Ken Barker Realtor® GRI, E-Pro,Certified Negotiator

Courtesy of Castanet.net Pitbull vs kitten by Brad Parsons - Story: 62184 May 22, 2011 / 2:12 am

A good time was had by all attending the Simi Valley Cajun Music Festival. I blogged about this the other day that this was coming to Simi Valley, Ca.on Memorial Weekend on Saturday and Sunday. Parking is usually a nightmare but it was very organized thanks to the Simi Valley Rotary Club. We met about a mile away at the Simi Valley High School. Parked in their parking lot and we were bussed to the Rancho Simi Park where the Cajun Festival was being held.

Once we entered in to the grounds there were many kiosks of local, as well as outside vendors set up under the typical tents. There were jewelry vendors, banks, our local paper (VC Star), some crafts, some salsa tasting tables, some wine tasting but the biggest and the most duplicated vendor was the sunglasses (2 for $5) and hats. This year there seemed to be more fedora's and cowboy style hats than ever before.

In the background we could hear what we came for. Blues, Zydeco and a mixture of the Cajun style music that had us movin and shakin to the romp. Many patrons danced on the large floor in front of the main stage.

Then after a little entertainment we stepped over to the food vendors. I was not going to have a hot dog or a hamburger of any sort. There was a selection of Jambalaya, Gumbo, Gator, Crayfish, roasted corn on the cob and sweet potato curly fries. Many more items to choose from but too many to list. For dessert, and the longest line, was the famous funnel cake. Topped off with either powdered sugar, chocolate, strawberries and whipped cream, ice cream or bananas. Or you can have the works all of it combined.

Outside of the areas mentioned was an area designated for the kids. Many slides, bouncers, rock climbing walls and gyroscopes. There was also a large area set up for crafts for the kids.

Back to the music area there was one stage on the West side of the grounds specifically for Blues. There was one name that came forward to me, Elvin Bishop. The other main stage is where the Cajun music was. In this group the one name that comes forward, although there were some fabulous entertainers, was Buckwheat. He was a 2010 Grammy award winner for the best Cajun and Zydeco music. To follow is a collage I put together of that group. They were amazing.

Toward the end of the day, the Simi Valley High School band paraded their traditional Cajun Festival dance where patrons danced behind and did a parade through the grounds as well.

Also, included in my pictures is the famous Budweiser Clydesdale group of horse and carriage. With the horse and carriage was Blake, the Dalmatian mascot.

So we had a great time at the Simi Valley Cajun Festival and expect to make a plan to go next year. I would encourage you to set aside a day to go.

Located South of the 101 freeway off of Lindero Canyon and Triunfo Canyon. One of the most popular sites of Westlake Village, California. Unlike most lakes it is not for the public activity.

The Development called The Landing, located at 32129 Lindero Canyon Road. Westlake Village, Ca. 91361, has three restaurants, 1) The Landing Sushi and Grill 2) Boccaccio’s and 3) Zin Bistro but the lake is strictly membership. You can walk around and find various commercial units within the development a liquor store, salon, insurance, mortgage etc… and you can walk the immediate area on the shore line.

There is a Yacht Club and a Tennis club that enjoy access and have various community fun. Residents can also buy a yearly pass which enables them access to the lake as well as house their pontoon boat or kayak. There are restrictions as it is a man made lake. No swimming, no diving, pontoon or dingy boating at a cruising speed as well as kayaking. Many of the homes that surround the entire lake have their own docks. The lakes shore line totals 10 miles and the entire lake grounds encompass 150 acres.

There are townhomes that range from $219,000 to $500,000 and single family homes that range from $500,000 to $3,339,000 that share the shores. Some are within the gated community and enjoy the internal part of the Island and others enjoy the shores.

So if you are interested in learning more about the area of Westlake Village you can contact me various ways below. Phone, email, website or blog. Or you can click the search for homes button and view what is currently on the market.

We all know there are some powerful sites out there for the buyer and seller community. Most of them are incorporating the listings generated by the major sites. Then there is an IDX, Internet data exchange, that you can find to help you on an agents website.

Now you can sign up with an invite from me or another local agent in the Ventura and Los Angeles counties. Submit your name and your email to a Listingbook account, see the purple tab on the right hand side of my blog, that will allow you to search like an agent when they search the MLS, Multiple Listing Service. This is where all the listings represented for sale in the area show up at your fingertips. And the best thing is that YOU can change the criteria anytime you wish.

Sometimes I have received messages from various clients indicating that they want to look in other areas besides what I have their criteria set for. YOU can change your criteria to meet those changes.

You also have the ability to communicate with the agent who invited you. There are notes that you can ask pertinent questions about the property in question. No email or phone calls or insistent agents to deal with. The notes go back and forth and are kept in the file on that property.

You can choose, favorites, possibles, new, pending, model match etc…. you will get a report that you choose the timeframe selected which you can get a morning report or a weekly report.

This is the best tool for any prospective buyer but besides that, the sellers can benefit too. You can track neighbor sales of the competition. Updates on new listings. Converse with your agent and a whole plethora of tools.

This is totally free. You won’t have an agent calling you all the time but you can connect immediately with the agent who invited you. Yes you have to be invited but it is so easy. If you are in the Los Angeles or Ventura County and would like this golden opportunity just click on the purple box on the side of my blog and sign-up. Absolutely free.

If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact me on my Listingbook website, which FYI is not completely updated yet but has enough for you to gain the knowledge of what you need, that is Ken’s listingbook website.

Or you can contact me as per below in my signature.

I was invited to a nice evening of wine tasting, chocolate tasting and selection of hor d’oeuvres. It was a two hour networking event at the Westlake Inn of Westlake Village in the Wine Cellar. It is below the restaurant and level with the pond and waterfalls that Westlake Village Inn is known for in Westlake Village, Calif.

The event was sponsored by Capstone Direct. I started off the evening with a plate of veggies, fruit and cheese and crackers. Then I headed over to the wine tasting table, provided by Scott Cellars out of Los Olivos, California. Check out his website for further info, where he had a wide selection of white and red wines of his making. scottcellars.com.

I do not want to go into the array of what the wine was or tasted like so you can view the display of wines on the scottcellars website. I started out with a 08 Pinot Gris, 08 Pinot Noir, 08 Sangiovese, 06 Cuvee J and ended with 08 Krow Shore Syrah.

Here are the labels of the various wines I tasted and a picture of some of the chocolates enjoyed.

Syrah’s are my favorite but I have to say a close second was the Sangiovese and the Cuvee J.

Along with the wine tasting there was a local vendor that supplied us with a chocolate tasting table. When I was able to get their attention and squeeze in I talked to the owner about TIFA chocolate and Gelato. You can check their website out too, Tifa Chocalate.

Tifa Chocolate.

Amongst all that we were able to network with the local real estate collection. It was nice to meet them as well as catch up with Casey Preston, who is the local rep of listing book.
It was a great evening of fun, wine, chocolate tasting and networking put on by Michael Wise of Capstone Direct.

If you are interested as a consumer of partaking on my website to search properties, as I do on the MLS, please submit your email and name on the block and we can get started.