We’re thrilled to welcome you back indoors at the Museum of Ventura County and the Agriculture Museum in Santa Paula starting Friday, July 1, 2021! Both museums will be open Thursday—Sunday from 11am to 5pm.
Admission to both museums is FREE through the end of the year.
Take a sneak peek at all the upcoming exhibits below!
Join us this summer for Mindfulness at the Museum, new weekly free wellness classes outside in the gardens at the Museum of Ventura County and the Agriculture Museum in Santa Paula.
You can participate at the Museum of Ventura County (100 E. Main St., Ventura) on Thursdays from 4—5pm and at the Agriculture Museum (926 Railroad Ave., Santa Paula) on Saturdays from 10—11am in Santa Paula.
These classes provide fun and free activities for individuals and families. Beginners are encouraged to participate. All classes are free! Classes are limited and registration is required. MVC members get priority access.
Join us in the Boroughs Children’s Garden at the Museum of Ventura County on Saturday, June 19th from 11am—2pm to celebrate local artist MB Hanrahan’s new Chumash Village mural. Admission is free!
We are excited to announce that beginning Thursday, June 3, 2021, the museum’s gardens and outdoor areas at both the Museum of Ventura (100 E. Main St., Ventura) and the Agriculture Museum (926 Railroad Ave., Santa Paula) will be open to the public! Both museums will operate Thursdays thru Sundays from 11am—5pm.
We invite you to come visit the refreshed and improved gardens, participate in family activities, and see the new art installations.
PLUS: Admission will be FREE to everyone, throughout 2021!
Join us this summer for Mindfulness at the Museum, new weekly free wellness classes outside in the gardens at the Museum of Ventura County and the Agriculture Museum in Santa Paula.
You can participate at the Museum of Ventura County (100 E. Main St., Ventura) on Thursdays from 4—5pm and at the Agriculture Museum (926 Railroad Ave., Santa Paula) on Saturdays from 10—11am in Santa Paula.
These classes provide fun and free activities for individuals and families. Beginners are encouraged to participate. All classes are free! Classes are limited and registration is required. MVC members get priority access.
We are excited to announce that beginning Thursday, June 3, 2021, the museum’s gardens and outdoor areas at both the Museum of Ventura (100 E. Main St., Ventura) and the Agriculture Museum (926 Railroad Ave., Santa Paula) will be open to the public! Both museums will operate Thursdays thru Sundays from 11am—5pm.
We invite you to come visit the refreshed and improved gardens, participate in family activities, and see the new art installations.
PLUS: Admission will be FREE to everyone, throughout 2021!
oin us for the next installment in our new Zoom series, Local History Happy Hour with Jeffrey Maulhardt, author of “A History of Oxnard,” on Tuesday, May 18, 2021 from 5—6PM. In this series, local authors and historians sit down with The Barbara Barnard Smith Executive Director Elena Brokaw to discuss their unique perspectives on our region’s history, and take questions from the audience.
This online program is free, but requires advanced registration.
Join us at the Agriculture Museum (926 Railroad Ave., Santa Paula) this Saturday, May 1st @ 10am and at the Museum of Ventura County (100 E. Main St., Ventura) this Sunday, May 2nd @ 10am for our next Grab & Go Bag giveaway!
Discover creative ways to help protect our planet by using the 3Rs: Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling. Each fun-filled bag contains Small Footprints: Mateo Learns About the 3Rs storybook, Small Footprints: Activity and Coloring booklet, Paper Populous Garbage Truck Favor Box Craft, Food Forward’s Get Crafty with Your Food Waste Recipes, Play-Well TEKnologies wrist band, Compost Circle of Life, Composting at Home!, and so much more.
The Museum of Ventura County is pleased to present the next installment in its series of conversations with Changemakers.
You are invited to join us on Thursday, April 29, 2021 from 6:30—7:30PM for Changemakers: Local Heroes Combatting Climate Change. Admission is free with registration.
Panelists include Dr. Chris Funk, Director of the Climate Hazard Center at UCSB and author of Drought, Flood, Fire: How Climate Change Contributes to Recent Catastrophes, Hans Cole, Director of Environmental Campaigns and Advocacy at Patagonia, Florencia Ramirez, Ventura County Climate Emergency Council and author of Eat Less Water, and Michelle Stevens, Founder of the Refill Shoppe, public artist and environmental activist. This is not to be missed!
As more businesses are allowed to open in California and Ventura County, the Museum of Ventura County plans to open gradually as we continue to offer current online services and launch new programs like our Journal Flashback and Local History Happy Hour series, which you can read more about in this newsletter.
When we do re-open, you will get to see improved gardens and galleries along with new exhibits, public art installations, and family programs at both sites.
And in recognition of your support over the last year, we are excited to announce that admission at all sites will be FREE for all of 2021!
Join us for The Changing Faces of Ventura County: Women Taking the Lead, a special Museum of Ventura County Zoom program on Wednesday, March 31st from 6:30-8:00 PM. This online program is free, but requires advanced registration.
In honor of National Women’s History month, the Museum of Ventura County will host a panel discussion with elected leaders from all 10 cities in Ventura County. At no other time in history have so many women held elected office in Ventura County. Currently, in 2021, the County has 23 women elected to serve as supervisors, mayors, and council members.
After a four-month hiatus, Season 2 of “MVC Insider” resumed this past Friday, February 26, 2021. The Smith-Hobson Family Collections Manager Renee Tallent took us back a full century to talk about the 1920s hairstyle technique “Marcelling.” Renee explored the different variations of curling irons available on the market sold to achieve the perfect natural wave.
Mark your calendars for Friday, March 12, 2021 at 10am? and tune-in on Facebook Live for another episode of “MVC Insider” with Chief Curator of Exhibits & Collections Anna Bermudez! Anna will take viewers through the exhibit Hulega! Photographs from the Frontlines at the Agriculture Museum in Santa Paula. Set a reminder on Facebook or YouTube.
you like dirt, old things, and history…then you’re going to “dig” our two-part educational series on archaeology. In this first installment, you will learn about what archaeology is, why it is important, and what you can do to help preserve the past. At the end of the module, you will also find some fun activities to get you thinking like an archaeologist! Sound fun? Well, then let’s “dig” in!
You’re invited to join us on Zoom on Thursday, February 25, 2021 @ 6:30pm—7:30pm for the next installment of Ivor Davis: Up Close & Personal with “multi-talented Renaissance woman” Miriam Arichea.
Arichea will share the amazing story of how she has juggled all her careers: appeals court lawyer, concert pianist with symphony orchestras including CHICO (Channel Islands Chamber Orchestra) and the director of Rubicon Theatre Harmonix children’s choir. She also found time to become a credentialed teacher at Ventura High School, where she leads the mock trial and academic decathlon teams.
Will you please help us by sharing your thoughts about how the Museum of Ventura County, and museums broadly, can better support and engage you in 2021? Please take our survey today.?
You’re invited to join us on Zoom on Thursday, January 21, 2021 @ 6:30pm—7:30pm for Ivor Davis: Up Close & Personal with Chris Hillman. Among the topics of conversation, Mr. Davis will interview Chris Hillman about his recent memoir, “Time Between: My Life as a Byrd, Burrito Brother, and Beyond,” his time living in Ventura County, his rock ‘n roll roots, and much more. This is not to be missed!
Happy New Year, Ventura County! After the wildly successful, members-only Zoom series Behind the Scenes with Ivor Davis wrapped up this past fall, the Museum of Ventura County is thrilled to present Ivor Davis: Up Close and Personal, a new Zoom series featuring a rotating guest list of notable and celebrated Ventura County residents, including Chris Hillman, Malcom McDowell, Miriam Arichea, and more. This new series is free and open to the public with registration.
Join us on Zoom on Thursday, January 21st, 2021 @ 6:30pm—7:30pm for the first in this series with musician Chris Hillman!
historic downtown Santa Paula with Rev. Maddie Sifantus, who will begin with a convocation. The procession will be led by Javier Gómez and Lorenzo Lencho Moraza with traditional Las Posadas music provided by Inlakech Cultural Arts Center and De Colores Music youth groups. Mayor Rev. Jenny Crosswhite of First Christian Church, Elvia Hernandez of Esperanza/Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, and Pastor Lupita Alonso of El Buen Pastor Church will participate.
We are asking for your support. Whatever you can give at this time will ensure that this regional history and art institution will be able to continue to fulfill its ongoing mission of preserving and protecting our history.
As we move through these uncertain times, keeping our community connected is more important than ever.
If you can, please give generously and consider becoming a monthly donor today, so we can build the best tomorrow – together.
We wouldn’t put it past 2020 to give the central coast a snowstorm. Several Museum staff members have “Snow on the Beach” on their 2020 bingo cards. If you think that’s unlikely, you might be surprised to know that Ventura County’s coastal areas have seen snow several times in recent history.
The winter of 1948-1949 was a cold one and by January 8, 1949 the County suffered over $1 million in crop losses. There was a cold snap the first week of January that split the bark of citrus trees in Wheeler Canyon.
Dear Community Member,
You are invited to explore the new MVC Gallery Marketplace! The MVC Gallery Marketplace has been created to help regional artists sell their works. The Museum’s Fine Arts Committee and Cultural Team has selected notable artists working in many media, who represent some of the finest work in our county.
(We have partnered with the UPS Store at 35 W Main Street in Ventura for easy and secure shipping.)
Dear MVC supporter,
A gift to the Museum of Ventura County serves your community by helping us…
…Make history accessible. The Research Library has digitized and made available 2,500 photographs and responded to over 150 remote research inquiries.
…Provide virtual education lessons and field trips to students, teachers, and parents. These programs help kids with remote learning and are designed to meet the specific needs of low to moderate income students.
…Present important free livestream programs and online content that changes daily. These included the first installment of our Changemaker series with Dolores Huerta and Jorge Corralejo, interviews with renowned journalist Ivor Davis, and a Dia de los Muertos altar workshop with Dr. Roberto Vargas.
A very Happy Thanksgiving to all from the Museum of Ventura County! While most of us are settling in at home to celebrate a much quieter holiday than in past years, most will still put a roasted turkey on the table. To residents of the Santa Clara River Valley, a Deeter turkey was always part of the celebration in times past.
The Deeters left Oklahoma and settled in Fillmore in 1938 and opened the Deeter Turkey Ranch that same year. Son, Calvin Deeter, took over the ranch in the 1950’s.
Dear Community Member,
For the health and safety of the community, all Museum programs have been moved online. The Museum of Ventura County, the Agriculture Museum in Santa Paula, the Research Library & Archives, and the Albinger Archaeology Museum will be closed until further notice.
We will continue to offer a variety of diverse online programming, including Virtual Learning Modules, Zoom Conversations, family activities, and more! You are encouraged to explore below or visit our website.
Be safe, be well, and stay healthy. We look forward to welcoming you back at MVC when we reopen!
This week, we bring you a special appeal from Ventura County leaders: Please get tested for Covid-19 at one of the free testing sites throughout the County. As the virus worsens across the country, the metrics that will take Ventura County from the red to the purple tier (which is the most restrictive) are on the rise. One way to help stem the spread of the virus and keep our numbers down is to get tested. Please watch the video below that walks you through the testing process. And please, stay safe!
You can subscribe for COVID-19 updates from the County here.
The Museum of Ventura County and the Agriculture Museum in Santa Paula are reopening to members only beginning on Saturday, October 31! We have a new reservations and ticketing system in place to regulate the amount of traffic in the galleries, as well as limited operational days and hours.
Members, please click here to make your reservations.
We have extended our exhibits through the end of the year. Please read on to learn about what exciting things you’re about to see in our galleries as you return to the museum.
Thank you for your ongoing support of the Museum of Ventura County, and thank you for all that you do during these unprecedented times. We appreciate you, and we can’t wait to see you at MVC.
Dear Community,
The Museum of Ventura County and the Agriculture Museum in Santa Paula are reopening to members only beginning on Saturday, October 31! We have a new reservations and ticketing system in place to regulate the amount of traffic in the galleries, as well as limited operational days and hours.
Members, please click here to make your reservations.
We have extended our exhibits through the end of the year. Please read on to learn about what exciting things you’re about to see in our galleries as you return to the museum.
Thank you for your ongoing support of the Museum of Ventura County, and thank you for all that you do during these unprecedented times. We appreciate you, and we can’t wait to see you at MVC.
*Please read our visiting guidelines at the end of this email.
In celebration of Días de los Muertos, the Museum of Ventura County invites you and your family to pick-up a Grab ‘n Go Day of the Dead Craft Bag at the Ventura Museum (100 E. Main St., Ventura) on Saturday, October 17, 2020 @ 10AM (while supplies last) and at the Agriculture Museum in Santa Paula (926 Railroad Ave.) on Sunday, October 18, 2020 @ 12PM (while supplies last).
The MVC and AG Grab ‘n Go Day of the Dead Craft Bags include:
• Día de los Muertos mask-making kit
• Instructions on how to build your own at home altar (English and Spanish)
• Materials and instructions on creating Papel Picado
• Materials and instruction on creating tissue paper marigolds
• Recipe for baking Pan de Muerto
Drive-ups only, please. You will be met curbside by our friendly staff members. Gloves, masks and social distancing practices will be in place.
The Days of the Dead season is here, and it’s time to honor the lives of our dearest departed and send them love. The Museum of Ventura County invites you to join us for a A Zoom Workshop: Creating Family Altars with Dr. Roberto Vargas on Wednesday, October 14, 2020 from 6:30PM—7:45PM. In this free, family-friendly Zoom experience, Dr. Vargas will teach viewers how to celebrate Días de los Muertos by remembering their loved ones and creating a Family Altar, or ofrenda.
The Days of the Dead season is here! It’s time to honor the lives of our dearest departed and send them love. You are invited to join us for a Zoom Workshop: Creating Family Altars with Dr. Roberto Vargas on Wednesday, October 14, 2020 from 6:30PM—7:45PM. In this free, family-friendly Zoom experience, Dr. Vargas will teach viewers how to celebrate Días de los Muertos by remembering their loved ones and creating a Family Altar, or ofrenda.
Additionally, viewers will learn the meaning of Días de los Muertos as a tradition to honor family and departed loved ones, and Dr. Roberto Vargas will review how to facilitate a simple Dias de los Muertos celebration in the home. This is a great opportunity to bring the household together for an evening of interactive learning and fun.
The Museum of Ventura County is pleased to present the first installment in its series of conversations with Changemakers: Dolores Huerta, Founder & President of the Dolores Huerta Foundation, civil rights activist and community organizer, will join longtime activist and civic leader Jorge Corralejo, documentary film producer and farmworker activist David Damian Figueroa, and Chief Curator Anna Bermudez for a Zoom Conversation onMonday, September 21, 2020 @ 6:30—7:30PM.
Admission to Changemaker Series: A Zoom Conversation with Dolores Huerta, Jorge Corralejo, David Damian Figueroa, and Anna Bermudez is free with registration.
RSVPs must be received before Monday, September 21, 2020 8AM.
Open now through November 30, 2020, the Museum of Ventura County and the Ventura Botanical Gardens are thrilled to host 14 regional artists in their first collaboration, Arte Forastero. Sculptures and installation works have been installed in the Botanical Gardens nursery and lower trails and in the Museum’s outdoor Plaza along Main Street in Downtown Ventura.
Join us online on National Women’s Equality Day,
Wednesday, August 26, 2020 from 4—6 PM
as we commemorate the centennial of the 19th Amendment, and honor the sacrifices of the courageous Suffragists, with a family-friendly free virtual event that will feature performances, and presentations about voting, advocacy, and equality. The Museum of Ventura County will be providing a virtual tour of its newly curated exhibit “Amendment 19: Votes for Women.”
The Museum partnered with Ventura College photography professors Brian Paumier and Jessie Groves for a new take on the exquisite corpse concept. Students were asked to use the Museum’s online photograph archive to find inspiration for a final project.
Presented are the original photograph screenshots the students selected and the images they created based on those selections.
Welcome to the finale episode of Season 1 “MVC Insider.”
Chief Curator Anna Bermudez, is joined by Government Archivist Amber de la Cruz as they discuss black voices in Ventura County’s past and present.
Welcome to episode 5 of “MVC Insider.” In this episode,
Elena Waller, Agriculture Museum Manager,
discusses the history of tilling in Ventura County and showcases a number of tools that eventually led to the invention of the tractor!
Wednesday, July 1ST
11:00AM – 12:00PM
I’ll be discussing what we have done so far in response to the health crisis, what our current status is, and what our plans are for re-opening. I’d also like to take this opportunity to discuss with you how the Museum of Ventura County can best continue to meet current and future community needs, particularly in light of the global civil unrest and its regional manifestations and impacts.
?
Elena Brokaw
The Barbara Barnard Smith Executive Director
PLANS FOR RE-OPENING
While all sites are still closed to the public, MVC is preparing to re-open with limited, members-only hours, in mid-July, expanding to the general public in August.
Thank you to all of you who completed our online survey. Your responses are critical in developing our re-opening plans. Our first priority upon re-opening will be the safety of guests and staff. We will have more information about what to expect when you visit the museum in the next e-blast.
COVID-19…. Nearly every aspect of our daily lives is impacted. None of us is immune. We are living through unprecedented, historic times.
How will we remember the details of this life-altering experience? What will future residents learn about how Ventura County reacted to the crisis? Who will tell our grandkids the stories of our experience? The answer to those questions and the key to the historical records will be in the archives and the collection of the Museum of Ventura County. Such is the case with all of our county’s history.
The Museum is very pleased to be able to share with you one of our newest programs – MVC Insider (see below). This series of weekly videos will offer viewers a unique, in-depth glimpse behind the scenes at the Museum.
This week, The Smith-Hobson Family Collections Manager Renee Tallent takes us into the Object Collections Department to learn about mining in Ventura County. Renee comes to MVC from the Galveston Historical Foundation in Galveston, Texas where she served as Collections Manager, managing the art and artifacts for over five historic sites and museums.
The Museum of Ventura County is temporarily closed due to COVID-19 and is looking forward to reopening as soon as it is safe to do so.
We have put together a short survey to help us better understand how we can best serve you and the community during this time and when we reopen.
There are over 5,500 maps in the Library collection that include historical plat maps, boundary maps, topographic and hydrological maps (USGS), irrigation/ditch maps, right-of way maps (railroad and highway), and land case maps (court case exhibits). Discover a few of these jewels in this week’s virtual exhibit.
This week it’s my pleasure to introduce Eric Knight, MVC’s Development Director. Eric is a fairly new member of the MVC family, having joined the staff team in July of 2019. Before he threw his heart and soul into the museum world, Eric most recently worked at the American Cancer Society where he was in charge of new business support. Eric heads up the fundraising and public relations teams at the Museum. He is a natural fit for MVC – he is creative, curious, and entirely devoted to making his adopted community – the county of Ventura – a better place. He is also just about to be a first time father!
This week we bring you the story of Ellie Langille and a new attraction that has opened in a midtown Ventura neighborhood: the Lemon Grove Neighborhood Zoo.
This zoo was spurred on by Ellie’s mom Summer Langille, who connected with their neighbors on Facebook and asked them to create a weekend pop-up zoo of stuffed animals.
Over the weekend, fifteen houses transformed into cuddly wild animal parks.
This is just one of many stories that demonstrates the creativity and resilience of our residents at this time.
A MESSAGE TO THE MVC COMMUNITY This week, we’d like to introduce MVC’s Research Library and Archives Director, Deya Terrafranca. Deya came to the museum in late 2016 and has been the library director since November of 2018. I am…
Greetings from 16 MVC team members, from 16 different home offices!
Last week, after 10 days of working from home, we on the Museum staff team realized that we actually like each other quite a bit, so we got together for an hour of idea sharing and recharging. Here we all are, in our “working from home” best.
From The Barbara Barnard Smith Executive Director of the Museum of Ventura County View this week’s video message from the Museum of Ventura County’s Barbara Barnard Smith Executive Director Elena Brokaw and keep informed with all that the museum has…
From the Barbara Barnard Smith Executive Director of the Museum of Ventura County Dear friends of the Museum, We know that right now your attention and concern is almost entirely focused on COVID-19 and its impacts on your family, friends,…
Based on the Ventura County health emergency, the directives of the governor of California, and the importance we place on the health and safety of our community, the Museum of Ventura County, the Agriculture Museum in Santa Paula, the Research…
Special Museum Hours for New Exhibits Installation The Museum of Ventura County in Downtown Ventura will be closed to the public February 25—February 28, 2020. The Research Library and Archives will be open regular hours Wednesday through Friday 11AM—5PM. The…
Civil Rights Activist Dolores Huerta March 19, 2020 @ 6:30PM at the Museum of Ventura County! The Museum of Ventura County is honored to host Dolores Huerta on March 19, 2020 @ 6:30 PM for a talk about her years…
Will you please help us by sharing your thoughts about how the Museum of Ventura County, and museums broadly, engage you? Please take our survey today. Why this survey? We at the Museum of Ventura County care deeply about making…
Save the Nopal Artist David Damian Figueroa The Museum of Ventura County is committed to capturing, exhibiting and creating an opportunity for community dialogue around timely issues relating to regional and national trends in arts and culture. Last week, the…
Free First Sunday at the Ag: Scientific Arts & Crafts January 5, 2020 • 12—2PM What happens when you mix science with art? Join us at the Agriculture Museum in Santa Paula on Sunday, January 5, 2020 from 12—2PM for…
Call for Volunteers! January 24—26, 2020 We are excited for the recently announced Albinger Archaeological Museum’s 40th Anniversaryevent scheduled for Friday, January 24th — Sunday, January 26, 2020. Come celebrate our county’s history and become a part of our museum…
DONATE NOW Dear MVC Supporter, By making a gift to the Museum of Ventura County… YOU protect our history. Without our collections and archives, the history of Ventura County and the stories of local cultures are incomplete. YOU inspire vibrant…
Member Appreciation Day! Sunday, December 8, 2019 12pm—1:30pm Calling all members! Join us at the Museum of Ventura County at 100 E. Main St. in Ventura for Member Appreciation Day this Sunday, December 8, 2019 from 12—1:30pm! Members will receive…
Member Appreciation Day! Sunday, December 8, 2019 12pm—1:30pm Calling all members! Join us at the Museum of Ventura County at 100 E. Main St. in Ventura for Member Appreciation Day on December 8, 2019 from 12—1:30pm! Members will receive exclusive…
Woven Earth Opens Tuesday, November 12th at the Museum of Ventura County! Displaying a wide range of hand-woven baskets from the Museum’s extensive collection, Woven Earth focuses on California’s native communities and the traditions involved in making these baskets. Basket…
Día de los Muertos at the Museum of Ventura County! Join us for a special Día de los Muertos evening celebration at Museum of Ventura County on Friday, November 1, 2019 6—9 p.m. (in conjunction with First Friday) In collaboration…
