusement park. The ranch was later purchased by Bob Hope in 1965, deeming the ranch its alternative name, Hopetown. The ranch burned down in the 1970s and all that is left are the cement slabs and exterior rock walls of the barn. 

View of Corriganville Park from a trail on the east side of the park. The trail takes you up to 118 Freeway and a wildlife corridor tunnel that takes you under the freeway into Rocky Peak Park.

In 1988, 190 acres of the original ranch was purchased by the City of Simi Valley and is now owned and managed by the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District. Corriganville Park is located at 1601 Kuehner Drive, Simi Valley and is open to the public for hiking, walking and exploring. For a detailed compilation of historical aspects of the site, visit www.corriganville.net.

A photo of the Corriganville Movie Ranch when it was an active movie set. Learn more about Corriganville and see a model of what it looked like in the 1960s at the nearby Santa Susana Depot Museum.