Plan your Veterans Day with these Ventura County events

Veterans Day events are planned for Saturday and Monday throughout Ventura County.

The federal holiday began originally as Armistice Day, which was celebrated to mark the end of fighting in World War I on Nov. 11, 1918. That's commonly referred to as “the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.” In 1926, Congress made Armistice Day an official holiday.

The first celebration using the name Veterans Day took place in 1947 in Birmingham, Alabama, according to a Veterans Affairs news release. In 1954, Congress passed a bill proclaiming Nov. 11 as Veterans Day.

Unless noted otherwise, the programs listed below are free.

Fillmore

4 to 7 p.m. Saturday: Veterans will be honored during a concert at City Hall Plaza, 250 Central Ave. The music is presented by the Veterans Day Celebration Committee.

10 a.m. Monday: The Veterans Day parade will go from Second Street to Santa Clara Street, followed by a barbecue at Fillmore Middle School, 543 A St. Food is free for veterans and active-duty military. It costs $15 for everyone else. A ceremony will take place at 1 p.m. at the school. The activities are organized by the Fillmore-Piru Veterans Memorial District and the Fillmore Lions Club. To learn more about the celebration and its parade featuring classic cars, go to Ventura County Cruising’s Facebook page.

Oxnard

9 a.m. Monday: Veterans Day parade will begin at B and Third streets and end at Plaza Park, 500 S. C St., where a two-hour ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. For details, see www.oxnard.gov/event/veterans-day-ceremony. 

Simi Valley

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday: A Veterans Day program will take place at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum, 40 Presidential Drive. The Condor Squadron will perform a flyover at 10:30 a.m. The program will feature an honor guard and performances by Abbe Road A Cappella from Santa Susana High School, the Wind Ensemble from Royal High School and Project: Peace by Piece orchestra, featuring students in schools from Ventura and Los Angeles counties. There will be re-enactments of the Iwo Jima flag raising. The keynote speaker is U.S. Marine Chief Warrant Officer-4 Randy Gaddo, retired. Gaddo was in Beirut in October 1983 with the 24th Marine Amphibious Unit when terrorists drove a truck bomb into U.S. barracks, killing 240 U.S. service members. Gaddo was uninjured and helped to look for survivors. More details are at www.reaganfoundation.org.

11 a.m. to noon Monday: Veterans Day Celebration will take place at Rancho Tapo Community Park and Veterans Plaza, 3700 Avenida Simi. Speakers include U.S. Rep. Julia Brownley, D-Westlake Village. Veterans will be honored with a presentation of colors and bell ringing. Much of the ceremony will focus on the Vietnam War in anticipation of a half-scale replica of the Vietnam Memorial Wall coming May 23-25 to the park, said Jeannie Liss, park and museum coordinator with the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District. For more information, visit rsprd.org or contact Liss at 805-526-6453 or [email protected].

Newbury Park

1 to 4 p.m. Saturday: Veterans Day celebration will take place at Stagecoach Inn Museum, 51 S. Ventu Park Road. Docents will honor some of the earliest Conejo Valley pioneers who served from the Civil War to the present. There will also be patriotic music and activities for children. Admission to the museum is $10 for adults and teenagers, $5 for children ages 5 to 12 and free for children under 5 and Conejo Valley Historical Society members with their membership card. See stagecoachinnmuseum.com for more information.

Santa Paula

11 a.m. Monday: Mercer-Prieto VFW Post 2043 will host a Veterans Day ceremony at Veterans Memorial Park, 10th and Ventura streets. The program will include patriotic music played by the Santa Paula High School Band. Information is on the post's Facebook page.

Thousand Oaks

10:30 a.m. - noon Monday: The California Conejo Valley Chapter Military Order of the World Wars and the Conejo-Simi Valley Chapter Military Officers Association of America present a Veterans Day ceremony at Thousand Oaks Veterans Memorial at the Creekside Pavilion at Conejo Creek Park North, 1379 E. Janss Road. The ceremonies will feature the Royal High School Air Force Junior ROTC Cadet Color Guard, comments by Ventura County Sheriff James Fryhoff, live music from and solos by a bugler and bagpiper.

Ventura

11 a.m. Monday: Gold Coast Veterans Foundation will host the Veterans Day ceremony at the Ventura County Veterans Memorial, 800 S. Victoria Ave. The event will feature a parade of colors, live music and several speakers, including Ventura City Manager Bill Ayub; foundation board member Dymond James and Officer in Charge Dave Turner of U.S. Coast Guard Station Channel Islands. To learn more, see gcvf.org/veterans-day or call the foundation at 805-482-6550.

Dave Mason covers East County for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at[email protected] or 805-437-0232.