Brush Up on Your Salsa Moves for the Upcoming

Oxnard Salsa Festival

 

It’s salsa season in Oxnard as this coastal city gets ready for its 19th annual celebration of everything salsa – the food, the music and the dance – on Saturday and Sunday, July 28 and 29 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. both days at Plaza Park, Fifth and “B” Street in downtown Oxnard. Highlights of the two-day celebration include Main Stage entertainment with salsa and Latin bands; a large salsa tasting tent; an eclectic vendor marketplace with international foods; a Kids Corner attractions including one-of-a-kind tortilla art; a salsa recipe contest; and much more. Music will play continuously from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. both days on the Main Stage featuring Southern California’s most exciting salsa and Latin jazz bands. Dance is an integral part of the fun and experience and the ongoing sounds and rhythms will have you up and on your feet “strutting your salsa moves” on the dance floor. In the salsa tasting tent, there’ll be gourmet salsas to taste, and, with many spicy foods on the menu, festival goers will have plenty of opportunities to try everything from authentic Mexican fare to roasted corn to cool summer treats. Along with food, music and dance, there’ll be some unique shopping opportunities with vendors offering handmade jewelry, art, pottery, children’s items, and much more. Admission to the festival is free. For more information, including transportation options from Santa Barbara, call 247-0197, 800-2-Oxnard or check www.oxnardsalsafestival.com

The Santa Barbara French Festival

returns this year to Oak Park on Saturday and Sunday, July 14 and 15 to celebrate Bastille Day and all things French from great food, wine, mimosas, crepes, pastries, music, dance and the always popular and infamous Poodle Parade and Femmes Fatales, Santa Barbara’s favorite drag revue. This year’s 24th annual event is not only a jam-packed-French event in that it’s a dance festival, a music festival, and an arts and crafts festival, now it’s also a fundraising event for two Santa Barbara nonprofits, Center Stage Theater and Speaking of Stories. For two days, a French ambiance takes over Oak Park starting at 11 a.m. when the entertainment kicks off on three different stages and continues nonstop until 7 p.m. Along with some instruction and audience participation, depending on how French you’re feeling, you’ll experience Tahitian and Cajun dancers, and the famous Can Can. And if music is more your thing, you can check out Santa Barbara favorites Kalinka, the Montecito Jazz Project and tribute performances to Edith Piaf and Django Reinhardt. Plus, new this year – and you definitely don’t want to miss it –  is J.R. Black (pictured), the French Johnny Cash and his performance of  “Folsom Prison Blues.”  The finale of each day showcases a performance by the Femme Fatales, and on Sunday poodles large and small take over center stage for the very French Poodle Parade. There’ll also be food booths, offering everything from crepes to croissants, face painting, henna tattoos, grab a beer or Mimosa, or a Le Hot Dog, and on your way out pick up a French Festival T-shirt and beret. And whether you’re French or not, or lie about it, admission will still be free. both days. Got questions? Call 963-8198 or check www.frenchfestival.com

 

Pirates Invade Ventura Harbor Village…

And it’s an all-out invasion. So the most excitement and coolest activities are focused on Ventura Harbor Village’s Pirate Days on Saturday and Sunday, July 21 and 22 from 1 to 4 p.m. With the theme “Seek Ye Treasure,” the 7th annual event offers free family entertainment featuring such famous pirate re-enactors as Captain Jack Sparrow and Captain Hook and their crew of scallywags, who can be observed walking along the Harbor’s promenade. A new dimension this year is an historic encampment next to the Pirate’s Cove Marketplace that offers a closer look at the pirates activities on shore next to their wares, engaging the crows with spirited sword fights, private vendors, and a daily pirate kid and adult costume contest for a coveted Disneyland ticket. Shipwreck Cove comes to life with strolling musicians, nautical knot tying, and a Bill of Rights Tall Ship sail from 4 to 7 p.m. out of Ventura Harbor and an Island Packers Pirate Dinner Cruise at 7 p.m. around the harbor, with live music by Ship of Fools (tickets for both can be purchased at www.islandpackers.com). There’ll be many photo-ops with pirates, an enchanted treasure room for kids, a whimsical Pet Pirate Costume Contest on Saturday, July 21 at 3 p.m., for which a pirate pig currently claims the reigns. Ventura Harbor Village is located at 1583 Spinnaker Drive off Harbor Boulevard, and admission and parking are free as is a free shuttle service from parking lots at Schooner Drive and Harbor Boulevard from noon to 5 p.m. Got questions? Call 477-0470 or check www.venturaharborvillage.com

Challenge Your Creative Nautical Skills at the

Maritime Museum’s

Kardboard Kayak Race

The annual Kardboard Kayak Race on Saturday, July 7 from 1 to 3 p.m. at West Beach might be one of the more zany water activities to challenge your creative nautical skills, but it’s also an opportunity to fine tune those skills. Held in collaboration with Semana Nautica, the event invites teams of up to four to challenge friends and family to a test of wits, design strategy, level of “zany courage” and team camaraderie, and are given one hour of kayak construction time to build a functioning kayak using only cardboard, tape and a marker – all included in the entry fee of $30 ($25 for SBMM members). The race is divided into two heats: The Family Fun, geared to family groups in which kayak paddlers must be age 14 or younger; and Paddling Pros, for adults and/or skilled competitors. And yes, there’ll be prizes awarded in both heats. Registration is Saturday at noon across from Sambo’s. RSVP to 962-8404, ext. 102, to register your team and for more information check www.sbmm.org

 

The July Chase Palm Park Concert

Lineup Runs From Country to Gypsy Jazz

 

The Latin Rhythms of Los Pinguos opened the 2012 City Parks & Recreation Department’s Thursday evening Concerts in the Park on June 28, and the lineup for the month of July is launched with the Doo-Wah Riders on July 5. For more than 30 years this group has been making its mark having worked with a long list of music luminaries from Garth Brooks and Tim McGraw to Martina McBride and Dolly Parton, to name a few. (They even appeared in the 1992 film “Basic Instincts.) They are country to their musical core, but with a unique, original sound they define as “high energy country with a Cajun twist.”

 

On July 12 Captain Cardiac and the Coronaries returns for one of its many encore appearances with the Chase Concert series. With this group you don’t just listen to their music, you experience it, which make dancing shoes a must They pull together one of the country’s premier blast-from-the-past venues in showcasing ‘50s – ‘60s rock ’n’ roll, so you won’t want to miss whatever crazy new antics they bring to the stage at this year’s performance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

According to Vintage Guitar Magazine, the Hot Club Sandwich band’s sound is “gypsy jazz with everything on it, including humor,” and they take center stage at Chase Palm Park on July 19 to spread this eclectic sound. Fronted by a three-guitar lineup, the band starts with classic jazz and layers on a healthy spread of originals from all the band’s members.

 

 

 

On July 26 the spotlight falls on Upstream, a transplanted-to-L.A. group from Trinidad whose energetic and eclectic style of reggae and Soca has earned them formidable kudos in music industry world. Says Mean Street Magazine, “It would be a detriment to your health if you don’t go see these guys play live.”

 

 

 

All concerts are on Thursday evening from 6 to 8 p.m. on the great meadow at Chase Palm Park on Cabrillo Boulevard at Calle Cesar Chavez. Admission is free. Bring lawn chairs, blankets and a picnic — even your dog if on a leash — but no setup at the park prior to noon and no alcoholic beverages permitted in the park. Photos courtesy of SB Parks & Recreation Department. Got questions? Call 879-1982 or check www.sbparksandrecreation.com

 

Summer movies al fresco at the Santa Barbara Zoo and Courthouse Sunken Garden highlight the month of July with both popular contemporary and classic film options for the whole family. And don’t forget UCSB. Check it out…

 

Zoovies -

Return again this year to the Santa Barbara Zoo throughout July with screening sounds and visuals that will surely add extra fun to the Zoo’s already intriguing night-sounds. How cool is it going to be to hear a lion roar in the background or an elephant bellow while you’re watching Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire under the stars at the Zoo when the Wednesday night series opens July 11 with this popular Harry Potter film. In this 2005 fantasy, Harry finds himself selected as an under-aged competitor in a dangerous multi-wizardry school competition. Film- goers are encouraged to come in costume, meet the animals and ride the Zoo’s train. Coming up on July 18 is Rio and on July 25 the critically acclaimed We Bought a Zoo starring Matt Damon. The gate opens at 7 p.m., movies start a 8:15 p.m. and snacks will be available at eh Zoo’s hilltop café. Adults $7, adult members $6 and children $5 and child members $4. For more information call 962-5339 or check www.sbzoo.org

 

UCSB Campbell Hall and the Sunken Gardens

It’s robots, space aliens, body snatchers, and even giant spiders that will be flashing on the outdoor screen at the Courthouse Sunken Garden and in UCSB Campbell Hall in this Wednesday and Friday double-venue free series that opens with The Day the Earth Stood Still on Friday, July 6 at 8:30 p.m. at the Sunken Garden. (Please note no Wednesday UCSB screening due to July 4 holiday.) Subsequent July screenings include The Thing from Another World  (pictured) on Wednesday, July 11, 7:30 p.m. at Campbell Hall and Friday, July 13, 8:30 p.m. outside at the Sunken Garden; It Came From Outer Space on Wednesday, July 18, 7:30 p.m. at Campbell Hall and Friday, July 20, 8:30 p.m. at the Sunken Garden; and The War of the Worlds on Wednesday, July 25, 7:30 p.m. at Campbell Hall and Friday, July 27, 8:30 p.m. at the Sunken Garden. The series continues through August so be sure to check back for film titles and more information in the August issue of Santa Barbara Family Life Magazine. This annual film series is sponsored by UCSB Arts & Lectures, SB County Arts Commission, SB Park Foundation and Community Services of Santa Barbara. Got questions? Call 893-3494 or check www.ArtsandLectures.UCSB.edu

 

Upcoming al fresco screenings…

Movies on Stearns Wharf will resume its 2012 Friday night screenings on August 31 with Shark Tale followed by three more screenings throughout September. And throughout October Paseo Nuevo will be host to winter screenings for a fun “date night” series that includes Julie & Julia, Sideways, Chocolat and Eat, Pray, Love and is aptly titled Foodie Movies. Stay tuned to these Event pages for previews in the August and September issues of Santa Barbara Family Life Magazine

 

Special Nights at the Zoo…

 

Autism Family Night

With those families in mind whose lives have been affected by autism, the Santa Barbara Zoo will stay open late for a tranquil summer evening on Thursday, July 12 from 5 to 8 p.m. Many animals will be given special enrichment toys to play with and treats to enjoy, and the Zoo’s animal experts will discuss animal behaviors and trade facts with animal fans. There’ll be rides on the Zoo’s new red train engine, Emmett, and each guest will receive a special Zoo map that’s marked with exhibits where they can collect stamps.

 

Junior Zoo Keeper Night

For any kid – as well as his or her necessary adults – this after-hours event on Thursday, July 19 from 5 to 8 p.m. would be an awesome adventure; but it’ll be an especially welcome and challenging adventure for those families who have kids with special needs. There’ll be presentations at animal exhibits, as well as on the Rolling Hill Stage where a special showing of How to Train Your Dinosaur starring Duncan the T-Rex is also scheduled. And a train ride on the new red engine, Emmett, is a fun way to explore the Zoo’s from a different perspective as well as those behind-the-scenes little nooks and crannies. And when the evening is over, all Junior Zoo Keepers will receive a special certificate of completion.

During both events the Zoo’s Ridley Tree Cafe will offer a limited menu. All adult admissions will be discounted to $10 child prices for both events, and Zoo membership is valid for free admission. The Zoo is located at 500 Ninos Drive, just off Cabrillo Boulevard. Got questions? Call 962-5339 or check online at www.sbzoo.org