Such a fun night at this amazing Theater !! Great spot for…read morelive music . Friendly staff and theater was clean and comfortable

This charming theater has something for everyone. Live theater, movies, concerts, comedy and every…read moreseat is a good one. The staff is friendly and very generous with the beer and wine. What's not to like!

I love it here. Lots of space to enjoy looking at the art which is always great. Live music events…read morein the summer months. Well designed place. I felt welcomed there. Not to snobbish. Carp is an upscale beach town and locals are very proud of the place. It is one of my favorite places . . Art Center offers a variety of classes for children and adults. I'm an artist and a teacher so I'm really appreciate this center.

While wandering Linden Avenue, it's hard to miss the Carpinteria Arts Center. We have walked by it…read morewithout experiencing its charms until yesterday evening. We'd had an early dinner, strolled down to the beach, and were headed for our car when we heard live music. Turns out that there was a live concert of rockabilly music happening. Free, too! We entered in to their courtyard and found chairs facing the band, with a dance floor set up, as well. The Rockin' Henry's were on a break, but soon returned. A nice sized crowd was on hand to enjoy beer and wine, music and dancing, in a family-friendly environment. The Rockin' Henry's are a family band with both parents, two teenage daughters, and their charming 10 year old son playing a scaled down upright base, singing lead and backup vocals, alternately, it was an event to remember. Their style is definitely rockabilly, and got people up on their feet to dance. One downside was that the sound balance was off, so that it was very hard to hear the vocals. That was a shame, as there was a lot going on in the performances. Clean restrooms inside the gallery building made for convenience. I didn't study the paintings in the gallery, though I should have, as what I could see from my courtyard seat, the art looked colorful and well-displayed. We'd look forward to attending other events at this comfortable venue, especially for music performances.

As I was walking downtown Carpinteria with my family we stumbled upon this locally made and sourced…read moreshop. The shop has a variety of home decor and trinkets, bath and beauty items. As we walked in we were approached by a girl that told us everything in here is made by students and all the profits from the shop go back to them. When I heard that I knew I had to get something even if it was small, to help support. I kept with the theme of avocados as a festival was going on across from the shop for the weekend and grabbed a handmade avocado bath bomb.

I love a store with a mission, and Coastland 100% delivers in that area. Attracted to the store by…read morea sign outside "support our students", I entered Coastland. With a nice selection of soaps, key chains, bracelets, cutting boards with hilarious quotes, and other eclectic products for good prices, I was thrilled to discover that Coastland is a nonprofit organization that trains high school students to produce all the products sold in the shop! The proceeds from sales goes back to purchasing materials for the students. I love the business model. Additionally, their products have that unique flair that only high school students can contribute. I found two great gifts for my nephews including a wooden Minecraft box and wooden journal cover with Animation. I love the Star Wars themed cutting board. The prices are very reasonable! The staff member who was working there shared with me her story, as she had been one of the high school students who had made art and returned to work here post-graduation. Full circle! I love it! I wish this business every success.

**February 2024: Saturday Afternoon Visit**…read more This Goodwill is tiny, but the items they put out are really good quality and the prices are fair. I don't think I would go out of my way to visit this thrift shop, but if I'm in Ojai I would definitely take a peek to see what treasure it may hold. On my recent trip I bought a white puffer vest that fit me perfectly and it didn't even look like it's been used. I suppose consider the size of the store they only put out the best items so it's worth a look if you're in the area.

I love thrifting. This one is better for dropping off donations as the store is tiny and really not…read morevery good. They charge too much and don't give bargains as much as other stores. The staff are so rude every time I drop off where they don't thank you for donations but make you feel like they are drill sergeants telling you where to put your items and if you mess up they correct you fast. Iykyk how it is then you'd agree. The bins are labeled confusing so it is guessing sometimes.

This is no Little Free Library…read more It's a library and it's free but this thing's huge! A massive selection of all kinds of books, available 24 hrs a day for anybody with enough drive to swing by. They're outside, exposed to the elements so adjust your expectations accordingly. But I applaud the owner for their generosity and kindness.

Easy to set up my storage space. Extra Space Storage has an app that was easy to download from the…read moreApple Store. With the app on my phone I have easy entrance gate access to the site. The front desk staff couldn't have been nicer and more helpful.

The positive is that it is clean and kept up. Staff usually are quite nice unless it's been a bad…read moreday. Not rude but not overly helpful either. The negative is that their prices are wildly off kilter. Not so much when you first rent but holy moly - watch your monthly like a hawk. Give it 3-6 months and easily your price may double. They have absolutely no issue raising the rent by anywhere from 30% to 200% after just a few months and are starkly firm about not giving adjustments. Would not recommend only because of rather covert price increases.

I love my city! Downtown Oxnard holds so many events I like to attend. Most recently The Tree…read moreLighting & Christmas Parade/ Tamal Festival . Extremely popular events, so you must arrive early to get a parking spot. I usually park in the parking structure. Currently, the elevator to that parking structure is broken. I was told some parts were stolen and the city is waiting for them to repair :/ At any event I can always fine awesome local vendors! They have began being stricter at allowing outside vendors from selling their merch. They have signs and police ready to ticket outside vendors if they do choose to sell at special events. I was told many of the local Vendors participating at the locals events had asked for the city's support in controlling outside vending. Not sure if this is true. Oxnard was just name one of 10 " Cultural Destination " in California. There's a lot of beautification going on , which I am happy to see!

This was disappointing! Many shops were closed at 6pm on a Friday night and there didn't seem to be…read morea real downtown "center" or place to lounge and hang around. Some of the restaurants seemed fairly interesting but I wouldn't return here unless it was to visit a specific business.

Jim Bailey and Natasha Efross put together this amazing school that both my 9 & 11 year olds…read moreattend. "Self Directed Education" and that's exactly what it is. The school sits in 2 beautiful locations in upper Ojai and your finding space for your little one may prove to be slightly difficult, so I highly recommend that you get on that wait list STAT. The teachers/mentors are the very best of the best and the kids are amazing. This is one of those schools that your child will never want to leave. I honestly don't have the ability to write all that needs to be said so I will leave it to you to go and give it a visit. Oh, their logo happens to be pretty damn beautiful too. 5 stars.

An incredible space for young people to find out who they are and what they're here to do. We are…read moreso grateful for this "school!" My 10 year old son started at RTS a year ago after several years at a public school in the county. He was so anxious at the public school: most of the kids there would run out the gate at 3pm wanting to get out of there, with my son being very upset if I was even a few minutes late. His clothes were frayed at the wrist and knees from him chewing anxiously on them, he was labeled the class clown because he was always trying to lighten the mood. Most of the "teachers" kept asking if he had ADHD or another learning disability. We knew that he did not, and so decided to try changing his environment. We started in January (so glad that we were able to start mid-year) and the dramatic difference in his happiness, behavior, sense of connection and community has been VAST. It's such a testament to the incredibly thoughtful space Natasha and Jim Bailey have co-created. The kids can choose what they do each day, with climbing trees or chatting with friends being a perfectly valid activity (there's so much learning in everything.) My son is building things, mastering design and 3D printing, playing 3 instruments without any lessons (and no urging to practice), has created his own small business and is learning entrepreneurialism and team management. All at the age of 10. (What was he learning in the other school? How to survive the day and do what other people told him to do...) The Rock Tree Sky model (or Sudbury model, the first democratic school) isn't for everyone, but we've found it more appropriate in preparing our son for life during this modern time than traditional school was. If you have any doubts or concerns about this model, a great book I was recommended was Peter Gray's Free To Learn. Note that there are no formal lessons, no strictly age-segmented classrooms (amazing), and no "teachers" only "mentors". There are rules of conduct and there are offerings each day that kids can choose from: cooking, carpentry, sewing, gardening, pottery etc. but most of them choose their own adventure each day. Isn't that what we're all doing? Isn't that what life is about?! I can only speak with the utmost respect for this learning environment and warm community. I know that the kids here are destined for brilliant things, with so many supportive people gently guiding and cheering them along the way. Ps. You can apply to the Summit program via OUSD, which is a homeschool program integrated into RTS, which also subsidizes some of the tuition and offers a more traditional classroom experience for a couple of hours a week. It's incredibly affordable compared to other private schools here, but again - it's not for everyone. If your family values self-directed learning (and living), we highly recommend RTS!