Ojai: Talk of the Town

Nigel Chisholm, with his gregarious nature and forward-facing businesses (The Village Jester and now Feros Ferio Winery), has been a local fixture for decades. He also has a deep humanitarian focus, inspired by his father and uncles who braved Hitler's bombs during World War II.

So when in February 2022, Putin's Russia launched a massive invasion of Ukraine, Chisholm felt compelled to help. He made his way to Poland and across the border into refugee camps, where he rolled up his sleeves and got busy. Then a CNN report on Bulldozer, a nonprofit group that transports fallen soldiers from the front lines back to their families, caught his attention and so he returned, this time as a driver. He's made four trips so far, with more planned.

We talk about the stoic nature of Ukrainians, their cautious optimism, the need for the U.S. and Europe to continue to help them fight this proxy war against an aggressive dictator, as well as how people can help in this epic struggle. We also talked about Nigel's roundabout journey to Ojai, his love of this country and his other adventures, including fronting the local band, Damaged Goods and much more.

We did not talk about Dutch Elm Disease, Wuhan lab leaks or dry fly fishing for Atlantic salmon.

Check out Ilona Saari's expansive profile on him in the June issue of Ojai Monthly. https://issuu.com/home/docs/h08965i9scv

(And also this Youtube documentary Nigel produced about his trips.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ylzD0_40B0

Adam Gallegos' roundabout journey from Washington, D.C. to Ojai was filled with serendipitous encounters and unexpected detours, but he's happily ensconced in our smiling vale, 9 years and counting as founder and proprietor of Revel Kombucha, famous for its clean taste and healthful deliciousness.

Gallegos' Jun-style Kombucha is brewed from organic honey and green tea, imparting a milder, more sophisticated flavor preferred by connoisseurs as well as people new to kombucha in the first place. Revel's frozen acai bowls have also developed a devoted fan base, especially among Ojai's kids, who gather up by the chattering dozens after school and after sports practices and games.

We talked about the process to develop their distinctive products, what Ojai means to him and his family, kombucha's long history, how it became so popular in recent years, the explosion of alcoholic kombuchas, Lindsay Lohan and much more.

We did not talk about the film "Hundreds of Beavers," Ken Burns' commencement address or Maryland blue crabs eating etiquette.

Check out Revel Kombucha at https://revelkombuchabar.com/

Tobi Jo Greene's own experiences as a girl growing up in Ojai inspired her to start the Girls Empowerment Workshop nearly 20 years ago. Now expanded to the Empowerment Workshop, teaching girls, and now all youth, skills to help them navigate adolescence and other crisis moments in their lives in a social-media saturated era of identity crisis and confusion.

The goal is to help children learn a deep sense of self-worth, of respecting differences, and communicating effectively.

Since Greene began the program, thousands of youth have been enabled and now the program has been adopted across Ventura County and beyond. She's been honored with the Dr. Robert Skankey Humanitarian Award for her work.

We talked about the lessons she's learned along the way, first as a young girl growing up in Ojai, as a mother and now grandmother, plus exciting new projects on the horizon. We talked about the evolving pressures on young people today. We did not talk about Shintoism, hobo symbology or Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

Learn more about Tobi Jo Greene's work online at ...

https://thegirlsempowermentworkshop.org/

Ojai Music Festival Artistic Director Ara Guzelimian brings his customary wisdom, wit and insight into a preview for this year's festival (June 6-9) with renowned pianist and conductor Mitsuko Uchida returning for her third time.

Ojai, known for its daring programming, promises to stretch boundaries this year with a mix of familiar music (Haydn, Mozart) and modernists Webern, John Adams and John Zorn.

Guzelimian talks about the massive amount of behind-the-scenes work that goes into the festival; finding housing for the artists, coordinating the volunteers and interns, the years-long lead time to pull together the talent and the programming, and the audiences who have come to adore the Ojai Music Festival for being the best at what it does in the world.

We did not talk about "Baby Reindeer," this year's NFL schedule or Fermat's Last Theorem.

Check out the Ojai Music Festival at OjaiFestival.org.

Mesa Farm is an innovative program designed to help kids aging out of the foster system, run by Ojai-born-and-raised Dan Parziale. They recently brought in ten tiny homes and are within days of welcoming their first residents.

The Farm gives these youth, ages 18-24, the skills to succeed in life, from job training partnerships with local businesses, farming opportunities on the farm itself, to learning how to prepare resumés, for job interviews and life skills. Half of the kids aging out of foster care end up homeless, and Mesa Farm is one of the few programs designed to prevent that bad outcome.

Dan talks about growing up in Ojai, being educated at Notre Dame, teaching inner-city students and managing nonprofit organizations. We did not talk about flat-lining for yellowtail, precision measurements and instruments or Steve Zaillian's "Ripley."

For more about Mesa Farm, check out https://www.mesafarm.org/

The Ojai that renowned architect Marc Whitman grew up in is very different than it is now. And in the ways that it is better, Marc can take some of the credit, through his prolific career with residential and commercial buildings, such as Saddle Mountain and the Iguana Hotels.

Recently, Marc proposed a plan to convert the 7.5 acres in downtown Ojai to an arts academy and live-work space, literally building on Ojai's reputation as an arts destination. We talk about that project and other concepts, before bridging into a wide range of topics, including his love for Antoni Gaudi's La Sagrada Familia, being mentored by Zelma Wilson, his artist mother fostering her children's creativity, as well as future projects and plans.

We did not talk about sniper rifles, Soviet-era social organizations or the muskie fishing in southern Ontario.

You can learn more about Marc at www.whitman-architect.com.

This episode we're joined by Besant Hill's Head of School Portia Johnson, and senior Eden Munster to talk about this weekend's Spring Arts Festival (April 19-20).

This event showcases the students' projects but also the legendary school's focus on creativity. With its motto, "Aun Auprendo" - Always Learning - Besant Hill School stays true to its conception as a place where arts and creativity are tightly woven into the fabric of the school's curriculum and life.

We talked about the forces that are shaping education today - from social media's culture of narcissism to the ever-evolving economy. We also talked about alumni and their brilliant post-Besant careers.

Eden and Portia also shared reminiscences about the early days of the pandemic and the challenges of learning remotely, when so much of the student body at the 100-student school lived overseas, and how they managed to create and sustain a sense of community. The memorable Thanksgiving dinner on campus in 2020, when the teachers prepared the dinner for the students, will be a cherished memory, for example.

Johnson, who grew up in Ojai and attended Besant Hill, talked about her experiences at the school, and how it inspired her to pursue a career in education, which, after a college sojourn in West Virginia, led back to where it all started.

We did not talk about modern uses of the abacus, glacial melt or the solstice.

https://www.besanthill.org/upcoming-events/

Cary Odes has been a standup comic for 45 years, coming up through the ranks at the legendary Comedy Store in Los Angeles, sharing the stage with David Letterman, Richard Pryor and Robin Williams, under the tutelage of Mitzi Shore, where he was the very first paid regular.

More importantly to Ojai, he's been teaching standup comedy here in Ojai for more than 20 years, turning a bunch of boring schlubs into comic dynamos, presenting their "tight fives" to adoring crowds. On Sunday, April 14th, his latest batch of comics will perform to a sold-out audience at Kim Maxwell Studios, with another show planned for Friday, April 18th.

We talked about how Cary got into comedy as an extension of him and a friend entertaining themselves, then realizing in college that he had a special talent for making people laugh. After studying in Chicago with the improvisational great Del Close, Cary nearly got his big break on the show "Bosom Buddies," and had his role snatched by a then-unknown Tom Hanks, and has steadily worked every since, touring the country, and now teaching his eight-week master classes in which students learn the components and craft of a joke (the premise, the setup, the act out, the turn) and perform the alchemy in which they take their pain and vulnerabilities and turn into the healing balm of laughter.

We talked about how his style has evolved over the years, the joys of teaching, anecdotes from the trenches of the standup circuit, how to bomb on stage gracefully, and how comedy might be the Next Big Thing in the healing arts.

We did not talk about kitchen knife-sharpening techniques, wolverine-trimmed parkas or the voyages of the HMS Beagle.

Check out more about Cary at his website, thestandupworkshop.com where you can sign up for a class, or private lessons, or enter a joke contest.

And here for some of his vintage work and fashion stylings ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41jjW4KPUWc

When not raising children, horses and rabbits at her home in our city, Ojai Police Chief Trina Newman runs the Ojai substation with its 25 Ventura County Sheriff's Deputies, patrolling the Ojai and Lockwood Valleys.

Capt. Newman is a 26-year veteran of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office and has held several positions in her tenure with the Sheriff’s Office including as a school resource officer, backgrounds investigator, mounted unit supervisor, and as a critical incident review supervisor. 

With her characteristic understated affability, Capt. Newman talked about the community she loves, raising her daughter here, and her decades behind the badge. She explained the value of social media such as Facebook, Next Door and Instagram in keeping track of crime and residents' complaints as an extension of community policing.

We also talked about changes in policing over the years, "Broken Windows Theory," the challenges unique to Ojai, property crimes, homelessness and drug abuse.

We did not talk about Shoshei Ohtani's healing process, her favorite "food 'tubers" or "Shogun."

Check out more about Ojai's police at:

https://www.instagram.com/explore/locations/392229252/ojai-police-department/

And Broken Windows at ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broken_windows_theory