VENTURA — Ventura Land Trust’s annual flagship event, the Wild & Scenic Film Festival, is making its return on Saturday, August 22nd. The 17th annual festival is being hosted in a new location this year – the Majestic Ventura Theater in Downtown Ventura. This year’s festival will feature an expanded lineup of films that includes a matinee showing and an evening showing of inspiring environmental and activism-focused films.
The festivities will feature two dozen community partner organizations hosting booths out on Chestnut Street in front of the Theater from 1:00 pm – 7:00 pm. The first film showing, a family-friendly matinee, will start at 2:00 pm, and a different lineup of films carefully curated by Ventura Land Trust’s film selection committee will be shown for the 7:00 pm event. Attendees can purchase a ticket to the matinee, the evening showing, or a double-feature ticket that provides access to both showings. The street festival will be completely free for the community to attend, and it will also offer fun kid-friendly activities hosted by educators from VLT’s Ventura Wild program, and educational displays about VLT preserves and their conservation.
An entirely online silent auction affiliated with the festival will go live at www.32auctions.com/26WSFF on Saturday, August 15, running through August 29. A fantastic lineup of more than 70 items will be available for bidding, with all proceeds from the auction and the festival supporting Ventura Land Trust’s work conserving natural open space throughout the region.
Leashless Brewing will host the VIP happy hour reception from 4:30-6:30 pm and will be pouring beer from Leashless and wine from Majestic Oak Vineyards. VIP guests will also dine on a hearty meal provided by Mothers Tacos. Music will be provided by local DJ Noah Thomas, playing under the moniker of Poetic Electric, spinning vinyl and shellac records from across the eras.
This is a family-friendly event and attendees are encouraged to ride their bikes to take advantage of the free bike valet hosted by Bike Ventura.
General admission tickets are priced at $40, with children’s tickets available for $5 and teen tickets (ages 13-17) at $10. For those seeking an elevated experience, VIP tickets are available for $125 and offer exclusive access to the VIP happy hour reception at Leashless Brewing, providing free beverage and food options as well as early entrance to the theater. Double feature tickets are also available for those interested in seeing all of the films being offered. Tickets and vendor details can be found at www.venturalandtrust.org/wild-scenic-film-festival
Beyond being VLT’s signature community event, the festival serves as a call to action and encourages attendees to learn more about what they can do to save our threatened planet. Your support through the Wild & Scenic Film Festival helps Ventura Land Trust restore habitat, build trails, plant trees, and clean up local rivers. Ventura Land Trust preserves are open daily for visitors to enjoy, and always for free.
About Ventura Land Trust
The mission of Ventura Land Trust is to permanently protect the land, water, wildlife and scenic beauty of the Ventura region for current and future generations. Founded in 2003, Ventura Land Trust believes that preserving open space and providing public access enhances the economy, quality of life, and public well-being of Ventura and surrounding communities. The organization currently owns and manages land along the Ventura River and in the Ventura hillsides, totaling just under 4,000 acres. The two largest, Ventura Hills Nature Preserve and Harmon Canyon Preserve, are open to the public daily from dawn to dusk for free. In addition to these major holdings, the Ventura Land Trust owns and stewards other smaller parcels across Ventura County. Ventura Land Trust received accreditation by the Land Trust Alliance in 2019, and re-accreditation in 2025. Learn more and become a member at www.venturalandtrust.org