Ventana Monthly

LOUD & QUEER July 19 | Ventura Loud & Queer is Get Loud Movement’s sixth annual queer performing arts showcase featuring a high caliber of talent in a beautiful, seated theater-style venue! This year, The Majestic Ventura Theater will be hosting us for the third time and bringing to life the powerful stories of over 20 creatives.

The Casa Pacifica Angels Wine, Food and Brew Festival took place at California State University, Channel Islands, on Sunday, June 1. In addition to the fine food and beverages available for attendees to sample, the event highlighted the exceptional skills of local chefs with the Yummie Culinary Competition.

Photos courtesy Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County More than 80 volunteers, sponsors, partner families and Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County (HFHVC) staff gathered at the Vista Campanario build site in Camarillo on June 14 for the annual Women Build 2025 event. The participants worked side by side to paint inside three of the eight housing units under construction.

By Nancy D. Lackey Shaffer The Ventura Village Carousel and Arcade at Ventura Harbor was a beloved institution for more than 20 years. Not the newest or most glitzy venue, it’s true, but a local favorite, and a reliable source of entertainment for kids. In addition to a variety of video games, it offered carnival-style treats like caramel apples and popcorn, homemade fudge and the pièce de résistance — a classic merry-go-round. Its closure in 2022 left a carousel-sized hole at the harbor.

By Nancy D. Lackey Shaffer | Photos by Viktor Budnik True to its name, Warbringer bourbon packs a punch. The rich, smoky and complex whiskey handcrafted by Oxnard’s Sespe Creek Distillery is a powerhouse of flavor, with hints of honey and spice against a solid backbone of mesquite. More campfire than caramel, with a smoldering finish that lingers long after the fire is gone. “Barbecue” is the word that usually comes to mind — and that’s by design.

By Alex Wilson | Photos by Viktor Budnik Alex Arriaga is lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist in the band Los Xiqueños and also writes songs inspired by living in Oxnard his whole life. “A lot of songs that I presented were involved in folk music, Americana, and I kind of gave it a traditional and Chicano culture twist to it,” Arriaga told Ventana Monthly.

By Alex Wilson Ojai’s Hotel El Roblar was built in the California Mission Revival style in 1919 by the same architects responsible for Ojai’s adjacent downtown arcade, pergola and U.S. Post Office, with its recognizable tower. Ojai’s founding father, Edward Libbey, hired Frank Mead and Richard Requa to redesign Downtown Ojai in a cohesive style following a 1917 wildfire that burned much of the rustic town.

By Mike Nelson Large, powerful and unexpected. That’s the definition of a rogue wave which, at 10:45 a.m. on December 28, 2023, became frighteningly real for those strolling along Ventura Beach and South Seaward Avenue. Within seconds, streets, buildings and people had been pummeled by the force of thousands of gallons of seawater, seaweed and sand. There were, thankfully, no deaths, though some suffered cuts and broken bones. But buildings in the way of the wave took a significant hit.

By Alison Bailin Batz Seeking to play on the beach this summer but craving something less familiar? Southern California has no lack of phenomenal coastal gems. Why not head south for a summertime holiday? The beach towns of Oceanside, Carlsbad and Coronado are just a short drive away from Ventura County — Oceanside, for example, is a mere three hours from Ventura via car — and offer stunning landscapes, luxurious accommodations and delicious dining options.

NEW ART CITY THEATRE FESTIVAL June 12-15 | Ventura Beginning June 12, New Art City Theatre presents four exciting new plays at the Museum of Ventura County. These bold, original projects were selected from a field of 258 submissions.