What it was like
The hills above Thousand Oaks smell like wood smoke and caramelized onions and something sweet coming off the dessert tent that you have already decided to skip. You will not skip it.
Local restaurants bring the dishes they know will disappear first. The wine pour is generous. Live music runs the whole afternoon. People arrive with their neighbors and leave with strangers they will see again next year, which is what happens when a community event actually works instead of merely occurring.
The setup is unpretentious in the best way — a tree-shaded fundraiser that has fed the same neighborhood for over a decade, with every dollar going to programs run by the people throwing it.
1:30 to 5:30 PM at St. Paschal Baylon School Grounds, 155 E Janss Rd, Thousand Oaks. Admission around $40. Parking on-site.
Get there early enough to work through the food before it runs out. The dessert table always goes first. That is how you know.