Thursday, July 23 2026 11:00am - 12:00pm Songs and Stories
From the waves to the redwoods, it's all happening here.
Live music, festivals, art walks, surf contests, trail days and everything in between.
Every listing is something you can actually show up to, from Davenport down to Watsonville.
β Featured this season
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Featured Event
Sponsored
Phamily Time!
Phamily Time, presented by Phreeborn is back with a summer edition you wonβt want to miss. There will be something for everyone, so bring the whole phamily! Get tickets for the whole day celebration here: TICKETS
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Square Dance Santa Cruz
We are thrilled to return for our monthly SANTA CRUZ SQUARE DANCE β¨! 5:30pm old time tunes jam (bring your instrument!) This event is FREE (but please consider donating to support the band!)
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SC Beach Boardwalk: Free Minecraft Movie on the Beach
Every Friday night on the beach in front of the Colonnade, bring your family and your blanket or low-back chair to experience the ultimate movie night! Watch your favorite movies while munching on mouthwatering Boardwalk treats, from kettle corn and saltwater taffy to corn dogs and turkey legs. Seating is first come, first served and each movie will have a 15-minute intermission. June 12, 2026: The Lost Boys June 19, 2026: Ferris Buellerβs Day Off June 26, 2026: Kicking and Screaming July 10, 2026: 13 Going on 30 July 17, 2026: Back to the Future July 24, 2026: A Minecraft Movie July 31, 2026: Jurassic Park August 7, 2026: The Goonies
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Movie Night Under the Stars: Screening βSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verseβ
The DSAS Center for Leadership and Involvement and Summer Edge invite you to join us for our Movie Night Under the Stars event screening βSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verseβ: Date: Tuesday, July 28th Screening Time: Event entry begins at 7:30 p.m. | Movie starts at 8:00 p.m. Location: Stevenson College Knoll *Bring your own blanket! Limited chairs are available on a first-come, first-served basis.* Free movie snacks will be available! For any questions or accommodations, please email [email protected] . You Belong Here: The programs and services described here are open to all, consistent with state and federal law, as well as the University of Californiaβs nondiscrimination policies. Every initiativeβwhether a student service, faculty program, or community eventβis designed to be accessible, inclusive, and respectful of all identities. To learn more, please visit UC Nondiscrimination Statement or Nondiscrimination Policy for UC Publications .
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Free Beach BBQ Parties and Concerts
Every Thursday throughout the summer, enjoy a family-friendly party on the beach at no charge! There will be local bands and DJs performing on the outdoor stage, providing music for dancing and socializing. There will be BBQ food and drinks for purchase all in a beachside setting providing stunning views of the ocean and Walton Lighthouse. Parking is limited in the area, so consider enjoying a free water taxi ride from other parking areas! 2026 Lineup: May 21, 2026: Sambada May 28, 2026: Space Heater June 4, 2026: James Durbin & The Lost Boys June 11, 2026: Ancestree June 18, 2026: Jive Machine June 25, 2026: Cake by the Ocean July 2, 2026: Ripatti Rose Band July 9, 2026: Extra Large July 16, 2026: Fishhook July 23, 2026: Harry & The Hitmen July 30, 2026: Matt Masih & The Messengers August 6, 2026: The Houserockers August 13, 2026: The Joint Chiefs August 20, 2026: La Familia August 27, 2026: Alex Lucero Band September 3, 2026: Sambada
βοΈ Happening today
Thursday, July 2376 events on today. No plans required, just go.
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Showing 30 of 2412 upcoming events
Join Career Success for an interactive workshop on Interview Best Practices, followed by Mock Interview Practice! Note: You must Register via Zoom for this event. Once registered, make sure to add the event to your calendar. We will provide captions for the presentation. If you have disability-related needs, please contact the Career Success office at [email protected] as soon as possible. YOU BELONG HERE Programs and services are open to all, consistent with state and federal law, as well as the University of Californiaβs nondiscrimination policies. Every initiativeβwhether a student service, faculty program, or community eventβis designed to be accessible, inclusive, and respectful of all identities. To learn more, please visit UC Nondiscrimination Statement or Nondiscrimination Policy for UC Publications.
Li, J. (CM) β Detecting Failure to Adapt: Reading Self-Regulated Learning Breakdowns from Game Telemetry through Plan Recognition
Three learners who fail the same level of an educational game the same number of times can be failing in three different ways, and the difference determines what each should do next. Yet the measures a gameβs logs are usually reduced to (completion time, error counts, mastery estimates) render the three identical. This proposal takes one breakdown as its object: failure-to-adapt, the case where the game has repeatedly surfaced evidence that a learnerβs current approach is failing and the learnerβs approach shows no responsive change. The construct is grounded in Winne and Hadwinβs monitor-and-control model of self-regulated learning and defined at the level of the learnerβs plan. To detect it, a plan-recognition engine maintains a continuously updated probability estimate of which strategy the learner is executing across the whole trace; an episode is flagged when that estimate shows no evidence-responsive revision. Because behavior alone cannot settle what broke down, flagged episodes are validated against learnersβ own verbal reports, coded blind, and decomposed into monitoring failure, control failure, or control the trace cannot show. Three studies carry the work: detection and diagnosis on real telemetry from an educational game, including a comparison against the analytics the field already runs; a formative study of what a facilitator (an instructor or teaching assistant running a class play session) must see to judge correctly which learners need attention; and a documented authoring case carrying the detection to a second game. The contribution is knowledge for game-based-learning researchers: a theory-grounded construct, a validated way to detect it from play, and the authoring knowledge to embed that detection in new games. Event Host: Jiahong Li, Ph.D. Student, Computational Media Advisor: Magy Seif El-Nasr Zoom: https://ucsc.zoom.us/j/93238603235?pwd=zENRsu82HRj4JYKcMEn9MZibU8kC7F.1 Passcode: 835328
Fueling for Fitness: Nutrition to Support Energy, Performance, and Recovery
When: Thursday, July 23 Time: 12:00 PM -1:00 PM Where: Register for the Zoom link . The workshop will be recorded, and a link to the recording will be sent out after the first session. Whether youβre walking at lunch, lifting weights after work, training for your first 5K, or simply trying to stay active, what you eat can make a noticeable difference in how you feel, perform, and recover. We will explore the fundamentals of how to nourish your body for fitness without restrictive diets or complicated meal plans. In this workshop, you will learn how to: Time meals and snacks around workouts for sustained energy Build balanced meals using carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fats Avoid common nutrition myths that can hinder progress
It's time to get those crayons sharpened, paints mixed and markers at the ready for our Summer 2026 PokΓ©mon Art Contest for kids 5-12! To join in, create a picture of your favorite PokΓ©mon having a fun moment or striking a cool, dynamic pose. Submissions should be on 8.5 x 11 paper. You can use any medium you like, such as paint, marker, crayon, pencil, etc. No digital art. There will be prizes awarded to two age groups, 5-7 and 8-12. Entries accepted June 1st-July 31st. Winners will be announced on August 6th. BONUS: All participants will receive a free PokΓ©mon:Chaos Rising 11x17 mini-poster (while supplies last) when you hand in your art.
Join us Wednesday, May 21st from 12:00 PM- 1:00 PM at California Coffee for an informative and uplifting workshop you won't want tfor suo miss! Our featured guest speaker, Manas S. Kshirsagar, AD, MS a NAMA Board Certified Ayurvedic Doctor with years of experience in holistic wellness and healing, will be presenting "Tools for Stress and Anxiety". With today's fast-paced world and the stress levels many of us are unduring, this workshop will offer valuable insight, practical tools and wellness strategies to help bring more balance, peace and calm into our daily lives. Lunch Special Available: Half Sandwich + Chips just $9.99 California Coffee, 9105 Soquel Dr., Aptos, CA 95003 cacoffeeaptos.com Thank you from myself Sylvia Reyes, and my amazing team for supporting our small business and community events!
Rules Are Not Neutral: Play As Sense-Making, Acts Of Resistance, And Imagining Otherwise
This exhibition brings together a range of analog games β including board, card, role-playing, and other participatory works β that engage social and political realities in different ways. The works span widely circulated commercial games to independently produced projects, one-of-a-kind artworks by artists, faculty, alumni, and students, and materials drawn from UC Santa Cruz Special Collections and Archives. In part, the exhibition challenges the persistent assumption that games and play are detached from social and political life. On the contrary, game designers and artists across diverse perspectives and positions have long used play to engage questions of social systems, lived experience, and how power operates. This exhibition does not attempt to represent that full spectrum. Instead, it brings together a particular set of works that foreground how games can make systems visible, intervene in them, and imagine alternatives. All games embody values, whether intentional or not. β Mary Flanagan , game designer and scholar Across all of these works, games are not only forms of entertainment, though they may be that as well. They are encountered in multiple ways: as objects, as systems, as artworks, and as experiences that unfold unpredictably through interaction. In each case, rules and constraints shape what participants can do. In these different forms, the works stage systems β such as housing and land ownership, capitalism, race and identity, civil rights and protest, fascism, and colonialism β in ways that are simplified and easy to see, opening space to recognize similar structures beyond the game. In this sense, the works suggest that rules are not neutral β they organize experience, distribute power, and produce meaning. Games are the art of agency. β C. Thi Nguyen , philosopher The exhibition is intentionally dense. This abundance reflects the breadth of ways games operate across contexts, from activism and education to art and everyday life. While it cel
Spring Exhibitions at the Institute of the Arts and Sciences
Visit the IAS, UCSCβs premier art galleries, for our spring exhibitions. On view April 10βAugust 16, 2026 are three diverse and interdisciplinary shows: Libia Posada: Everything is Going Right , the first US solo exhibition by the Colombia-based artist and medical doctor; Gina Athena Ulysse: A Redwoods Rasanblaj , a site-specific and immersive exploration of the Haitian kreyol conception of rasanblaj; and Ronaldo V. Wilson: There Are No Words, But Melodies , a mixed-media exhibition emerging at the intersections of Black poetics, performance, and visual art. The IAS Galleries are open Wednesday-Sunday, 12 pm β 5 pm. Admission is free to the public. Libia Posada: Everything is Going Right Libia Posadaβs first solo exhibition in the United States features installations, sculptures, and drawings meticulously constructed from surgical instruments, gauze bandages, crutches, used books, and domestic picture frames. The new and existing works in the exhibition powerfully stitch together the personal, social, and political disorders and afflictions that currently trouble the world, from the wars that resonate across the globe to the violences of aging in US prisons. Gina Athena Ulysse: A Redwoods Rasanblaj: Origins & Disentanglements The internationally-lauded work of humanities professor Gina Athena Ulysse is on view as a premier Faculty Spotlight Exhibition. The site-specific installation, produced in community from things collected, found, purchased and donated, centers on the Haitian concept of rasanblaj, a form of assembly and collage that transcends the formal use of materials to draw together people, spirits, and ideas. Ronaldo V. Wilson: There Are No Words, But Melodies Collage is both a material practice and a structural interrogation in the Faculty Spotlight Exhibition artworks by literature professor Ronaldo V. Wilson. In video, painting, and installation, layers and folds conceal and reveal, delving into the experience, both bodily and emotive, of living in time
A technical training camp for theater at All About Theatre in Santa Cruz, covering skills for behind-the-scenes production.
Step into the MAH's Archives Reading Room during our weekly Open Archives hours. Meet the archivist, see a unique item from the collection on display, and discover where Santa Cruz history is preserved. Please note: Open Archives is an informal drop-in experience, not a time for in-depth research appointments. If you'd like to schedule research time, please contact us in advance by email or phone. We usually pop open the archives every week-though every now and then we take a break. For more information, email [email protected]
July is Parks and Recreation Month | Free Swim Thursdays
Free swim Thursdays in July at the Watsonville High School Pool in celebration of Parks and Recreation Month. A cool way to enjoy summer.
Thursday, July 23 2026 1:00pm - 3:00pm Creativity time for teens and tweens at the library!
Far West Fungiβs Santa Cruz Store & CafΓ© is launching Myco-Mixers β Enjoy an afternoon of food, fun, and fungi! Each Myco-Mixer will feature complimentary bites, product samples, and happy hour discounts on cafΓ© favorites. Guests can meet the Far West Fungi team, learn about unique mushroom products, and discover new flavors to take home. Head Far West in Santa Cruz each week to taste house-made tacos, explore featured products, and find your new favorite mushroom treats. Whether youβre a foodie, mushroom enthusiast, or just looking for a fun Thursday outing, Myco-Mixers are the perfect way to experience local one-of-a-kind flavors!
Thursday, July 23 2026 2:00pm - 4:00pm Play Mahjong with fellow enthusiasts! Beginners welcome with weekly Hong Kong Style lessons. Other styles offered too. Tiles provided or bring your own.
Mark Van Haren β '70s pop-soul
Step back into the golden era of β70s pop-soul with Mark Van Harenβguitarist, vocalist, and lifelong devotee of the music that made AM radio magic. Raised on Stevie Wonder, Hall & Oates, Al Green, James Taylor, Steely Dan, Bill Withers, Bacharach, and the Beatles, Mark brings that eraβs warmth, melody, and heart to life. His sets blend rich vocals, rhythmic guitar, and harmonically complex arrangements, mixing familiar-but-forgotten favorites like βBaby Come Backβ with soulful deep cuts such as βKnocks Me Off My Feet.β Every song is chosen for connectionβmusic that feels good, hits deep, and brings audiences together.
R.E.A.D.: Reach Every Amazing Detail @LOLA
Thursday, July 23 2026 3:00pm - 5:00pm R.E.A.D. is one-on-one reading comprehension instruction for grades 1-12. By appointment only. Please, no drop-ins! To make an appointment, call 831-427-7713
Thursday, July 23 2026 3:00pm - 5:00pm Bring your decks and get ready to play
R.E.A.D.: Reach Every Amazing Detail @ Felton
Thursday, July 23 2026 3:00pm - 5:00pm R.E.A.D. is one-on-one reading comprehension instruction for grades 1-12. By appointment only. Please, no drop-ins! To make an appointment, call 831-427-7713
Afternoon STEAM: Minecraft @ Branciforte
Thursday, July 23 2026 3:00pm - 5:00pm Learn how to craft, build, and survive in the world of Minecraft.edu.
Thursday, July 23 2026 3:00pm - 5:00pm R.E.A.D. is one-on-one reading comprehension instruction for grades 1-12. By appointment only. Please, no drop-ins! To make an appointment, call 831-427-7713.
R.E.A.D.: Reach Every Amazing Detail @ Downtown
Thursday, July 23 2026 3:00pm - 5:00pm R.E.A.D. is one-on-one reading comprehension instruction for grades 1-12. By appointment only. Please, no drop-ins! To make an appointment, call 831-427-7713
Thursday, July 23 2026 3:00pm - 5:00pm Make and explore STEAM possibilities at Felton Branch Library! Age 6+
Are you interested in learning about technology? Visit us during our weekly Tech CafΓ© program where you have the opportunity to get basic tech-related questions answered and test a new piece of technology. This program will take place on Thursdays from 4:30-6:30pm at the Main Library (unless otherwise indicated). The technology we demo will change each month; here is a list of what technology will be featured: - January (program starts on the 15th): Doodle Pens - February: Makey Makeys (circuit boards) - March: 3D Printer - April: Spheros (programmable robots) - May: Cricut - June: Glowforge - laser cutter (This program will take place at the Freedom Branch) - July: iPad Stop Motion movies - August: Spheros (programmable robots) - September: 3D Printer - October: Doodle Pens - November: Cricut - December: Makey Makeys (circuit boards) Audience: All Ages ΒΏLe interesa aprender sobre tecnologΓa? VisΓtanos durante nuestro programa semanal Tech CafΓ©, donde tendrΓ‘s la oportunidad de obtener respuestas a preguntas bΓ‘sicas relacionadas con la tecnologΓa y probar una nueva tecnologΓa. Este programa se llevarΓ‘ a cabo los jueves de 4:30 a 6:30pm en la Biblioteca Principal (a menos que se indique otro horario o lugar). La tecnologΓa que mostraremos cambiarΓ‘ cada mes; las tecnologΓas que se presentarΓ‘n: - enero (el programa comienza el dΓa 15): Doodle Pens - febrero: Makey Makeys (placas de circuitos) - marzo: Impresora 3D - abril: Spheros (robots programables) - mayo: Cricut - junio: Glowforge - cortadora lΓ‘ser (este programa se llevarΓ‘ a cabo en la sucursal Freedom) - julio: iPad Stop Motion (pelΓculas) - agosto: Spheros (robots programables) - septiembre: Impresora 3D - octubre: Doodle Pens - noviembre: Cricut - diciembre: Makey Makeys (placas de circuitos) Audiencia: Para todas las edades
Tech CafΓ©: Ipad Stop Motion Movies
Event date: July 23, 2026 Event Time: 04:30 PM - 06:30 PM Location: 275 Main Street, Suite #100 Watsonville, CA 95076
Tech CafΓ©: iPad Stop Motion Movies
Learn to create stop-motion movies using iPads at Watsonville Main Library. Part of a weekly Tech Cafe series.
No Gods Hardcore Show Alex Bottomlining
Go explore the harbor shops, restaurants and experiences with very little car traffic! Passengers may be picked up and dropped off at the following locations: X1 Gate (northeast harbor) AA Dock (southwest harbor) Launch Ramp (southeast harbor) Please visit the Port Districtβs website to view the map for all water taxi pick-up and drop-off locations in the harbor. Visitor parking is available for water taxi passengers in the north harbor near X Dock.
Thursday, July 23 2026 4:00pm - 5:30pm Stop by each week for a new creative craft.
Persephone Restaurant Thursday Night Pasta Special
Every Thursday along with our regular menu we offer a prix fixe pasta dinner! Enjoy three courses starting with a fresh farmers market mixed green salad, your choice of Pappardelle Bolognese, Truffled Tortiglioni or our seasonal risotto. Finish with a scoop of our housemade chocolate gelato or seasonal sorbet. Three courses for $40!
A weekly Congo dance class in Santa Cruz. Participants learn traditional African dance movements in a group setting at The 418 Project.
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