Lisa McKinnon|Ventura
You don't have to be a runner to go to Ventura County's newest beer festival, but it might help burn off a fewcarbs.
TheVentura Brew Fest will debut in October as part of the Ventura Marathon, now in its sixthyear of welcoming hundreds of runners to the city.The marathon has previously included a post-run beer as a finishers' perk, but organizers are going the extra mile this year with an open-to-the-public beer garden that will feature selections from at least ninecraft breweries. All but one isbased in the county.
"Seventy percent of our runners are from outside of Ventura County, so I'm always looking for ways to give them a local experience," said organizerJosh Spiker, a native Venturan who ownsthe specialty running store and fitness studio Mile 26 Sports. He also operates the running club and management firmVendurance Sports, which oversees the Ventura Marathon and other events in the Lexus LaceUp Running Series.
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Participating will be the Ventura breweries Leashless, Poseidon, Rincon, Seaward, Topa Topa and Ventura Coast. They will be joined by Institution Ale Co., of Camarillo, and Red Tandem, of Oxnard.
As an official sponsor of the Lexus LaceUp Running Series, Petaluma-based Lagunitas Brewing Co.will also be there with its low-calorie Daytime IPAand other beers.
The Ventura Brew Fest will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Oct. 19 in Mission Parkat Main and Figueroa streets. It coincides with the Ventura 5K and the Downtown Mile, the latter a downhill dash that ends at the park.
The marathonand half marathon will follow on Oct. 20, sending participants on a coursethat startsin Ojai andendsat the park in Ventura.In keeping with tradition, finisher perks include a "cool" medal and a beer.
"Runners and beer go together. I'm not really sure why, when one is healthy and one is not so healthy," Spiker said with a laugh.
The eventfills a void left by the departure from downtown Ventura bythe California Beer Festival. That event debuted in Mission Park in2009, when the city had just one open-to-the-public microbrewery (hello,Anacapa Brewing Co.) and an economy battered by the Great Recession.
"It was designed to shine a light on the beginnings of the craft-beer movement and to make something good happen after a lot of sadness," CBF organizer Vincenzo Giammanco told The Star last year.
The CBF started as a one-day event with samples of 60 beers. It later moved to Plaza Park and expanded to two days –one devoted to the unlimited-tasting event known asCraft Beer Heavenand the other to a family-friendly music festival with beers sold by the glass.
After marking its 10-year anniversary last fall, the beerevent wasfolded into the Boots & Brews Country Music Festival, which the rebrandedCBF Productions will present Sept. 21at San Buenaventura State Beach. General admission and VIP tickets, $49 and $99, do not include beer.
Giammanco pointed to the number of beer festivals now available across the state as one reason to discontinue the California Beer Festival. Another wastheever-growing number of craft breweries themselves. The city of Ventura is now home to ninesuch businesses, with another,Transmission Brewing, under construction at a former auto shop on Front Street.
That's worth celebrating, said Spiker.
"I think Ventura has one of the best craft-beer scenes in the state. Showing that off during the marathon seemed like a good fit."
Admission to the Oct. 19 festival depends on the number of beers you want to sample.A bundle of 10 tickets for 10 tastes(or the equivalent of two pints) is$15 when purchased online. Other options are 20 tickets for $30 and 30 tickets for $40. All bundled-ticket prices include a keepsake logo stein, which is required for tasting.
Live music,food trucks and games like cornhole will be available at the family friendly festival, which is also open to leashed dogs.A portion of festival proceeds will benefit Runners for Public Lands. For festival information, click on https://www.venturabrewfest.com.
Can't wait till October? These craft-beer festivals are on tap this month:
Oxnard's Heritage Square is the setting for theWine, Craft Beer and Art Trail, presented from 3-6 p.m. Aug. 17 by the Oxnard Downtown Lions Club. Now in its second year, the event will include tastes from more than a dozen restaurants, plus samples from 10 breweries, wineries and tequila makers. Proceeds from tickets, $45, will benefit local youth, diabetes research and other programs(715 South A St.,https://bit.ly/2KlY9Ed).
FROM THE ARCHIVES: Oxnard Heritage Square site of new beer, wine, art event to benefit Lions Club (2018)
Kiwanis BrewFestin Thousand Oaks will give attendees the option of splurging on an upgradedVIP-ticket experience when it takes place from 4-8 p.m. Aug. 22 atConejo Creek Park North.
Available only in advance, the $80 VIP tickets include early entry, exclusive food, wine, spirits and small-batch beer tastings, a swag bag and a dedicated parking area.
General admission tickets are $60 in advance and $70 at the gate. Proceeds from the event, which includes live music and a silent auction, benefit the Kiwanis Club of Thousand Oaks Charitable Foundation, which supports dozens of service groups and charities in the community(1379 E. Janss Road,https://tobrewfest.com).
Simi's Endless Summer Beer Fest in Simi Valleywill offer tastes from a selection of more than 20 craft breweries – plus ciders and seltzers –from 5-9 p.m. Aug. 24 at Rancho Simi Community Park. The event will include food trucks and live music.
Proceeds from tickets, $25 to $45, will benefit Rotary Club of Simi Sunsetefforts to help a variety of charitable, educational and humanitarian causes (1765 Royal Ave.,https://simibeerfest.com).
SUCH A DEAL
Olive Garden restaurants in Oxnard (1891 Ventura Blvd.),Thousand Oaks(158 W. Hillcrest Drive)and across the country are offering a buy-one, get-another-for-$5deal on selectedentrees.
Dine-in patrons who order any entree –includingthose found on the kids' menu –can also order up to five take-home, ready-to-heat meals for $5 each. Take-home selections includefettuciniAlfredo, five-cheese ziti al forno and spaghetti with meat sauce.
Previously available only as a limited-time special, the offer is now a year 'round thing at all Olive Garden locations with oneexception:Times Square in New York City (https://www.olivegarden.com).
Speaking of New York ...
The thematically named and decoratedManhattan of Camarillojust launched a for-a-limited-time, dine-in-only special that includes three courses for $20.
Available from 4-9 p.m. Tuesdays, the menu starts with diner's choice of soup or salad and ends with dessert. Entree optionsinclude chicken piccata, pork ribs, lobster ravioli and the Manhattan burger (5800 Santa Rosa Road, Suite 140, 805-388-5550,https://www.themanhattanofcamarillo.com).
SAGE ADVICE IN OJAI
At Sage Mindful Meals in Ojai, the late-July unveilingof the restaurant's lounge brought with it sit-down, indoor service of a dinner menufrom 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays.
Dishes include yakatori skewers ($4 and $5), vegan and traditional pho ($12 and up), plant-based entrees ($12-$15), a la carte proteins ranging from wild salmon filet ($20) to Watkins Ranch boneless ribeye ($28) and desserts like pink Meyer limoncello sorbet ($6).
Located in a former Christian Science Reading Room, the air-conditioned lounge is just steps from Sage's back patio. It features seating for 35, with metal-globe lanterns overhead and a stylish white-on-black, hand-stenciled floor below.
Glass shelves and stenciled flowerscover the walls in the bar area overseen by mixologist Whitney Page. Her menu of "apothecary libations"includes Siren's Heart ($14), a blend of Channel Islands Distillery's Grey Ghost Rum with coconut ice cream, matcha green tea, gynostemma andspirulina. Weekend-brunch specials have included a kimchi Bloody Mary ($12) garnished withpickled tofu and shish*to pepper.
The wine list was created with an assist from Michael Denney, the sommelier at Ojai's Ranch Houserestaurant for more than 30 years before he joinedChambers & Chambers Wine Merchantsin 2014.
MORE: Ojai restaurant is mindful of local ingredients, special diets
Sage debuted in February in the Rainbow Bridge Village Marketplace. It is openfrom 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays(217 E. Matilija St., 805-646-9204, http://sagemindfulmeals.com).
SAVE THE DATES
From a way-in-advance food festivalto a coming-right-up benefit brunch, this list includesevents worthy of your calendar:
Tickets go on sale Aug. 12 for Simi Valley Dream Cuisine, a food and wine festival presented by, and at, St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church. The event from 5-9 p.m. Oct. 13 will include a Frank Sinatra tribute, a silent auction and dinner with beer and wine pairings from local purveyors. Tickets are $65 (805-526-1732,http://www.svdream.com).
Learn how to identify and use native plantsduring theSunset Moonrise Herb Walkoffered by Ojai Valley-based naturalist Lanny Kauferfrom 6-9 p.m. Aug. 14. (The event's date and time coincides with the rising of the moon at 7:39 p.m. and the setting of the sun at 7:45 p.m.) The cost is $15 to $20 per person. Participants register online before meeting ata Park-and-Ride lot in downtown Ojaitocarpool to the trailhead. Later, hikersare welcome to join Kaufer at Azu Restaurant, which serves as the taproom for Ojai Valley Brewery and its beers made with some of the same plants identified earlier on the trail (https://herbwalks.com).
Known for its lemon-poppyseed pancakes, vegan Somis Sammy eggplant sandwichesandpet friendly patio with a dog's menu to match, Braxton's Kitchen in Camarillo will celebrate Clear the Shelters Dayby teaming up with the nonprofit animal rescue organizationPaw Works for a dog-adoption event from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 17. In addition, 10% of the restaurant's sales during the eventwill be donated to the cause(317 Carmen Drive, 805-384-7566,https://braxtonskitchen.com).
Watch "Frozen" while enjoying gelato and other treats when Tifa Chocolate & Gelato teams up with the Shoppes at Westlake Village to present Free Outdoor Movie Night at 8 p.m. Aug. 17. Tifa will hand out sweets during the movie; show up early to have your face painted. Bring blankets and low-back chairs for seating (30770 Russell Ranch Road,http://www.tifachocolate.com).
OPEN, SHUT AND IN BETWEEN
In case you missed it, the Open and Shut column in the Aug. 3 Business section of The Star included information about the opening of Native Pizza in Ventura, the closure of Greens Up! in Westlake Village, thecoming-soon status of Hummus Bistro in Newbury Park, plans to bring ALDI and California Fish Grill Casual Kitchen to Thousand Oaks, and anupdateon Stout Burgers & Beers in downtown Ventura.
MORE: Native Pizza keeps it simple, yet stylish, in midtown Ventura
To read it, click onhttps://bit.ly/2ZDebyR.
Lisa McKinnon is a staff writer for The Star. To contact her, send email to lisa.mckinnon@vcstar.com.
