Music Festival

The annual Ventura Chamber Music Festival, under the direction of Burns Taft and Gregory B. Smith, will open today with a gala dining and dancing event, “At the King’s Command,” at the Pierpont Inn. The affair will include performances by the Ventura County Ballet Company. The festival will run daily through May 13 at various downtown venues. The theme this year is “Transcendent Bach.” Besides a healthy dose of that composer’s music, there will be works by Debussy, Dvorak, Piazzola, Ravel, Villa-Lobos and others. Featured performers will include guitar virtuoso Pepe Romero; the Empire Brass Quintet; Grammy-winning conductor Vance George; South American classical and jazz guitarist Romero Lubambo, with Brazilian percussionist Cyro Baptista; flutist Paula Robison; and the Rossetti String Quartet.

* Ventura Chamber Music Festival; today-May 13; downtown Ventura. Complete schedule and ticket information: https://www.vcmfa.org or 648-3146.

Vintage Aircraft

The Collings Foundation will offer tours of its fully restored B-24 Liberator “All American” and B-17 “Nine-O-Nine” World War II-era aircraft at the Oxnard Airport as part of the national “Wings of Freedom Tour” this weekend. The two “flying museums” are examples of actual combat aircraft, and the All American is billed as the only fully restored, battle-ready plane flying today. Flights, lasting 45 minutes, on both aircraft can also be reserved.

* Wings of Freedom Tour; today, 3-5 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; Sunday, 9:30 a.m.-noon; Oxnard Airport, 2889 W. 5th St. $7 general; $3 children 12 and younger. Flights, 5:30 p.m. to dusk; $350. 648-1258 or 985-2490.

Telling Tales

Ojai will host the Village of Tales Storytelling Festival this weekend. More than 20 performances aimed at family, adults and kids will be held at several downtown locations, including the Libbey Bowl and the Ojai Center for the Arts. Among storytellers will be Bill Harley of Rhode Island, a regular commentator on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered”; Judith Black, Izzi Tooinsky, David Novak and the Healing Force.

* Village of Tales Storytelling Festival; Friday-Sunday; downtown Ojai. Details, 646-8907.

Theater Opening

The Rubicon Theater Company’s staging of Tom Griffin’s comedy “The Boys Next Door” will have a gala opening Saturday. The $125 ticket price includes intermission refreshments and a reception with the cast after the show at Landmark 78 restaurant. The play follows four developmentally disabled men who live in a group home and their overworked social worker.

* “The Boys Next Door”; previews today-Friday, 8 p.m.; $20 general, $18 students. Regular performances begin Sunday and run Wednesday-Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday, 2 and 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m. Through June 3. Laurel Theatre, 1006 E. Main St., Ventura. $20-$35. 667-2900.