COVID-19 RESOURCES
We’re all in this together (CLICK HERE).
Read on for an update on what we’re doing in response to COVID-19 and for Townie Approved indoor activities while we practice CDC-recommended "social distancing."
9/22/2021
What an honor to have received another fan contribution! Don’t miss this amazing, multiple-choice resource from Roger, Hailey, Josh, Meg, Aubree, and Skylar of the All Saints youth ministry group!
Search Google for Title Max’s Road Trip From Home: A comprehensive virtual road trip through the caves of Vietnam, the White House, the Giants’ Causeway, Machu Picchu and more! Plus, some games!
4/23/2021
We are so honored to have received our first ever fan contribution! Check out this awesome resource from Jacob & Samuel:
Search Google for All About the San Diego Zoo: Read about about conservation efforts, what zoologists do, the history of the San Diego Zoo and more!
4/24/2020
Dearest Townies,
Hey y'all. Hooooooeeey what a week... Or... Month? What year is it?
I don't know about all of you but I have been having really great days and really low days, all sorta mixed in together, you know? I have a hard time finding the right words to say about all this yet... So I'll just offer that we're all going through this together; we aren't struggling alone (though it can really feel like we are). And always remember that we, the Townies, love you dearly.
I'd love to give you some quick updates on what we've been doing and then we can get to the goods: the Townie-Approved Indoor Activities list!
We have moved our workshops online with great success! We share in the, uh, challenges of virtual meetings as much as anyone else ("Who's eating chips??")... but Kim, Theodora and their students have been creating delightful, soft, inviting, supportive, hilarious, heartbreaking, honest places to land and write and share for almost 5 weeks now.
As I'm sure you could have guessed, we have officially, indefinitely postponed our live performances. But we felt it was massively important to honor the beautiful words of our students so, in lieu of performances, we will be launching the first ever Townies Zines, containing all the material written this session. These zines will be available for purchase, in both a downloadable and printed version!
Thanks to guidance from one of my favorite high school teachers and brilliant PhD candidate, Alexis Spina, the Townies are getting ready to launch another online class: an ongoing, once-a-week, one-hourish-at-a-time class for folks who don't have a lot of time to spare but need to connect with a community. We're still ironing out the details but if you want to know more, please shoot me an email at lily@thetowniesinc.org(oh yeah, we got fancy new email addresses!).
Now, the moment you've all been waiting for:
THE TOWNIES-APPROVED INDOORS-ONLY RECOMMENDATION LIST!
Enjoy and stay safe!
The Townies Podcast: Yeah, sorry not sorry, gonna drop our own link again! But UPDATE, we're going to be featured on the VCReporter's list of great local podcasts for quarantine! Sooooo... Head on over to Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, Stitcher, PodBay, Google Podcasts, etc.
Tell Your Story: Townie Micah Van Hove and a team of international filmmakers are collecting voice messages to "create a portrait of humanity in isolation from the perspective of many people in many different countries." Call (323) 418-2475 to leave an anonymous message.
Virtual Tours of Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings: This article links to a series of Instagram accounts offering tours of the various FLW (yeah, we're on nickname basis) buildings, including Fallingwater! CLICK HERE.
Two Penguins Comforting Each Other: Shameless feel-good content, for nothing other than a morale boost. CLICK HERE. Seriously, do it...
Yoga with Adriene: Virtual yoga with the delightful Austin-based Adriene! Her YouTube account has been up for years so there are plenty of different practices to choose from! CLICK HERE.
Museum of Ventura County Virtual Exhibit: Explore photography by Jorge Corralejo, archiving the labor strikes of the 1970s. CLICK HERE.
USC's Live From Somewhere: Brilliant students and professors from USC's music program record and share their work from the comfort of their own homes. CLICK HERE.
Rough Cut Press: Townies Amanda & Liam Lezra's online publication featuring stories and poems under 650 words as well as visual art. New issues released once a month! CLICK HERE.
30-Days Free of BroadwayHD: Thanks to the Geffen Playhouse, you can stream some fab theater content for FREE! To take advantage: CLICK HERE. Click on "Subscription" in the upper right hand corner. Select "MONTHLY $8.99/month" plan (you won't even have to enter your card info). On the next screen, enter the promo code GPHFM and you're good to go.
Love & I'm-Going-To-Watch-Monterey's-Otter-Cam-And-Take-A-Nap,
Lily Brown
Producer of The Townies Podcast
Producing Director at The Townies, Inc.
3/18/2020
Dearest Townies,
Our hearts go out to those who are struggling mentally, financially, physically and otherwise during this difficult period. And our gratitude goes to those who are prioritizing the greater good by practicing "social distancing" (CLICK HERE for more info) despite how hard it can be on the soul.
In our own effort to help "flatten of the curve" (CLICK HERE for more info), we are doing what we can to facilitate social distancing in our programming. HOWEVER! As we all isolate physically, we feel that it is vitally important to continue connecting with our fellow humans, albeit from afar.
The less fun news: we have decided, out of an abundance of caution, to suspend classes at the studio through March 31st (per recommendations by the CDC, WHO, Governor Gavin Newsom and prominent medical authorities). Rest assured, we understand that this is an evolving situation and we will be reassessing as new information comes in.
The much more fun news: we are experimenting with virtual classes in the meantime! Plus, we have some brand new projects in the works that will help us continue our mission of connecting people through stories even amidst these trying times. One of which begins now!
Below, you will find a list of some indoors-only activities and spirit-lifters that our staff and board members have been sharing back and forth over the last few days at home. Every time we send you an update, we'll send a few more new list items to help you keep those buckets full, Townies.
The Townies Podcast: Sorry not sorry, this one just has to come first! Our podcast featuring live stories, interviews, honesty, hilarity, etc. Available on iTunes/Apple Podcasts (now one and the same), SoundCloud, Stitcher, Google Podcasts (which is a thing now) and more.
Let's Be Brave Podcast: Townie Rain Perry's amazing podcast featuring interviews with all manner of amazing folks! Available on iTunes/Apple Podcasts and more! Learn more about it HERE.
Reasons To Be Cheerful: An ongoing project by The Talking Heads frontman, David Byrne that is exactly what it sounds like. A nice reminder of the good going on in the world. They have a website, an email list and social media.
San Diego Zoo Animal Cams: Live feed to some of the animal enclosures at San Diego Zoo! PENGUINS, PEOPLE. Available HERE.
National Gallery of Art, Washington DC: Get a virtual tour of some of their amazing exhibits! Available HERE.
Monterey Bay Aquarium: Operating live cams from their main enclosures (HERE), videos on their Facebook page (HERE) and morning medit-ocean (more information HERE). Wholesome content.
Light & Space Yoga: Ojai's own Light & Space Yoga is offering a virtual yoga session via Instagram Live at 9AM every morning for free or small suggested donation via PayPal! Check their account HERE.
Commune Yoga: More free virtual yoga lessons available online! Courses offered HERE.
Le Gallerie Degli Uffizi: This museum was designed in 1560 to house the Granducal Magistratures of Tuscany. My fav online gallery to date! We love you, Italy. Virtual tours available HERE.
The Met Opera: In light of closing their live venue, the Met Opera is sharing HD recordings of some of their works for free! More info HERE.
Ventura County eLibrary: Some great eBooks, audiobooks, movies and research aides are available online at our local libraries! See what's available HERE.
Art Tutorial: Our dear friend, Sierra, who we met in Italy this last summer is an art teacher who makes delightful art tutorials, available on YouTube!
And finally, just a few videos:
Quarantined Italians record messages to "themselves from 10 days ago."
Italians singing together from inside their homes during quarantine.