From the waves to the redwoods, it's all happening here.

Come join a community of readers who meet the 4th Monday of each month to hear poetry and discuss its curious powers. Come join a community of readers who meet the 4th Monday of each month to hear poetry and discuss its curious powers. Discussions facilitated by Paola Bruni, Elaine Fletcher Chapman, and Jessica Cohn. Registration encouraged. Walk-ins welcome. https://santacruzpl.libnet.info/event/14321587 Poets in 2026 January 26 Joy Harjo February 23 Billy Collins March 23 Eavan Boland April 27 Arthur Sze May 18 * Emily Dickinson June 22 Gary Snyder July 27 Dean Young August 24 Lucille Clifton September 28 Sharon Olds October 26 Juan Felipe Herrera November 23 Ada Limon December 28 Jericho Brown *Note: Third Monday in May because of Memorial Day

Monday, September 28th, The Spoken Experience meets at a new time: 1 p.m. This community of readers gathers on the fourth Monday in the Capitola library to read a featured poet’s work. For September, the focus will be on the poems of the incomparable Sharon Olds. Local poets Paola Bruni, Elaine Fletcher Chapman, and Jessica Cohn facilitate the conversation, and you'll enjoy the company of the nicest bunch of people you could meet on any Monday. Join us!

This is Motion Pacific's Beginning Jazz Fusion class for adult dancers.

0 booked, 6 available Chris Finnie

A weekly Afro-Brazilian dance class focusing on rhythm and movement.

2 Mondays of Latin Social Dance in September, Salsa, level1 and Cha Cha level 2, at the Mid County Social Center in Capitola with Becky Adams. 6:15-7:15 - Salsa social dance for the absolute beginner. If you love the music, come join us to learn the basics of this fun dance. 7:30-8:30 - ChaCha 2, will move you into fun, useable Intermediate combinations to add to your social dance repertoire. If you know Cha Cha basics, or have taken Salsa 2 and know the 'triple step' come and join us. Singles or couples all ages welcome.

This is Motion Pacific's intermediate level contemporary jazz dance class.

FREE IN-STORE EVENT: Bookshop Santa Cruz welcomes New York Times bestselling author Joseph Fink (Welcome to Night Vale, Alice Isn't Dead) for a reading and signing of The Nudge, a new horror novell...

Soft Pastel Painting runs in six week intervals taught by instructor Sarah Orre. A short demo will be taught the first class meeting with reference photos that will teach color theory, underpainting, texture, layering, and movement. Students are encouraged to bring additional reference photos for inspiration. Participants bring their own soft pastels (not oils), and sanded paper. The remainder of the class meetings are used for studio time. The last day we have a group peer review to discuss our work and give and receive feedback.

0 booked, 4 available Glazing

Youth Bloom Studio Art with Sarah Orre, nurtures creativity, confidence, and curiosity through hands-on learning. Each class encourages young artists to explore new materials, techniques, and ideas while building foundational art skills in a supportive studio environment. From painting and drawing to air dry clay and mixed media, students learn to see like artists and express their own unique voice. Enroll in as many sessions as you like!

A weekly hula and Tahitian dance class with the Te Hau Nui school, exploring Polynesian movement and tradition.

Advanced hula and Tahitian dance class for experienced dancers. Part of Te Hau Nui School's curriculum.

Beginning adult ceramics with instructor Nora Sarkissian. Learn the basics of hand building, pinch, and coil. Nora will provide demos and projects as well as time for independent clay creation. Class is held at Redwood and Ranunculus downtown Felton. Tuesdays, 6-8:30 PM $234 for 6 weeks (7% service fee due at checkout) plus a $20 material fee due to instructor at first class Clay, glazes, and tools provided. Session I: August 18, 25, Sept 1, 8, 15, 22 Session II: Sept 29, October 6, 13, 20, 27, Nov 3

0 booked, 7 available

Aldous Harding comes to Santa Cruz for a special performance at Rio Theatre.

Busy

A free weekly dance jam for babies and their caregivers at The 418 Project in Santa Cruz, with movement, music, and play in a joyful environment.

A 12 week series on Wednesdays from 10:30AM-12PM that introduces foundational digital literacy concepts and teaches useful digital skills. August 19: What is a VPN and Do You Need One? August 26: Smartwatches Made Simple September 2: AI Powered Art September 9: Music Streaming Made Simple September 16: Podcasts Made Easy: Listen to Your Favorite Topics Anytime September 23: Your Story, Your Legacy: Preserving Memories with Spoken Records September 30: Tech Settings That Help With Accessibility October 7: Using Emergency Features on Your Phone October 14: Intro to Facebook October 21: Intro to Instagram Registration required. Must register for each class individually. https://santacruzpl.libnet.info/events?term=cyber+seniors&d=2026-07-30&r=range&start=2026-08-01&end=2026-11-01 Come join Dara Brady, a local instructor with the digital literacy organization Cyber-Seniors, for a weekly digital literacy course! Each class includes a lesson on the topics below, Q&A time, and one-on-one tech support. Participants are encouraged to bring a notebook, pen/pencil, and whatever tech device they want to learn on: (a laptop, tablet, and/or smart phone) and the charger for that device. If they don't have a device, they can still participate and Dara can get them one to use for the class. All classes run on Wednesday mornings from 10:30AM to 12PM in the Fireside Room except for the first and last sessions, which will take place in Study Room A.

A regular tango class in Downtown Santa Cruz, offering a way to learn Latin dance in a social, cultural setting.

Join Nurture Santa Cruz & Points for Wellness for an evening of supportive conversations about endometriosis and the challenges of it.

There’s a thin line between love and hate and sometimes, it’s the barrier between balconies. That’s the premise of Noel Coward’s Private Lives. Two divorced lovers find themselves spending their new honeymoons next door to one another at the same hotel. Both are egotistical, passionate, and selfish, so how are they going to manage to live next to each other at a hotel? Better yet, how are they going to live without each other? This laugh-out-loud comedy is rich, witty and as sharp as Cupid’s arrow. See the play on Friday, September 4th for a matinee preview or check out one of the multiple showings through October 4th. -Mat Weir; Good Times Santa Cruz

0 booked, 4 available Glazing

We will be hosting the Open Studios Preview Exhibition, showcasing the work of all the 330+ Santa Cruz County Open Studios Artists who are participating in the program

A weekly Congo dance class in Santa Cruz. Participants learn traditional African dance movements in a group setting at The 418 Project.

This is Motion Pacific's Adult Intermediate Modern class for adult dancers.

Ever been inspired to drop everything and create when visiting an exhibition at the MAH? Join us for a Drop-In Drawing session in the gallery from 6-8pm on the first Thursday of every month. This is not a formal lesson, but an opportunity to bring in your own art supplies and sketch what you see. Dry media only (no markers or paint). All ages welcome. Free with admission. The museum will provide stools, feel free to bring a cushion or folding chair if space allows. Groups of 5+ please give advanced notice by emailing [email protected] . Drop-In Drawing Calendar 2025 September 4 - Art Forum Gallery / Ed Penniman: Landscapes of Home October 2 - Art Forum Gallery / Ed Penniman: Landscapes of Home November 6 - Art Forum Gallery / Ed Penniman: Landscapes of Home December 4 - Art Forum Gallery / Ed Penniman: Landscapes of Home 2026 January 1 - NONE (New Years Day) February 5 - Solari Gallery / Rydell Visual Arts Fellowship March 5 - Solari Gallery / Rydell Visual Arts Fellowship Comment end

If you love big band music, traditional or contemporary, then East Coast Swing is for you (7:00 Mondays starting Sept 17th). This is the basic Swing dance and is universal generally recommended for beginning swing dancers. It can be smooth or fast and is a circular swing dance. Jump in this fall with Becky Adams through Capitola Recreation, and get ready for your next event, big or small.

Relationships are beautiful and complex things. They all have a beginning and an ending. Jason Roberts explores the complexities of relationships in his emotional musical, The Last Five Years. Cathy and Jamie are romantically involved for five years, and the audience watches it unfold from each perspective. Cathy’s view of the relationship will begin at the end and work its way back to the beginning, while Jamie’s perspective starts at the beginning of the relationship and moves to the end. The story features beautiful and clever music that explores the sacrifices and costs of relationships. Audiences will contemplate how relationships affect how we define ourselves. Goes until Oct 3. -Isabella Marie Sangaline

FREE IN-STORE EVENT: Bookshop Santa Cruz welcomes Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Miriam Pawel for a reading and signing of her new book California Dreams: The Making and Remaking of the Universi...

Santa Cruz Theatrical Premiere – New Documentary! THEATRE OF HORRORS: THE SORDID STORY OF PARIS’ GRAND GUIGNOL (2025, Severin Films, 89 min. Dir. David Gregory.) In 1897, in a back alley in the seedy Pigalle district of Paris, a former chapel turned small performance space became a theatrical institution forged in naturalism, controversy and grisly spectacle. Over the next 65 years, it would actively provoke revulsion, celebration and begrudging global esteem. More than a half century after its final performance, the Grand Guignol remains one of the most wildly misunderstood and profoundly influential traditions in entertainment history. From horror films to tabloid journalism, avant-garde theater to the true-crime genre, France’s ‘Theater of Death’ is still slicing, gouging, and spurting its pervasive way through culture both high and low. Or as the BBC recently declared, “Even if there were no ghosts onstage, this unusual little Parisian theater continues to haunt us today.” In the new documentary by award-winning producer/director/editor David Gregory – whose previous explorations of transgressive entertainment include LOST SOUL: THE DOOMED JOURNEY OF RICHARD STANLEY’S ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU, BLOOD & FLESH: THE REEL LIFE & GHASTLY DEATH OF AL ADAMSON, ENTER THE CLONES OF BRUCE and SUZZANNA: THE QUEEN OF BLACK MAGIC – and narrated by international genre icon Barbara Steele – legendary star of BLACK SUNDAY, THE PIT & THE PENDULUM, THE GHOST and more – discover the history, mystery, and ongoing socio-cultural impact of what may be France’s most infamous export. “I’ve been fascinated by The Grand Guignol since childhood,” says Gregory. “But despite brief mentions in horror history books and deep scholarly studies, my search for a cinematic exploration of the subject had consistently proved unrewarding. Even my interactions with French genre filmmakers revealed their own superficial knowledge of the Theater’s significance. It’s all led me to dig deeper and discover the

A documentary screening exploring the history of the Theatre of Horrors and the Grand Guignol style of theatrical horror.

We will be hosting the Open Studios Preview Exhibition, showcasing the work of all the 330+ Santa Cruz County Open Studios Artists who are participating in the program

Calling all Daisies, Brownies, Juniors, Cadettes, and Seniors—this exciting overnight adventure is just for you! Includes: • Camping Under the Stars on the Boardwalk • Exclusive Free Play in the Arcade • Dinner & Breakfast • Outdoor Movie • Exclusive time on the Looff Carousel & Pirate Ship Friday night • Sand Sculpture Competition • Event Patch • Ride Wristband for Saturday • Discounted Parking Package Price: $99.95 per person Deadline September 27, 2026, or until full. Register today! bit.ly/Fall-Girl-Scout-Overnight

Renown graphic artist Jim Phillips is presenting his first-ever solo show of new works, unveiling 15 new large scale art prints in addition to 30 hand-dipped pen and ink drawings produced from 1983 until 2023. Exhibit runs through October 31. Gallery Hours: Thursday – Saturday 1-4 pm or by appointment (831) 234-6813.

Join the Santa Cruz Museum for a free public Zine-Making activity, with access to our ongoing exhibitions! Presented in connection with a pop-up project on Oaxacan Languages of the Transnational Central Coast with the UC Santa Cruz Humanities Institute , this interactive activity will invite museum visitors to share personal stories or reflections on language, identity, and belonging. *More information on the Oaxacan Languages Pop-Up will be available soon

Join us at The Green Spot Santa Cruz on Friday, October 2, from 4–8 PM for our final First Friday event of the year! We’re excited to welcome back Nico from Zardi Creations as our featured artist. Come shop their unique handmade creations and support local art. Enjoy live music by Billy Reese from 5–7 PM while you browse, shop, and enjoy the evening. We’ll also have live stained glass happening on site, giving you a chance to watch this beautiful craft being created right in front of you. And, of course, our charcuterie cups will be available to enjoy throughout the evening. Bring your friends and come celebrate our last Friday Friday of the year with local art, live music, creativity, and good food. We’d love to see you there! Friday, October 2 | 4–8 PM The Green Spot Santa Cruz

We’re open early and late! Catch us on either side of your evening or make a reservation (https://www.bigbasinvineyards.com/) and stay awhile… We have a lovely patio with fire-pit tables, and well behaved creatures are welcome! Suzy Radonsky is a self-taught Santa Cruz based acrylic painter specializing in neo-realistic wildlife and pet portraits that explore the spirit and presence of animals. Her work is driven by a deep fascination with the emotional and energetic connection between humans and the animal world. Suzy seeks to reveal their individuality, intelligence and soul. Her distinctive technique layers bold, unexpected color beneath intricate fur, feathers and scales, creating luminous depth and vibrancy. Using a distinctive layering technique she gradually builds fur, feathers and scales over bright colors, allowing light and energy to radiate to the surface. Recently diagnosed as Autistic, Suzy recognizes how her heightened sensory perception informs her work, allowing her to see and translate vivid color relationships with unusual intensity and nuance. Her paintings move beyond traditional realism toward a more intuitive representation of the natural world. https://www.suzyradarts.com/

Join us Friday, October 2, from 5:00–8:00 pm for the opening party of “Far Out,” Santa Cruz Art League’s Open Studios Satellite Preview Exhibit! Celebrate the artists participating in the 41st annual Open Studios Art Tour and get an early look at work from the North Coast and Santa Cruz Mountains before those “Far Out” studio doors open on October 10. Browse original artwork, meet fellow art lovers, and discover artists and studios to visit during the countywide tour. All work is for sale, and everyone is welcome. Free admission. Exhibit On View: Friday, October 2 at 5pm - Sunday, October 18 at 5pm First Friday Opening Reception: Friday October 2, 5 - 8pm

Join us Friday October 2, 5-6 pm, for a performance by internationally renowned vocal artist and composer Samita Sinha followed by an opening celebration from 6-8 pm of our fall exhibitions: Carlos Motta: When Time Stands Still and Victor ‘Marka27’ Quiñonez: Ni de Aquí, Ni de Allá (Not From Here, Not From There), with the artists in attendance. 5-6pm Performance Samita Sinha will draw on her Indian vocal training to respond to new and recent artworks by Colombian-born artist Carlos Motta on view in When Time Stands Still, including a video in which the vocalist is featured. This and other works, including sculpture, installation, and endurance-based performance video, poetically—and powerfully— manifest the historical and aesthetic productions of difference and marginalization that inform current anti-immigration politics and climate injustices. Performing within the exhibition, Sinha will offer an embodied response through the multivalent and experiential language of vibration. 6-8pm Celebration Following the performance will be a celebration for the opening of Victor ‘Marka27’ Quiñonez: Ni de Aquí, Ni de Allá (Not From Here, Not From There), a multimedia exhibition with paintings, sculpture, and installation exploring issues of migration and belonging— and which gained national attention after it was abruptly censored by the University of North Texas. These opening events are free and open to the public. Samita Sinha‘s performances and compositions have been commissioned by Asia Society, Performance Space, Danspace, Rubin Museum, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Queens Museum, Gibney Dance, and Western Front, and presented by The Kitchen, Wexner Center for the Arts, REDCAT, PICA, National Sawdust and others. She has received awards from National Endowment for the Arts, Fulbright Foundation, National Performance Network, and New York State Council on the Arts. Carlos Motta (b. 1978, Colombia) is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice documents the social condit

To mark the opening of Carlos Motta: When Time Stands Still, a poetic and aesthetically rich exploration of the historical and aesthetic manifestations of difference and marginalization that inform current anti-immigration politics and climate injustices, we invite you to a seated performance from 5-6 pm by internationally renowned vocal artist and composer Samita Sinha. For the performance, an embodied response to Motta’s evocative artworks, Sinha will draw in her Indian vocal training to create a multivalent and experiential language of vibration, offering a challenge, both beautiful and expansive, to the perceptual frameworks that normalize oppression. Following the performance, from 6-8 pm, will be a celebration for the opening of Victor ‘Marka27’ Quiñonez: Ni de Aquí, Ni de Allá (Not From Here, Not From There), a multimedia exhibition with paintings, sculpture, and installation exploring issues of migration and belonging— and which gained national attention after it was abruptly censored by the University of North Texas. These opening events are free and open to the public. Samita Sinha‘s performances and compositions have been commissioned by Asia Society, Performance Space, Danspace, Rubin Museum, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Queens Museum, Gibney Dance, and Western Front, and presented by The Kitchen, Wexner Center for the Arts, REDCAT, PICA, National Sawdust and others. She has received awards from National Endowment for the Arts, Fulbright Foundation, National Performance Network, and New York State Council on the Arts.

The main Preview Exhibition for Open Studios Santa Cruz County showcasing artwork from all participating artists, offering an opportunity to see artists’ work in person before setting out on the tour.

Join us for a community event honoring Domestic Violence Awareness Month through socializing, creative projects, and our art exhibition!

This group show presents paintings, textile art, scientific images and a tour of the historic sanctuary and labyrinth garden. Artists presented are Dana Schmidt, Jessica Puccinelli, Hanife Esengil, Quinton Brail and Savannah Smith. Please join us for an evening of art and community. On Saturday, join us for the first annual Porchfest and art exhibit.

Sept 4 -Oct 30 13 artists from all over the state create unique interpretations of giant insects in a wide variety of media Artists include Ken Kalman Ruth Santee Alea Bone Stephanie Brockway Keith Millar Adon Valenziano ,Cynthia Siegel,Tara de la Garza ,Cheryl Moreno, Sarah Brothers Bot ,Beth Purcell, Helen Cole and Mary Tartaro- Curator Felix Kulpa Gallery Hours : thurs-sun 11 to 0

Rocky Wagers and Jack Howe bring together two distinctly different approaches to assemblage and the art of the found object. Through antique fragments, cast-offs, curious finds, and objects marked by time and use, each creates work with an unmistakably individual point of view. ROCKY WAGERS Rocky is set to bring some of the most unique creations to this September and October art show. He originally began his artistic career as a weaver, but his path shifted dramatically when he realized the artistic potential in worn-out items that most people simply labeled as “junk.” Turning his attention to antique assemblage, he began collecting broken parts and cast-offs from the Victorian era through the 1920s, transforming forgotten relics into striking, imaginative works of art. His creations are wildly eclectic, ranging from a demonic skull to a goblet made of women’s legs. For the September and October art show, Rocky’s work will prominently feature a wealth of beads and seashells. This specific aesthetic harks back to a 19th-century practice among sailors, who traditionally crafted pictures and notes framed in seashells to bring home to their loved ones. Rocky describes his creative process as something of a dream sequence. He hunts down individual components, often keeping them around for years with the steady confidence that they will eventually find a purpose. Because he works primarily with historical fragments, he ensures that the legacy of his materials is preserved. JACK HOWE Santa Cruz artist Jack Howe creates assemblages from the accumulated evidence of everyday life—old photographs, antique objects, broken pieces, curious finds, and things that have acquired character through age and use. A longtime collector of antiques, Jack began making assemblage in the late 1980s, finding new possibilities in objects and fragments that might otherwise have been discarded. The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, which damaged much of his collection, further shaped this direction in

Join us on First Friday, October 2nd, from 5-7 pm at the Santa Cruz Mountains Art Center in downtown Ben Lomond for the opening reception of our latest exhibit: Dreaming in Color. This two-woman show featuring Tina Masciocchi (painter) and Kathryn Pierno (ceramicist) translates internal emotions into a vivid external reality. Their artwork invites viewers to lose themselves in a rich, non-linear narrative where color serves as the primary language of the soul.

Featuring local photographer Daniel Nader photography and music by Free Elements. 5-7:30 at Santa Cruz Hostel on Beach Hill, 321 Main Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 Beverages and lite appetizers provided.

Santa Cruz First Friday at Gallery 125 at The Tannery from 5pm to 7pm. Paintings, prints, sculpture, pastels, cards, at all sizes, styles, and price ranges. Come see us!

Come joins us for a drink an evening of Arts featuring local artists. Clothings by OXY NUV ( New,Used, Vintage ) with our in house dj Kurtographer. Come mingle, grab a glass Bubbles, wines.

Join us for First Friday at PATT Studio 107 at the Tannery on October 2, from 6–9 PM. Our October exhibition features the work of participating PATT members A.V. Pike, Frank Trueba, Jane Gregorius, Andrée LeBourveau, Cindy Haug, Lu Lee, and Janis O’Driscoll. Come enjoy an evening of art, meet the artists, and discover the creative work happening at the Tannery Arts Center.

October’s First Friday brings together a slightly spooky mix of creatures, characters, and things that go bump in the night — bats, black cats, owls, crows, ghosts, and a few other oddballs that feel right at home this time of year. Featuring work by Doug Ross, Janet Hill, Matt Adrian, Emily Uchytil, Diana Hartman, Mari Minjoe, and Jon Turner, the show moves from eerie to funny to wonderfully strange, with each artist bringing their own take on the season.

The Resource Center for Nonviolence is honored to host four artists for this year’s Arts Council Santa Cruz County Open Studio Art Tour. We hope you can join us for this special First Friday event to preview artwork by Lilie Pham, Isabelle Quinn-Rodriguez (isabellaqrodriguez.com), Arthur Waidhofer (arthurjw.com/art), and Karina North (karinakarinacabo.wixsite.com/northcanvas-gallery). Light refreshments will be served. Doors open at 5:30 PM.

There’s a thin line between love and hate and sometimes, it’s the barrier between balconies. That’s the premise of Noel Coward’s Private Lives. Two divorced lovers find themselves spending their new honeymoons next door to one another at the same hotel. Both are egotistical, passionate, and selfish, so how are they going to manage to live next to each other at a hotel? Better yet, how are they going to live without each other? This laugh-out-loud comedy is rich, witty and as sharp as Cupid’s arrow. See the play on Friday, September 4th for a matinee preview or check out one of the multiple showings through October 4th. -Mat Weir; Good Times Santa Cruz

The SLV Theatre Department is proud to present The Outsiders, a dramatic coming-of-age novel originally written by S.E. Hilton and adapted to stageplay by Christopher Sergel. This production is directed by high school seniors Ryan Jones and Benjamin Rotte. Performance dates are October 2nd-10th.

With stories and fractured essays writer/actor Christopher Michael Palermo presents his unique perspective on the world as it is, was, and has always been.

Join Thrill the World Santa Cruz for free community dance classes and spooky Halloween performances! Learn Michael Jackson’s iconic “Thriller” choreography—no dance experience required—and join us for the official worldwide Thrill the World dance on October 24 at 3 PM in Downtown Santa Cruz.

Call to register or if you have questions: 457-2273 Location will vary so call for details The facilitator will bring photos. You are responsible for purchasing materials (see below). Discover your Wisdom with SoulCollage® Let's explore our inner selves. Using images, imagination and intuition, you will begin to create your own personal deck of collaged cards. Part art project, part spiritual practice, SoulCollage® allows you to deepen your understanding of yourself and tap into your inner wisdom that can guide you on important life decisions. In a fun, creative, and relaxed environment, you will create cards that will reveal parts of your personality, your archetypes, and other guides, allies, and challengers. We will talk about the ways you can use your personal deck of collaged cards to tap into your inner wisdom. No art experience necessary. Anyone can create SoulCollage® cards! We use scissors, glue, and images cut from magazines to create our cards. You’ll take home several finished cards—and no doubt a love for this creative process! Please bring with you : * Scissors * Glue stick (best kind is Pioneer glue stick) * 8 x 5 mat board * Pen & Notebook

We will be hosting the Open Studios Preview Exhibition, showcasing the work of all the 330+ Santa Cruz County Open Studios Artists who are participating in the program

Calling all Daisies, Brownies, Juniors, Cadettes, and Seniors—this exciting overnight adventure is just for you! Includes: • Camping Under the Stars on the Boardwalk • Exclusive Free Play in the Arcade • Dinner & Breakfast • Outdoor Movie • Exclusive time on the Looff Carousel & Pirate Ship Friday night • Sand Sculpture Competition • Event Patch • Ride Wristband for Saturday • Discounted Parking Package Price: $99.95 per person Deadline September 27, 2026, or until full. Register today! bit.ly/Fall-Girl-Scout-Overnight

“Ni de aquí, ni de allá” (“neither from here, nor there”), is a phrase commonly used by bilingual, bicultural communities. In the exhibition the phrase becomes a bold declaration of dual belonging against a violent notion of nationalism and identity. Through paintings, immersive installations, sculptural works, and a curated soundscape, Marka27 invites gallery goers into a vibrant, layered world where street culture meets Indigenous tradition, and personal memory collides with collective truth and activism. Curated by internationally recognized curator Kate Fowle, this exhibition is organized in partnership with The Center for Art & Advocacy and as part of Visualizing Abolition, an arts-based initiative that reaches across prison borders to contribute to the unfolding collective story and alternative imagining underway to create a future free of prisons.

“Ni de aquí, ni de allá” (“neither from here, nor there”), is a phrase commonly used by bilingual, bicultural communities. In the exhibition the phrase becomes a bold declaration of dual belonging against a violent notion of nationalism and identity. Through paintings, immersive installations, sculptural works, and a curated soundscape, Marka27 invites gallery goers into a vibrant, layered world where street culture meets Indigenous tradition, and personal memory collides with collective truth and activism. Curated by internationally recognized curator Kate Fowle, this exhibition is organized in partnership with The Center for Art & Advocacy and as part of Visualizing Abolition, an arts-based initiative that reaches across prison borders to contribute to the unfolding collective story and alternative imagining underway to create a future free of prisons. ABOUT THE ARTIST: Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez is a renowned visual artist working at the intersections of contemporary art, graffiti, vinyl toys, fashion and design, and art activism.

Carlos Motta’s When Time Stands Still features new and recent installations, videos, and sculptures highlighting the artist’s preoccupation with the historical and aesthetic productions of difference and marginalization that shape the present. The selection of artworks in the exhibition explore the unsettling experience of living in a time that seems violently stuck on repeat. Archetypal figures from art history (a fool, a siren, a witness, a victim) reappear in the current moment as containers of time, bringing the past of imperialism, colonization, and displacement into a present marked by the rise of anti-immigration politics, climate injustice, and other forms of disposability. Some works challenge this violent repetition of time. The clock moves, if gruelingly, in an endurance-based video performance, No One, 2025. For forty-six minutes, the artist undertakes to keep his eyes open, witnessing, withstanding, confronting, and resisting the bombardment of images, both historical and otherwise, that normalize harm. In another video work, Gravity, 2024, performers enact rescue carries, supporting each other until they can’t bear the weight. Together, the artworks act as a proposal about how to rethink time—how to slow time—with a poetic and aesthetic cadence that might counter the numbing reverberations of living in the present. When Time Stands Still is organized as part of Visualizing Abolition, an arts-based initiative that reaches across prison borders to create a future free of prisons. About the Artist Carlos Motta (b. 1978, Colombia) is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice documents the social conditions and political struggles of sexual, gender, and ethnic communities, challenging normative discourses through acts of self-representation. His work has been the focus of several survey exhibitions.

Local author Kimberly Gomes will share her new book, A Road of Her Own. In this work of Autofiction, meet Mira. She writes about the dead. Now she’s ready to finally live. At twenty-nine, Mira is stuck writing obituaries, caring for a once-wild, now-blind mother, and living in a fish-scented apartment that smells like failure—until a last chance artist fellowship offers a shot at something more. With a camera in her hand and nothing left to lose, she hits the road alone, crossing America’s national parks, skydiving, unraveling, and meeting women who remind her what it means to want, to risk, and to live. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing. Light refreshments will be served. Registration is recommended, and walk-ins are welcome. Register at https://santacruzpl.libnet.info/event/16461290. KIMBERLY GOMES is a writer, songslinger, and creativity coach. She’s the author of the poetry collection Love Notes to the Body (Dancing Girl Press, 2019). Her debut novel, A Road of Her Own, was a semi-finalist for the 2022 Black Lawrence Press Prose Book Award. Her work has been named a top personal essay of 2021 by Entropy Magazine, and has been featured in The San Francisco Chronicle and Sunset Magazine. When she’s not creating, you can find Kimberly hiking mountains, plotting her next passport stamp, and swing dancing with people she loves. ___ The views and opinions expressed by presenters in Santa Cruz Public Libraries programs are their own and do not constitute an endorsement by Santa Cruz Public Libraries or its member jurisdictions. Los puntos de vista y opiniones expresadas por los presentadores de programas en las Bibliotecas Públicas de Santa Cruz son propias y no constituyen en un respaldo o reflejo de la postura de las Bibliotecas Públicas de Santa Cruz ni de sus jurisdicciones miembro.

Come celebrate the launch of REFUGE: Voices of Courage & Resilience for Our Fractured World at the Resource Center for Nonviolence in Santa Cruz. This anthology brings together more than 100 writers and artists responding to the emotional, political, and spiritual challenges of our time—including 22 writer and artists from Santa Cruz County. We’ll spend the afternoon bringing the pages of REFUGE to life, sharing a selection of writing and art that reflects the heart and breadth of the collection. REFUGE combines essays, poetry, photography, painting, drawing, fiber art, sculpture, and other visual work. Its contributors explore grief and uncertainty, resistance and creativity, beauty and wonder, and the ways people continue to find meaning and hope in these difficult times.

Relationships are beautiful and complex things. They all have a beginning and an ending. Jason Roberts explores the complexities of relationships in his emotional musical, The Last Five Years. Cathy and Jamie are romantically involved for five years, and the audience watches it unfold from each perspective. Cathy’s view of the relationship will begin at the end and work its way back to the beginning, while Jamie’s perspective starts at the beginning of the relationship and moves to the end. The story features beautiful and clever music that explores the sacrifices and costs of relationships. Audiences will contemplate how relationships affect how we define ourselves. Goes until Oct 3. -Isabella Marie Sangaline

With stories and fractured essays writer/actor Christopher Michael Palermo presents his unique perspective on the world as it is, was, and has always been.

The SLV Theatre Department is proud to present The Outsiders, a dramatic coming-of-age novel originally written by S.E. Hilton and adapted to stageplay by Christopher Sergel. This production is directed by high school seniors Ryan Jones and Benjamin Rotte. Performance dates are October 2nd-10th.

“Ni de aquí, ni de allá” (“neither from here, nor there”), is a phrase commonly used by bilingual, bicultural communities. In the exhibition the phrase becomes a bold declaration of dual belonging against a violent notion of nationalism and identity. Through paintings, immersive installations, sculptural works, and a curated soundscape, Marka27 invites gallery goers into a vibrant, layered world where street culture meets Indigenous tradition, and personal memory collides with collective truth and activism. Curated by internationally recognized curator Kate Fowle, this exhibition is organized in partnership with The Center for Art & Advocacy and as part of Visualizing Abolition, an arts-based initiative that reaches across prison borders to contribute to the unfolding collective story and alternative imagining underway to create a future free of prisons. ABOUT THE ARTIST: Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez is a renowned visual artist working at the intersections of contemporary art, graffiti, vinyl toys, fashion and design, and art activism.

Carlos Motta’s When Time Stands Still features new and recent installations, videos, and sculptures highlighting the artist’s preoccupation with the historical and aesthetic productions of difference and marginalization that shape the present. The selection of artworks in the exhibition explore the unsettling experience of living in a time that seems violently stuck on repeat. Archetypal figures from art history (a fool, a siren, a witness, a victim) reappear in the current moment as containers of time, bringing the past of imperialism, colonization, and displacement into a present marked by the rise of anti-immigration politics, climate injustice, and other forms of disposability. Some works challenge this violent repetition of time. The clock moves, if gruelingly, in an endurance-based video performance, No One, 2025. For forty-six minutes, the artist undertakes to keep his eyes open, witnessing, withstanding, confronting, and resisting the bombardment of images, both historical and otherwise, that normalize harm. In another video work, Gravity, 2024, performers enact rescue carries, supporting each other until they can’t bear the weight. Together, the artworks act as a proposal about how to rethink time—how to slow time—with a poetic and aesthetic cadence that might counter the numbing reverberations of living in the present. When Time Stands Still is organized as part of Visualizing Abolition, an arts-based initiative that reaches across prison borders to create a future free of prisons. About the Artist Carlos Motta (b. 1978, Colombia) is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice documents the social conditions and political struggles of sexual, gender, and ethnic communities, challenging normative discourses through acts of self-representation. His work has been the focus of several survey exhibitions.

“Ni de aquí, ni de allá” (“neither from here, nor there”), is a phrase commonly used by bilingual, bicultural communities. In the exhibition the phrase becomes a bold declaration of dual belonging against a violent notion of nationalism and identity. Through paintings, immersive installations, sculptural works, and a curated soundscape, Marka27 invites gallery goers into a vibrant, layered world where street culture meets Indigenous tradition, and personal memory collides with collective truth and activism. Curated by internationally recognized curator Kate Fowle, this exhibition is organized in partnership with The Center for Art & Advocacy and as part of Visualizing Abolition, an arts-based initiative that reaches across prison borders to contribute to the unfolding collective story and alternative imagining underway to create a future free of prisons.

Come join the magical world of D&D storytelling, where you can be a bard, a wizard, or a barbarian for a few hours and let your creativity run free. Solve weird and wonderful problems with spells, cunning, or daggers and make some new friends in the process. Whether you're a complete beginner or a seasoned player you will be welcomed every 1st Sunday for an afternoon of collaborative storytelling at the Downtown Branch. Friendly game masters will be ready with dice, characters, and the start of a story; all we need is your creativity and enthusiasm. No prior experience is necessary. This program is for adults 18+. This program also happens on 3rd Saturdays at the Capitola Branch from 12-5. What is Dungeons and Dragons? D&D is one of many tabletop roleplaying games, in which players create and control fictional characters within a shared imaginary world. A Game Master guides the story and sets the scene, while the players make decisions for their characters, rolling dice to determine outcomes. TTRPGs encourage creativity, teamwork, and storytelling as players collaborate to overcome challenges and complete quests. Modern D&D has veered away from the combat-heavy game it used to be. While it's still possible to spend hours attacking monsters and finding loot, many groups now tell stories of mystery, intrigue, horror, or whimsy. Who are the game masters? This event is organized by Jeltje van Baren ( [email protected] ), who learned to play a few years ago and has been creating games for new players ever since. She will be assisted by a rotating group of diverse GMs from the local TTRPG community, all of whom are used to patiently explaining the rules and keeping the game fun for everyone.

The SLV Theatre Department is proud to present The Outsiders, a dramatic coming-of-age novel originally written by S.E. Hilton and adapted to stageplay by Christopher Sergel. This production is directed by high school seniors Ryan Jones and Benjamin Rotte. Performance dates are October 2nd-10th.

Salsa By The Sea is a free, weekly outdoor salsa dancing event held near the wharf on Beach Street, at the Ideal Bar patio. The event runs all year long (except when it rains). Some weekends are Bachata by the Sea, with more bachata music played than salsa.

This is Motion Pacific's Beginning Jazz Fusion class for adult dancers.

1 booked, 15 available Sarah Orre

A weekly Afro-Brazilian dance class focusing on rhythm and movement.

0 booked, 6 available Chris Finnie

This is Motion Pacific's intermediate level contemporary jazz dance class.

Soft Pastel Painting runs in six week intervals taught by instructor Sarah Orre. A short demo will be taught the first class meeting with reference photos that will teach color theory, underpainting, texture, layering, and movement. Students are encouraged to bring additional reference photos for inspiration. Participants bring their own soft pastels (not oils), and sanded paper. The remainder of the class meetings are used for studio time. The last day we have a group peer review to discuss our work and give and receive feedback.

The Travelling Book Club welcomes local author Nina Simon to discuss her newest book, My Sister is Going to Kill Me. Join us for a fun afternoon with local author Nina Simon. Copies of Nina's book will be available for purchase and signing. Light refreshments will be provided. Registration is strongly recommended. Register at https://santacruzpl.libnet.info/event/17198593. My Sister is Going to Kill Me is a fun, family-centered whodunnit about two sisters who work together to find a killer as they raft down the rapids of the Grand Canyon. Nina Simon writes crime fiction about strong women. She is the New York Times-bestselling author of Mother-Daughter Murder Night. This big-hearted whodunnit was a Reese's Book Club pick, an Anthony Award winner, and a "best of 2023" selection for Amazon, Barnes & Noble, CrimeReads, and LibraryJournal. Before turning to fiction, Nina wore many hats: NASA engineer, slam poet, game designer, museum director, and nonprofit CEO. Her work on community participation in museums, libraries, parks, and theaters has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, NPR, and the TEDx stage. Nina lives off-the-grid in the Santa Cruz Mountains and enjoys weird adventures in wild places. More information can be found on her website, ninaksimon.com. The views and opinions expressed by presenters in Santa Cruz Public Libraries programs are their own and do not constitute an endorsement by Santa Cruz Public Libraries or its member jurisdictions. Los puntos de vista y opiniones expresadas por los presentadores de programas en las Bibliotecas Públicas de Santa Cruz son propias y no constituyen en un respaldo o reflejo de la postura de las Bibliotecas Públicas de Santa Cruz ni de sus jurisdicciones miembro.

Youth Bloom Studio Art with Sarah Orre, nurtures creativity, confidence, and curiosity through hands-on learning. Each class encourages young artists to explore new materials, techniques, and ideas while building foundational art skills in a supportive studio environment. From painting and drawing to air dry clay and mixed media, students learn to see like artists and express their own unique voice. Enroll in as many sessions as you like!

A weekly hula and Tahitian dance class with the Te Hau Nui school, exploring Polynesian movement and tradition.

Advanced hula and Tahitian dance class for experienced dancers. Part of Te Hau Nui School's curriculum.

Beginning adult ceramics with instructor Nora Sarkissian. Learn the basics of hand building, pinch, and coil. Nora will provide demos and projects as well as time for independent clay creation. Class is held at Redwood and Ranunculus downtown Felton. Tuesdays, 6-8:30 PM $234 for 6 weeks (7% service fee due at checkout) plus a $20 material fee due to instructor at first class Clay, glazes, and tools provided. Session I: August 18, 25, Sept 1, 8, 15, 22 Session II: Sept 29, October 6, 13, 20, 27, Nov 3

0 booked, 7 available

A free weekly dance jam for babies and their caregivers at The 418 Project in Santa Cruz, with movement, music, and play in a joyful environment.

A 12 week series on Wednesdays from 10:30AM-12PM that introduces foundational digital literacy concepts and teaches useful digital skills. August 19: What is a VPN and Do You Need One? August 26: Smartwatches Made Simple September 2: AI Powered Art September 9: Music Streaming Made Simple September 16: Podcasts Made Easy: Listen to Your Favorite Topics Anytime September 23: Your Story, Your Legacy: Preserving Memories with Spoken Records September 30: Tech Settings That Help With Accessibility October 7: Using Emergency Features on Your Phone October 14: Intro to Facebook October 21: Intro to Instagram Registration required. Must register for each class individually. https://santacruzpl.libnet.info/events?term=cyber+seniors&d=2026-07-30&r=range&start=2026-08-01&end=2026-11-01 Come join Dara Brady, a local instructor with the digital literacy organization Cyber-Seniors, for a weekly digital literacy course! Each class includes a lesson on the topics below, Q&A time, and one-on-one tech support. Participants are encouraged to bring a notebook, pen/pencil, and whatever tech device they want to learn on: (a laptop, tablet, and/or smart phone) and the charger for that device. If they don't have a device, they can still participate and Dara can get them one to use for the class. All classes run on Wednesday mornings from 10:30AM to 12PM in the Fireside Room except for the first and last sessions, which will take place in Study Room A.

“Ni de aquí, ni de allá” (“neither from here, nor there”), is a phrase commonly used by bilingual, bicultural communities. In the exhibition the phrase becomes a bold declaration of dual belonging against a violent notion of nationalism and identity. Through paintings, immersive installations, sculptural works, and a curated soundscape, Marka27 invites gallery goers into a vibrant, layered world where street culture meets Indigenous tradition, and personal memory collides with collective truth and activism. Curated by internationally recognized curator Kate Fowle, this exhibition is organized in partnership with The Center for Art & Advocacy and as part of Visualizing Abolition, an arts-based initiative that reaches across prison borders to contribute to the unfolding collective story and alternative imagining underway to create a future free of prisons.

“Ni de aquí, ni de allá” (“neither from here, nor there”), is a phrase commonly used by bilingual, bicultural communities. In the exhibition the phrase becomes a bold declaration of dual belonging against a violent notion of nationalism and identity. Through paintings, immersive installations, sculptural works, and a curated soundscape, Marka27 invites gallery goers into a vibrant, layered world where street culture meets Indigenous tradition, and personal memory collides with collective truth and activism. Curated by internationally recognized curator Kate Fowle, this exhibition is organized in partnership with The Center for Art & Advocacy and as part of Visualizing Abolition, an arts-based initiative that reaches across prison borders to contribute to the unfolding collective story and alternative imagining underway to create a future free of prisons. ABOUT THE ARTIST: Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez is a renowned visual artist working at the intersections of contemporary art, graffiti, vinyl toys, fashion and design, and art activism.

Carlos Motta’s When Time Stands Still features new and recent installations, videos, and sculptures highlighting the artist’s preoccupation with the historical and aesthetic productions of difference and marginalization that shape the present. The selection of artworks in the exhibition explore the unsettling experience of living in a time that seems violently stuck on repeat. Archetypal figures from art history (a fool, a siren, a witness, a victim) reappear in the current moment as containers of time, bringing the past of imperialism, colonization, and displacement into a present marked by the rise of anti-immigration politics, climate injustice, and other forms of disposability. Some works challenge this violent repetition of time. The clock moves, if gruelingly, in an endurance-based video performance, No One, 2025. For forty-six minutes, the artist undertakes to keep his eyes open, witnessing, withstanding, confronting, and resisting the bombardment of images, both historical and otherwise, that normalize harm. In another video work, Gravity, 2024, performers enact rescue carries, supporting each other until they can’t bear the weight. Together, the artworks act as a proposal about how to rethink time—how to slow time—with a poetic and aesthetic cadence that might counter the numbing reverberations of living in the present. When Time Stands Still is organized as part of Visualizing Abolition, an arts-based initiative that reaches across prison borders to create a future free of prisons. About the Artist Carlos Motta (b. 1978, Colombia) is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice documents the social conditions and political struggles of sexual, gender, and ethnic communities, challenging normative discourses through acts of self-representation. His work has been the focus of several survey exhibitions.

A regular tango class in Downtown Santa Cruz, offering a way to learn Latin dance in a social, cultural setting.

In partnership with the Writers of Color Santa Cruz County, the MAH presents an evening of poetry, music, and art. Featuring up-and-coming and established artists, each writer shares a unique experience. With the mission to nourish a community of writers of color, audiences will learn, relate, and empathize. The group began in 2021, meeting over Zoom, where they read one another’s writing and supported each other’s work. Although the group’s members come from a diversity of backgrounds, they share similar experiences and creative processes, whether it be in how they navigate imagining their homeland or writing in multiple languages, as just a few examples. -Shelly Novo; Good Times Santa Cruz

Join us for a screening of the video-performance Under the Mantle of an Idocile Dream (Bruna Castro, Brasil, 2026), followed by a conversation between Denise Carrascosa and Gina Dent around the historical, political and spiritual relations between Afro-Brazilian ancestrality, visual arts and abolition feminism in Brazil.

2 booked, 4 available Chris Finnie

Enjoy a screening of the video-performance Under the Mantle of an Idocile Dream (Bruna Castro, Brasil, 2026), followed by a conversation between Denise Carrascosa and Gina Dent around the historical, political and spiritual relations between Afro-Brazilian ancestrality, visual arts and abolition feminism in Brazil. Denise Carrascosa is a writer, lawyer, and full professor of literature at the Federal University of Bahia, in Brasil. Gina Dent (Ph.D., English & Comparative Literature, Columbia University) is Professor of Humanities and Faculty Director of the Institute of the Arts & Sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

An evening of poetry and community showcasing emerging and established writers of color in Santa Cruz County. This is a free event.

Busy

Wednesdays, October 7-28, 2026 Doors 7:30pm, Movie 8pm Bring your friends for a night of fun and frights! With a cocktail in your hand, enjoy your favorite scary movies in the historic ballroom at The Grove: Santa Cruz Event Center. 21+ Event Oct 7 - Killer Klowns from Outer Space Oct 14 - Shaun of the Dead Oct 21 - Get Out Oct 28 - The Sixth Sense $18 Entry Fee Includes: Beach Chair seating (first come, first served) and Banquet Chair seating plus one hosted drink ticket. $30 Premium Seating - SOLD OUT Includes: Reserved premium seating with inflatable chairs, one hosted drink ticket, and popcorn plus sweet treat. 21+ only- IDs will be checked at the entrance. Themed giveaways for the first 50 attendees each night! Full bar featuring signature drinks Snacks available for purchase Beach chair seating available on a first-come, first-served basis You are encouraged to come in costume, but please adhere to the following rules: • No weapons of any kind • No masks • Costumes should not display offensive symbolism or gestures • No outside food or drink allowed

“Ni de aquí, ni de allá” (“neither from here, nor there”), is a phrase commonly used by bilingual, bicultural communities. In the exhibition the phrase becomes a bold declaration of dual belonging against a violent notion of nationalism and identity. Through paintings, immersive installations, sculptural works, and a curated soundscape, Marka27 invites gallery goers into a vibrant, layered world where street culture meets Indigenous tradition, and personal memory collides with collective truth and activism. Curated by internationally recognized curator Kate Fowle, this exhibition is organized in partnership with The Center for Art & Advocacy and as part of Visualizing Abolition, an arts-based initiative that reaches across prison borders to contribute to the unfolding collective story and alternative imagining underway to create a future free of prisons.

Carlos Motta’s When Time Stands Still features new and recent installations, videos, and sculptures highlighting the artist’s preoccupation with the historical and aesthetic productions of difference and marginalization that shape the present. The selection of artworks in the exhibition explore the unsettling experience of living in a time that seems violently stuck on repeat. Archetypal figures from art history (a fool, a siren, a witness, a victim) reappear in the current moment as containers of time, bringing the past of imperialism, colonization, and displacement into a present marked by the rise of anti-immigration politics, climate injustice, and other forms of disposability. Some works challenge this violent repetition of time. The clock moves, if gruelingly, in an endurance-based video performance, No One, 2025. For forty-six minutes, the artist undertakes to keep his eyes open, witnessing, withstanding, confronting, and resisting the bombardment of images, both historical and otherwise, that normalize harm. In another video work, Gravity, 2024, performers enact rescue carries, supporting each other until they can’t bear the weight. Together, the artworks act as a proposal about how to rethink time—how to slow time—with a poetic and aesthetic cadence that might counter the numbing reverberations of living in the present. When Time Stands Still is organized as part of Visualizing Abolition, an arts-based initiative that reaches across prison borders to create a future free of prisons. About the Artist Carlos Motta (b. 1978, Colombia) is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice documents the social conditions and political struggles of sexual, gender, and ethnic communities, challenging normative discourses through acts of self-representation. His work has been the focus of several survey exhibitions.

“Ni de aquí, ni de allá” (“neither from here, nor there”), is a phrase commonly used by bilingual, bicultural communities. In the exhibition the phrase becomes a bold declaration of dual belonging against a violent notion of nationalism and identity. Through paintings, immersive installations, sculptural works, and a curated soundscape, Marka27 invites gallery goers into a vibrant, layered world where street culture meets Indigenous tradition, and personal memory collides with collective truth and activism. Curated by internationally recognized curator Kate Fowle, this exhibition is organized in partnership with The Center for Art & Advocacy and as part of Visualizing Abolition, an arts-based initiative that reaches across prison borders to contribute to the unfolding collective story and alternative imagining underway to create a future free of prisons. ABOUT THE ARTIST: Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez is a renowned visual artist working at the intersections of contemporary art, graffiti, vinyl toys, fashion and design, and art activism.

Join us for a friendly reception to celebrate 130 years of the Santa Cruz County Law Library!

A weekly Congo dance class in Santa Cruz. Participants learn traditional African dance movements in a group setting at The 418 Project.

This is Motion Pacific's Adult Intermediate Modern class for adult dancers.

Five weekly sessions starting Oct 8 - Nov 5. Join us in exploring this collection of simple and practical methods of transforming habits and emotional states that no longer serve us. Many cultures have recognized the importance of the five elements and have used them as a key to unlocking self-mastery, healing, and balancing disruptive circumstances. Join Dawa Drakpa in this simple program to examine the major qualities of the element, looking at how we limit or nourish each, and transform our minds in the process for greater balance and awareness. This course is a hands-on, integrative experience using journaling and group discussion. Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche tasked an international group of psychologists, writers, teachers and artists to create a platform that offers a suite of flexible tools to bolster our own innate creativity and resilience and also to transform difficulties in a truly unique way. Naljor Dawa Drakpa was one of the first western students of the great Tibetan lamas Penor Rinpoche, Gangteng Rinpoche of Bhutan, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, and Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche. He is the founder of the Jang Ter Cho Gar, the Northern Treasures Buddhist Society.

If you love big band music, traditional or contemporary, then East Coast Swing is for you (7:00 Mondays starting Sept 17th). This is the basic Swing dance and is universal generally recommended for beginning swing dancers. It can be smooth or fast and is a circular swing dance. Jump in this fall with Becky Adams through Capitola Recreation, and get ready for your next event, big or small.

The SLV Theatre Department is proud to present The Outsiders, a dramatic coming-of-age novel originally written by S.E. Hilton and adapted to stageplay by Christopher Sergel. This production is directed by high school seniors Ryan Jones and Benjamin Rotte. Performance dates are October 2nd-10th.

“Ni de aquí, ni de allá” (“neither from here, nor there”), is a phrase commonly used by bilingual, bicultural communities. In the exhibition the phrase becomes a bold declaration of dual belonging against a violent notion of nationalism and identity. Through paintings, immersive installations, sculptural works, and a curated soundscape, Marka27 invites gallery goers into a vibrant, layered world where street culture meets Indigenous tradition, and personal memory collides with collective truth and activism. Curated by internationally recognized curator Kate Fowle, this exhibition is organized in partnership with The Center for Art & Advocacy and as part of Visualizing Abolition, an arts-based initiative that reaches across prison borders to contribute to the unfolding collective story and alternative imagining underway to create a future free of prisons. ABOUT THE ARTIST: Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez is a renowned visual artist working at the intersections of contemporary art, graffiti, vinyl toys, fashion and design, and art activism.

Carlos Motta’s When Time Stands Still, the artist’s second solo show with the IAS, features new and recent installations, videos, and sculptures highlighting the artist’s preoccupation with the historical and aesthetic productions of difference and marginalization that shape the present. The selection of artworks in the exhibition explore the unsettling experience of living in a time that seems violently stuck on repeat. Archetypal figures from art history (a fool, a siren, a witness, a victim) reappear in the current moment as containers of time, bringing the past of imperialism, colonization, and displacement into a present marked by the rise of anti-immigration politics, climate injustice, and other forms of disposability. Some works challenge this violent repetition of time. The clock moves, if gruelingly, in an endurance-based video performance, No One, 2025. For forty-six minutes, the artist undertakes to keep his eyes open, witnessing, withstanding, confronting, and resisting the bombardment of images, both historical and otherwise, that normalize harm. In another video work, Gravity, 2024, performers enact rescue carries, supporting each other until they can’t bear the weight. Together, the artworks act as a proposal about how to rethink time—how to slow time—with a poetic and aesthetic cadence that might counter the numbing reverberations of living in the present. The exhibition opens on October 2, 2026, with a performance by vocal artist and composer Samita Sinha from 5-6 pm followed by celebrations with the artists. When Time Stands Still is organized as part of Visualizing Abolition, an arts-based initiative that reaches across prison borders to create a future free of prisons.

Carlos Motta’s When Time Stands Still features new and recent installations, videos, and sculptures highlighting the artist’s preoccupation with the historical and aesthetic productions of difference and marginalization that shape the present. The selection of artworks in the exhibition explore the unsettling experience of living in a time that seems violently stuck on repeat. Archetypal figures from art history (a fool, a siren, a witness, a victim) reappear in the current moment as containers of time, bringing the past of imperialism, colonization, and displacement into a present marked by the rise of anti-immigration politics, climate injustice, and other forms of disposability. Some works challenge this violent repetition of time. The clock moves, if gruelingly, in an endurance-based video performance, No One, 2025. For forty-six minutes, the artist undertakes to keep his eyes open, witnessing, withstanding, confronting, and resisting the bombardment of images, both historical and otherwise, that normalize harm. In another video work, Gravity, 2024, performers enact rescue carries, supporting each other until they can’t bear the weight. Together, the artworks act as a proposal about how to rethink time—how to slow time—with a poetic and aesthetic cadence that might counter the numbing reverberations of living in the present. When Time Stands Still is organized as part of Visualizing Abolition, an arts-based initiative that reaches across prison borders to create a future free of prisons. About the Artist Carlos Motta (b. 1978, Colombia) is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice documents the social conditions and political struggles of sexual, gender, and ethnic communities, challenging normative discourses through acts of self-representation. His work has been the focus of several survey exhibitions.

“Ni de aquí, ni de allá” (“neither from here, nor there”), is a phrase commonly used by bilingual, bicultural communities. In the exhibition the phrase becomes a bold declaration of dual belonging against a violent notion of nationalism and identity. Through paintings, immersive installations, sculptural works, and a curated soundscape, Marka27 invites gallery goers into a vibrant, layered world where street culture meets Indigenous tradition, and personal memory collides with collective truth and activism. Curated by internationally recognized curator Kate Fowle, this exhibition is organized in partnership with The Center for Art & Advocacy and as part of Visualizing Abolition, an arts-based initiative that reaches across prison borders to contribute to the unfolding collective story and alternative imagining underway to create a future free of prisons.

Cub Scouts, Scouts BSA, Venturers, and Scout family and friends—you're invited to experience this exciting overnight event! Includes: • Camping under the stars on the Boardwalk • Exclusive Free Play in the Arcade • Dinner & Breakfast • Outdoor movie • Exclusive time on the Looff Carousel & Pirate Ship on Friday night • Sand Sculpture Competition • Event patch • Ride Wristband for Saturday • Discounted parking $99.95 per person Deadline October 4, 2026, or until full. Register today: bit.ly/Fall-Scout-Overnight

The SLV Theatre Department is proud to present The Outsiders, a dramatic coming-of-age novel originally written by S.E. Hilton and adapted to stageplay by Christopher Sergel. This production is directed by high school seniors Ryan Jones and Benjamin Rotte. Performance dates are October 2nd-10th.

In the spring of 1895, Oscar Wilde was the most celebrated playwright in London — An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest were both playing in the West End. By the end of May he was in prison, sentenced to two years' hard labor for "gross indecency". Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde tells the story of that crushing downfall: the libel suit Wilde brought against the Marquess of Queensberry — the father of his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas — and the two criminal trials that followed when the suit collapsed. He died in destitution three years later. Moisés Kaufman's play, first staged Off-Broadway in 1997, is created from the historical record: trial transcripts, letters, newspaper accounts, memoirs, and Wilde's own writings. The result is part courtroom drama, part Greek tragedy — a company of actors taking on dozens of roles to examine not just what happened to Wilde, but what his trials reveal about art, morality, celebrity, and the law. The questions the play raises were recognized and debated in 1895, were highly relevant in 1997 when the play was first produced, and resonate just as strongly today when questions of identity and gender are still contentious to the point of violence. Kaufman however goes beyond a simple moralistic story (as evidenced by the quote above, which he uses to frame his play). Wilde is extraordinary not only in his intellect and wit but also in his arrogance and disregard for so many people he uses in his pursuit of pleasure. Human nature in all its complexity is on full display here. Kaufman went on to write and direct The Laramie Project, one of the most performed plays in the American repertoire, exploring some of the same issues in a more contemporary context. Gross Indecency was his breakthrough though — named one of the year's best plays by Time, the New York Times, and many others. It remains his most theatrically daring work, confronting the relationship between societal norms and individual freedom, draw

SPAM New Media Festival launches it's California edition of their annual festival with performances by interdisciplinary artist Jean Carla Rodea, collaborative duo Abram Stern & Dorothy R. Santos, and new Santa Cruz-based project EPOCH. Jean Carla Rodea Jean Carla Rodea is an interdisciplinary artist with a research-based practice, originally from Mexico City and currently based between San Francisco, CA, and Brooklyn, NY. Their work spans music, sound, vocality, performance, poetry, photography, video, and sculpture, moving fluidly between solo projects and collaborative, cross-disciplinary environments. They draw from shifting identities, immigration, ritual, performance, ecology, construction work, and improvisation, engaging deeply with time-based media and the diverse spaces where these interactions take place. A central focus of their practice is the exploration of critical socio-political issues, including the politics of the body, gender, memory, and imbalanced human relationships. They are particularly invested in how time is constructed through memory, and how those memories-whether embodied or embedded within spaces-are recorded, fragmented, and continually reconstructed. This investigation opens pathways for fiction and speculative dimensions to disrupt and challenge dominant narratives. Archival research is a recurring methodology in their work, encompassing both institutional and personal archives. From these materials, they craft speculative histories, responding to documents, physical traces, and spaces. In their engagement with the archive, they embody multiple performative roles: witness, observer, participant, and researcher, each inhabiting the temporary sites where events unfold. Dorothy R. Santos, Ph. D. Dorothy R. Santos, Ph. D. (she/they) is a Filipino-American writer, artist, and media scholar. She earned her Ph.D. in Film and Digital Media with a designated emphasis in Computational Media from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She i

Writing Circle: Open to the writer in each of us, this group allows for creative exploration in a supportive space right where you are. Each session is a surprise. Your creations are prompted by writing activities and the stories of your life—bring your notebook and invite your muse. Meets the 2nd Saturday of every month, 10 am to 12 noon at WomenCARE’s Soquel office.

The Friends of the Scotts Valley Library will hold a book sale on Saturday, October 10th, from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at the Scotts Valley Library located at 251 Kings Village Road. Gently used books, dvds, cds, audiobooks, puzzles and games will be sold. Find books on gardening, crafts, cooking, travel, history, nature, humor, and poetry. Fiction and nonfiction in all genres! Loads of children's books. Teachers! Come see our huge selection of children’s books including those for middle schoolers and young adults. Cash, checks, cards, and ApplePay accepted. All proceeds benefit the activities and programs at the Scotts Valley Library.

Join Thrill the World Santa Cruz for free community dance classes and spooky Halloween performances! Learn Michael Jackson’s iconic “Thriller” choreography—no dance experience required—and join us for the official worldwide Thrill the World dance on October 24 at 3 PM in Downtown Santa Cruz.

Join Us for 2 Weekends of Art! 205: Martine Mahoudeau – Painting 206: David Sunoo – Jewelry – Metalsmithing 207: Lynn Jaye – Painting 208: Martina Goulart – Painting 209: Kathy Coulston – Painting Experience a wide and unique variety of Art Expressions

Cub Scouts, Scouts BSA, Venturers, and Scout family and friends—you're invited to experience this exciting overnight event! Includes: • Camping under the stars on the Boardwalk • Exclusive Free Play in the Arcade • Dinner & Breakfast • Outdoor movie • Exclusive time on the Looff Carousel & Pirate Ship on Friday night • Sand Sculpture Competition • Event patch • Ride Wristband for Saturday • Discounted parking $99.95 per person Deadline October 4, 2026, or until full. Register today: bit.ly/Fall-Scout-Overnight

Carlos Motta’s When Time Stands Still features new and recent installations, videos, and sculptures highlighting the artist’s preoccupation with the historical and aesthetic productions of difference and marginalization that shape the present. The selection of artworks in the exhibition explore the unsettling experience of living in a time that seems violently stuck on repeat. Archetypal figures from art history (a fool, a siren, a witness, a victim) reappear in the current moment as containers of time, bringing the past of imperialism, colonization, and displacement into a present marked by the rise of anti-immigration politics, climate injustice, and other forms of disposability. Some works challenge this violent repetition of time. The clock moves, if gruelingly, in an endurance-based video performance, No One, 2025. For forty-six minutes, the artist undertakes to keep his eyes open, witnessing, withstanding, confronting, and resisting the bombardment of images, both historical and otherwise, that normalize harm. In another video work, Gravity, 2024, performers enact rescue carries, supporting each other until they can’t bear the weight. Together, the artworks act as a proposal about how to rethink time—how to slow time—with a poetic and aesthetic cadence that might counter the numbing reverberations of living in the present. When Time Stands Still is organized as part of Visualizing Abolition, an arts-based initiative that reaches across prison borders to create a future free of prisons. About the Artist Carlos Motta (b. 1978, Colombia) is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice documents the social conditions and political struggles of sexual, gender, and ethnic communities, challenging normative discourses through acts of self-representation. His work has been the focus of several survey exhibitions.

“Ni de aquí, ni de allá” (“neither from here, nor there”), is a phrase commonly used by bilingual, bicultural communities. In the exhibition the phrase becomes a bold declaration of dual belonging against a violent notion of nationalism and identity. Through paintings, immersive installations, sculptural works, and a curated soundscape, Marka27 invites gallery goers into a vibrant, layered world where street culture meets Indigenous tradition, and personal memory collides with collective truth and activism. Curated by internationally recognized curator Kate Fowle, this exhibition is organized in partnership with The Center for Art & Advocacy and as part of Visualizing Abolition, an arts-based initiative that reaches across prison borders to contribute to the unfolding collective story and alternative imagining underway to create a future free of prisons. ABOUT THE ARTIST: Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez is a renowned visual artist working at the intersections of contemporary art, graffiti, vinyl toys, fashion and design, and art activism.

“Ni de aquí, ni de allá” (“neither from here, nor there”), is a phrase commonly used by bilingual, bicultural communities. In the exhibition the phrase becomes a bold declaration of dual belonging against a violent notion of nationalism and identity. Through paintings, immersive installations, sculptural works, and a curated soundscape, Marka27 invites gallery goers into a vibrant, layered world where street culture meets Indigenous tradition, and personal memory collides with collective truth and activism. Curated by internationally recognized curator Kate Fowle, this exhibition is organized in partnership with The Center for Art & Advocacy and as part of Visualizing Abolition, an arts-based initiative that reaches across prison borders to contribute to the unfolding collective story and alternative imagining underway to create a future free of prisons.

Join us for a series of daytime talks with SPAM artists Jean Carla Rodea, Dorothy R. Santos, and Abram Stern. Program Jean Carla Rodea - The Archive is a Body. Rather than presenting a chronological review of my practice, this session investigates how memory is recorded, distorted, embodied, and reconstructed. Dorothy R. Santos - untitled talk Abram Stern - untitled talk About the Artists Jean Carla Rodea Jean Carla Rodea is an interdisciplinary artist with a research-based practice, originally from Mexico City and currently based between San Francisco, CA, and Brooklyn, NY. Their work spans music, sound, vocality, performance, poetry, photography, video, and sculpture, moving fluidly between solo projects and collaborative, cross-disciplinary environments. They draw from shifting identities, immigration, ritual, performance, ecology, construction work, and improvisation, engaging deeply with time-based media and the diverse spaces where these interactions take place. A central focus of their practice is the exploration of critical socio-political issues, including the politics of the body, gender, memory, and imbalanced human relationships. They are particularly invested in how time is constructed through memory, and how those memories-whether embodied or embedded within spaces-are recorded, fragmented, and continually reconstructed. This investigation opens pathways for fiction and speculative dimensions to disrupt and challenge dominant narratives. Archival research is a recurring methodology in their work, encompassing both institutional and personal archives. From these materials, they craft speculative histories, responding to documents, physical traces, and spaces. In their engagement with the archive, they embody multiple performative roles: witness, observer, participant, and researcher, each inhabiting the temporary sites where events unfold. Dorothy R. Santos, Ph. D. Dorothy R. Santos, Ph. D. (she/they) is a Filipino-American writer, artist, and media sch

The SLV Theatre Department is proud to present The Outsiders, a dramatic coming-of-age novel originally written by S.E. Hilton and adapted to stageplay by Christopher Sergel. This production is directed by high school seniors Ryan Jones and Benjamin Rotte. Performance dates are October 2nd-10th.

Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival is one of the largest and most prestigious mountain festivals in the world! Hot on the heels of the Festival that is held every fall in beautiful Banff, Alberta, the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour hits the road. With stops planned in over 600 communities and more than 40 countries across the globe, the Banff World Tour celebrates amazing achievements in outdoor storytelling and filmmaking worldwide. From the over 400 entries submitted to the Festival competition each year, award-winners and audience favorites are among the films that are carefully selected to play in theatres around the world.Traveling to remote vistas, analyzing topical environmental issues, and bringing audiences up-close and personal with adrenaline-packed action sports the 2025/2026 World Tour is an exhilarating and provocative exploration of the mountain world. Join us when we screen this all new Adventure line up of films (see below) featuring the BEST DAY EVER, the Audience Choice Award Winner and Best Film: Mountain Sports and five other engaging films.This year’s event will once again support the Santa Cruz Mountains Trail Stewardship.

Rio Theatre & Sante Adairius Midtown Portal team up to support Santa Cruz Mountains Trail Stewardship Join us for the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour Adventure Night October 10th at 7 pm, Rio Theatre Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival is one of the largest and most prestigious mountain festivals in the world! Join us when we screen this all new Adventure line up of films featuring BEST DAY EVER, the Audience Choice Award Winner and Best Film: Mountain Sports along with five other audience favorites. This year’s films are bound to showcase an exhilarating and provocative exploration of the mountain world. The Rio Theatre has been hosting the annual adventure night since 2013. Guaranteed to sell out! Visit https://www.riotheatre.com/events-2/2026/10/10/banffcentremountain for a complete list of films and tickets.

The Banff World Tour celebrates amazing achievements in outdoor storytelling and filmmaking worldwide. Head to the Rio Theatre as they screen this all new Adventure line up of films featuring the BEST DAY EVER, the Audience Choice Award Winner and Best Film: Mountain Sports and five other engaging films.

In the spring of 1895, Oscar Wilde was the most celebrated playwright in London — An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest were both playing in the West End. By the end of May he was in prison, sentenced to two years' hard labor for "gross indecency". Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde tells the story of that crushing downfall: the libel suit Wilde brought against the Marquess of Queensberry — the father of his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas — and the two criminal trials that followed when the suit collapsed. He died in destitution three years later. Moisés Kaufman's play, first staged Off-Broadway in 1997, is created from the historical record: trial transcripts, letters, newspaper accounts, memoirs, and Wilde's own writings. The result is part courtroom drama, part Greek tragedy — a company of actors taking on dozens of roles to examine not just what happened to Wilde, but what his trials reveal about art, morality, celebrity, and the law. The questions the play raises were recognized and debated in 1895, were highly relevant in 1997 when the play was first produced, and resonate just as strongly today when questions of identity and gender are still contentious to the point of violence. Kaufman however goes beyond a simple moralistic story (as evidenced by the quote above, which he uses to frame his play). Wilde is extraordinary not only in his intellect and wit but also in his arrogance and disregard for so many people he uses in his pursuit of pleasure. Human nature in all its complexity is on full display here. Kaufman went on to write and direct The Laramie Project, one of the most performed plays in the American repertoire, exploring some of the same issues in a more contemporary context. Gross Indecency was his breakthrough though — named one of the year's best plays by Time, the New York Times, and many others. It remains his most theatrically daring work, confronting the relationship between societal norms and individual freedom, draw

Damien Jurardo at Felton Music Hall on Saturday, October 10th 2026 Tickets: https://tixr.com/e/191035

Carlos Motta’s When Time Stands Still features new and recent installations, videos, and sculptures highlighting the artist’s preoccupation with the historical and aesthetic productions of difference and marginalization that shape the present. The selection of artworks in the exhibition explore the unsettling experience of living in a time that seems violently stuck on repeat. Archetypal figures from art history (a fool, a siren, a witness, a victim) reappear in the current moment as containers of time, bringing the past of imperialism, colonization, and displacement into a present marked by the rise of anti-immigration politics, climate injustice, and other forms of disposability. Some works challenge this violent repetition of time. The clock moves, if gruelingly, in an endurance-based video performance, No One, 2025. For forty-six minutes, the artist undertakes to keep his eyes open, witnessing, withstanding, confronting, and resisting the bombardment of images, both historical and otherwise, that normalize harm. In another video work, Gravity, 2024, performers enact rescue carries, supporting each other until they can’t bear the weight. Together, the artworks act as a proposal about how to rethink time—how to slow time—with a poetic and aesthetic cadence that might counter the numbing reverberations of living in the present. When Time Stands Still is organized as part of Visualizing Abolition, an arts-based initiative that reaches across prison borders to create a future free of prisons. About the Artist Carlos Motta (b. 1978, Colombia) is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice documents the social conditions and political struggles of sexual, gender, and ethnic communities, challenging normative discourses through acts of self-representation. His work has been the focus of several survey exhibitions.

“Ni de aquí, ni de allá” (“neither from here, nor there”), is a phrase commonly used by bilingual, bicultural communities. In the exhibition the phrase becomes a bold declaration of dual belonging against a violent notion of nationalism and identity. Through paintings, immersive installations, sculptural works, and a curated soundscape, Marka27 invites gallery goers into a vibrant, layered world where street culture meets Indigenous tradition, and personal memory collides with collective truth and activism. Curated by internationally recognized curator Kate Fowle, this exhibition is organized in partnership with The Center for Art & Advocacy and as part of Visualizing Abolition, an arts-based initiative that reaches across prison borders to contribute to the unfolding collective story and alternative imagining underway to create a future free of prisons. ABOUT THE ARTIST: Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez is a renowned visual artist working at the intersections of contemporary art, graffiti, vinyl toys, fashion and design, and art activism.

In the spring of 1895, Oscar Wilde was the most celebrated playwright in London — An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest were both playing in the West End. By the end of May he was in prison, sentenced to two years' hard labor for "gross indecency". Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde tells the story of that crushing downfall: the libel suit Wilde brought against the Marquess of Queensberry — the father of his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas — and the two criminal trials that followed when the suit collapsed. He died in destitution three years later. Moisés Kaufman's play, first staged Off-Broadway in 1997, is created from the historical record: trial transcripts, letters, newspaper accounts, memoirs, and Wilde's own writings. The result is part courtroom drama, part Greek tragedy — a company of actors taking on dozens of roles to examine not just what happened to Wilde, but what his trials reveal about art, morality, celebrity, and the law. The questions the play raises were recognized and debated in 1895, were highly relevant in 1997 when the play was first produced, and resonate just as strongly today when questions of identity and gender are still contentious to the point of violence. Kaufman however goes beyond a simple moralistic story (as evidenced by the quote above, which he uses to frame his play). Wilde is extraordinary not only in his intellect and wit but also in his arrogance and disregard for so many people he uses in his pursuit of pleasure. Human nature in all its complexity is on full display here. Kaufman went on to write and direct The Laramie Project, one of the most performed plays in the American repertoire, exploring some of the same issues in a more contemporary context. Gross Indecency was his breakthrough though — named one of the year's best plays by Time, the New York Times, and many others. It remains his most theatrically daring work, confronting the relationship between societal norms and individual freedom, draw

Mountain Community Theater is proud to present Rumors, written by Neil Simon. Directed by MarNae Taylor, this production takes place at Ben Lomond’s historic Park Hall, 9400 Mill Street. Subscriber guest ticket purchases open August 17th, and tickets go on sale to the general public August 28th, 2026. Please join us for an Opening Night Reception immediately following the performance on September 18th. There will be a Community Night on September 19th, where all tickets are 2 for $30. Friday and Saturday performances are at 8:00 p.m. Sunday matinees are at 2:00 p.m. Advisory: this show is rated PG-13 due to adult language and themes.

TICKETED EVENT AT THE RIO THEATRE: Bookshop Santa Cruz welcomes Min Jin Lee, the National Book Award finalist and New York Times bestselling author of Pachinko, who returns with American Hagwon-a...

Salsa By The Sea is a free, weekly outdoor salsa dancing event held near the wharf on Beach Street, at the Ideal Bar patio. The event runs all year long (except when it rains). Some weekends are Bachata by the Sea, with more bachata music played than salsa.

5 booked, 3 available Liz Muir

This is Motion Pacific's Beginning Jazz Fusion class for adult dancers.

A weekly Afro-Brazilian dance class focusing on rhythm and movement.

1 booked, 15 available Sarah Orre

0 booked, 6 available Chris Finnie

Busy

This is Motion Pacific's intermediate level contemporary jazz dance class.

Soft Pastel Painting runs in six week intervals taught by instructor Sarah Orre. A short demo will be taught the first class meeting with reference photos that will teach color theory, underpainting, texture, layering, and movement. Students are encouraged to bring additional reference photos for inspiration. Participants bring their own soft pastels (not oils), and sanded paper. The remainder of the class meetings are used for studio time. The last day we have a group peer review to discuss our work and give and receive feedback.

Visit Watsonville Public Library for a FREE Health Screening, no appointment needed! ~ Community Health Trust of Pajaro Valley invites library patrons to take advantage of this opportunity to check in on their health and learn more about their risk for conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure. Screenings will take place on the second Tuesday of each month from July through December, between 10:00am-12:00pm at the Main Library. Tuesday, July 14: Diabetes Tuesday, August 11: Blood Pressure Tuesday, September 8: Diabetes Tuesday, October 13: Cholesterol Tuesday, November 10: Diabetes Tuesday, December 8: Blood Pressure This project is supported in whole or in part by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian. This program is supported by Rural Health Connections. Audience: All ages ESPAÑOL ¡Visite la Biblioteca Pública Watsonville para una evaluación de salud GRATUITA, no necesita cita! ~ Community Health Trust of Pajaro Valley invita a los usuarios a aprovechar esta oportunidad para revisar su estado de salud y aprender más sobre su riesgo de padecer enfermedades como la diabetes y la presión arterial alta. Los exámenes de salud se llevarán a cabo el segundo martes de cada mes, de julio a diciembre, de 10:00am-12:00pm en la Biblioteca Principal. martes 14 de julio: Diabetes martes 11 de agosto: Presión arterial martes 8 de septiembre: Diabetes martes 13 de octubre: Colesterol martes 10 de noviembre: Diabetes martes 8 de diciembre: Presión arterial Este proyecto cuenta con el apoyo total o parcial del Instituto de Servicios de Museos y Bibliotecas de los Estados Unidos (IMLS) bajo las disposiciones de la Ley de Servicios y Tecnología Bibliotecaria, administrada en California por el Bibliotecario Estatal. Este programa cuenta con el apoyo de Rural Health Connections. Audiencia: Para todas las edades

Youth Bloom Studio Art with Sarah Orre, nurtures creativity, confidence, and curiosity through hands-on learning. Each class encourages young artists to explore new materials, techniques, and ideas while building foundational art skills in a supportive studio environment. From painting and drawing to air dry clay and mixed media, students learn to see like artists and express their own unique voice. Enroll in as many sessions as you like!

A weekly hula and Tahitian dance class with the Te Hau Nui school, exploring Polynesian movement and tradition.

Advanced hula and Tahitian dance class for experienced dancers. Part of Te Hau Nui School's curriculum.

Beginning adult ceramics with instructor Nora Sarkissian. Learn the basics of hand building, pinch, and coil. Nora will provide demos and projects as well as time for independent clay creation. Class is held at Redwood and Ranunculus downtown Felton. Tuesdays, 6-8:30 PM $234 for 6 weeks (7% service fee due at checkout) plus a $20 material fee due to instructor at first class Clay, glazes, and tools provided. Session I: August 18, 25, Sept 1, 8, 15, 22 Session II: Sept 29, October 6, 13, 20, 27, Nov 3

0 booked, 7 available

A free weekly dance jam for babies and their caregivers at The 418 Project in Santa Cruz, with movement, music, and play in a joyful environment.

A 12 week series on Wednesdays from 10:30AM-12PM that introduces foundational digital literacy concepts and teaches useful digital skills. August 19: What is a VPN and Do You Need One? August 26: Smartwatches Made Simple September 2: AI Powered Art September 9: Music Streaming Made Simple September 16: Podcasts Made Easy: Listen to Your Favorite Topics Anytime September 23: Your Story, Your Legacy: Preserving Memories with Spoken Records September 30: Tech Settings That Help With Accessibility October 7: Using Emergency Features on Your Phone October 14: Intro to Facebook October 21: Intro to Instagram Registration required. Must register for each class individually. https://santacruzpl.libnet.info/events?term=cyber+seniors&d=2026-07-30&r=range&start=2026-08-01&end=2026-11-01 Come join Dara Brady, a local instructor with the digital literacy organization Cyber-Seniors, for a weekly digital literacy course! Each class includes a lesson on the topics below, Q&A time, and one-on-one tech support. Participants are encouraged to bring a notebook, pen/pencil, and whatever tech device they want to learn on: (a laptop, tablet, and/or smart phone) and the charger for that device. If they don't have a device, they can still participate and Dara can get them one to use for the class. All classes run on Wednesday mornings from 10:30AM to 12PM in the Fireside Room except for the first and last sessions, which will take place in Study Room A.

Carlos Motta’s When Time Stands Still features new and recent installations, videos, and sculptures highlighting the artist’s preoccupation with the historical and aesthetic productions of difference and marginalization that shape the present. The selection of artworks in the exhibition explore the unsettling experience of living in a time that seems violently stuck on repeat. Archetypal figures from art history (a fool, a siren, a witness, a victim) reappear in the current moment as containers of time, bringing the past of imperialism, colonization, and displacement into a present marked by the rise of anti-immigration politics, climate injustice, and other forms of disposability. Some works challenge this violent repetition of time. The clock moves, if gruelingly, in an endurance-based video performance, No One, 2025. For forty-six minutes, the artist undertakes to keep his eyes open, witnessing, withstanding, confronting, and resisting the bombardment of images, both historical and otherwise, that normalize harm. In another video work, Gravity, 2024, performers enact rescue carries, supporting each other until they can’t bear the weight. Together, the artworks act as a proposal about how to rethink time—how to slow time—with a poetic and aesthetic cadence that might counter the numbing reverberations of living in the present. When Time Stands Still is organized as part of Visualizing Abolition, an arts-based initiative that reaches across prison borders to create a future free of prisons. About the Artist Carlos Motta (b. 1978, Colombia) is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice documents the social conditions and political struggles of sexual, gender, and ethnic communities, challenging normative discourses through acts of self-representation. His work has been the focus of several survey exhibitions.

“Ni de aquí, ni de allá” (“neither from here, nor there”), is a phrase commonly used by bilingual, bicultural communities. In the exhibition the phrase becomes a bold declaration of dual belonging against a violent notion of nationalism and identity. Through paintings, immersive installations, sculptural works, and a curated soundscape, Marka27 invites gallery goers into a vibrant, layered world where street culture meets Indigenous tradition, and personal memory collides with collective truth and activism. Curated by internationally recognized curator Kate Fowle, this exhibition is organized in partnership with The Center for Art & Advocacy and as part of Visualizing Abolition, an arts-based initiative that reaches across prison borders to contribute to the unfolding collective story and alternative imagining underway to create a future free of prisons. ABOUT THE ARTIST: Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez is a renowned visual artist working at the intersections of contemporary art, graffiti, vinyl toys, fashion and design, and art activism.

A regular tango class in Downtown Santa Cruz, offering a way to learn Latin dance in a social, cultural setting.

Busy

🎬 Five days of films. A whole lot of Santa Cruz. October 14–18 | Santa Cruz Film Festival 2026 Clear your calendar for independent films, filmmaker conversations, local flavors, and plenty of reasons to stay out after the credits. Here’s how the week unfolds: MOVIE VENUES: The Del Mar, Santa Cruz Cinema, The 418 Project, The Colligan, The Rio Theater After parties each night! WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14 — LET’S MAKE A SCENE We open with Lunar Sway at the Del Mar Theatre, then head to the Museum of Art & History for our Opening Night Party. Think music, cocktails, culinary bites, and a room full of people ready to celebrate independent cinema. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15 — SIP HAPPENS Discover fresh voices on screen, then keep the conversation flowing at Big Basin Tasting Room. Wine, bites, and fireside conversations bring filmmakers and film lovers together. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16 — POUR DECISIONS Make a day of discovering films, then join us at Woodhouse Blending & Brewing for live music, custom SCFF brews, and a Friday night with a few surprises. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17 — THE S’MORE THE MERRIER Spend the day exploring the film lineup, then trade your theater seat for some ocean air. Our beachside gathering with Dream Inn brings the community together for fire pits, s’mores, and conversations under the Santa Cruz sky. SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18 — BRUNCH WITH BENEFITS + CUE THE APPLAUSE Start with brunch and industry conversation about Ai in FILM at Hotel Paradox, catch more festival films, and join us for our Closing Night screening at the Rio Theatre. Then it’s back to Hotel Paradox for the awards celebration and one final toast. Every day is an invitation to discover artists, support local businesses, and connect with your community. Your support also helps SCFF provide workshop scholarships and a matching ticket and pass program for film students. 🎟️ Bring your curiosity. Bring your people. Explore the schedule and get your tickets. Thank you to our Luminary Sponsors: The Dream Inn and Bel

2 booked, 4 available Chris Finnie

Busy

Wednesdays, October 7-28, 2026 Doors 7:30pm, Movie 8pm Bring your friends for a night of fun and frights! With a cocktail in your hand, enjoy your favorite scary movies in the historic ballroom at The Grove: Santa Cruz Event Center. 21+ Event Oct 7 - Killer Klowns from Outer Space Oct 14 - Shaun of the Dead Oct 21 - Get Out Oct 28 - The Sixth Sense $18 Entry Fee Includes: Beach Chair seating (first come, first served) and Banquet Chair seating plus one hosted drink ticket. $30 Premium Seating - SOLD OUT Includes: Reserved premium seating with inflatable chairs, one hosted drink ticket, and popcorn plus sweet treat. 21+ only- IDs will be checked at the entrance. Themed giveaways for the first 50 attendees each night! Full bar featuring signature drinks Snacks available for purchase Beach chair seating available on a first-come, first-served basis You are encouraged to come in costume, but please adhere to the following rules: • No weapons of any kind • No masks • Costumes should not display offensive symbolism or gestures • No outside food or drink allowed

with UCSC Festival of Monsters 2026 Wed., October 14th – 7:30 PM – SMALL THEATER Presented with the Festival of Monsters 2026 – UC Santa Cruz THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT (1955, Park Circus, 78 min.). A trio of British astronauts are launched into space by obsessed rocket scientist Professor Quatermass (Brian Donley) – but only one returns to Earth and he’s not the same, to put it mildly. One of the finest B&W sci-fi / horror films of the 1950s (a great decade for them in general), THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT also launched Hammer Films into the stratosphere as the UK’s premiere genre producers. Adapted from a BBC TV serial by the great writer Nigel Kneale and expertly directed by the legendary Val Guest (THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE), THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT was followed by three equally brilliant sequels and turned Professor Bernard Quatermass into one of Britain’s most iconic sci-fi heroes, next to Doctor Who! Dr. Marshall Leicester will appear at the screening to discuss THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT. Info on the Festival of Monsters 2026 – UC Santa Cruz: The Festival of Monsters is an annual gathering of scholars and artists from across the globe who use monsters and monstrosity in their work. Sponsored by the UCSC Center for Monster Studies, the 2026 Festival will be the fifth such event, investigating how monsters and language intertwine with panels on monstrous communication, cursed texts, horror poetry, and more! Not just for academics, the festival features public events in beautiful downtown Santa Cruz for the whole community to enjoy. https://www.monsterstudies.ucsc.edu/2026public H. Marshall Leicester is Professor Emeritus of literature at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He is the author of articles on medieval literature, opera, and film. His most recent book, What Ought To Scare You:Affect and Hollywood Horror Discourses, 1922-1968 (2024) is a deep dive into the history of horror films.Instead of treating movies as examples of the horror genre through

Get ready to experience the ultimate gathering of top experts and enthusiasts in the San Francisco Bay Area at Apex Masters Expos!

🎬 Five days of films. A whole lot of Santa Cruz. October 14–18 | Santa Cruz Film Festival 2026 Clear your calendar for independent films, filmmaker conversations, local flavors, and plenty of reasons to stay out after the credits. Here’s how the week unfolds: MOVIE VENUES: The Del Mar, Santa Cruz Cinema, The 418 Project, The Colligan, The Rio Theater After parties each night! WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14 — LET’S MAKE A SCENE We open with Lunar Sway at the Del Mar Theatre, then head to the Museum of Art & History for our Opening Night Party. Think music, cocktails, culinary bites, and a room full of people ready to celebrate independent cinema. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15 — SIP HAPPENS Discover fresh voices on screen, then keep the conversation flowing at Big Basin Tasting Room. Wine, bites, and fireside conversations bring filmmakers and film lovers together. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16 — POUR DECISIONS Make a day of discovering films, then join us at Woodhouse Blending & Brewing for live music, custom SCFF brews, and a Friday night with a few surprises. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17 — THE S’MORE THE MERRIER Spend the day exploring the film lineup, then trade your theater seat for some ocean air. Our beachside gathering with Dream Inn brings the community together for fire pits, s’mores, and conversations under the Santa Cruz sky. SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18 — BRUNCH WITH BENEFITS + CUE THE APPLAUSE Start with brunch and industry conversation about Ai in FILM at Hotel Paradox, catch more festival films, and join us for our Closing Night screening at the Rio Theatre. Then it’s back to Hotel Paradox for the awards celebration and one final toast. Every day is an invitation to discover artists, support local businesses, and connect with your community. Your support also helps SCFF provide workshop scholarships and a matching ticket and pass program for film students. 🎟️ Bring your curiosity. Bring your people. Explore the schedule and get your tickets. Thank you to our Luminary Sponsors: The Dream Inn and Bel

The Santa Cruz Film Festival returns for three days of screenings and events at The 418 Project.

“Ni de aquí, ni de allá” (“neither from here, nor there”), is a phrase commonly used by bilingual, bicultural communities. In the exhibition the phrase becomes a bold declaration of dual belonging against a violent notion of nationalism and identity. Through paintings, immersive installations, sculptural works, and a curated soundscape, Marka27 invites gallery goers into a vibrant, layered world where street culture meets Indigenous tradition, and personal memory collides with collective truth and activism. Curated by internationally recognized curator Kate Fowle, this exhibition is organized in partnership with The Center for Art & Advocacy and as part of Visualizing Abolition, an arts-based initiative that reaches across prison borders to contribute to the unfolding collective story and alternative imagining underway to create a future free of prisons. ABOUT THE ARTIST: Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez is a renowned visual artist working at the intersections of contemporary art, graffiti, vinyl toys, fashion and design, and art activism.

Carlos Motta’s When Time Stands Still features new and recent installations, videos, and sculptures highlighting the artist’s preoccupation with the historical and aesthetic productions of difference and marginalization that shape the present. The selection of artworks in the exhibition explore the unsettling experience of living in a time that seems violently stuck on repeat. Archetypal figures from art history (a fool, a siren, a witness, a victim) reappear in the current moment as containers of time, bringing the past of imperialism, colonization, and displacement into a present marked by the rise of anti-immigration politics, climate injustice, and other forms of disposability. Some works challenge this violent repetition of time. The clock moves, if gruelingly, in an endurance-based video performance, No One, 2025. For forty-six minutes, the artist undertakes to keep his eyes open, witnessing, withstanding, confronting, and resisting the bombardment of images, both historical and otherwise, that normalize harm. In another video work, Gravity, 2024, performers enact rescue carries, supporting each other until they can’t bear the weight. Together, the artworks act as a proposal about how to rethink time—how to slow time—with a poetic and aesthetic cadence that might counter the numbing reverberations of living in the present. When Time Stands Still is organized as part of Visualizing Abolition, an arts-based initiative that reaches across prison borders to create a future free of prisons. About the Artist Carlos Motta (b. 1978, Colombia) is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice documents the social conditions and political struggles of sexual, gender, and ethnic communities, challenging normative discourses through acts of self-representation. His work has been the focus of several survey exhibitions.

A weekly Congo dance class in Santa Cruz. Participants learn traditional African dance movements in a group setting at The 418 Project.

This is Motion Pacific's Adult Intermediate Modern class for adult dancers.

A part of Denise Carrascosa’s October residency with Visualizing Abolition, Aparecida will read from and discuss her poetry chapbooks Macala (2022) and Aziri (2026). The works are inspired by nineteenth-century photographs of Black women taken in Brazil, shaped by the historical contexts of slavery and scientific racism. The research explores how poetry and fiction can reinscribe these images beyond the colonial gaze that originally produced them. Once confined within systems of economic exploitation and the aesthetic contemplation of whiteness, these women are now reimagined through a poetic practice in which poetry and photography converge as a feminist and abolitionist mode of critically engaging the archive. Following the wake, the work seeks to transform documents of violence into new aesthetic forms of freedom.

Get ready to experience the ultimate gathering of top experts and enthusiasts in the San Francisco Bay Area at Apex Masters Expos!

The Santa Cruz Film Festival returns for three days of screenings and events at The 418 Project.

🎬 Five days of films. A whole lot of Santa Cruz. October 14–18 | Santa Cruz Film Festival 2026 Clear your calendar for independent films, filmmaker conversations, local flavors, and plenty of reasons to stay out after the credits. Here’s how the week unfolds: MOVIE VENUES: The Del Mar, Santa Cruz Cinema, The 418 Project, The Colligan, The Rio Theater After parties each night! WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14 — LET’S MAKE A SCENE We open with Lunar Sway at the Del Mar Theatre, then head to the Museum of Art & History for our Opening Night Party. Think music, cocktails, culinary bites, and a room full of people ready to celebrate independent cinema. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15 — SIP HAPPENS Discover fresh voices on screen, then keep the conversation flowing at Big Basin Tasting Room. Wine, bites, and fireside conversations bring filmmakers and film lovers together. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16 — POUR DECISIONS Make a day of discovering films, then join us at Woodhouse Blending & Brewing for live music, custom SCFF brews, and a Friday night with a few surprises. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17 — THE S’MORE THE MERRIER Spend the day exploring the film lineup, then trade your theater seat for some ocean air. Our beachside gathering with Dream Inn brings the community together for fire pits, s’mores, and conversations under the Santa Cruz sky. SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18 — BRUNCH WITH BENEFITS + CUE THE APPLAUSE Start with brunch and industry conversation about Ai in FILM at Hotel Paradox, catch more festival films, and join us for our Closing Night screening at the Rio Theatre. Then it’s back to Hotel Paradox for the awards celebration and one final toast. Every day is an invitation to discover artists, support local businesses, and connect with your community. Your support also helps SCFF provide workshop scholarships and a matching ticket and pass program for film students. 🎟️ Bring your curiosity. Bring your people. Explore the schedule and get your tickets. Thank you to our Luminary Sponsors: The Dream Inn and Bel

“Ni de aquí, ni de allá” (“neither from here, nor there”), is a phrase commonly used by bilingual, bicultural communities. In the exhibition the phrase becomes a bold declaration of dual belonging against a violent notion of nationalism and identity. Through paintings, immersive installations, sculptural works, and a curated soundscape, Marka27 invites gallery goers into a vibrant, layered world where street culture meets Indigenous tradition, and personal memory collides with collective truth and activism. Curated by internationally recognized curator Kate Fowle, this exhibition is organized in partnership with The Center for Art & Advocacy and as part of Visualizing Abolition, an arts-based initiative that reaches across prison borders to contribute to the unfolding collective story and alternative imagining underway to create a future free of prisons. ABOUT THE ARTIST: Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez is a renowned visual artist working at the intersections of contemporary art, graffiti, vinyl toys, fashion and design, and art activism.

Carlos Motta’s When Time Stands Still features new and recent installations, videos, and sculptures highlighting the artist’s preoccupation with the historical and aesthetic productions of difference and marginalization that shape the present. The selection of artworks in the exhibition explore the unsettling experience of living in a time that seems violently stuck on repeat. Archetypal figures from art history (a fool, a siren, a witness, a victim) reappear in the current moment as containers of time, bringing the past of imperialism, colonization, and displacement into a present marked by the rise of anti-immigration politics, climate injustice, and other forms of disposability. Some works challenge this violent repetition of time. The clock moves, if gruelingly, in an endurance-based video performance, No One, 2025. For forty-six minutes, the artist undertakes to keep his eyes open, witnessing, withstanding, confronting, and resisting the bombardment of images, both historical and otherwise, that normalize harm. In another video work, Gravity, 2024, performers enact rescue carries, supporting each other until they can’t bear the weight. Together, the artworks act as a proposal about how to rethink time—how to slow time—with a poetic and aesthetic cadence that might counter the numbing reverberations of living in the present. When Time Stands Still is organized as part of Visualizing Abolition, an arts-based initiative that reaches across prison borders to create a future free of prisons. About the Artist Carlos Motta (b. 1978, Colombia) is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice documents the social conditions and political struggles of sexual, gender, and ethnic communities, challenging normative discourses through acts of self-representation. His work has been the focus of several survey exhibitions.

Come join us for a night of traditional South American Music and dance.

In the spring of 1895, Oscar Wilde was the most celebrated playwright in London — An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest were both playing in the West End. By the end of May he was in prison, sentenced to two years' hard labor for "gross indecency". Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde tells the story of that crushing downfall: the libel suit Wilde brought against the Marquess of Queensberry — the father of his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas — and the two criminal trials that followed when the suit collapsed. He died in destitution three years later. Moisés Kaufman's play, first staged Off-Broadway in 1997, is created from the historical record: trial transcripts, letters, newspaper accounts, memoirs, and Wilde's own writings. The result is part courtroom drama, part Greek tragedy — a company of actors taking on dozens of roles to examine not just what happened to Wilde, but what his trials reveal about art, morality, celebrity, and the law. The questions the play raises were recognized and debated in 1895, were highly relevant in 1997 when the play was first produced, and resonate just as strongly today when questions of identity and gender are still contentious to the point of violence. Kaufman however goes beyond a simple moralistic story (as evidenced by the quote above, which he uses to frame his play). Wilde is extraordinary not only in his intellect and wit but also in his arrogance and disregard for so many people he uses in his pursuit of pleasure. Human nature in all its complexity is on full display here. Kaufman went on to write and direct The Laramie Project, one of the most performed plays in the American repertoire, exploring some of the same issues in a more contemporary context. Gross Indecency was his breakthrough though — named one of the year's best plays by Time, the New York Times, and many others. It remains his most theatrically daring work, confronting the relationship between societal norms and individual freedom, draw

Frankenstein is presented with a live score by Sleepbomb, adding a musical layer to the classic story.

Get ready to experience the ultimate gathering of top experts and enthusiasts in the San Francisco Bay Area at Apex Masters Expos!

Join Thrill the World Santa Cruz for free community dance classes and spooky Halloween performances! Learn Michael Jackson’s iconic “Thriller” choreography—no dance experience required—and join us for the official worldwide Thrill the World dance on October 24 at 3 PM in Downtown Santa Cruz.

A fun and easy-to-learn way of drawing structured patterns to create beautiful images. The Zentangle Method makes drawing patterns, or tangles, accessible to almost anyone of all ages since tangles are created from basic pen strokes. If you can write your name, you can create art with Zentangle. As you draw tangles you will likely experience increased focus, calm, creativity and well-being. For those of you who attended the Introductory Zentangle class on February 20, this class will also introduce Zentangle and review the Zentangle Method. However, we will be doing variations of previously taught tangles and/or new tangles, so you will create a completely different Zentangle tile than before. Meets the 3rd Saturday of each month from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm.Facilitated by Cynthia Balthaser.

The Santa Cruz Film Festival returns for three days of screenings and events at The 418 Project.

🎬 Five days of films. A whole lot of Santa Cruz. October 14–18 | Santa Cruz Film Festival 2026 Clear your calendar for independent films, filmmaker conversations, local flavors, and plenty of reasons to stay out after the credits. Here’s how the week unfolds: MOVIE VENUES: The Del Mar, Santa Cruz Cinema, The 418 Project, The Colligan, The Rio Theater After parties each night! WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14 — LET’S MAKE A SCENE We open with Lunar Sway at the Del Mar Theatre, then head to the Museum of Art & History for our Opening Night Party. Think music, cocktails, culinary bites, and a room full of people ready to celebrate independent cinema. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15 — SIP HAPPENS Discover fresh voices on screen, then keep the conversation flowing at Big Basin Tasting Room. Wine, bites, and fireside conversations bring filmmakers and film lovers together. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16 — POUR DECISIONS Make a day of discovering films, then join us at Woodhouse Blending & Brewing for live music, custom SCFF brews, and a Friday night with a few surprises. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17 — THE S’MORE THE MERRIER Spend the day exploring the film lineup, then trade your theater seat for some ocean air. Our beachside gathering with Dream Inn brings the community together for fire pits, s’mores, and conversations under the Santa Cruz sky. SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18 — BRUNCH WITH BENEFITS + CUE THE APPLAUSE Start with brunch and industry conversation about Ai in FILM at Hotel Paradox, catch more festival films, and join us for our Closing Night screening at the Rio Theatre. Then it’s back to Hotel Paradox for the awards celebration and one final toast. Every day is an invitation to discover artists, support local businesses, and connect with your community. Your support also helps SCFF provide workshop scholarships and a matching ticket and pass program for film students. 🎟️ Bring your curiosity. Bring your people. Explore the schedule and get your tickets. Thank you to our Luminary Sponsors: The Dream Inn and Bel

Carlos Motta’s When Time Stands Still features new and recent installations, videos, and sculptures highlighting the artist’s preoccupation with the historical and aesthetic productions of difference and marginalization that shape the present. The selection of artworks in the exhibition explore the unsettling experience of living in a time that seems violently stuck on repeat. Archetypal figures from art history (a fool, a siren, a witness, a victim) reappear in the current moment as containers of time, bringing the past of imperialism, colonization, and displacement into a present marked by the rise of anti-immigration politics, climate injustice, and other forms of disposability. Some works challenge this violent repetition of time. The clock moves, if gruelingly, in an endurance-based video performance, No One, 2025. For forty-six minutes, the artist undertakes to keep his eyes open, witnessing, withstanding, confronting, and resisting the bombardment of images, both historical and otherwise, that normalize harm. In another video work, Gravity, 2024, performers enact rescue carries, supporting each other until they can’t bear the weight. Together, the artworks act as a proposal about how to rethink time—how to slow time—with a poetic and aesthetic cadence that might counter the numbing reverberations of living in the present. When Time Stands Still is organized as part of Visualizing Abolition, an arts-based initiative that reaches across prison borders to create a future free of prisons. About the Artist Carlos Motta (b. 1978, Colombia) is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice documents the social conditions and political struggles of sexual, gender, and ethnic communities, challenging normative discourses through acts of self-representation. His work has been the focus of several survey exhibitions.

“Ni de aquí, ni de allá” (“neither from here, nor there”), is a phrase commonly used by bilingual, bicultural communities. In the exhibition the phrase becomes a bold declaration of dual belonging against a violent notion of nationalism and identity. Through paintings, immersive installations, sculptural works, and a curated soundscape, Marka27 invites gallery goers into a vibrant, layered world where street culture meets Indigenous tradition, and personal memory collides with collective truth and activism. Curated by internationally recognized curator Kate Fowle, this exhibition is organized in partnership with The Center for Art & Advocacy and as part of Visualizing Abolition, an arts-based initiative that reaches across prison borders to contribute to the unfolding collective story and alternative imagining underway to create a future free of prisons. ABOUT THE ARTIST: Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez is a renowned visual artist working at the intersections of contemporary art, graffiti, vinyl toys, fashion and design, and art activism.

A cabaret performance at The 418 Project in Santa Cruz. Details tentative.

In the spring of 1895, Oscar Wilde was the most celebrated playwright in London — An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest were both playing in the West End. By the end of May he was in prison, sentenced to two years' hard labor for "gross indecency". Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde tells the story of that crushing downfall: the libel suit Wilde brought against the Marquess of Queensberry — the father of his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas — and the two criminal trials that followed when the suit collapsed. He died in destitution three years later. Moisés Kaufman's play, first staged Off-Broadway in 1997, is created from the historical record: trial transcripts, letters, newspaper accounts, memoirs, and Wilde's own writings. The result is part courtroom drama, part Greek tragedy — a company of actors taking on dozens of roles to examine not just what happened to Wilde, but what his trials reveal about art, morality, celebrity, and the law. The questions the play raises were recognized and debated in 1895, were highly relevant in 1997 when the play was first produced, and resonate just as strongly today when questions of identity and gender are still contentious to the point of violence. Kaufman however goes beyond a simple moralistic story (as evidenced by the quote above, which he uses to frame his play). Wilde is extraordinary not only in his intellect and wit but also in his arrogance and disregard for so many people he uses in his pursuit of pleasure. Human nature in all its complexity is on full display here. Kaufman went on to write and direct The Laramie Project, one of the most performed plays in the American repertoire, exploring some of the same issues in a more contemporary context. Gross Indecency was his breakthrough though — named one of the year's best plays by Time, the New York Times, and many others. It remains his most theatrically daring work, confronting the relationship between societal norms and individual freedom, draw

Get ready to experience the ultimate gathering of top experts and enthusiasts in the San Francisco Bay Area at Apex Masters Expos!

2 booked, 5 available Cindy Laurin

🎬 Five days of films. A whole lot of Santa Cruz. October 14–18 | Santa Cruz Film Festival 2026 Clear your calendar for independent films, filmmaker conversations, local flavors, and plenty of reasons to stay out after the credits. Here’s how the week unfolds: MOVIE VENUES: The Del Mar, Santa Cruz Cinema, The 418 Project, The Colligan, The Rio Theater After parties each night! WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14 — LET’S MAKE A SCENE We open with Lunar Sway at the Del Mar Theatre, then head to the Museum of Art & History for our Opening Night Party. Think music, cocktails, culinary bites, and a room full of people ready to celebrate independent cinema. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15 — SIP HAPPENS Discover fresh voices on screen, then keep the conversation flowing at Big Basin Tasting Room. Wine, bites, and fireside conversations bring filmmakers and film lovers together. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16 — POUR DECISIONS Make a day of discovering films, then join us at Woodhouse Blending & Brewing for live music, custom SCFF brews, and a Friday night with a few surprises. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17 — THE S’MORE THE MERRIER Spend the day exploring the film lineup, then trade your theater seat for some ocean air. Our beachside gathering with Dream Inn brings the community together for fire pits, s’mores, and conversations under the Santa Cruz sky. SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18 — BRUNCH WITH BENEFITS + CUE THE APPLAUSE Start with brunch and industry conversation about Ai in FILM at Hotel Paradox, catch more festival films, and join us for our Closing Night screening at the Rio Theatre. Then it’s back to Hotel Paradox for the awards celebration and one final toast. Every day is an invitation to discover artists, support local businesses, and connect with your community. Your support also helps SCFF provide workshop scholarships and a matching ticket and pass program for film students. 🎟️ Bring your curiosity. Bring your people. Explore the schedule and get your tickets. Thank you to our Luminary Sponsors: The Dream Inn and Bel

“Ni de aquí, ni de allá” (“neither from here, nor there”), is a phrase commonly used by bilingual, bicultural communities. In the exhibition the phrase becomes a bold declaration of dual belonging against a violent notion of nationalism and identity. Through paintings, immersive installations, sculptural works, and a curated soundscape, Marka27 invites gallery goers into a vibrant, layered world where street culture meets Indigenous tradition, and personal memory collides with collective truth and activism. Curated by internationally recognized curator Kate Fowle, this exhibition is organized in partnership with The Center for Art & Advocacy and as part of Visualizing Abolition, an arts-based initiative that reaches across prison borders to contribute to the unfolding collective story and alternative imagining underway to create a future free of prisons. ABOUT THE ARTIST: Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez is a renowned visual artist working at the intersections of contemporary art, graffiti, vinyl toys, fashion and design, and art activism.

Carlos Motta’s When Time Stands Still features new and recent installations, videos, and sculptures highlighting the artist’s preoccupation with the historical and aesthetic productions of difference and marginalization that shape the present. The selection of artworks in the exhibition explore the unsettling experience of living in a time that seems violently stuck on repeat. Archetypal figures from art history (a fool, a siren, a witness, a victim) reappear in the current moment as containers of time, bringing the past of imperialism, colonization, and displacement into a present marked by the rise of anti-immigration politics, climate injustice, and other forms of disposability. Some works challenge this violent repetition of time. The clock moves, if gruelingly, in an endurance-based video performance, No One, 2025. For forty-six minutes, the artist undertakes to keep his eyes open, witnessing, withstanding, confronting, and resisting the bombardment of images, both historical and otherwise, that normalize harm. In another video work, Gravity, 2024, performers enact rescue carries, supporting each other until they can’t bear the weight. Together, the artworks act as a proposal about how to rethink time—how to slow time—with a poetic and aesthetic cadence that might counter the numbing reverberations of living in the present. When Time Stands Still is organized as part of Visualizing Abolition, an arts-based initiative that reaches across prison borders to create a future free of prisons. About the Artist Carlos Motta (b. 1978, Colombia) is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice documents the social conditions and political struggles of sexual, gender, and ethnic communities, challenging normative discourses through acts of self-representation. His work has been the focus of several survey exhibitions.

In the spring of 1895, Oscar Wilde was the most celebrated playwright in London — An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest were both playing in the West End. By the end of May he was in prison, sentenced to two years' hard labor for "gross indecency". Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde tells the story of that crushing downfall: the libel suit Wilde brought against the Marquess of Queensberry — the father of his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas — and the two criminal trials that followed when the suit collapsed. He died in destitution three years later. Moisés Kaufman's play, first staged Off-Broadway in 1997, is created from the historical record: trial transcripts, letters, newspaper accounts, memoirs, and Wilde's own writings. The result is part courtroom drama, part Greek tragedy — a company of actors taking on dozens of roles to examine not just what happened to Wilde, but what his trials reveal about art, morality, celebrity, and the law. The questions the play raises were recognized and debated in 1895, were highly relevant in 1997 when the play was first produced, and resonate just as strongly today when questions of identity and gender are still contentious to the point of violence. Kaufman however goes beyond a simple moralistic story (as evidenced by the quote above, which he uses to frame his play). Wilde is extraordinary not only in his intellect and wit but also in his arrogance and disregard for so many people he uses in his pursuit of pleasure. Human nature in all its complexity is on full display here. Kaufman went on to write and direct The Laramie Project, one of the most performed plays in the American repertoire, exploring some of the same issues in a more contemporary context. Gross Indecency was his breakthrough though — named one of the year's best plays by Time, the New York Times, and many others. It remains his most theatrically daring work, confronting the relationship between societal norms and individual freedom, draw

Salsa By The Sea is a free, weekly outdoor salsa dancing event held near the wharf on Beach Street, at the Ideal Bar patio. The event runs all year long (except when it rains). Some weekends are Bachata by the Sea, with more bachata music played than salsa.

5 booked, 3 available Liz Muir

This is Motion Pacific's Beginning Jazz Fusion class for adult dancers.

Busy

A weekly Afro-Brazilian dance class focusing on rhythm and movement.

1 booked, 15 available Sarah Orre

This is Motion Pacific's intermediate level contemporary jazz dance class.

Youth Bloom Studio Art with Sarah Orre, nurtures creativity, confidence, and curiosity through hands-on learning. Each class encourages young artists to explore new materials, techniques, and ideas while building foundational art skills in a supportive studio environment. From painting and drawing to air dry clay and mixed media, students learn to see like artists and express their own unique voice. Enroll in as many sessions as you like!

A weekly hula and Tahitian dance class with the Te Hau Nui school, exploring Polynesian movement and tradition.

Advanced hula and Tahitian dance class for experienced dancers. Part of Te Hau Nui School's curriculum.

Beginning adult ceramics with instructor Nora Sarkissian. Learn the basics of hand building, pinch, and coil. Nora will provide demos and projects as well as time for independent clay creation. Class is held at Redwood and Ranunculus downtown Felton. Tuesdays, 6-8:30 PM $234 for 6 weeks (7% service fee due at checkout) plus a $20 material fee due to instructor at first class Clay, glazes, and tools provided. Session I: August 18, 25, Sept 1, 8, 15, 22 Session II: Sept 29, October 6, 13, 20, 27, Nov 3

0 booked, 7 available

Busy

A free weekly dance jam for babies and their caregivers at The 418 Project in Santa Cruz, with movement, music, and play in a joyful environment.

A 12 week series on Wednesdays from 10:30AM-12PM that introduces foundational digital literacy concepts and teaches useful digital skills. August 19: What is a VPN and Do You Need One? August 26: Smartwatches Made Simple September 2: AI Powered Art September 9: Music Streaming Made Simple September 16: Podcasts Made Easy: Listen to Your Favorite Topics Anytime September 23: Your Story, Your Legacy: Preserving Memories with Spoken Records September 30: Tech Settings That Help With Accessibility October 7: Using Emergency Features on Your Phone October 14: Intro to Facebook October 21: Intro to Instagram Registration required. Must register for each class individually. https://santacruzpl.libnet.info/events?term=cyber+seniors&d=2026-07-30&r=range&start=2026-08-01&end=2026-11-01 Come join Dara Brady, a local instructor with the digital literacy organization Cyber-Seniors, for a weekly digital literacy course! Each class includes a lesson on the topics below, Q&A time, and one-on-one tech support. Participants are encouraged to bring a notebook, pen/pencil, and whatever tech device they want to learn on: (a laptop, tablet, and/or smart phone) and the charger for that device. If they don't have a device, they can still participate and Dara can get them one to use for the class. All classes run on Wednesday mornings from 10:30AM to 12PM in the Fireside Room except for the first and last sessions, which will take place in Study Room A.

Carlos Motta’s When Time Stands Still features new and recent installations, videos, and sculptures highlighting the artist’s preoccupation with the historical and aesthetic productions of difference and marginalization that shape the present. The selection of artworks in the exhibition explore the unsettling experience of living in a time that seems violently stuck on repeat. Archetypal figures from art history (a fool, a siren, a witness, a victim) reappear in the current moment as containers of time, bringing the past of imperialism, colonization, and displacement into a present marked by the rise of anti-immigration politics, climate injustice, and other forms of disposability. Some works challenge this violent repetition of time. The clock moves, if gruelingly, in an endurance-based video performance, No One, 2025. For forty-six minutes, the artist undertakes to keep his eyes open, witnessing, withstanding, confronting, and resisting the bombardment of images, both historical and otherwise, that normalize harm. In another video work, Gravity, 2024, performers enact rescue carries, supporting each other until they can’t bear the weight. Together, the artworks act as a proposal about how to rethink time—how to slow time—with a poetic and aesthetic cadence that might counter the numbing reverberations of living in the present. When Time Stands Still is organized as part of Visualizing Abolition, an arts-based initiative that reaches across prison borders to create a future free of prisons. About the Artist Carlos Motta (b. 1978, Colombia) is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice documents the social conditions and political struggles of sexual, gender, and ethnic communities, challenging normative discourses through acts of self-representation. His work has been the focus of several survey exhibitions.

“Ni de aquí, ni de allá” (“neither from here, nor there”), is a phrase commonly used by bilingual, bicultural communities. In the exhibition the phrase becomes a bold declaration of dual belonging against a violent notion of nationalism and identity. Through paintings, immersive installations, sculptural works, and a curated soundscape, Marka27 invites gallery goers into a vibrant, layered world where street culture meets Indigenous tradition, and personal memory collides with collective truth and activism. Curated by internationally recognized curator Kate Fowle, this exhibition is organized in partnership with The Center for Art & Advocacy and as part of Visualizing Abolition, an arts-based initiative that reaches across prison borders to contribute to the unfolding collective story and alternative imagining underway to create a future free of prisons. ABOUT THE ARTIST: Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez is a renowned visual artist working at the intersections of contemporary art, graffiti, vinyl toys, fashion and design, and art activism.

Busy

A regular tango class in Downtown Santa Cruz, offering a way to learn Latin dance in a social, cultural setting.

2 booked, 4 available Chris Finnie