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The Carpinteria Valley Museum of History kicks off its Talk & Talkback Speaker Series on Wednesday, May 27th at the Alcazar Theatre with a free film screening at 6 p.m. and a short panel discussion afterward. Following the success of last year’s series, the Museum looks to bring new voices, under-told stories, and ample time for talkback to the 2026 lineup.

A 45-minute cut of the Museum’s grant-funded documentary film, “Our Faces Will Always Be Japanese”: Civil Liberties Stories From Carpinteria will be followed by a 30-minute panel discussion with filmmaker Brent Winebrenner and film participants Tommy Dyo and John Fukasawa, Jr. The film explores the WWII era in Carpinteria with a focus on Japanese internment, as well as pre- and post-war Carpinteria cultural/social dynamics. Family-related remembrances of the war period and reflections on the legacy of Japanese internment will be the focus of the panel discussion.

For more information on the Talk & Talkback Speaker Series, volunteering at the museum, or other questions, call (805) 684-3112, email info@carpinteriahistoricalmuseum.org, or visit carpinteriahistoricalmuseum.org.

Rainee Blake brings her award-winning one-woman show to Ventura after successful runs in New York (Soho Playhouse), Italy and The Hollywood Fringe Festival 2023. Rainee embodies Joni Mitchell in an intimate concert experience of Joni’s most memorable songs and the stories that inspired them. Set on a night in 1976 after Joni returned home from a solo road trip across America and right before the release of her acclaimed album Hejira. Playing both guitar and dulcimer Rainee performs classic songs like Woodstock, Both Sides Now and A Case of You.

Rainee Blake is an Australian born actress and singer-songwriter best known for her role as Alannah on CMT’s ‘Nashville’. She has released her own original music as well as music for the film ‘I Am DB Cooper’ where she plays Rita Coolidge. Rainee Blake has toured internationally including at The National Folk Festival (Australia), Adelaide Fringe, The Opry, The Bluebird and Hotel Cafe.

MOXI Family Party transforms the museum into a hands-on retro adventure for all ages, inspired by video game favorites. Don’t miss an action-packed evening of block-building challenges and collectible creature quests.

Costumes encouraged. Food + beverage available for purchase. Tickets required for entry.

Students for Eco-Education and Agriculture (SEEAG) is hosting a free, family-friendly "Farm Day Every Day" tour at Otto & Sons Nursery in Fillmore, Saturday, June 27, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

Visitors will get a behind-the-scenes tour at one of the region's premier wholesale nurseries.

For more than 50 years, Otto & Sons Nursery has been growing hundreds of varieties of roses, perennials, edibles, and fruit trees for garden centers, landscapers and homeowners.

Come with questions about roses, flowering and vegetable plants, and fruit, citrus and avocado trees. Ottos & Sons staff will provide the soil and water management information you need for a healthy garden and landscape.

Ticket registration will open on Friday, June 19th at 10:00 a.m. To register and learn more about the tour and future Farm Day Every Day events, go to https://www.seeag.org/farm-day-every-day.

Field Day is amateur radio's open house. Every June, more than 31,000 hams throughout North America set up temporary transmitting stations in public places to demonstrate ham radio's science, skill and service to our communities and our nation. It combines public service, emergency preparedness, community outreach, and technical skills all in a single event. Field Day has been an annual event since 1933, and remains the most popular event in ham radio.

We welcome the public to come learn more about ham radio!

Join Students for Eco-Education and Agriculture (SEEAG) for its 8th Annual Santa Barbara County Farm Day. Over 15 farms, ranches, wineries and agricultural organizations from Santa Maria to Carpinteria welcome the public on Farm Day. Guests can expect a variety of activities, including behind-the-scenes tours, tractor rides, product tastings and giveaways, and plenty of kid-friendly exhibits, all while learning about the farms that feed our communities and the world.

For more information about Farm Day, to register, and to view a list of participating farms on an interactive map, go to https://sbcfarmday.org. Visitors select the locations they want to visit and travel at their own pace.
Farm Day is free and open to all ages. No pets allowed.

Santa Barbara County Farm Day is organized by the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Students for Eco-Education and Agriculture (SEEAG). SEEAG’s mission is to educate students and the greater community about the farm origins of our food and the role of agriculture in our nutritional well-being.

Date & Time: Saturday, July 4, 2026, at 5:00 PM

Location: Santa Barbara Courthouse Sunken Gardens

1100 Anacapa St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101

Cost: Free

Celebrate Independence Day and America's 250th Anniversary with a free, family-friendly outdoor concert at the Santa Barbara Courthouse Sunken Gardens. This year, the PrimeTime Band presents “Sounds of America," a musical retrospective featuring classic tunes from pop, rock, musicals, and movies—including hits from The Beach Boys, The Incredibles, and "Over the Rainbow."
The performance features a special guest appearance by vocalist Anikka Abbott. Attendees are invited to bring a lawn chair or a blanket to enjoy this traditional community celebration.
Guests may set out low-back chairs and blankets anytime after 12:00 PM on the day of the event. Non-synthetic blankets are preferred to help protect the lawn.

For more information, please contact media@pcvf.org

The Simi Valley Family YMCA, in partnership with PoolCorp, is hosting A Splash of Joy, June 20 from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Simi Valley Family YMCA (3200 Cochran Street). In this free community event, families can participate in water activities and swim challenges, and learn important water safety skills.

There will be gifts from PoolCorp, water class information, and food and refreshments.

The event will also highlight the YMCA’s Safety Around Water (SAW) program, which offers free water-safety lessons to all third-grade students in the Simi Valley Unified School District (SVUSD).

Registration is required. For questions or to sign up, contact simiaquatics@sevymca.org or call 805-583-5338.

Settle into an intimate evening of masterful songwriting and storytelling that lingers long after the last note. Audiences can expect to feel deeply connected—laughing, reflecting, and walking away with that rare sense of having witnessed something both personal and timeless.

Acclaimed singer-songwriter Dana Cooper brings over five decades of music-making and 30+ albums to the stage, including his latest release, The Ghost of Tucumcari—voted #1 Album of 2024 on Americana Highways’ Readers Poll. The record features an all-star lineup including Lyle Lovett, Hayes Carll, Susan Gibson, and more. Cooper’s career began on Elektra Records alongside legendary studio players later known as The Immediate Family (including Russ Kunkel and Leland Sklar), and has included collaborations with artists like Kim Carnes and Kim Richey.

Known for his fluid guitar work—blending flatpicking, fingerstyle, and percussive strumming—alongside expressive harmonica and a voice described as “angelic,” Cooper delivers performances that are as technically stunning as they are emotionally resonant. As American Songwriter notes, few artists sustain this level of passion and creativity across a 50-year career.

Joining him is Brad Colerick, a standout voice in the Americana scene and a Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk winner. Known for his warm baritone, sharp wit, and heartfelt songwriting, Colerick’s songs strike a perfect balance between humor and poignancy, earning comparisons to greats of the genre while maintaining a voice entirely his own.

Together these two seasoned performers create an evening that feels like a conversation - rich with stories, musicianship, and the kind of authenticity that reminds you why live music matters.

It’s FREE BRICKS, a brutally honest “sketch” that highlights the tale of our main character "Bricks," an emotionally exhausted and burdened individual on a quest for self-acknowledgement and purpose. As she unravels her own personal hurdles, she decides to join the rest of the population of the Black women who are disappearing due to their Ancestors rescuing them off the planet.

Poet, Performer, Author, Astrologer, Hampton University Alum & Renaissance woman Sonja Marie has blazed a trail some may say, a little before her time. Emerging onto the scene with her song, “And I Gave My Love to You” off the “Waiting to Exhale” soundtrack, she began touring with her band, adding a special blend of poetry, vocal styling and contagious Funk jazz. She has collaborated with such artists as Teena Marie, Cody ChesnuTT and Organized Noise. Her passion to write became the catalyst to create two musical albums – The Black Album: Vol. 1 and Nativity Screams – featured in five poetic anthologies, complete two novels – “The Signs: An Astrological Memoir” and “Squirrel”. Her artistic scope expands onto the stage with her first Solo Show- “FREE BRICKS.”

Director R. Ernie Silva is a product of the Bushwick projects in Brooklyn New York. His creative career started at the age of 12 and his musical side came calling while sleeping on odd couches, random nights at hostels and homeless shelters, and a few nights riding freight trains around the country. “Heavy Like the Weight of a Flame” is a one man show Ernie has co-written with novelist James Gabriel.

FREE BRICKS continues the Santa Monica Playhouse Black History [every] Month project, a year-long celebration of works that highlight the rich heritage of Black arts, artists and culture.

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 and Playhouse PALS.

FREE BRICKS plays Saturday, June 20 at 7:00 pm and Sunday, June 21 at 3:00 pm.