Jul
20
A three-week summer theater intensive producing Moana Jr., with more rehearsal time and full production.
From the waves to the redwoods, it's all happening here.
Live music, festivals, art walks, surf contests, trail days and everything in between.
📍
In-person only, on purpose.
Every listing is something you can actually show up to, from Davenport down to Watsonville.
No webinars
No livestreams
Just show up ✓
★ Featured this season
Cannabis
★ Featured Event
Treehouse
Fri, Aug 7, 2026 · 5:00 PM
Treehouse Dispensary First Friday
📍 Treehouse Dispensary · Soquel · FREE
Treehouse Dispensary hosts a monthly First Friday event on the first Friday of every month. These events feature live music, local artists, makers, and an art market with up to 20 different vendors, along with shop-wide discounts and community activities. The shop is open 8:00 AM to 9:45 PM daily. We're proud to offer everyday savings for our community: New Members: 10% off your first order Wisdom Discount (65+): 5% off Medical Patients: 10% off Students & Teachers: 20% off with valid ID Veterans: 20% off *Please note that discounts do not stack with other deals. Ask staff for exclusions.
Cannabis
Art & Culture
📍 Soquel
Details →
★ Featured
Tue, Jul 21, 2026 · Santa Cruz Public Libraries
Enthusiastic Bird Watchers @ La Selva Beach
Tuesday, July 21 2026 1:30pm - 2:30pm Join us for a bird talk and guided walk in La Selva Beach to spot local birds and enjoy nature together!
Community
📍 Aptos & Seacliff
★ Featured
Wed, Jul 22, 2026 · SubRosa Community Space, 703 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA
The Art of Building a Future (RSSC Discussion Group)
Join us 4th Wednesdays, 6-8pm at SubRosa for The Art of Building a Future - a café for discussion and practice for creating the future we want to live in, now! Hosted by @rojavasc1 Bring your thoughts and experience and enjoy some light refreshments. Will be held in the courtyard weather permitting. COVID precautions encouraged. 6pm - 8pm // totally free! // all-ages // dry space // safe(r) space // anti-capitalist space // respect the space and each other! SubRosa is at 703 Pacific Avenue in downtown Santa Cruz, CA Also part of the @freeskoolsantacruz 2026 session - more info about other class in bio at @freeskoolsantacruz and @subrosa_space —@@@@@— SubRosa is a collectively run anarchist community space - a place to meet people, share resources and ideas, challenge our assumptions and act on our passions. Let’s create together the world(s) we want to live in now. @subrosa_space And SubRosa is part of the Hub Community Center at 703 Pacific Ave in downtown Santa Cruz - a constellation
Community
📍 Downtown Santa Cruz
★ Featured
Sat, Sep 12, 2026 · Capitola Village
43rd Annual Capitola Art & Wine Festival
Stroll the festival with friends and family, sipping exceptional wines from Santa Cruz Mountain wineries while admiring the artistic talents of over 100 fine artists. Sway to live music and be inspired by local dance groups while taking in the ocean breeze and breathtaking view of the Monterey Bay. Feed your cravings with tantalizing cuisine from local food purveyors, and cruise through the Artisans Marketplace for locally handcrafted goods. If that isn’t enough, Capitola Village is filled with restaurants for every taste and charming boutiques to satisfy a shopper’s dream. Art, wine, music, and gourmet cuisine in the enchanting beach-side setting of Capitola Village…summer’s last hurrah, and truly a weekend in paradise! This event is from 10am to 6pm on Saturday, September 12 and from 10am to 5pm on Sunday, September 13. See link to the event in the orange box above.
Food & Drink
📍 Capitola
★ Featured
Mon, Sep 21, 2026 · The Cruz Room
The Cruz Room: Hosted Board Game Night
The Game Night Collective provides a curated experience. Every Monday night with a library of 30+ board games, guided game teaching, hosted featured games, and prizes! Whether you arrive alone or with a group, the goal is to make it easy to sit down and start playing. Hosted mic’d board games 5 – 8 Trivia 8 – 10
Family
📍 Downtown Santa Cruz
☀️ Happening today
Tuesday, July 2152 events on today. No plans required, just go.
12:00 AM
See listing
Bruno's Bar and Grill: Kick-Off Chaos!
📍 Bruno's Bar & Grill
Food & Drink
8:30 AM
$400
Art and Science in Nature Summer Camp
📍 Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History
Outdoors
9:00 AM
$345
Summer Production (1-week): Moana Jr.
📍 All About Theatre
Art & Culture
9:00 AM
$895
Summer Production (3-weeks): Moana Jr
📍 All About Theatre
Art & Culture
10:00 AM
See listing
Screaming Queens: The Riot of Compton’s Cafeteria documentary and discussion - Wisdom Workshops @ TDC
📍 1117 Soquel Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95062, USA
LGBTQ+
10:00 AM
$32
Santa Cruz Beach Train
📍 Roaring Camp Railroads
Family
11:00 AM
See listing
In-person Tech Help @ La Selva Beach
📍 Santa Cruz Public Libraries
Community
11:00 AM
See listing
Build Your Own Sensory Bin
📍 Santa Cruz Public Libraries
Community
11:00 AM
FREE
Backgammon @ the Library
📍 Santa Cruz Public Libraries
Community
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Showing 30 of 107 upcoming events · Art & Culture · from 2026-07-20 · to 2026-07-27
Jul
20
A one-week summer theater production of Moana Jr. for young performers, culminating in a performance.
Jul
20
It's time to get those crayons sharpened, paints mixed and markers at the ready for our Summer 2026 Pokémon Art Contest for kids 5-12! To join in, create a picture of your favorite Pokémon having a fun moment or striking a cool, dynamic pose. Submissions should be on 8.5 x 11 paper. You can use any medium you like, such as paint, marker, crayon, pencil, etc. No digital art. There will be prizes awarded to two age groups, 5-7 and 8-12. Entries accepted June 1st-July 31st. Winners will be announced on August 6th. BONUS: All participants will receive a free Pokémon:Chaos Rising 11x17 mini-poster (while supplies last) when you hand in your art.
Jul
20
A technical training camp for theater at All About Theatre in Santa Cruz, covering skills for behind-the-scenes production.
Jul
20
Motion Pacific: Adult Beginning Jazz Fusion
📍 Motion Pacific at The 418 Project
🕒 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM · See listing
This is Motion Pacific's Beginning Jazz Fusion class for adult dancers.
Jul
20
A staged production of the acclaimed musical Dear Evan Hansen, presented at All About Theatre in Santa Cruz.
Jul
20
MUD MAGIC: BEGINNING POTTER'S WHEEL (4/5)
📍 Santa Cruz Mountains Art Center
🕒 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM · See listing
3 booked, 3 available Annika Bauerle
Jul
20
A weekly Afro-Brazilian dance class focusing on rhythm and movement.
Jul
20
Santa Cruz Shakespeare leans into drag’s theatre roots with full sequined conviction. Pink Ladies of the Sonnets brings some of the Bay Area’s most talented drag queens and kings to the park for an evening where Shakespearean poetry, comedy, and drama meet the glittery cabaret of drag. Drawing inspiration from the sonnets, these performers carry on a tradition of gender play that runs through Shakespeare’s work from the very beginning This one-night extravaganza of Shakespearean proportions is sure to have the audience laughing, dancing, and singing along. Enjoy the show in drag, denim, however, feels right. After all, the Bard was always fabulous. -Shelly Novo; Good Times Santa Cruz
Jul
21
A three-week summer theater program culminating in a full production of Moana Jr., giving participants a deeper dive into performance, character work, and stagecraft.
Jul
21
A one-week theater intensive where young performers rehearse and stage Moana Jr., building confidence and ensemble skills in a supportive creative environment.
Jul
21
0 booked, 4 available Glazing
Jul
21
It's time to get those crayons sharpened, paints mixed and markers at the ready for our Summer 2026 Pokémon Art Contest for kids 5-12! To join in, create a picture of your favorite Pokémon having a fun moment or striking a cool, dynamic pose. Submissions should be on 8.5 x 11 paper. You can use any medium you like, such as paint, marker, crayon, pencil, etc. No digital art. There will be prizes awarded to two age groups, 5-7 and 8-12. Entries accepted June 1st-July 31st. Winners will be announced on August 6th. BONUS: All participants will receive a free Pokémon:Chaos Rising 11x17 mini-poster (while supplies last) when you hand in your art.
Jul
21
A technical training camp for theater at All About Theatre in Santa Cruz, covering skills for behind-the-scenes production.
Jul
21
WATERCOLOR FOR ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS AND RECOVERING PERFECTIONISTS (3/4)
📍 Santa Cruz Mountains Art Center
🕒 1:30 PM – 4:00 PM · See listing
1 booked, 7 available Maria Ayllon
Jul
21
Kaika Class: Te Hau Nui School of Hula and Tahitian Dance
📍 The 418 Project
🕒 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM · See listing
Weekly hula and Tahitian dance class at The 418 Project. Learn traditional Hawaiian and Polynesian dance in a supportive environment.
Jul
21
A full production of the contemporary musical Dear Evan Hansen, staged with a cast and creative team. A powerful story about connection, grief, and belonging.
Jul
21
5 booked, 2 available Kathryn Pierno
Jul
21
0 booked, 7 available
Jul
21
Ocean Vuong - The Emperor of Gladness
📍 Rio Theatre for the Performing Arts
🕒 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM · See listing
The hardest thing in the world is to live only once… Bookshop Santa Cruz and The Humanities Institute are pleased to welcome critically acclaimed author and staff favorite Ocean Vuong (Time Is a Mother, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous) for an event celebrating the paperback release of The Emperor of Gladness, Vuong’s bighearted novel about chosen family, unexpected friendship, and the stories we tell ourselves in order to survive. Vuong will be in conversation with UC Santa Cruz Professor Ronaldo V. Wilson. Following the cycles of history, memory, and time, The Emperor of Gladness shows the profound ways in which love, labor, and loneliness form the bedrock of American life. At its heart is a brave epic about what it means to exist on the fringes of society and to reckon with the wounds that haunt our collective soul. Hallmarks of Ocean Vuong’s writing—formal innovation, syntactic dexterity, and the ability to twin grit with grace through tenderness—are on full display in this story of loss, hope, and how far we would go to possess one of life’s most fleeting mercies: a second chance. Ocean Vuong is the author of the critically acclaimed poetry collections Night Sky with Exit Wounds and Time Is a Mother, as well as the New York Times bestselling novel On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous. A recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship and the American Book Award, he was born in Saigon, Vietnam, and currently splits his time between western Massachusetts and New York City. The Emperor of Gladness is his latest novel. More information at: Bookshop Santa Cruz – Ocean Vuong Co-Sponsored by The Humanities Institute
Jul
22
A one-week theater intensive where young performers rehearse and stage Moana Jr., building confidence and ensemble skills in a supportive creative environment.
Jul
22
GARDEN TOTEMS: HANDBUILDING (3/5)
📍 Santa Cruz Mountains Art Center
🕒 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM · See listing
0 booked, 14 available Noelle Lightbourne
Jul
22
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.
Jul
22
Event date: July 22, 2026 Event Time: 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM Location: 2021 Freedom Blvd Freedom, CA 95019 Watsonville, CA 95076
Jul
22
Spring Exhibitions at the Institute of the Arts and Sciences
📍 Institute of the Arts and Sciences
🕒 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM · See listing
Visit the IAS, UCSC’s premier art galleries, for our spring exhibitions. On view April 10–August 16, 2026 are three diverse and interdisciplinary shows: Libia Posada: Everything is Going Right , the first US solo exhibition by the Colombia-based artist and medical doctor; Gina Athena Ulysse: A Redwoods Rasanblaj , a site-specific and immersive exploration of the Haitian kreyol conception of rasanblaj; and Ronaldo V. Wilson: There Are No Words, But Melodies , a mixed-media exhibition emerging at the intersections of Black poetics, performance, and visual art. The IAS Galleries are open Wednesday-Sunday, 12 pm – 5 pm. Admission is free to the public. Libia Posada: Everything is Going Right Libia Posada’s first solo exhibition in the United States features installations, sculptures, and drawings meticulously constructed from surgical instruments, gauze bandages, crutches, used books, and domestic picture frames. The new and existing works in the exhibition powerfully stitch together the personal, social, and political disorders and afflictions that currently trouble the world, from the wars that resonate across the globe to the violences of aging in US prisons. Gina Athena Ulysse: A Redwoods Rasanblaj: Origins & Disentanglements The internationally-lauded work of humanities professor Gina Athena Ulysse is on view as a premier Faculty Spotlight Exhibition. The site-specific installation, produced in community from things collected, found, purchased and donated, centers on the Haitian concept of rasanblaj, a form of assembly and collage that transcends the formal use of materials to draw together people, spirits, and ideas. Ronaldo V. Wilson: There Are No Words, But Melodies Collage is both a material practice and a structural interrogation in the Faculty Spotlight Exhibition artworks by literature professor Ronaldo V. Wilson. In video, painting, and installation, layers and folds conceal and reveal, delving into the experience, both bodily and emotive, of living in time
Jul
22
A technical training camp for theater at All About Theatre in Santa Cruz, covering skills for behind-the-scenes production.
Jul
22
Event date: July 22, 2026 Event Time: 05:00 PM - 06:00 PM Location: 275 Main Street, Suite #100 Watsonville, CA 95076
Jul
22
A regular tango class in Downtown Santa Cruz, offering a way to learn Latin dance in a social, cultural setting.
Jul
22
Frequency: The Secret of Everything Screening with filmmaker panel
📍 Rio Theater
🕒 6:00 PM – 9:30 PM · See listing
The award-winning documentary Frequency: The Secret of Everything comes home to Santa Cruz — the community that helped create it. Evening opens with a talk by bestselling author and longtime local Dr. Bruce Lipton (The Biology of Belief), followed by the film and a Q&A panel with Lipton, Foster and Kimberly Gamble (Thrive), and filmmaker Kaia Roman (The Joy Plan). Sponsored by Coherence Education. dvance tickets recommended.
Jul
22
Motion Pacific: Advanced Contemporary Jazz
📍 Motion Pacific at The 418 Project
🕒 6:30 PM – 8:15 PM · See listing
This is Motion Pacific's Advanced Contemporary Jazz Dance class for adults.
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