Things to Do in Ventura

The rink at Channel Islands Ice Center is a space for public skating, a classroom for skating school, and a frozen venue for hockey and figure skating. Operated by the Channel Islands Figure Skating Club and Channel Islands Riptide Hockey Club, the ice center has a stake in varied community endeavors. The center also hosts ballet, tap, and jazz classes designed to complement ice-skating skills and teach students how to evade a would-be attacker with a graceful plié and well-timed pirouette.

Gull Wings Children's Museum appeals to many childhood aspirations as it teaches—the Blast Off area lets kids pretend to be astronauts, the Home Town Hero exhibit lets them play firefighters, and the Lego-a-Go-Go room lets them portray immobile plastic bricks. Aside from the many exhibits, there are a series of regular programs in reading, science, and other subjects. The museum also hosts special events such as storytellers and dance groups.

Every Thursday, Comedy Hideaway ushers in a lineup of HBO– and Comedy Central–anointed performers, its stage still echoing with the bygone riffs of such national acts as Zach Galifianakis and Whitney Cummings. The club's founder, Andrey Belikov, often hosts and performs at the evening's revues, spinning impressions of his Ukrainian father and detailing his foibles in American society. Between sets, guests avail themselves of Petrini’s menu of Italian fare, sip laugh-loosening drinks, and stand in line for autographs from nationally touring microphone stands.