Museum of Ventura County update for Aug. 1

Escape the heat with the cool sounds of Ray Jaurique and the Uptown Brothers. August 3 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Ag Museum in Santa Paula.

Inspired by original roots and blues music, these seasoned musicians mix it up to create their own unique blend of blues, soul and a little rock and roll.

Tickets: $10/adults, $5/members and children under 12. For information please call (805) 525-3100 or visitventuramuseum.org.

The Agriculture Museum is located at 926 Railroad Avenue, Santa Paula.

The Agriculture Museum in Santa Paula, will feature the Sculptures of Living Color project, Sunday, August 5, with free admission all day and free art activities from noon to 2 p.m.

Inspired by the Macchia glass sculptures of artist Dale Chihuly, participants will capture the colors of the landscape by using natural dyes to create their own unique sculptures that will dry to look like colorful works of transparent and opaque “glass.”

While Free First Sunday offers free admission at both the Ventura and Santa Paula museum locations, the free art activities will take place only at the Ag Museum. Free First Sunday is sponsored by museum donor Mimi Allin and the TOLD Corporation. For more information visit venturamuseum.org  or call 805-653-0323.

Museum locations:

The Agriculture Museum, 926 Railroad Avenue, Santa Paula.

The Museum of Ventura County, 100 E. Main Street, Ventura.

As part of its upcoming exhibit, At Table: The Business of Food and Community, which opens August 30, the Museum of Ventura County is inviting entries from artists and community members to create a table place setting that is reminiscent of one remembered from growing up.

Participants’ only requirement is that everything on the place setting must reflect the story being told, which is the key to this collective art piece. Each place setting must fit a 17” long by 11” wide area. Entries are due Aug. 13.Click here for details.

There is no fee for entry. The installation date is August 29. The Kitchen Tableexhibit will be on display in the Museum’s Sculpture Nook as part of the largerAt Table: The Business of Food and Community exhibit through November 25. The Museum is located at 100 E. Main Street, Ventura. For more information contact abermudez@venturamuseum.org.

Hollywood publicist David Mirisch will share stories about his five decades of working with celebrities, helping to raise more than $35 million for charitable causes.

August 8 at 11 a.m.

Free for members, $5 for nonmembers.

Museum of Ventura County, 100 E. Main Street, Ventura.

Join Artist Ryan Carr at 6 p.m., August 9, for a talk about the body of work created during his time as Artist in Residence at the Museum of Ventura County. Free for members, $5 for nonmembers. No host bar.

Using large scale paintings and drawings, the focus of Carr’s Natural State exhibit is the invasive species of plants along the Ventura River, the Channel Islands and other areas of Ventura County. Carr also incorporated letter press printing techniques and created a unique wallpaper, complimented by a floral installation that speaks to Carr’s work and adds depth to the exhibit.Natural State will be on display through August 12 at the Museum of Ventura County, 100 E. Main Street, Ventura. For more information, visit venturamuseum.org.

Grab lunch and head over to the Museum, every Thursday between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. for music and free entry to the galleries. Enjoy your lunch break in one of our colorful patio chairs while you listen to local musicians, then take a stroll through the museum’s rotating exhibits.

August 2: Shay Moulder

Entry is free. Feel free to tip the musicians!

The Museum of Ventura County is located at 100 E. Main Street, Ventura. For more information, visitventuramuseum.org.

Local author Gwen Alferes will be the featured speaker, 1 to 2:30 p.m., August 14, for the “Speaking of Ventura County” series at theMuseum of Ventura County, located at 100 E. Main Street, Ventura.

Alferes will present a slide show of rare images from Ventura County’s forgotten town, Foster Park. Surrounded by steeply sloped hillsides, Foster Park was a tiny rural community that took shape during the oil boom of the 1920s. It was situated at a bend on Highway 33 adjacent to Foster Memorial Park, for which it was named.

A community of about 50 or so homes, Foster City had a thriving business district and a dance hall that hosted musical greats of the time–such as Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and the Everly Brothers–and a saloon equipped with a boxing ring. With the makings of a Norman Rockwell portrait, it came to its end in the mid-1960s to make room for the hotly-contested extension of the Ojai Freeway. To younger generations and newcomers of the area, Foster Park’s former existence is virtually unknown.

Admission is free for members, $5 for nonmembers. After the talk, the author will have books on hand to sign and sell. The Museum of Ventura County is located at 100 E. Main Street, Ventura.

Join artist Ryan Carr, 6 to 8 p.m., August 21, for our figure drawing group session at Leashless Brewing, 585 E. Thompson Blvd, Ventura. This popular event meets twice-monthly to draw live, clothed models. Bring your drawing pads, charcoal, pencils, pastels, whatever your favorite medium! No liquid mediums, please. All skill levels welcome. Free admission.

Please note – due to the Ventura County Fair, there will be no Museum session this month.

Celebrate and explore Ventura County’s rich history of cultural diversity, agricultural bounty and how the influx of immigrants has shaped our recipes, food traditions and eating experiences at the opening reception, 5:30 to 8 p.m., August 30, for the Museum of Ventura County’s exhibit, At Table The Business of Food and Community. Click here for ticket information.

With two locations, the Museum of Ventura Countyserves as the region’s cultural center for the exploration and presentation of history and art.

Appreciation weekends offer free admission*:

*please bring valid I.D.