Filter by category, date, or area. Everything listed is in person, county-wide.
📍 Cowell Beach
🕒 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM · $102.2
Tri Santa Cruz is one of the most fun and scenic events on the west coast. The race has a sprint and international (Olympic) distance triathlon, with relays and aquabike categories for both races. There is a special, non-competitive Family & Friends wave for people who are new to triathlon or just want to have a fun day. The sheltered swim and flat bike and run course make this a perfect place for a first race. The bike ride is a totally closed course and both the bike and run courses follow the coastline to create one of the most scenic races around! It also makes cheering on your athlete a vacation itself!
📍 Visitor Center | Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park
🕒 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM · See listing
Highlights Loop Guided Hike- Want to experience the different ecosystems in Henry Cowell State Park first hand? Look no further than this diverse loop through an old-growth redwood forest and the unique Santa Cruz Sandhills. On this guided hike, we will gain 500 feet over 4.5 miles in about 3 hours. Come prepared with good walking shoes and water. Let's plan to meet in front of the Visitor Center at 9:00 am. RSVP here to save your spot!
📍 Dynomite Farm
🕒 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM · $59
Enjoy Dynomite Farm’s show-quality dahlia beds for intimate, unhurried cutting experiences where you and your friends have the field to yourselves. No crowds. No rushing. Just you, your people, and a thousand flowers. Companion passes are available for guests who want to join the fun, explore the farm, and take in the beauty without cutting flowers. Friendly chickens roam the property, there are swings for little ones.
📍 Live Oak Farmers’ Market
🕒 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM · FREE
Started in 2000, this neighborhood market has grown to be a weekly event that is loved and depended on by the communities of Live Oak, Pleasure Point and Capitola. Here the atmosphere is bumping with families, cyclists, beach goers, locals, visitors, the young and the old. Shoppers find an excellent selection of organic produce from regional farms. The tables are stacked high with tree-ripened fruits, greens, fresh bread, pastries, nuts and legumes, sustainable seafood, pasture-raised organic meats and seasonal flowers. Many visitors spend hours at the market, filling their bags with berries, chicories and bagels – then moving onto a unique meal from one of the accomplished cooks that sell at the market. Sunday brunch offerings include traditional Michoacan Mexican dishes, gyoza, savory and sweet crepes and farm-driven meals that spotlight the harvest in clean, creative and bright arrangements. Watsonville-based Hidden Fortress Coffee provides that hot, comforting cup of goodness that brings us back to the simple pleasures of life. This is your Sunday destination.
📍 Downtown Santa Cruz Antique Faire
🕒 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM · See listing
The Santa Cruz Antique Faire is on the 2nd Sunday of every month from 9am-5pm, weather permitting. Vendors offer an eclectic blend of antiques and unique items, vintage clothing, collectibles and more! Visit the Antique Faire on Lincoln Street between Pacific and Cedar.
📍 Land of Medicine Buddha – In the Gompa
🕒 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM · See listing
Join us for Sunday drop-in Meditations 9-10 am weekly. In person only– in the Gompa at Land of Medicine Buddha with Venerable Yangchen! Venerable Yangchen's guided meditations bring together a refreshing and precious combination of simplicity, depth, and accessibility. These weekly, hour-long sessions are of great relevance and value to long-term Buddhist practitioners as well as to complete newcomers to meditation. The practice begins with brief instruction, 10 minutes of silent meditation, followed by guided analytical meditation and discussion based on the theme of the week.
📍 Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History
🕒 10:00 AM – 3:30 PM · See listing
Join artists Gina Athena Ulysse and Nicolás Dumit Estévez Raful Espejo Ovalles Morel for a day-long contemplative retreat. Schedule of events: 10am-1pm Where Are We Going? A 6-mile walk spanning all locations of Redwoods Rasanblaj from the UCSC Quarry to Variance Objects and the MAH in downtown Santa Cruz, and ending at the Institute of the Arts and Sciences. Please bring water and appropriate footwear. Meet at the UCSC Quarry at 10am. Attendees are also welcome to join at the MAH at approximately 11:30am. 1pm-2pm Lunch A light lunch will be provided for those who plan to join for both the conversation and walk. 2pm-3:30pm It Was Never Meant To Be Secular A dialogue at the IAS galleries between Gina Athena Ulysse and Nicolás Dumit Estévez Raful Espejo Ovalles Morel.
📍 Santa Cruz Mountains Art Center
🕒 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM · See listing
0 booked, 4 available Glazing
📍 Capitola Branch Library
🕒 10:30 AM – 1:00 PM · FREE
We are lucky to live in Santa Cruz County, a place most people would love to visit. That makes it the perfection destination for travelers from Workaway. Workaway connects travelers who want to truly experience the culture of the places they visit with hosts who could use some extra help around the house. Longtime hosts Julie and Kischka will talk about how hosting Workaway travelers can lead to cultural exchange and lasting friendships, and Roy and Quin from the Netherlands will share their experiences as Workaway guests. Whether you’re curious about becoming a host or setting off as a traveler, come discover what makes Workaway such a rewarding way to connect with the world. As always, our Sunday Assembly program will also feature small group activities, inspiring readings, and of course, a potluck. Please bring your curiosity, your open heartedness, and a dish to share.
📍 The 418 Project
🕒 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM · See listing
Wing Chun martial arts classes with instructor Marcus at The 418 Project in Santa Cruz, meeting multiple times per week.
📍 Davenport Roadhouse
🕒 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM · $25
Join Perch Sauna at the Davenport Roadhouse for a Dip & Drip — an ocean cold plunge at Davenport Beach followed by a cedar sauna session. Come for the plunge, stay for the sauna, or do both, moving between cold, heat, and fire at your own pace.
Between sessions, warm up by the fire with hot cocoa and mallows from Gelatin Glow, and enjoy a complimentary drink from Best Day Brewing.
What to bring: Towel, swimsuit, water bottle
Included: Sauna session, complimentary Best Day Brewing beverage
📍 La Bahia Hotel & Spa
🕒 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM · FREE
For a more casual local draw, Low Tide features weekly dining specials including The Monday Slice ($20 signature pizzas), Wine Down Wednesdays (½ price bottles under $80), and Sunday Golden Hour offerings (4PM-6PM with $6 draft beer and house wine)
📍 Davenport Roadhouse
🕒 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM · $25
Join Perch Sauna at the Davenport Roadhouse for a Dip & Drip — an ocean cold plunge at Davenport Beach followed by a cedar sauna session. Come for the plunge, stay for the sauna, or do both, moving between cold, heat, and fire at your own pace. Between sessions, warm up by the fire with hot cocoa and mallows from Gelatin Glow, and enjoy a complimentary drink from Best Day Brewing. What to bring: Towel, swimsuit, water bottle Included: Sauna session, complimentary Best Day Brewing beverage
📍 SubRosa Community Space, 703 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA
🕒 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM · See listing
Description: Tianguis Realmente Gratuito. Todo es gratis. Really Really Free Market - every second Sunday - 11am - 2pm. No money. No trades. Everything is free. This gathering is not about the "stuff" we give and take, but more about how we can freely give and receive from each other. This is a form of anti-capitalist mutual aid where everyone is invited to participate and share care. ¡Todo es gratis! No intercambio de dinero, no negocios, no trueques. Trae lo que gustes, toma lo que necesites. Este mercado gratuito es basado en una economía de regalar. Learn more about the Santa Cruz Really Really Free Market (RRFM) and RRFMs in general - go to link in bio https://instagram.com/rrfm_ and http://journal.subrosaproject.org/2022/09/really-really-free-market-info-history.html Please wear a mask for community care. with the Really Really Free Market Crew ([email protected]) http://www.subrosaproject.org/ // https://www.facebook.com/subrosaproject // https://www.instagram.com/subrosa_space
📍 Santa Cruz Harbor
🕒 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM · FREE
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 District’s 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.
📍 Corralitos farm and garden market
🕒 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM · FREE
A small but mighty amazing community market. In beautiful Corralitos, which is located in south Santa Cruz county. The country feel is real with local produce, local flowers, local honey, baked goods, plants, crafts, and so much more. An amazing Jewel hidden in the south County of Santa Cruz also we are right next to Aldridge Park and the famous Corralitos meat market. See you all there. Rain or Shine. Located 127 Hames Road Corralitos 11-3pm plenty additional parkiing @Aldridgepark
📍 Avalon Visions
🕒 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM · FREE
Come to the Second Sunday AVALON VISIONS PSYCHIC and HEALING ARTS FAIR where an array of intuitive professionals is available for your consultation, as well as market stalls filled with inspiring good for purchase. Join us for good vibes the Second Sunday of every month at 2815 Porter Street in Soquel. See you there!
📍 m.k. contemporary art gallery
🕒 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM · FREE
“Confluence”: where separate currents meet. This beautiful exhibition pairs the work of Santa Cruz artists Susana Arias and Glenn Carter, on view August 7 through September 13 at M.K. Contemporary Art Gallery. “Confluence” is exhibited alongside of 25+ local and regional artists whose work we adore. Live improvisational jazz music from “The Leftovers” at the opening on the First Friday of August from 6-8PM
📍 Discretion Brewing
🕒 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM · See listing
12:00-3:00pm Animal Shelter Relief is coming back to our Beer Garden! Grab a beer, meet adorable adoptable animals, and learn about what ASR does to help our local furry friends. Stay for live music afterwards from 3-5pm! ASR is an all-volunteer, non-profit, 501(c)(3) animal rescue based in Santa Cruz, CA. Their mission is to relieve overcrowded animal shelters through rescue, thereby reducing euthanasia. Formed in 2008, Amy Strickland along with 2 former co-workers from the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter started Animal Shelter Relief rescue, the ONLY local animal rescue focusing on cats and special needs animals, that existed at the time. The founders knew what help was needed at the County Animal Shelter and formed a rescue to meet those needs and relieve the overcrowding.
📍 Santa Cruz Public Libraries
🕒 12:00 PM · See listing
Sunday, August 09 2026 11:00am - 1:00pm Local chapter of a global secular (non-religious) movement of people who meet to celebrate life together in congregations and communities around the world. Meets 2nd Sunday of the month 11am to 1 pm.
📍 Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park
🕒 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM · FREE
Experience an old-growth redwood forest filled with ancient trees over 200 ft. tall, and connect one on one with park staff. On this 1-mile stroll, you will be chatting about life histories, ecology, etc., and sharing a wonderful adventure among these giants. You don’t want to miss this! Meet at the visitor center. Although the event is free, the vehicle day-use fee is $10. Hold on to that receipt! Once you have paid for parking at one state park, you have paid for them all. There are 14 state parks in Santa Cruz County alone!
📍 Institute of the Arts and Sciences
🕒 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM · See listing
Visit the IAS, UCSC’s premier art galleries, for our spring exhibitions. On view April 10–August 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 – 5 pm. Admission is free to the public. Libia Posada: Everything is Going Right Libia Posada’s 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
📍 Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park
🕒 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM · See listing
Coast Redwoods offer a 100% satisfaction guaran-treed! Every Saturday at 12:00pm, we are taking folks on a guided walk through the Redwood Grove to talk about coast redwoods and to experience the forest together. On this 1-mile stroll, we will be chatting about life histories, ecology, etc. and sharing a wonderful adventure among these giants. Click here to RSVP. Let's plan to meet in the front of the Visitor Center, we hope you can join us!
📍 Santa Cruz Mountains Art Center
🕒 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM · See listing
Take Out: Rhythms Within performance at Santa Cruz Mountains Art Center.
📍 Private Live Oak Home, address provided with registration
🕒 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM · $2
Do you struggle to find tasty, healthy food while traveling, camping, or backpacking? With good preparation, it doesn't have to be that way!
📍 Nicholson Vineyards
🕒 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM · $25
Enjoy summer weekend afternoons at the beautiful Nicholson Vineyards! Saturdays from noon to 5pm – Enjoy perusing art from local artists Sundays from 1pm to 4pm – Enjoy listening to local musicians Pack a picnic spread, gather your friends and family, and sip on their refreshing summer wine flight, featuring the best of our warm-weather selections. Book your reservation today! July 11 & 12: The Clay Chalet and music by Dos Bros July 18 & 19: Indigo and Vine and music by Jo Coleman July 25 & 26: Sour Sammy Sourdough and music by Six String Mixtape August 1 & 2: Scout and Sea and music by Half Pass August 8 & 9: Lili Arnold Studios and music by Eden Edell August 15 & 16: Desert Moon Design and music by Kip Allert August 22 & 23: Papelline Jewelry and music by Zach Bailey August 29 & 30: Anna Gail Designs and music by Jeff Smith September 5 & 6: All You Knead and music by Cake Party!
📍 Wilder Ranch State Park
🕒 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM · See listing
Want to learn about the rich dairy history of Wilder Ranch State Park? Dreamt of peeking inside our beautiful Victorian homes and barns? Join us weekly on Saturdays and Sundays for a 1.5 hour long tour of the historic buildings of Wilder Ranch! Meet at the visitor's center at 1 pm. Pre-register here or join us on the day-of. This tour is free. Parking in Day-use lot is $10. Questions?Call (669)758-1963or email [email protected]
📍 Visit Santa Cruz County
🕒 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM · FREE
Jug band music is scrappy, soulful, and a little unexpected — The songs are an energetic and artful blend of old-time jazz with blues and gospel. It can be played using washboards, jugs, kazoos; anything that can be turned into an instrument – or guitar, banjo, and brass – it’s the kind of music that makes you stop and smile! Click the link in the orange button above for more details. August 6 from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm: Pono Hawaiian Grill at 120 Union Street in Santa Cruz August 7 from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm: Museum of Art and History at 725 Front Street in Santa Cruz August 7 from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm: Abbott Square at 118 Cooper Street in Santa Cruz August 8 from 12:00 pm to 9:00 pm: Abbott Square at 118 Cooper Street in Santa Cruz August 9 from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm: Shanty Shack Brewing at 138 Fern Street in Santa Cruz
📍 Abbott Square Marketplace
🕒 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM · FREE
The Second Annual Santa Cruz Jug Band Festival Thursday August 6th – Sunday August 9th, 2026 Free admission for all events! Contact [email protected] Jug band music is scrappy, soulful, and a little unexpected — The songs are an energetic and artful blend of old-time jazz with blues and gospel. It can be played using washboards, jugs, kazoos; anything that can be turned into an instrument - or guitar, banjo, and brass - it’s the kind of music that makes you stop and smile! Calendar of events: Thursday August 6th, 5:45-7:30 pm at Pono Hawaiian Grill. 120 Union St. Downtown Santa Cruz. · Join the Trolley Drops at their monthly jug band sing and play along. Bring your voice and/or instruments and your good humor. Lyrics projected on the wall. It’s free. Friday August 7th, 6-9 pm at Abbott Square Market and the MAH, 725 Front St. Santa Cruz · 6 pm in the MAH lecture hall: “The Wild & Wacky History of Jug Band Music”, a presentation by the Trolley Drops. · 7 pm at Abbott Square: The Puffball Collective plays dance music, “Prohibition to Psychedelia: Jug Band Roots as Rock.” Saturday August 8th, Noon-9 pm at Abbott Square. 725 Front St. Santa Cruz · Five bands will play one hour sets with sing-alongs or solo performances between sets. · Alphabetically the bands are: The Rivertown Skifflers The Quake City Jug Band The San Lorenzo Valley Ramblers The Trolley Drops The Washboard Rhythm Company Sunday August 9th, 2-5 pm at Shanty Shack Brewing. 138 Fern St. Santa Cruz. · Jug Band Happy Hour: various members of the five Jug Bands will perform some of their favorite songs in a more intimate setting.
📍 Audrey Stanley Grove in DeLaveaga Park
🕒 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM · $25
Santa Cruz Shakespeare invites you to experience Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, un-der the trees and stars of the Audrey Stanley Grove in Santa Cruz’s DeLaveaga Park this summer. Much Ado About Nothing By William Shakespeare Directed by Charles Pasternak One of Shakespeare’s wittiest and most beloved comedies, the 2026 season will open with Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. Of all the couples in Shakespeare, perhaps none is more widely loved than Beatrice and Benedick. Their battle of wits; their antagonism turned to eroticism; their history. Before the play begins, they already seem to define each other. The audience, like the other characters in the play, wait with excitement as their wits clash, and eventually, as their love blossoms. Much Ado About Nothing runs July 11 – August 30. More information or to purchase tickets, follow the link in the orange above, or contact the box office Tuesday through Friday from noon to 4pm at the number listed above.
