TODAY

Halloween Fun Night at Simi Valley YMCA

The Simi Valley Family YMCA will hold its eighth annual Halloween Family Fun Night from 7 to 8:30 at 3200 Cochran St.

The event is free and open to all Simi Valley residents. Parents with kids from infant to 12 are invited and can participate in crafts, games and a costume parade and contest.

Prizes will be given for the best costumes and snacks will be served throughout the evening. For more information, call 583-5338.

YMCA holds Halloween event

Camarillo Family YMCA will hold a Halloween event from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at 3111 Village at the Park Drive. There will be games, treats, spooks and goblins. There also will be a carnival and a costume contest.

For more information, call 484-0423 or visit www.ciymca.org.

Church to present 'The Catacombs'

Sacred Heart Church's youth ministry will present "The Catacombs: A 3-D Haunt" from 6 to 10 p.m. today and Saturday.

Set up in the Youth Center behind the church, this fourth annual haunted expedition through the underworld will feature 3-D effects in which guests must wear special glasses to view the supernatural. Those touring the catacombs should dress comfortably in street attire, since costumes could pose a hazard.

Because the event is designed to frighten Halloween thrill-seekers with ghoulish creatures and special effects, it may be too intense for younger children. Parental judgment is advised.

Cost is $7 per person for a single admission or $9 for unlimited entry on the same night. Tickets are available at the door. Those who take a nonperishable food item will receive a $ 2 admission discount. Proceeds from this event and food collected will benefit the homeless in Ventura County.

Sacred Heart is at 10800 Henderson Road, Ventura. For more information or to reserve your tickets, contact Greg Rydberg at 647-8623, shym@sacredheartventura.org or visit catacombs.sacredheartventura.org.

SATURDAY

Pumpkin Social and Estate Sale set

HELP of Ojai's annual fundraiser, the Pumpkin Social and Estate Sale, will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Little House, 111 W. Santa Ana St.

The event features a Kids Korner, plant sale, holiday boutique and bake sale. The estate sale has a selection of antiques, collectibles, artwork, vintage clothing and more.

For more information, call 646-5122.

'Day of the Dead' puppet show set

Doug Friedlander, an Olivas Adobe docent and puppeteer, will present a puppet performance called "Day of the Dead" at 1 and 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The performance is at the Olivas Adobe Exhibit Hall, 4200 Olivas Park Drive, Ventura.

Friedlander makes his own puppets and sets.

Before or after the performance, visitors are welcome to take a docent-guided tour of the grounds and casa grande.

The performance is free. For more information, call 642-2758 or visit www.olivasadobe.org.

Kinetic Sculpture Race at harbor

The 10th annual Kinetic Sculpture Race will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Ventura Harbor.

The race involves people-powered works of art built to race over water, sand, road and mud.

Parking and admission are free. For more information, call 642-0596 or visit www.venturaharborvillage.com.

Silent auction to aid children of India

Deanna Flanagan, nurse practitioner, and Patrick Mullins of Brian de Staic Irish Jewelry will hold a silent auction from 5 to 8 p.m. at the jewelry store, 309 E. Main St., Ventura. The event will feature entertainment, appetizers, drinks and jewelry.

All proceeds will go toward purchasing a bus for Father Manoranjan Singh's orphanage in Mondasore, India. The orphanage is having difficulty transporting its orphans to the town of Raika for medical care and other essential services.

For more information, call 643-6797.

Church to hold annual fall boutique

First Christian Church will hold its annual fall boutique from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 38 Teloma Drive, Ventura.

Crafters from the community will display their wares, including quilts, pillows and candles. Assorted homemade cookies will be packaged and sold.

The event will also feature the "Treasures and Trifles" room with many assorted items to choose from.

The Spanish Ministry will prepare a fiesta luncheon from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., featuring carne asada, beans, rice, tortillas and salsa. Tickets are $6 each.

For more information, call 383-9838 or 642-4146.

Fall in Love with Art event set in Fillmore

Fillmore will hold its Art Walk, Fall in Love with Art, from noon to 8 p.m. The event begins with a Chalk Art Festival in front of City Hall.

Artists will display their work in local establishments. Many shops will host artists as well as offer refreshments and entertainment.

For more information, call Kathy Vargas at 524-7835, Carol Askren at 524-2967 or Janine Rees at 524-4856.

Oso Ridge hike planned in Ojai

Rich Handley, an Ojai Valley Land Conservancy volunteer, will lead a hike on the Oso Ridge. He will lead a trip up to the high point — 1,300 feet — of the Ventura River Preserve to appreciate the spectacular views of the western Ojai Valley including Lake Casitas. Participants should meet at 8 a.m. at the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy Riverview Trailhead on Rice Road.

The hike will continue along the Oso Ridge Trail to Wills Canyon and is rated moderate/strenuous. It will take about three hours. Take drinking water and snacks, and leave pets at home. For more information, call 646-7930.

Annual Clean Up Day in its third year

The Downtown Ventura Organization will hold the Annual Clean Up Day from 7 to 11 a.m. Participants should meet above the Bank of America parking lot in downtown Ventura.

Take gloves. Water will be provided. The city of Ventura, Ventura Police Department and merchants, residents and property owners will participate.

For more information, e-mail info@downtownventura.org.

Family Preparedness Fair planned

Lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina will be highlighted at an emergency and family preparedness fair from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2645 Moorpark Road, Thousand Oaks.

The event, sponsored by the church, will include community organizations dealing with disaster relief and will also feature several booths and demonstrations covering a variety of aspects of preparedness, from first aid to food storage and from communication to shelter. Bishop Bob Dorris said the goal is to help neighbors learn what needs to be done and to prepare families to survive and remain healthy.

A slide show and commentary regarding Hurricane Katrina will be presented at 11 a.m. by Neils Ludlow of Thousand Oaks. Ludlow worked in Louisiana as a manager and organizer of disaster relief work crews after the hurricane in 2005.

Hot dogs and hamburgers will be served from noon to 1:30 p.m. Families are encouraged to attend. There is no charge for the event. For more information, call Dorris at 492-0578.

Halloween at the Livery Theatre set

Ventura Area TheatreSports and the Livery Theatre are expanding on the usual weekend of comedy improv by offering a night of mirth, music and dancing from 8 to midnight in downtown Ventura.

Audience members who appear in costume will receive extra treats, and candy, beer and wine will be available for purchase. On board to take the music and dancing until the stroke of midnight will be Ventura's Guy Martin Band.

VATS will offer a musical comedy improv, as it does every Friday and Saturday night — this time, with a spooky Halloween theme. Martin's blues band will offer high-energy music for the dance portion of the evening.

Admission is $15 per person. Attendees also have the option to purchase tickets for just the improv show or just for dancing, for $10 per ticket. For more information, call 643-5701 or visit www.venturaimprov.com.

Church to host Halloween Carnival

Christian Church of the Hills will hold the fifth annual Halloween Carnival from 6 to 8 p.m. at 29295 Agoura Road, Agoura Hills.

Along with free admission, there will be moon bounces, costume and limbo contests, game and pie throwing booths, and prizes. A food booth will offer pizza by the slice or hot dogs at $1 each. Drinks will be 50 cents.

For more information, call 818-991-1929 or visit www.cchagoura.com.

SUNDAY

Pumpkin Fun Day planned at the harbor

The 13th annual Farmers Market Pumpkin Fun Day at Channel Islands Harbor will begin with registration at 10 a.m. and end at 2 p.m. It will be held at the Farmers and Fishermens Market in the north parking lot next to Marine Emporium Landing at 3350 S. Harbor Blvd., Oxnard.

The fall harvest will be showcased and many events will be going on throughout the day. Included will be a pumpkin decorating contest, a costume contest with prizes, trick or treating, free pumpkin bowling, free pumpkin weight guessing with prizes, face painting, live music, barbecues and more.

There is no charge to enter or to participate in the contests. The event will be sponsored and coordinated by the nonprofit Farmers Market of Channel Islands Harbor Corp. For more information, call 643-6458.

Stagecoach Inn to offer Halloween fun

The Stagecoach Inn Museum will hold a Halloween event from 1 to 4 p.m. at 51 S. Ventu Park Road, Newbury Park.

There will be face painting, trick-or-treating around the complex, crafts for kids, cupcake walks and storytellers. Take your already carved pumpkin for prizes. Jack-o'-lanterns will be judged for best, scariest and most unusual, and they will all be lighted at 3:30 p.m. Visitors can wear costumes.

Admission is $4 for adults and $2 for children. For more information, call 498-9441.

Museum to celebrate Dia de los Muertos

The Museum of Ventura County will hold its seventh annual community celebration of Dia de los Muertos, Day of the Dead, at noon. Festivities will open with a blessing and dancing by Danza Azteca Cuauhtémoc, and continue until 3 p.m.

The museum's most popular event will include traditional craft projects and face painting, music by Mariachi Costa de Oro, ofrendas (altars to honor the dead) created by local artists and community groups, and an exhibition of Mexican folk art.

Visitors to the celebration can also see the Museum of Ventura County's current exhibit, "Art & Soul: Arte y Alma," which focuses on contemporary Dia de los Muertos folk art from Mexico and photographs of Mexico taken by Ventura County artists. The exhibit runs through Nov. 25.

The museum is at 100 E. Main St. in downtown Ventura. For more information, call 653-0323 or visit www.venturamuseum.org.

An Lac Buddhist Mission hosts fair

An Lac Buddhist Mission will host a Vietnamese vegetarian food fair from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sunday at 901 S. Saticoy Ave., Ventura. Authentic Vietnamese food will be served.

An Lac normally hosts the fair on the last Sunday of each month. For more information, call 816-8799 or 659-9751 or e-mail missionanlac@yahoo.com.

Halloween Under the Sea' in its second year

The Oxnard College Marine Center & Aquarium will have its second annual "Halloween Under the Sea" from 1 to 5 p.m. in Channel Islands Harbor at Fishermans Wharf on the corner of Channel Islands Boulevard and Victoria Avenue.

There will be free pumpkins to decorate (while they last), games, prizes, a touch tank, a costume parade and trick-or-treat candy for children in costume.

The event is free. For more information, call 985-9801.

Author to appear at Borders in Simi

Katherine Marsh will be at Borders at 3 p.m. at 2910 Tapo Canyon Road, Simi Valley.

Marsh will read and sign her book, "The Night Tourist." The book is Marsh's children's book debut. She reworks the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice in a supernatural tale about a 14-year-old boy's quest through an underworld in New York City in search of his late mother's spirit.

For more information, call 526-2800.

Pumpkin Walk for Parkinson's planned

Pumpkin Walk for Parkinson's, a 5K walk to benefit Team Parkinson, a local chapter that provides funding for Parkinson's Disease research, will begin at 8 a.m. at the Westlake Village Library, 31220 Oak Crest Drive, Westlake Village. Participants should meet at 7:30 a.m.

To register, visit www.towlvchamber.org and click on Pumpkin Runs and "Register Now." Click on 5K Devil's Dash. Participants may choose to purchase a 5K T-shirt online, or purchase a Team Parkinson T-shirt, available the day of the event. Participants may also come in a costume.

For more information about the Pumpkin Walk for Parkinson's, contact Jessica Chadbourn at 557-7638 or Alisa Pann at 551-8762.

Sleepy Hollow' at High Street center

The High Street Arts Center will have a performance of "Sleepy Hollow," an original radio play, at 7 p.m. in Moorpark.

Guest performers will join the regular High Street cast to weave the mysterious tale.

Admission is free. For more information, visit www.myspace.com/thehighstreetbroadcast.

— From staff reports