Thousand Oaks Beer Festival Makes Big Splash

The Kiwanis Club of Thousand Oaks Charitable Foundation has a hit on its hands with its annual Kiwanis Brew Fest. The Aug. 29 event, which featured tastings from local breweries, drew close to 350 people to Conejo Creek North Park. That’s 100 more than last year’s inaugural fest. “This event is a lot of fun, the Kiwanis Club is absolutely behind it. The brewers we’ve talked to want to come back,” said Randy Senzig, president-elect of the Kiwanis Club of Thousand Oaks. Although final numbers from the event’s proceeds have not yet been calculated, Senzig expects there to be close to a 40 percent increase in money raised compared to last year’s event, which the non-profit would not disclose. Funds benefit local organizations and programs, such as high school Key Clubs, Manna Conejo Valley Food Bank and a program that sends care packages to troops overseas. Major sponsors included Senzig’s company, Thousand Oaks Mortgage; Galpin Ford, which donated a raffle prize of a Mustang for a weekend ride, Konika Minolta, and The Thousand Oaks Acorn, which publicized the event. Among the breweries were Wolf Creek Brewery and Restaurant of Santa Clarita, Moorpark’s Enegren Brewing Co., The Lab Brewing Co. in Agoura Hills and Institution Ale Co. of Camarillo. Local restaurants such as Brendan’s Irish Pub and GarageDogs provided food at the event. Senzig founded the event after observing how the club’s other events were a lot of work for members. He said he wanted to create a new event that would be both fun to put on and fun for the community. “We had done a couple of other fundraisers which required an awful lot of work that were time consuming and labor expensive,” he said. Roger Bott, head brewer and co-owner of Lab Brewing, said his company participated in the event for the second time. He said he was asked personally to participate by Kiwanis members. “Since it was local and supporting a good cause, I said sure,” he said. The festival also included a competition for different types of brews. Bott’s company won second place in the dark category this year, showcasing a German-style black lager. High Desert Arts U.S. Bank has awarded the Lancaster Performing Arts Center Foundation with a $10,000 grant for the foundation’s Art for Youth program. The funds will be used by local schools for buses, tickets to performances at the Lancaster Performing Art Center, as well as workshops and outreach programs with the foundation, said Julie Secory, a foundation administrative assistant. David Friedman, a U.S. Bank district manager and performing arts foundation board member, said the program is essential for the community’s youth. “The Arts for Youth program plays a vital role in the lives of our children and teens by making the arts available in a number of ways,” he said, in a statement. The arts foundation, founded in 1989, works in conjunction with the Lancaster Performing Arts Center to bring the arts to schools and students in the Antelope Valley. Upcoming performances for the Arts for Youth school year program include “Blackbeard the Pirate,” “Hamlet” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” More Than a Dollar Dollar General Corp. has donated $6,000 to support literacy programs in the Los Angeles area. One of the local recipients included Palmdale High School’s youth literacy program. Crystal Ghassemi, spokeswoman for the Goodlettsville, Tenn.-based discount chain, said the program seeks grant applications in the beginning of the year in order to see quick results. “(The) program supports strong youth literacy at the beginning of the school year so they give a direct impact on the upcoming year,” she said. Recipients were chosen based on criteria that included being within 20 miles of a Dollar General store. The company operates a store in Palmdale, and others in the area include stores in Montclair, Colton and Moreno Valley. This year marks the 20th year Dollar General has operated its literacy foundation. Grants were given out in the 40 states in which the company operates. Staff Reporter Jacquelinne Mejia can be reached at (818) 316-3121 or [email protected]