150th CELEBRATION ANNOUNCEMENTS

State of the County

Ventura County 2023

Thursday, November 2

4:30 – 8:30 pm

@Reagan Presidential Library

Don’t miss the 2023 State of the County celebrating the County’s 150^th Anniversary! Keynote speaker and County Executive Officer Dr. Sevet Johnson will share an update and unforgettable message followed by a networking reception under Air Force One. This in-person event is SOLD OUT, however Free Livestream will be available HERE and on the County of Ventura’s Facebook page. Mark your calendars and join us online!

Pop-Up at Thousand Oaks

opening of Ventura County:

The Place We Call Home – a Community Experience.

Saturday, November 11

2:30 pm – 4:30 pm

@Thousand Oaks

2100 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks

Stop by the Thousand Oaks opening of the VenturaCounty: The Place We Call Home – a Community Experience. Enjoy museum games, prize giveaways, and a photo booth with props and commemorative photos! Our community partner will offer STEAM projects created by Little Unicorns and Rainbow Umbrella youth and is hosted by the Diversity Collective.

The opening features special performances, poetry readings by outgoing and incoming County Youth Poet Laureates, curator-led experience tour, history trivia games, and refreshments. Click HERE for more information.

Oral History Symposium Ventura – Our Collective Memory

November 14, 16 & 18

@Ventura College Guthrie Hall

4667 Telegraph Rd., Ventura

Join Ventura College and the Ventura College Foundation as student historians, faculty, and special guest speakers present an oral history of our beautiful and fascinating county. Take a walk down memory lane, learn about culture, politics, development of the land, and our agriculture and people. Click HERE for daily start times and schedule of presentations.

Feast or Flop

Episode #1 – #3

“Feast or Flop” is an engaging online cooking show that combines the culinary world with the treasures of the Museum of Ventura County’s archives. Each episode takes viewers on a journey through our local history as the Museum’s Collections Manager Renee Tallent uncovers recipes that have been tucked away for years.

Episodes #1- #3 are currently available, and more are coming soon. Stay up to date and watch it HERE!

MVC NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

Farm Day at the

Agriculture Museum

Saturday, November 4

10:00 am – 3:00 pm

@Agriculture Museum

926 Railroad Ave., Santa Paula

The Agriculture Museum is on the map for Farm Day! When you add us to your “visit list,” your little farmers can climb aboard our Oliver Tractor and engage in dramatic play at our child-sized Produce Stand. Your whole family will get up close with some hard-working honey bees at our living observation hive, then step out into our gardens to see these pollinators in action! While you’re outside, enjoy a tour of our planter and California native gardens led by our friendly and knowledgeable UC Master Gardeners. Learn more about local farmers from the Santa Paula Certified Farmers Market, and don’t forget to stop by our General Store gift shop and pick up a locally-made gift in time for the holidays! More information can be found HERE.

George Stuart Historical Figures® Exhibit Opening of “Winter”

Friday, November 24

11:00 am – 5:00 pm

@Museum of Ventura County

100 E. Main St., Ventura

Welcome to “Winter,” our new exhibition of the George Stuart Historical Figures®. Delving into the enchanting world of winter, the exhibition explores the myriad ways in which people have sought to make the most of this season. Winter is the time of year when the days are shortest, and the nights are long and cold, affecting both our bodies and our moods. In response to the challenges of winter, people across the globe have crafted annual traditions to create their own warmth and find connection. By drawing together with loved ones, they endure winter’s chill and create a sense of togetherness that warms the heart.

What Does “Home for the Holidays” Mean to You?

In connection with exhibit, Ventura County, The Place We Call Home and the approaching holiday season, we invite you to send in a photograph and/or a songthat describes what “home for the holidays” means to you! Photographs and song selections will be used as part of a program in December. Please email your submissions to abrinkhoff@venturamuseum.org or send via message on our Facebook or Instagram accounts.

MVC School Squad:

Talking About Gratitude

“When you feel gratitude, you feel a sense of abundance. When you express gratitude—especially when it’s heartfelt—you strengthen your relationships with others. Grateful people are happier and more fulfilled.” With the holiday season gearing up, this is a great time to talk about gratitude with your children!

For some starting talking points, check out an article from Character Lab HERE.

Exhibits

AGRICULTURE MUSEUM

Ventura County: The Place

We Call Home

The Museum of Ventura County (MVC) celebrates the County’s 150th anniversary with Ventura County, The Place We Call Home, a community experience that highlights the diversity of our communities by featuring different interpretations of Ventura County as ‘Home.’ Some people perceive home as a physical place where they grew up. For others, family and those they share their lives with are what make them ‘feel at home.’ The taste of food, beloved objects, and fond memories are other ways that people define what home means to them.

The exhibition utilizes both historical and contemporary photographs to compare and contrast, over time, the lives of the people connected to Ventura County and their relationship to nature, the land, and each other. Read more HERE.

Co-presented by the County of Ventura and Ventura County Community Foundation.

 This exhibit made possible by California Humanities, the City of Santa Paula,

the City of Simi Valley, Harrison Industries, Limoneira, Meissner,

the Port of Hueneme, TOLD Corporation, Ventura County Credit Union,

Ventura County Community College District, and many more.

Exhibits From the

Smithsonian Gardens:

Pollination Investigation –

The Essential Role of Pollinators in the Natural World

Nearly 90% of flowering plants rely on approximately 200,000 species of pollinators for fertilization. Explore the essential role pollinators play in the natural world in the Smithsonian poster exhibition, Pollination Investigation.

Through “pollinator profiles” visitors can learn about different pollinators—from butterflies and hummingbirds to bats and the wind—and their favorite flowers based on floral characteristics like flower shape, color, scent, and more. The set of 14 posters is bilingual (Spanish and English) and designed to educate and inspire people to explore the natural world looking at flowers and insects. Learn more HERE.

The Farm to Market Children’s Hands-On Exhibit

An interactive exhibit promoting healthy lifestyles through role-play, the Ag Market is an immersive environment where children and families identify healthy food choices in a fun, market-like atmosphere.

Learn more about what the Agriculture Museum has to offer HERE.

Special thanks to Santa Paula’s former mayor, Carlos Juarez for volunteering his time in

building our fun-filled market.

Exhibits

MUSEUM OF VENTURA COUNTY

Proximity to Water: Works from MVC’s Permanent Collection

Come be inspired by the ever-changing coast captured by our regional artists.

From plein air painting to photography, the mutable coast provides an endless supply of inspiration. Art helps us admire, respect, and revere our region, reminding us of our own place in the natural world. Proximity means a closeness in space, time, or relationship. These artworks from the Museum’s permanent collection bring us closer to the water, both visually and in feeling.

This exhibit is made possible by the Esther and Thomas Wachtell Family Fund, the Paul and Anne Leavens Family Fund and the Bonita C. McFarland Fund

Spin Cycle: Unfolding the

Science of Laundry

Everybody’s clothes get dirty, so we all must deal with the dreaded laundry. Through the years people have tried different ways to clean their clothes, and now we have the science to explain why some of those methods actually work!

Using 19th and early 20th century laundry items from MVC’s historical collection, visitors will learn about the “how” and “who” behind everyone’s least favorite chore. Let’s explore how our everyday world works together.

This exhibit is made possible by the

Ventura County Credit Union

The Murder of Tom More:

A True Crime Story

In the early hours of March 24th 1877, a mob of angry settlers set fire to Thomas More’s barn and shot him at least 10 times. Motivated by a passionate battle over land ownership and water rights turned deadly, news of his murder rippled through California.

Amid the rubble of lies, perjuries, briberies, and omissions in the historical record, there are mysteries regarding his death that remain forever unsolved. His story stands today as a warning about the strong emotions unleashed over our limited natural resources.

This exhibit is made possible by

the John Hammer Family

Explore More Exclusive

MVC ONLINE CONTENT

MVC RECOMMENDS

New Exhibition at Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Painting in the River of Angels: Judy Baca and The Great Wall

For the first time in her practice, Judy Baca transforms a museum into a studio. She and artists from the Social and Public Art Resource Center expand The Great Wall of Los Angeles into the 21st century, painting two sections of the mural at LACMA. LACMA’s exhibition presents murals from the 1960s depicting the Chicano Movement, Watts Renaissance, and archival materials that have never been exhibited, revealing Baca’s process and innovations to muralism. Baca conceived The Great Wall (1975) as a monument to the people of California, featuring moments from prehistoric times to the 1950s. She collaborated with 400 youth and community members to design and paint the mural on the walls of the L.A. River to tell history from the perspective of those erased from it. After the artists complete the paintings at LACMA, they will add them to The Great Wall, creating a mile of visual history. Learn more by clicking HERE.

A Special Thanks to Our

150th Anniversary Sponsors!

Interested in sponsorship opportunities? Please contact:

Heather Williams

(805) 653-0323

HWilliams@VenturaMuseum.org