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The Santa Ynez Valley Chorale is excited to present a holiday concert, And Peace on Earth , Saturday, December 3rd at 3 P.M., and Sunday, December 4th at 3 P.M. at the Veteran’s Memorial Hall, 1745 Mission Drive, in Solvang.

The Chorale is delighted to bring you a beautiful and moving concert with orchestra accompaniment under the expert direction of our new Artistic Director, David L. Torres. Torres has been able to breathe new life into the Chorale with his musical talents and pedagogical skills. He has selected some inspirational music for this hour-long performance. Pieces such as The Hands That First Held Mary’s Child and Lunar Lullaby will touch your heart. The audience may also give into their Christmas spirit by joining us to sing some familiar Christmas carols.

So, take a break between the parades and tree lightings to relax in the Veteran’s Memorial Hall to listen to music from the heart.

Tickets are $15 at the Book Loft or at the door. They can also be purchased at the Chorale’s website, www.syvchorale.org with a slight processing charge.

For more information call or text Casey Bemis at 805-451-8099.

"Love Our Water" is the theme of a Community Forum for all ages that will focus on Ventura County's fresh water and its sustainability, to be held on Saturday, Nov. 19, from 10 a.m. to noon at Chalice Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Newbury Park.

The forum will feature activities for adults and children, including speakers, a nature video, making a watershed model, planting an acorn, Vegan snack making and a "hungry, hungry water hippos" game for kids. Water-saving grilled veggie burgers will be served at noon.

The event will begin in the Chalice sanctuary, where Cumash elder Julie Tumamait-Stenslie will share indigenous stories about water. Following that will be a showing of a video for all ages, "The Story of Our Oaks," which explains the Ventura River watershed and the importance of oak trees in its ecosystem. Then attendees will move to activity stations in the Chalice fellowship hall and outdoors at an acorn planting station, rotating among activities so everyone can learn and ask questions.

Representatives from sustainability organizations will be on hand to throughout the event, including Caty Wagner, Southern California Organizer with the Sierra Club, Kat Selm of The Nature Conservancy, John Brooks with the City of Thousand Oaks Sustainability Division, Mary Freed from the Organic Gardening Club of Ventura County, and Barbara Leighton and Gordon Clint from the Chalice Climate Action Team.

The event is presented by Chalice Community Forum, a program of Chalice Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of the Conejo Valley. Co-Sponsors are the Conejo Climate Coalition and the Chalice Climate Action Team.
Organizers caution that space is limited to attend the event at Chalice, 3327 Old Conejo Road in Newbury Park. To register, visit forum.chaliceuu.org. For information, visit that website or contact Randall Edwards by e-mail at forum@chaliceuu.org or through the church office at (805) 498-9548.

The constant battles over uncertain water supplies and the impacts of moneyed interests will be the topic of an online Community Forum on Friday Sept.16 at 7 p.m. via Zoom.

The discussion will be based on the documentary film "River's End: California's Latest Water War," which explores the state's complex struggle over who gets fresh water and, according to the film's website, how well-heeled interests game the system. The film warns that fighting over limited water supplies heralds an impending crisis, not only in California but around the world.

Registrants for the forum will receive a link to a free viewing of "River's End" in advance of the discussion. The film urges viewers to learn where their water comes from so they can support actions to save rivers, ecosystems and communities that depend upon them.

Panelists for the event will be Lynn Rodriguez, Project Manager with the Watersheds Coalition of Ventura County; Caty Wagner, Southern California Water Organizer with the Sierra Club; and Jennifer Molidor, Senior Food Campaigner with the Center for Biological Diversity.

Topics will include California's Delta Tunnel project, impacts of animal agriculture and industrial farming, local water concerns and projects, and what we all can do.

The event is organized by Chalice Community Forum, a program of Chalice Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of the Conejo Valley, and is co-sponsored by the Conejo Climate Coalition and the Chalice Climate Action team.

To view the film and attend the Community Forum, register at forum.chaliceuu.org. The event is free but donations are welcome to support the presenting nonprofit organizations and Community Forum programming. For information, contact Randall Edwards by e-mail at forum@chaliceuu.org or through the church office at (805) 498-9548.

José Hernández, MS, will share the story of his journey from migrant farmworker to NASA astronaut.

Hernández spent much of his childhood on what he calls “the California circuit,” traveling with his family from Mexico to Southern California each March, then working northward to the Stockton area by November, picking strawberries and cucumbers at farms along the route. They returned to Mexico for Christmas and started the cycle again come spring. After graduating from high school in Stockton, Hernández enrolled at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, where he earned a degree in electrical engineering. He was awarded a full scholarship to the graduate program at UC Santa Barbara, where he continued his engineering studies. In 1987, he accepted a full-time job with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where he had worked as a co-op in college. In 2004, NASA selected Hernández as a member of its 19th class of astronauts. He was chosen for a mission in 2007 and flew as the flight engineer on a 14-day mission in 2009 aboard the space shuttle Discovery to the International Space Station. In addition to his flight engineer duties, Hernández operated one of two principal robotic arms. Before being selected as an astronaut, he worked at NASA as the branch chief of the Materials and Processes Branch at the Johnson Space Center in Texas.

Admission is free. Please RSVP on the STEAM website at CalLutheran.edu/hispanic-serving/steam.html.

William Peters, founder of Sharing Crossing Project and author of At Heaven’s Door, will be hosting a free webinar on Thursday, October 13th with special guest Dr. Martha Jo Atkins - End of Life Counselor, Teacher and FilmMaker. This free webinar is an introduction to how to experience a shared crossing - a beautiful experience with someone at the end of a life that suggests loving connection and communication beyond this human realm.

William will follow up the webinar with a 3-day, in-person and online course for people wanting to learn the methods that will allow them to experience a shared crossing with their loved ones and/ or clients. This course will take place Live in Santa Barbara from October 21-23, OR Live Online from November 11-13.

This webinar will introduce you to the methods that will enable you and your loved ones to:
- MANIFEST a conscious, connected and loving end of life experience.
- ENABLE a shared death experience and other shared crossings.
- REALIZE that our bonds with loved ones continue beyond human death.

To learn more and reserve your seat for this FREE spiritually transformational learning experience, please visit: https://www.sharedcrossing.com/Pathway-webinar

*If you are unable to attend the webinar live, please sign up anyway so that we can email you the recording.

Threats to democracy will be the topic of a Zoom Community Forum on Friday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. Three presenters will offer their views on the subject and invite attendees into a dialogue about their concerns and possible solutions.

The topic of the forum is titled "Democracy: Beginning of the End or End of the Beginning? Join the Discussion!" The event, presented by Chalice Community Forum, is a departure from its usual monthly format in that attendees will hear from the presenters, then engage in a discussion, seminar style. Those who sign in are invited to bring their questions, concerns and ideas.

Speaking at the forum will be Tim Allison, Adjunct Professor of Political Science at California State University, Channel Islands; Jon Cummings, co-founder of Indivisible: Conejo, a nonprofit progressive advocacy organization; and Rabiah Rahman, Vice Chair of the Ventura County Social Justice Fund.

Chalice Community Forum is a program of Chalice Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of the Conejo Valley. Registration for a Zoom link to the program is available at forum.chaliceuu.org. The event is free, but donations are welcome to support the presenting nonprofit organizations and continued Forum programming.
For information, visit the Community Forum website or contact Randall Edwards via e-mail at forum@chaliceuu.org or by calling the church office at (805) 498-9548

"Deeper Than the Skin," a Community Forum of music, storytelling, and deeper engagement about race featuring two folk musician friends -- a Black man from the North and a white man raised in the South-- will be presented via Zoom at 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 9.

The show is described as not a concert for entertainment or an evening of talk, but rather as a deepening connection with two musicians whose songs and stories of struggle and shared humanity move people to reconsider what they can do to help others find common ground about race.

In "Deeper Than the Skin," Reggie Harris, born and raised in Philadelphia's inner city, says he never experienced anything in the first 25 years of his life as a Black person that made him comfortable in his own skin, and he went on to devote his life to enlightenment and reconciliation. Greg Greenway, who grew up in Richmond, Va., recalls how little he knew in his youth about the history of slavery while he lived in a city whose towering monuments celebrated Civil War generals. He moved to Boston and learned lessons about humanity from his music idols that inspired him to do the same for whoever would listen.

Harris and Greenway, friends for 30 years, began their collaboration on "Deeper Than the Skin" in 2017. Their songs and stories are a journey through their experiences with race. "Don't be worried that you'll be preached at," a member of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Wilmington, North Carolina, wrote in advance of the duo's appearance there. "This is an event of sharing and reflection, music and deep thought."

Reggie Harris co-leads tours through hallowed civil rights grounds of the South as Music Education Director of the Living Legacy Project of the Unitarian Universalist Association. Greg Greenway was part of the planning committee of Marching in the Arc of Justice, a 2015 Unitarian Universalist conference in Alabama commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery voting rights march.

The Dec. 9 event is presented by Chalice Community Forum, a program of Chalice Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of the Conejo Valley. To attend via Zoom, register in advance at forum.chaliceuu.org. The suggested donation to support Community Forum programs is $10 per person or $15 for a family. For information, visit the registration website or contact Randall Edwards via e-mail at forum@chaliceuu.org, or through the church office at (805) 498-9548.

Friday nights under the stars at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse Sunken Garden

World-famous oceanographer Steve Zissou (Bill Murray) and his crew set sail on an expedition to hunt down the mysterious, elusive, possibly nonexistent “jaguar shark” that killed Zissou’s partner. They are joined on their voyage by a young airline copilot (Owen Wilson), a pregnant journalist (Cate Blanchett), and Zissou’s estranged wife (Anjelica Huston). The all-star cast for this wildly original adventure-comedy also includes Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Michael Gambon, Noah Taylor, Seu Jorge and Bud Cort. (Wes Anderson, 2004, R, 119 min.)

Bring breathable blankets or a low chair, a picnic and your friends!
Check out the UCSB Arts & Lectures website for more attendee information.

The Chapman Estate Foundation's 10th annual fundraiser, Swingin' By the Sea, features live music, food and wine as well as a silent and live auction. The food vendors joining us will be: Lido at Dolphin Bay, Pono Pacific Kitchen, Burgers and More, Shell Beach Brew House, Cracked Crab, The Mark, Del's Pizzeria, Hubbalicious Sweet Shoppe, Luca's Deli and Wines and California Fresh Market. Wineries include: Tablas Creek Vineyard, Piedra Creek, Saucelito Canyon, Sinor-LaVallee, Laetitia, Opolo, Wolff Vineyard, Kynsi, Matthews Vineyard and Avila Wine and Roasting Co.
You will also be able to bid on art pieces donated by local artists, exclusive dinners for 12 inside the Chapman House catered by LIdo at Dolphin Bay, BBQs for 25 in the gardens of the estate as well as many exciting silent auction packages donated by local artists and businesses.

The 67th Annual Conejo Valley Days is set for June 15 through June 25 (dark June 19 and 20) at Conejo Creek Park South (23 Freeway/Janss Rd. exit) in Thousand Oaks. Festival goers can enjoy carnival rides from Kastl Amusements plus midway games for all ages along with traditional fair and specialty foods. CVD features live rock and country bands including the Colette Lovejoy Band and 805 Social Club, and line dancing led by instructor Kristal Lynn. Entry: $10 per person, free for kids 10 and under. Active-duty military with military I.D., free. $35 unlimited ride wristbands are available for June 15 only. Discounted ride tickets can be purchased on the website: 10 rides for $30 (if purchased before 3 p.m., June 15), $5 parking. For festival hours, entertainment lineup, ride tickets and other information go to www.conejovalleydays.us, email info@conejovalleydays.us or follow Conejo Valley Days on Facebook, www.facebook.com/ConejoValleyDays.