The annual Hillside Music Festival was held by the Ventura Hillside Conservancy on Sunday to raise awareness about the environment.

“It starts with the little things, like park cleanups,” said the founding president of the Ventura Hillside Conservancy Brooke Ashworth.

She mentioned her own memories of growing up by a creek and catching pollywogs during the spring.

“There’s a lot of concern because we don’t have those kind of spaces right here in Ventura for kids to play in, they’re not going to get why saving this land is so important, so we want to involve younger people in our organization,” she said.

The Ventura Hillsides Conservancy is a non-profit organization working to save and preserve the hillsides, canyons, and natural environment of Ventura County for future generations. They hope to provide education and information to the public to preserve and conserve local lands.

This year, the Blind Boys of Alabama performed, bringing excitement and energy to the crowd.

“It has a great feel to it, and I love this area,” another performing artist, David Lindley, said about the festival.

Lindley gave the audience a laugh with his sense of humor, and displayed his talented guitar-playing.

“What’s really cool is how this event got started,” Ashworth said. “Jackson Browne heard about our efforts to preserve the hills, and he said if you start a conservancy I’ll come and play a benefit concert for you, but it will have to be a musical festival and it will be every year, and we said that sounds great!”

The Chris Robinson Brotherhood band and the Fabulous Thunderbirds also made an appearance at the concert.

Along with the live entertainment, there was a climbing wall and a face-painting booth for children.

“It’s a good cause, and I’ve grown up working and helping out with it,” volunteer Ella Svete said.

The Ojai Raptor Center released a juvenile red-tailed falcon at the event as well.  The crowd let out an “aw” of admiration at the bird’s beauty as it soared through the crisp air.

Donna Burr is a volunteer at the Ojai Raptor Center where they rehabilitate and release wild birds.

“I think our hills our beautiful and they contribute to our quality of life in Ventura and they also provide environments for our wild life,” Burr said.

One of the main goals of the concert and for the members of the Conservancy is to raise money for the Ventura River to be more open to the public and to acquire land for people to enjoy.

“I’ve been coming here since the first one, and it’s always been a family event, it really brings everyone together for a good cause, it’s a fun event and a good idea for fundraising,” said Madeline McCormick, a sophomore at Ventura High School who attended the festival.

Credit: Megan Kearney & Bridget Parrino for The Foothill Dragon Press.