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Celebrate the Season with a Bluesy California Twist
Namba Arts and Doc Ventura invite you to “Doc the Halls”, an eighth annual tribute to the holiday season filled with bluesy cheer and California charm. This holiday-themed variety night has become a beloved tradition in Ventura – a friendly, laid-back celebration where the community comes together for great music and festive vibes. Get ready for an evening of classic holiday songs reimagined in soulful styles, toe-tapping jams, and heartwarming musical moments. It’s the perfect way to kick off your holidays, Ventura-style, with a mix of genres and generations all sharing the stage.

Duke Ellington's Nutcracker Suite will swing you into the holiday spirit along with festive carols featuring the New West Symphony Chorus (sung in English and Spanish), a Las Posadas celebration, and seasonally-inspired music from Tchaikovsky's "Winter Dreams" Symphony. The holidays never sounded so good!

Michael Christie, conductor
New West Symphony Chorus, Wyant Morton, director

Ellington/Strayhorn/Tyzik | Nutcracker Suite
Tchaikovsky | Symphony No. 1, "Winter Dreams"
Las Posadas Celebration
Gary Fry | Allelujah, Venite Gaudete, Wexford Processional, World of Joy

Additional holiday programming to be announced.

Founded in 1995, the New West Symphony is a professional orchestra that draws its players from the rich talent pool of professional Los Angeles-area musicians. With artistic direction led by GRAMMY® winner Maestro Michael Christie, appointed as music director in December 2018, the Symphony is the resident company of the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza and performs at the Rancho Campana Performing Arts Center in Camarillo.

It presents six Masterpiece Series concerts annually, performing major works from the symphonic repertoire with internationally-acclaimed artists as guest soloists. The Symphony also provides quality outreach and educational opportunities for the communities it serves through its annual Symphonic Adventures concert programs for youth, its traveling Music Van, and the Laby Harmony Project, a year-round music and leadership program for underserved students.

Duke Ellington's Nutcracker Suite will swing you into the holiday spirit along with festive carols featuring the New West Symphony Chorus (sung in English and Spanish), a Las Posadas celebration, and seasonally-inspired music from Tchaikovsky's "Winter Dreams" Symphony. The holidays never sounded so good!

Michael Christie, conductor
New West Symphony Chorus, Wyant Morton, director

Ellington/Strayhorn/Tyzik | Nutcracker Suite
Tchaikovsky | Symphony No. 1, "Winter Dreams"
Las Posadas Celebration
Gary Fry | Allelujah, Venite Gaudete, Wexford Processional, World of Joy

Additional holiday programming to be announced.

Founded in 1995, the New West Symphony is a professional orchestra that draws its players from the rich talent pool of professional Los Angeles-area musicians. With artistic direction led by GRAMMY® winner Maestro Michael Christie, appointed as music director in December 2018, the Symphony is the resident company of the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza and performs at the Rancho Campana Performing Arts Center in Camarillo.

It presents six Masterpiece Series concerts annually, performing major works from the symphonic repertoire with internationally-acclaimed artists as guest soloists. The Symphony also provides quality outreach and educational opportunities for the communities it serves through its annual Symphonic Adventures concert programs for youth, its traveling Music Van, and the Laby Harmony Project, a year-round music and leadership program for underserved students.

Tiffany Chung: indelible traces is the first comprehensive museum survey of Vietnamese American artist, Tiffany Chung (born 1969; MFA, UCSB ’00). Including more than 70 artworks that highlight Chung’s expansive 25-year career, these works pointedly reveal histories that have too often been overlooked or intentionally ignored. She excavates the complex and often hidden entanglements—of history, politics, geography, economy, and climate—that accrue and shape landscapes, built environments, conflicts, and human migration. Best known for her intricately drawn and embroidered maps, a major part of Chung’s work interrogates the nexus of the climate-conflict crisis, which views climate disasters and armed conflicts as dual systemic causes of forced migration.

Tiffany Chung: indelible traces is organized by the Art, Design & Architecture Museum and is guest curated by Orianna Cacchione, Deputy Director at the University of Richmond Museums. The exhibition is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Terra Foundation for American Art and the Henry Luce Foundation. Additional support provided by UCSB’s Art Equity Commons, the Billy Rose Foundation, and the AD&A Museum Council.

Celebrate the Season with a Bluesy California Twist
Namba Arts and Doc Ventura invite you to “Doc the Halls”, an eighth annual tribute to the holiday season filled with bluesy cheer and California charm. This holiday-themed variety night has become a beloved tradition in Ventura – a friendly, laid-back celebration where the community comes together for great music and festive vibes. Get ready for an evening of classic holiday songs reimagined in soulful styles, toe-tapping jams, and heartwarming musical moments. It’s the perfect way to kick off your holidays, Ventura-style, with a mix of genres and generations all sharing the stage.

Join us for the 10th Annual Santa Monica Playhouse BFF Binge Fringe Festival of FREE Theatre, Oct 14 – Nov 16, the only FREE Fringe Festival in the nation, offering over 36 plays, workshops and family-oriented events. The Playhouse proudly presents Maegan Mandarino’s celebration of the joy, complexity, and humanity of two titans of comedy, bringing their unforgettable legacy to life in a way that feels as fresh as it is timeless.

“A powerful testament to Mandarino’s talent, her vision and her sensitivity as a writer and performer.” BroadWorld.com.

It’s a whirlwind of laughter, music, and heartfelt storytelling, a theatrical spectacle that invites audiences to step into the touching, and surreal world of two comedy legends—Gilda Radner and Gene Wilder—explored through their larger-than-life personas and the dynamic love story that tied them together. A blend of absurdist theater and vaudeville-inspired musical numbers, BIG HAIR captivates audiences with its witty humor, emotional depth, and a dash of nostalgia. Interwoven with rare film and interview clips, the production offers a glimpse into the untamed comedy and tender romance that defined the lives of these two icons. It’s a show that promises laughs, tears, and a lingering sense of "what could have been."

Pal Mel Productions proudly supports Big Hair, continuing Gene Wilder’s legacy by championing artist-driven works and celebrating his spirit through storytelling, social media, and philanthropic events. Follow them on Instagram @genewilder_official or at their website GeneWilderOfficial.com

Post show Closing Night Wine & Refreshments Reception with the cast

Binge on Theatre this Fall – give your couch a rest!

Santa Monica Playhouse programs are supported in part by generous grants from the We Are Santa Monica Fund, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture, the City of Santa Monica and the Santa Monica Arts Commission, the Ahmanson Foundation and Playhouse PALS.

🎬 Festival Highlights

⦁ Opening Night (Thursday, Libbey Bowl) Free community screening of The Rare Breed (1966), a family-friendly Western starring Jimmy Stewart and Juliet Mills. Juliet Mills, this year’s Distinguished Artist Award recipient and Ojai local, will give a Q&A before the movie. 
⦁ 91 films total, representing 36 countries from around the world: Narrative and documentary shorts and features and Animation. Screenings run throughout the day, Thursday through Monday, at Ojai Art Center and Matilija Auditorium
⦁ Seminars and panels (Art Center Gallery) include presentation on silent films shot on the Channel Islands, post-production music panel on the role of music in independent film, distribution & film entertainment seminar led by  Tisha Morris and Michelle Edelman, AI in Film Panel featuring Mary Duda, one of the world’s foremost AI experts, with additional AI specialists joining via Zoom and in person.
⦁ Winning Screenplay Table Read: live performance with actors and a director interpreting the festival’s screenplay contest winner.
⦁ Receptions Friday and Saturday nights
⦁  Closing Day (Monday) Gold Coast showcase at Matilija Auditorium — films produced locally in Ojai, Ventura County, and surrounding area. 

We've never backed down from a fight, and we won't start now.
Join us for Boogie for Our Bodies 2026, a space-themed disco at the Wildcat Lounge. Dance out your stress, recharge your activist battery, and gear up for the year ahead with like-minded friends.
This will be an outdoor silent disco with wireless headphones rather than a speaker system. Inside we will have a regular DJ and dancing. There will be a raffle, costume contest, and more.
Please note this venue is 21+. We encourage attendees to dress up in their most out of this world attire - think astronauts and aliens, the sky is not the limit! Come get funky for our fundamental rights.

Join the Folk Orchestra of Santa Barbara for a musical journey through the misty Highlands and lively village halls of Scotland, featuring special guests Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas. The musical partnership between Alasdair Fraser, long regarded as Scotland's premier fiddle ambassador, and the sizzlingly-talented Californian cellist Natalie Haas showcases dazzling teamwork, driving rhythms, and a shared passion for improvising on the melody and the groove of Scottish tunes has helped reconstruct and revive the Scottish tradition of playing dance music on violin and cello. They have toured internationally for over twenty-five years, wowing audiences at festivals and concerts worldwide with their unique sound and have released six critically acclaimed, award-winning albums along the way. From the tender beauty of Wild Mountain Thyme to the rousing anthem of Flower of Scotland, this concert captures the heart and soul of Scottish tradition. Expect fiddles to soar, cellos to sing, and bagpipes to fill the hall with spirit and fire.