Headliners are Jenny Ponce and Rosalinda Verde with the Crawdads and Mariachi Jalisciense. Also performing will be guest performer Jacob Barber, CEO/Founder of Lore Entertainment.

This concert kicks off the Fall CHAP season with upcoming events with poet and author Gary Soto, discussing his new book “Meatballs for the People: Proverbs to Chew On.” Ohio University Professor Chester Pach will be speaking in October; Pach’s expertise is in television coverage of international issues and the intersections between politics, popular culture, and international history.

Jenny (Yeine) Ponce is a music teacher working with the Elementary Music Team for Visalia Unified School District. An alumnus of COS, she is proud to return to the stage where her music career began. As a music student at COS, she earned her Associate’s Degree in Vocal Performance before transferring to Fresno State where she pursued a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education. Jenny has performed in many musicals, cabarets, concerts, operas, and most recently played the lead role in “El Bracero” a mariachi opera production by the Visalia Opera Company. She has been awarded Best Performance by a Supporting Actress by the Visalia Players as well as first place in the National Association of Teachers of Singing competition for musical theater.

Rosalinda Verde graduated from Point Loma Nazarene University in 2007. While attending the university, she had the opportunity to sing with the San Diego Opera chorus. After moving back from San Diego in 2009, she spent her creative energy building the Visalia Opera Company. To date, VOC  has performed all over the county and has produced several fully orchestrated operas. Rosalinda received a grant in 2015 to produce a “mariachi opera”. She wrote a story about the Mexican/American Bracero program and with help from her team, created a production that is still being toured in Southern California. Rosalinda enjoyed two years of writing original scripts and producing theatre productions for adults with developmental disabilities, at the Creative Center in Visalia. She sings regularly with the Crawdads band at Crawdaddys and is a contract singer for other bands in the area. Recently she had the opportunity to open for Los Lobos with the band August.

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Clear the Shelters is a now larger than nationwide day, presented by VIP Pet Care, PetCo and NBC Universal. Now extending outside of the US, NBC and Telemundo owned stations are team up with hundreds of shelters to host a pet adoption drive on Saturday, August 19 to help find loving homes for animals in need. More than 50,000 pets found their forever homes last year.

This is the first year participating for Visalia Animal Services, said Ivy Ruiz, Animal Services supervisor. After all, the shelter is brand new.

“We’re very excited about it,” Ruiz said.

The Visalia shelter can handle up to 100 dogs and 100 cats, although it currently houses few felines. Dogs come in, in all shapes and sizes from Chihuahua mixes to terriers, shepherds to bully-breed mixes, terrier mixes, and everything in between. The shelter serves to house strays picked up within Visalia, as well as the city of Dinuba.

“The shelter maintains approximately 50-65 [dogs] on a weekly basis,” Ruiz said. “Depending on the time of year, sometimes we care for more as our shelter can hold up 100.

“We anticipate having approximately 25 dogs available for the Clear the Shelters event. However, that could vary, because it is possible that the animals we prepared for the event be adopted before the event.”

The shelter will hold its local Clear the Shelters event for more than just one day, but from Saturday, August 19 – Sunday, August 27. All dogs will have been spayed or neutered, vaccinated and microchipped. All adoption fees will be waived during this time.

The goal is simple – to find great homes for stray dogs.

VIP Pet Care offers $200 worth of veterinary services with the free adoption. Since, the adoption animals have already received much of the care offered with the coupons, VIP has made an allotment for pet owners to utilize the services on another pet owned by the same family, Ruiz said.

Other local shelters are also involved in Clear the Shelters including the Tulare County Animal Services and Tulare Animal Services.

VIP Pet Care holds vaccination clinics at various locations around the South Valley. Other services may be offered. Call the location of the clinic to find out. Visit www.vippetcare.com to find the nearest clinic to you.

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“The Central Valley, and Tulare County in particular, has an incredibly rich Hispanic heritage and we’re excited to pay homage to it over this weekend,” said Rawhide/Toros General Manager Jennifer Reynolds. “This is a full re-brand of the Rawhide with the goal of welcoming even more people into the Rawhide, and now the Toros, family. We encourage all members of the local community to join us for the weekend and make Visalia baseball history.”

The Toros re-brand will include all aspects of the Rawhide organization: the Visalia players will wear all-new uniforms and hats for the series and an all-new merchandise line will be available to fans with the new Visalia Toros emblem. Furthermore, Recreation Park will be transformed for the four-day event.

Food vendors representing various Hispanic style food varieties will be at the ballpark for the Taquiza y Toros weekend only, with foods such as tacos, tamales, papusas, and more. The Rawhide will also be bringing in new and distinct beer flavors to celebrate the weekend and will be offering margarita specials in the Hall of Fame Club. The event will feature a festive atmosphere and will include live music throughout the events, postgame fireworks on August 4, and a water slide in the Kid’s Corral on August 6.

The Taquiza y Toros weekend will be dedicated to the memory of George “Cuco” Serrato. Serrato was an employee of the Visalia Parks and Recreation department whose love for the game played an instrumental part in bringing baseball to the North side of Visalia. Serrato’s vision led to the beginning of the Visalia Angels baseball team. Because of his contributions to the Visalia baseball community, the baseball field at Crowley Elementary School was named in his honor in 1992. Mary Serrato, a relative of George, has been an employee of the Visalia baseball club for nearly two decades.

The re-branding of the Rawhide to the Toros is part of the “Es Divertido Ser Un Fan” initiative from MiLB, which coincides with MiLB’s “It’s Fun to be a Fan” slogan. The campaign’s goal is to become a nationwide event by 2018 that will help to include, and be more welcoming to, the Hispanic fan base that is integral to the game of baseball at all levels. This season, four teams, the Rawhide, the Las Vegas 51s, which will become the Las Vegas Reyes de Plata, the Charlotte Knights, to be renamed the Charlotte Caballeros, and the Kane County Cougars, will re-brand throughout the final month of the MiLB regular season

“One of the pillars of Minor League Baseball is to create an environment where all individuals feel welcome and included in our ballparks,” said Minor League Baseball President Pat O’Conner. “It is important to us that our teams are reflective of the communities in which they reside, offering a memorable entertainment experience for all members of those communities.”

2017 marks the 71^st year of baseball in Visalia at Recreation Ballpark. The Rawhide are chasing their fifth consecutive playoff berth. For tickets and more information, visit Rawhidebaseball.com or call 559-732-4433. Follow the Rawhide on Social media on Twitter (@VisaliaRawhide), Facebook (TheRawhide), Instagram (@visaliarawhide) and SnapChat (visaliarawhide).

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The California League celebrates its 76th season in 2017. For the first time since 1996, the mid-summer Advanced-A classic will be an intra-California League contest with All-Stars comprised of the North and South Divisions.

It’s the first time since 1989 and only the second time overall that the All-Star festivities will be hosted in Visalia.

“Baseball has been an integral part of the fabric of the city of Visalia for over 70 years, and we’re excited to see how the local community has already embraced the All-Star Game coming to Visalia,” said Rawhide General Manager Jennifer Pendergraft. “We are looking forward to the opportunity to host this prestigious game, and to showcase our community and the improvements that have been made to Recreation Ballpark to everyone in the California League.”

The festivities will begin with the All-Star Fan Fest on Monday, June 19th at 6pm. The Fan Fest will feature a Charity Beep Baseball Game to benefit the Blind Babies Foundation of Tulare County and a Hitting Challenge for local high school baseball & softball players, where the contestants will have the chance to win scholarship prizes. The Fan Fest will wrap up with the traditional Homerun Derby and Skills Competitions among the All Stars. There will be autograph and photo sessions throughout the event to give fans the chance to meet the future big-leaguers in person. Each attendee will receive a free All-Star cowbell courtesy of (insert sponsor here).

The North and South Division All-Stars will take to the field on Tuesday, June 20th for a 7pm game, which will be followed by a post-game fireworks show. While the game itself is the marquee event of the All-Star Festivities, the Rawhide will host a pre-game ceremony to induct the second class of California League Hall of Famers (still to be named), giving fans a chance to see some of the greatest stars in California League history from the closest seats to the field of play in professional baseball.

“I have been filtering calls for tickets ever since it was announced that Visalia would host the All-Star Game in July of last year!” said Rawhide Director of Ticketing, Heather Dominguez. “Fans from all over California have added themselves to our waiting list, and are planning on traveling to Visalia to attend the event. There is a lot of excitement built up around the All-Star Game already. We will definitely sell out early!”

Pendergraft also emphasized, “We are hosting all of the All-Star players, coaches, and league executives in Downtown Visalia hotels, and are pushing them to downtown restaurants. We want the economic impact of this event to the businesses in our local community to be undeniable. The Downtown, City, and other partners are all ready for the celebration to begin!”

2017 marks the 71st year of baseball in Visalia at Recreation Ballpark and the 11th season as the Class-A Advanced affiliate of the Arizona Diamondback in the California League. For more information or tickets call 559-732-4433 or visit Rawhidebaseball.com.

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Shelley Duncan will take the reigns as Field Manager for the Rawhide. Duncan has served for two previous years as a Manager in the Diamondbacks organization, having spent the 2015 and 2016 seasons at the helm of the D-backs Short-Season A affiliate in Hillsboro. Duncan led the Hops to a 42-33 overall record in 2016, and a resurgent 24-13 mark in the second half of the season that culminated in the club’s third consecutive trip to the Northwest League postseason.

Duncan, 37, played in parts of seven major league seasons for the Yankees, Indians, and Rays, and enjoyed a 14 year career overall. A second round draft pick in the 2001 MLB draft, he made his big league debut in 2007 and retired following the 2014 season.

Familiar faces will also be returning to Visalia in 2017, as Pitching Coach Jeff Bajenaru and Hitting Coach Vince Harrison will serve as top instructors once again. This will be Bajenaru’s second season in Visalia, and his seventh in the Diamondbacks organization overall. He previously worked as the Pitching Coach in short-season Missoula for two seasons, where he helped guide the Osprey to a Pioneer League championship in 2015. A native of Pomona, California, Bajenaru was a 36th round selection by the Chicago White Sox in the 1999 draft. He made Major League appearances with the White Sox in 2004 and 2005, and also came up briefly with the D-backs in 2006.

Harrison will work in his second season with the Rawhide, and is entering his fourth year as an instructor in the D-backs organization. He has also served as a coach for Missoula, the Kane County Tigers, and the West Virginia Power. The 36-year-old Lexington, Kentucky, native spent parts of nine seasons in the Minor and Independent Leagues. He is the older brother of Josh Harrison (a 2014 All-Star with the Pittsburgh Pirates), and is the nephew of 2-time World Series champion John Shelby.

Eddie Oropesa joins Visalia as the Bench Coach for 2017. A former pitcher hailing from Cuba, Oropesa spent four years at the Major League level with the Phillies, D-backs, and Padres as part of a 16 year professional career that spanned visits to the Mexican League, Independent baseball, and Minor League stops with seven organizations. Oropesa spent the 2016 season as a bench coach with the AA Mobile Bay Bears and worked in 2012 and 2013 as a Coach/Interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star Yasiel Puig.

Chris Schepel, and Mike Locastro will round out the Rawhide Coaching Staff in 2017 as the Trainer and Strength and Conditioning Coach respectively. Both will be in their first year with Visalia.

The Rawhide will seek a fifth consecutive playoff appearance in 2017 after advancing to the California League Finals last year.

“We look forward to welcoming Shelley as the Manager of the Rawhide and to continuing the recent success we’ve seen on the field,” said club General Manager Jennifer Pendergraft. “We’re excited for the rest of great staff that has been put together as well. We’re proud to be celebrating our 11th season with the Arizona Diamondbacks, who have been a great partner to both the Rawhide and to the Visalia Community.

2017 marks the 71st year of baseball in Visalia at Recreation Ballpark. The Rawhide will open their season on April 4th, and will host their home opener on April 13th against the Inland Empire 66ers. For tickets and more information, visit Rawhidebaseball.com or call 559-732-4433.

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Central Valley Christian

Central Valley Christian is in its first year of the FFA Program. Students have been involved in variety of local social and fundraising events, and their first competitive events have been in the public speaking realm. The Citrus Judging Team has been active in competition, and the Farm Power & Machinery, Livestock Judging, Dairy Judging and Dairy Products teams are all gearing up for competitions this spring.

They are keeping it “low key” for FFA Week this year, as they ease their way into the FFA World. Plans for the week include a fundraiser event, Kiss the Cow. How it works – the teacher on campus that has the most money in their milk jar at the end of the week, has to kiss the cow. The plan is to give part of the proceeds to charity. In addition to Kiss the Cow, the school will have an Ag Fact read over the morning announcements, each day. They will also be holding Dress-Up Days to earn points, and the winning class receives a prize.

Dinuba

The Dinuba FFA has been active in many ways so far this year. They have had competitions in Cotton Judging and Vine Pruning. They are preparing for Speech, Veterinary Science, Nursery Landscape and Floral contests. This FFA Chapter also hosts a pet food drive for The Cat House on the Kings. Any donations are welcome! This project is student driven from the Ag Leadership class. Other projects coming from the class include an Autism Awareness Day and celebration, while others are helping out at a homeless shelter by helping hand out food.

The group continues to train Guide Dogs for the Blind and is currently training three dogs. Students learn to train dogs for future owners, and are with their dog 24/7. The Veterinary Science class members have the chance to learn to care for these dogs by bathing, brushing teeth, applying parasitic applications, grooming and cleaning their ears. They currently have a dog that has gone through all her training and will be graduating and given to a new owner. Dinuba FFA’s Madasen Gutierrez will with sadness and excitement go to this ceremony and watch a person in need of a dog receive her dog, Gazele.

El Diamante

Since 1947, National FFA week has been celebrated throughout schools, including Visalia’s very own El Diamante FFA chapter.

“It’s a great way to get our members involved and give peers a little sneak peak of some of the fun we have to offer as FFA members,” said Jenna Toor, chapter secretary.

This chapter hopes to bring awareness to FFA and agriculture throughout the school’s student body during FFA Week by hosting various lunchtime activities including Potato Sack races, a Corn Hole competition and Kick Ball tournament. Agriculture-themed dress-up days, and a feature in the school’s weekly video production of EdHews, will be offered.

One of their most iconic activities they have done in the past is their Kiss a Cow fundraiser. One of our chapter members brings a cow, or steer, they plan to show in the Tulare County Fair, and volunteer teachers are lined up, as well as students, so they can give the cow a little smooch!

“One of our biggest goals within our chapter, which applies throughout FFA, is promoting agriculture,” Toor said. “As FFA Week approaches, we plan to use this as an opportunity to excite and educate our members about the importance of agricultural education and to open their eyes to the influence of the industry, and how it affects their daily lives as humans and citizens of the Central Valley. We are constantly encouraging our members to take what they learn in the classroom, and whether it be educating another or participating in a Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE), appreciate what agriculture has to offer.”

Exeter

The focus for the Exeter Chapter is to have a complete agriculture education program that consists of the three circles: FFA, classroom and SAE. On the farm, Exeter FFA has a horticulture unit, livestock units and a full agriculture mechanics shop. They offer a wide variety of courses to meet the needs of their students. Exeter has 430 FFA members who all have different interests. They offer hands on learning and leadership opportunities for all students.

The Exeter FFA chapter has four days planned packed with fun activities for FFA Week. Some of the activities include a Dodgeball Tournament, a Giant Game of Clumps, a Staff Appreciation Lunch, and their annual Bed Races. A highlight of the week is the Bed Race activity. It consists of carts made out of bed frames, assembled by past agriculture mechanics classes that are pushed by a team of students around a track on campus. The teacher team is always the one to beat! Exeter FFA is looking forward to this awesome week and providing a special experience its members and students.

Farmersville

The largest focus of the Farmersville FFA chapter is to bring agriculture awareness and promote the countless opportunities within the organization to the students of Farmersville High School. The FFA program at Farmersville High School is growing. With growth, comes an opportunity to educate students about all of the opportunities to develop their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success. This year’s goal has been to get students involved in more leadership activities, attend more conferences, to become involved in career development events, and increase student understanding and participation in supervised agriculture experience program.

The Farmersville FFA Chapter has some big plans for FFA Week. Each day there will be a themed dress-up day, as well as a scheduled lunchtime activity. Dress-up days include Animal Day, Western Day, Camouflage Day, and Blue-Gold Day. Some of the exciting lunchtime activities will be performed in the center of campus and will be open to the entire student body. Activities for FFA week are Chubby Chicken (a spin on the popular Chubby Bunny game), a cookie eating contest, Cow Pies (melted chocolate bar guessing game), and an obstacle course. The officer team is hard at work to plan fun activities to bring a positive awareness to FFA at Farmersville High School.

Hanford

Hanford FFA is ready to kick off FFA week on February 20th-24th with a bang! They have multiple lunchtime activities planned for its members, and are looking forward to all student bodies getting involved. Some of the lunchtime activities include Supermarket Sweep, Penny in a Haystack, and a Minute to Win It relay. All games are agriculturally oriented. Supermarket Sweep, for example, helps strengthen the members’ knowledge of California’s top commodities through riddles and a scavenger hunt. FFA week will also consist of school-wide dress up days. These days include Twin Day, Western Day, Blue and Gold Day, and Freedom Friday, which is a patriotic day. Along with these activities Hanford FFA is holding a free lunch time BBQ on each campus throughout the week.

This year Hanford FFA is encouraging their members to “Think Outside the Barn.” They hope through this chapter theme, they will be able to break the stigma behind FFA. Hanford FFA wants their students and school population to know that FFA is much more than farm animals, and farming. It offers leadership opportunities, SAEs outside of animal agriculture, and valuable skills that will benefit students for a lifetime. They are excited to see the chapter grow and continue to help the community through various community service events.

Lemoore

Each year Lemoore FFA conducts an annual Community Pumpkin Patch for preschoolers through third graders, partners with local elementary school classes to implement the Partners in Active Learning (PALS) program, assists with the Kings County Fair cleanup days, conducts canned food drive for local Christian Aid, and provides tour guides for Kings County Farm Day. They have installed a drought tolerant landscape for the City of Lemoore. Lemoore FFA is proud of its more than 25-year history in raising puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind, which developed its recognition as a FFA SAE project by the National FFA Association two years ago.

During FFA Week, Lemoore FFA will host a schoolwide dress up days including The Owl, when students may dress up like their favorite wise-old nerd; The Plow, when students may dress up as a farmer or in Western wear, The Flag, when students are to dress up in patriotic colors, and Blue and Gold Day, FFA colors.

Other Activities throughout the Week include the airing of a promo video with a thank you to staff and others for supporting FFA, a Clue Game with advisors – new clues given out daily to see which advisor did the dastardly deed, and a Kiss the Cow event involving the entire school.

Monache

Monache has about 400 students involved in FFA with three teachers. Some 24 hogs, 10 sheep and a hundred chickens are kept on the campus farm, some of which will be shown at the Porterville Fair in May. The club hosts a Farmers Market on the farm, held on March 4 this year, with student-grown produce and plants available, as well as floral arrangements and other items.

Monache High School FFA has something planned for every day of FFA Week. A Trivia Day will be held in class and a Tailgate party after school. There will be a Teacher Appreciation lunch and a FFA Mini contest on Friday, where students will participate in a variety of Career Development events in each class.

Sequoia High

Sequoia FFA received its charter last year. Its focus is on Natural Resources and Forestry. The program currently works in collaboration with Reedley Junior College to offer a dual enrollment course in Chainsaw Operations, and Sequoia FFA works closely with Sequoia National Park for service learning projects.

Last year, Sequoia FFA won the Western Region Hartzog Award, and had the opportunity to meet the then Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewel when she visited the Cesar Chavez Memorial, last October. Through this program, students receive employment and internships with the National Park Service. Sequoia FFA is excited to continue expanding their unique program.

For FFA Week, Sequoia FFA will be having a Logging Sport competition and a Salsa Making contest, in addition to doing community service projects in the National Park.

Strathmore

Strathmore FFA celebrates National FFA Week in many ways. This year, the chapter officers have planned a different lunchtime activity for each day. They also plan to hand out a special treat on each day. All members and non-members are encouraged to get in on the fun. The chapter also puts on its annual Drive Thru Dinner. The money raised will be put toward sending members to the State and National Conventions, and scholarships for seniors. The Drive Thru Dinner will be held on February 23, from 4-6pm at the Strathmore Ag Department Parking Lot.
Strathmore FFA’s strongest and most popular areas are hogs and chickens. But, they also have a growing Floral and Ornamental Horticulture component to their program. They have a Crop Box (indoor hydroponics growing system), several greenhouses, and an aquaponics system going up this year.

A California Ag Curriculum is taught during FFA Week to celebrate and help further knowledge of the importance of California agriculture.

Tulare

Tulare High School Farm is home to the Tulare High School Agriculture Program and Tulare FFA. This is one of the most unique agriculture programs in the United States, due to the fact that its site is separate from the three campuses it serves – Tulare Union High School, Tulare Western High and Mission Oak High School. Additionally, this site is home to the programs 60-acre commercial farming operation and its Land ‘O Lakes affiliated 100 cow dairy. These facilities offer students a truly hands-on experience in agriculture as it prepares students to be college and career ready.

In February, the Tulare High School Agriculture Program celebrates National FFA week differently than others by making it a month-long event. Already under way, Tulare FFA promotes FFA and Agriculture during the entire month of February. Tulare FFA members will visit each of the 14 feeder schools into the Tulare Joint High School District, promoting FFA and agriculture. Also, Tulare FFA will host the Sequoia Sectional FFA Public Speaking Contest, the San Joaquin Regional FFA meeting, the Tulare FFA Blue and Gold Dash, and many of the members of the Tulare FFA chapter are donating many hours of community service in the support of the events and operation of the World Ag Expo – the largest showcase of agriculture in the world. The members of Tulare FFA understand that we all celebrate agriculture each and every day – three times a day, at meal times.

Woodlake

The Woodlake FFA chapter focuses on the success and involvement of its members. It highly encourages members to be active by joining CDE teams, attend sectional and regional activities, and participate in our chapter level leadership and team building. Advisors put in a lot of effort and time to see this chapter succeed. The program has grown in size and score over the past four years, and hopes are to accomplish more by getting others involved.

For FFA Week, the officer team came up with dress-up days and activities to celebrate the mission of FFA. Dress-up Days include: Tuesday is Tuxes and Tiaras, when FFA members will dress in formal business attire, Wednesday is Western Wear (country apparel), Thursday is Tiger Pride Thursday, when members will wear school colors of orange and black for the annual Donkey Basketball game that afternoon, and Friday is FFA Friday where members will wear a lot of National Blue and Corn Gold to represent the colors of FFA.

Activities planned include a Decorated Door competition, in which teachers will decorate their classroom doors with a theme of agriculture and organize their teaching content, so that each teacher can show their students how agriculture relates to their school subject. The officer team will judge the classroom doors and whoever does the best job will receive the award of a pizza party for lunch. Another activity, is a mini CDE field day on campus, where advisors will host different CDE competitions to promote involvement in FFA Competition teams. The annual Donkey Basketball game is held against Exeter FFA. This event will take place on Thursday, February 23, in the Woodlake High School Old Gym facility. Tickets are available at the door. Woodlake FFA plans carefully in order to make their FFA week fun and informational for members and the community.

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