The book by Mario T. García, a distinguished professor of Chicano/a studies and of history, is the first comprehensive text on Rupert García’s life and art.
Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors’ meetings are available in Spanish. Watch live on our Spanish YouTube Channel, or Cable TV subscribers can access Secondary Audio Programming (SAP) in language settings.
Advance requests are still needed to interpret public comment originating in Spanish. To provide public comment in Spanish, contact the Clerk of the Board at (805) 568-2240, before 4:00 p.m. the Friday before the Board meeting.
We’re thrilled to share that the Community Song Circle is officially SOLD OUT!
Thank you to everyone who RSVP’d — we’re so inspired by the enthusiasm for this gathering of music, connection, and shared expression.The Community Song Circle, part of our Embodied Arts Workshop Series, brings people together to raise their voices in celebration of community, nature, and our shared humanity. Santa Barbara–based community song leader Heather Stevenson has been leading song circles since 2019, creating inclusive spaces where participants feel uplifted, inspired, and soothed. In this workshop, you’ll learn short, meaningful songs taught by ear. No experience or ability to read music is required. Each song highlights our connection to the Earth and the natural world, fostering community, peace, joy, and healing.
Researchers have mapped out methods for assessing its societal benefits, an effort that could lead to more effective uses of remote sensing technology while increasing benefits to people at large.
SANTA BARBARA — Financial Aid Offices from across Santa Barbara (including Santa Barbara City College, UC Santa Barbara and Westmont College) will participate in a hands-on event to help local students and their families complete their FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Financial Aid) or CADAA (California Dream Act Application). SBCC’s Financial Aid Fest will be held Wednesday, Feb. 25, at SBCC’s East Cliff Campus (details below).
OXNARD — Opening night for Amorodio is almost here and we’d love for you to join us! Your support means the world to us, and we can’t wait to share this special moment with you!
Warm regards,
Teatro De Las Americas
This Valentine’s Day, nine communities are gathering at local overpasses to peacefully declare their support for their immigrant neighbors, for democracy, and for the just America our country has the potential to be.
All events start at 11:00 am. Bring your signs and flags! Meet your neighbors and make new friends.
Here are the nine locations. (This post’s listed address is just for the Ventura site, as Mobilize only allows one location per post.)
Please join us February 13, from 5:30–7:30 PM for the opening reception of Pages to Posters: The Visual Worlds of Simms Taback.
The campus ranks first among U.S. public universities, third among all U.S. institutions and seventh worldwide for scientific impact.
In the new year, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art offers a sweeping look at how artists engage with time. Works grounded in personal histories, inherited traditions, and collective memory speak to the past while giving us new ways to access it in the present. Contemporary materials and lived experience illuminate the world as it is now, yet they also open space for reflection and reinterpretation. Digital experimentation and visionary forms gesture toward the future, and at the same time expand how we record, memorialize, and remember. Seen together, these exhibitions reveal art as a continuum—one in which past, present, and future coexist, overlap, and remain vividly alive today.
“In today’s environment, it’s a community win that our writing and work in Chicano literature is recognized at this level,” said Arce, who will formally receive the award Thursday, Feb. 4.
Read more about Arce’s writing
Last year reaffirmed what we’ve always known: lasting change is built together and it’s powered by community support.
Across the Central Coast in 2025, working-class immigrant communities organized to defend our neighborhoods and strengthen our shared power. Through conversations at the doors and on the phones, in community meetings and rallies in the streets, neighbors stepped forward as organizers and advocates, winning real protections for affordable housing, environmental health, and immigrant workers.
Our 2025 Community Report shows what our collective power made possible.
Ventura County’s entertainment, wellness and retail selection expand through new partnerships
OXNARD — The Collection at Riverpark announces the addition of six new tenants, bringing the premier lifestyle destination to a 95% leased occupancy rate. The new additions reflect The Collection’s continued commitment to blending shopping, dining, entertainment and wellness into an environment that embodies the Southern California lifestyle.
Now Open:
On view now through March 8, 2026
Sponsored by Brokaw Ranch Company
Art About Agriculture was founded in 2007 by Santa Paula photographer John Nichols and painter Gail Pidduck. Growing up on a ranch in Santa Paula and spending her college summers working in Oxnard’s flower fields, Pidduck has long understood how deeply agriculture has shaped both the landscape and way of life in California and Ventura County.
VENTURA — Spectrum Sports Management Inc., a recognized leader in endurance and sporting events in Southern California, has announced the expansion of its popular “rules of the road” bike tour with the launch of Bike the Coast Ventura.
FREE ADMISSION IN FEBRUARY
Thanks to the generous support of Ventura County Credit Union, admission to the Museum of Ventura County is FREE for all visitors in February. This support helps the Museum welcome more visitors to experience Ventura County’s history, art, and cultural heritage.
February always feels extra special at the Santa Paula Art Museum. It’s our anniversary month, and the Museum is turning sweet 16. Love takes many forms, and this month’s programs invite you to fall in love with art, creativity, and community. Scroll down to learn more.
(If you’re looking for a unique way to celebrate Valentine’s Day, we recommend our one-day ceramics workshops on February 13 and 14. They’re fun to share with a friend or partner!)
The County of Ventura Celebrates Black History Month
February is Black History Month. Throughout the month the County of Ventura will observe this important time by recognizing the history, culture, and lasting contributions of Black individuals and communities.
Black History Month provides an opportunity to acknowledge the experiences and achievements that have helped shape our shared history and continue to influence our communities today.
The English professor discusses how AI judgement, good or bad, can reflect knowledge and social values when implemented in our personal, work and public life.
VENTURA — United Way of Ventura County’s Women United Education Awards Luncheon will once again be honoring single mothers who are pursuing their education. In 2024-25, Women United presented 11 education awards to local single mothers pursuing their education and has given out 91 awards since 2018.
Sixty-four percent of single mothers in Ventura County do not earn sufficient income to meet their basic needs and a critical component is Education.
LOMPOC — Lompoc celebrates its culture, creativity, and history through a year-round lineup of festivals and events. From food-focused gatherings and historic home tours to arts festivals, aviation showcases, wine weekends, and living-history programs at La Purísima Mission, the city offers something for every interest and season. Here are some events to look forward to in 2026:
MCASB is committed to transforming what a contemporary art museum can be, a place where community knowledge, embodied experience, and creative practice are not only welcomed but centered. As a part of our ongoing accountability work, we are opening the museum as a space for practices that nurture well-being, presence, and collective care.
The growing border between forested and urban areas is causing an alarming uptick in human cases of yellow fever, a disease that had become rare in South America.
PORT HUENEME — The Port of Hueneme recently helped kick off an exciting new robotics season at Hueneme High School, joining students, educators, and families for the school’s FIRST Robotics Competition season launch: a celebration of innovation, teamwork, and hands-on STEM learning.
The Port is proud to sponsor Hueneme High School’s robotics team, the Thunder Vikes, as they prepare to compete in this year’s FIRST Robotics season. The sponsorship reflects the Port’s ongoing commitment to expanding STEM opportunities and building strong career pathways for local students.
During the kickoff event, Port Commissioners Mary Anne Rooney and Celina Zacarias together with CEO Kristin Decas presented the Port’s sponsorship check to the team, officially launching the partnership and underscoring the Port’s investment in education and workforce development.
OXNARD — Ventura County gathers in unity. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Committee of Ventura County invites you to the 40th Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Observance, held in person on Monday, Jan. 19, 2026 in Oxnard.
Theme:
A Living Legacy: Cultivating Compassion and Justice in Ventura County
SANTA MARIA — A community-led action brought together grassroots organizers, rapid response volunteers, youth leaders, and musicians to stand in solidarity against ongoing immigration enforcement violence across the Central Coast during the ICE OUT 805 Solidarity Concert/March on Jan. 15, 2025 in Santa Maria, representatives of the 805UNDOCFUND reported on their Facebook page.
Led by those carrying a banner that read “ICE OUT OF CALIFORNIA” the protesters marched down the residential streets in Santa Maria calling for the end of ICE activities in the region.
THOUSAND OAKS — TOArts has appointed Victor Fakrogha, Aerin LeDuc-Gummeson, and Dr. Michael Hart to its Board of Directors, expanding the organization’s leadership with expertise spanning finance, arts advocacy, and higher education. The appointment reflects TOArts’ continued commitment to strengthening arts access, community engagement, and long-term organizational impact across the region.
• Business Leader of the Year – Nick Deitch, R.A., Principal, RRM Design Group
• Educational Leader of the Year – Dr. Cynthia Herrera, Vice Chancellor of Institutional Effectiveness, Ventura County Community College District
• Non-Profit Leader of the Year – Robin Britt (Cohort XXIV), Executive Director, Community Conscience
• Public Sector Leader of the Year – Mark Stadler (Cohort XXVII), Sr. Program Administrator, Crisis Intervention Training Program, Ventura County Sheriff’s Office
• Alumna of the Year – Danielle Borja (Cohort XXIV), President/CEO, Greater Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce
Humidity worsens the impacts of heat exposure during pregnancy, quadrupling its effect on child health. By focusing on temperature only, we may be underestimating the true impacts of extreme weather.
Vision Board Workshop
With: Adriana Castro
Free workshop.
All materials included.
Saturday, January 17, 2026
From 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Teatro de las Américas
321 W. 6th Street, Oxnard, CA
SANTA BARBARA — The Music Academy of the West proudly announces its 2026 Board officers and welcomes six members of the community to the board. This remarkable group will help grow the Music Academy’s mission to provide musicians and audiences alike with transformative music experiences through public performances and community programs. Board officers and members began their terms on January 1, 2026, and September 16, 2025, respectively.
Welcoming Returning Board Officers
We take great pride in announcing the Music Academy’s 2026 Board officers, now in their second year of service, whose guidance will help the Music Academy’s future. With their deep commitment to music education, they bring a wealth of expertise and a shared passion for the arts:
“Our financial assistance program ensures everyone has access to after-school care, swim lessons, youth programming and facility memberships regardless of income status,” says Ronnie Stone, Southeast Ventura County YMCA president and CEO. “From these foundational YMCA programs to our community outreach, we remain dedicated to changing lives and fostering growth in every generation we serve.”
While searching for exoplanets, scientists observe the first-ever impacts between large objects in a nearby star system.
Read more about the discovery
Scientists overcame storms and bureaucratic setbacks to investigate the ocean’s carbon cycle, revealing more about how tiny organic particles, known as marine snow, transport carbon.
The beginning of a new year is the perfect time for something new! Throughout January, enjoy FREE admission for all at the Museum of Ventura County. Join us to explore, reflect, and connect.
Open Thursday to Sunday
11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
100 East Main Street, Ventura
Free admission is made possible by the generous support of Bill and Elise Kearney.
Amigos805 does not accept any illustrations, photos or other images and written material that are in violation of copyright law. Individuals and organizations may be required to provide proof of such copyright authorization. Otherwise, please provide only website links to your upcoming events.
