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πŸ“ Santa Cruz County, CA

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β˜… Featured this season

Promotional image for Naturalist Night: Plankton 101 β˜… Featured
Wed, Aug 19, 2026 Β· Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History

Naturalist Night: Plankton 101

Did you know that every other breath we take comes from phytoplankton? Dive into the hidden world of plankton and discover the tiny organisms that form the foundation of Monterey Bay’s rich marine ecosystem. Join marine scientist and educator Jane Silberstein for an engaging introduction to phytoplankton, zooplankton, and the remarkable roles they play in supporting ocean life. After the talk, you’ll have the opportunity to observe live plankton under a microscope and get an up-close look at these incredible microscopic organisms. Whether you’re a curious beachgoer, an aspiring naturalist, or simply fascinated by the ocean, this lecture will leave you with a new appreciation for the life drifting just beneath the surface. These amazing organisms form the base of the marine food web, produce much of the oxygen we breathe, influence the color of the ocean, and support countless species throughout Monterey Bay and beyond. REGISTER HERE Location: Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History Ticket Price: $12 Discounts: $5 member discount About the Speaker : Jane Silberstein brings more than 40 years of experience studying and teaching about the marine life of Monterey Bay. She earned her undergraduate degree in science with an emphasis in marine science from UC Santa Cruz and her graduate degree in Invertebrate Marine Ecology from Moss Landing Marine Laboratories. During her 33 years at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Jane worked on all three plankton guide stations, sharing the fascinating world of plankton with visitors from around the globe. She has also taught plankton through Cabrillo College’s Pacific Plankton Program for nearly six years, inspiring students to explore the remarkable microscopic organisms that support life in the ocean. Jane is passionate about making the microscopic world accessible to audiences of all ages and helping others discover the incredible diversity of life drifting just beneath the surface. Accessibility and Logistics : This program will take place

Education πŸ“ Seabright & Harbor
Promotional image for Steve Hawk β˜… Featured
Wed, Aug 19, 2026 Β· Bookshop Santa Cruz

Steve Hawk

Bookshop Santa Cruz welcomes Steve Hawk, the longest serving editor of Surfer (1991-1998), who will share his thrilling new novel Nearshore , a mix of literary suspense and coastal noir which follows an unlikely trio on the California coast who investigate a nuclear terrorist act. Hawk will be in conversation with Charles Duhigg at this event.

Family πŸ“ Downtown Santa Cruz
Music
Coming up
Mon, Aug 10, 2026 Β· Ugly Mug CoffeeHouse, 4640 Soquel Dr, Soquel, CA 95073, United States

Open Mic w/ SteveV, every Monday

It's Monday Open Mic at the Ugly Mug! Sign ups at 5p Beer, Espresso Drinks and Desserts available

Music πŸ“ Soquel
Promotional image for Abbott Square: Comedy Night Coming up
Mon, Aug 10, 2026 Β· Abbott Square Market

Abbott Square: Comedy Night

Come hang out in the secret garden and have some laughs, EVERY MONDAY NIGHT. Featuring comedians from all over the area and beyond.

Comedy πŸ“ Downtown Santa Cruz

β˜€οΈ Happening today

Monday, August 10

28 events on today. No plans required, just go.

9:00 AM
$59
Dynomite Farm: Private Dahlia U-Cut Experience
πŸ“ Dynomite Farm
Community
10:00 AM
FREE
Natural Bridges Little Rangers Program
πŸ“ Natural Bridges State Beach
Family
11:30 AM
See listing
Aptos Bridge Club
πŸ“ Santa Cruz Public Libraries
Community
11:30 AM
See listing
Monthly Monday Meditation
πŸ“ Scotts Valley Branch Library
Community
11:30 AM
See listing
Mahjong Club @ Branciforte
πŸ“ Santa Cruz Public Libraries
Community
11:30 AM
See listing
Seniors Share @ Felton Library
πŸ“ Santa Cruz Public Libraries
Community
12:00 PM
FREE
Latte's and Learn
πŸ“ California Coffee
Education
12:30 PM
See listing
Monthly Monday Meditation
πŸ“ Santa Cruz Public Libraries
Community
1:00 PM
See listing
Loops at the Library - Knit/Crochet @ Garfield Park Branch
πŸ“ Santa Cruz Public Libraries
Community

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Showing 30 of 83 upcoming events Β· Art & Culture Β· from 2026-08-10 Β· to 2026-08-17

Aug
11

Free Health Screening

πŸ“ Watsonville
πŸ•’ 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM Β· See listing

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 ESPAΓ‘OL Β‘Visite la Biblioteca PΓΊblica Watsonville para una evaluaciΓ³n 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 mΓ‘s sobre su riesgo de padecer enfermedades como la diabetes y la presiΓ³n arterial alta. Los exΓ‘menes de salud se llevarΓ‘n 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: PresiΓ³n arterial martes 8 de septiembre: Diabetes martes 13 de octubre: Colesterol martes 10 de noviembre: Diabetes martes 8 de diciembre: PresiΓ³n 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 TecnologΓ­a Bibliotecaria, administrada en California por el Bibliotecario Estatal. Este programa cuenta con el apoyo de Rural Health Connections. Audiencia: Para todas las edades

Art & Culture Family πŸ“ Watsonville Details β†’
Aug
11

Hot Topics Book Club

πŸ“ Santa Cruz
πŸ•’ 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM Β· See listing

Join our book club every second Thursday to explore great reads and share engaging conversations with fellow book lovers. A book club organized around discussing the β€œhot topic” titles in the news, and book buzzβ€” the controversies, the new classics or perhaps overexposed. Registration required: https://santacruzpl.libnet.info/event/16749444

Art & Culture Community Details β†’
Aug
11

M. K Art Gallery: Confluence

πŸ“ m.k. contemporary art gallery
πŸ•’ 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM Β· FREE

β€œConfluence”: where separate currents meet. This beautiful exhibition pairs the work of Santa Cruz artists Susana Arias and Glenn Carter, on view August 7 through September 13 at M.K. Contemporary Art Gallery. β€œConfluence” is exhibited alongside of 25+ local and regional artists whose work we adore. Live improvisational jazz music from β€œThe Leftovers” at the opening on the First Friday of August from 6-8PM

Aug
11

Macbeth, presented by Santa Cruz Shakespeare

πŸ“ The Audrey Stanley Grove in DeLaveaga Park
πŸ•’ 7:00 PM Β· See listing

Something wicked this way comes, indeed. Starting this weekend and running through August 30th, Santa Cruz Shakespeare presents one of The Bard’s most infamous plays, Macbeth. Coincidentally the play’s first ever performance is believed to have been in 1606 marking this as the 420th anniversary, which is very Santa Cruz. And for anyone familiar with Macbeth, it’s easy to see why it’s lasted throughout the ages. Witches, murder, moral failings and tons of tragedy are beautifully sewn throughout the acts, stitched together with lines such as β€œBlood will have blood,” and β€œthe wine of life is drawn.” -Mat Weir; Good Times Santa Cruz

Art & Culture Free πŸ“ Midtown Details β†’
Aug
11

Clifford Henderson

πŸ“ Bookshop Santa Cruz
πŸ•’ 7:00 PM Β· See listing

Award-winning novelist Clifford Mae Henderson returns with Lost in Sound: A Mystery, a thrilling whodunit set in the fictional coastal town of Tres Ojos. A mystery unravels in this unlikely sleepy beach town where tech millionaires brush past homeless encampments. When a neurodivergent landlocked pirate, Captain Eddie, is accused of murder, an unlikely and delightfully eccentric crew bands together to help the captain. The case spirals into a high-profile circus when the victim turns out to be the estranged sister of a country music legend. Henderson brings warmth, wit, and a deep social conscience to the page. -Shelly Novo; Good Times Santa Cruz

Aug
12

Spring Exhibitions at the Institute of the Arts and Sciences

πŸ“ Institute of the Arts and Sciences
πŸ•’ 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM Β· 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

Education Art & Culture πŸ“ Westside Details β†’
Aug
13

Spring Exhibitions at the Institute of the Arts and Sciences

πŸ“ Institute of the Arts and Sciences
πŸ•’ 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM Β· 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

Education Art & Culture πŸ“ Westside Details β†’
Aug
13

Rules Are Not Neutral: Play As Sense-Making, Acts Of Resistance, And Imagining Otherwise

πŸ“ Eloise Pickard Smith Gallery
πŸ•’ 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM Β· FREE

This exhibition brings together a range of analog games – including board, card, role-playing, and other participatory works – that engage social and political realities in different ways. The works span widely circulated commercial games to independently produced projects, one-of-a-kind artworks by artists, faculty, alumni, and students, and materials drawn from UC Santa Cruz Special Collections and Archives. In part, the exhibition challenges the persistent assumption that games and play are detached from social and political life. On the contrary, game designers and artists across diverse perspectives and positions have long used play to engage questions of social systems, lived experience, and how power operates. This exhibition does not attempt to represent that full spectrum. Instead, it brings together a particular set of works that foreground how games can make systems visible, intervene in them, and imagine alternatives. All games embody values, whether intentional or not. – Mary Flanagan , game designer and scholar Across all of these works, games are not only forms of entertainment, though they may be that as well. They are encountered in multiple ways: as objects, as systems, as artworks, and as experiences that unfold unpredictably through interaction. In each case, rules and constraints shape what participants can do. In these different forms, the works stage systems – such as housing and land ownership, capitalism, race and identity, civil rights and protest, fascism, and colonialism – in ways that are simplified and easy to see, opening space to recognize similar structures beyond the game. In this sense, the works suggest that rules are not neutral – they organize experience, distribute power, and produce meaning. Games are the art of agency. – C. Thi Nguyen , philosopher The exhibition is intentionally dense. This abundance reflects the breadth of ways games operate across contexts, from activism and education to art and everyday life. While it cel

Education Art & Culture πŸ“ UCSC Details β†’
Aug
13

Open Archives

πŸ“ Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History
πŸ•’ 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM Β· See listing

Step into the MAH's Archives Reading Room during our weekly Open Archives hours. Meet the archivist, see a unique item from the collection on display, and discover where Santa Cruz history is preserved. Please note: Open Archives is an informal drop-in experience, not a time for in-depth research appointments. If you'd like to schedule research time, please contact us in advance by email or phone. We usually pop open the archives every week-though every now and then we take a break. For more information, email [email protected]

Aug
13

Re/View: Alumni Exhibition -- UC Santa Cruz

πŸ“ Mary Porter Sesnon Art Gallery
πŸ•’ 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM Β· FREE

Opening celebration and Artist Talk on Saturday, August 15, 2-4:30pm. Light refreshments will be served. Re/View: Alumni Exhibition ReView: UCSC Arts Alumni Exhibition, on view August 13-September 19, 2026, features Arts Division alumni from the Monterey and San Francisco Bay Areas. Curated by ValΓ©ria Miranda, the Sesnon’s Director, includes a wide variety of media and technique highlighting the diversity of contemporary practice of alumni who graduated from 1972 to 2025. The exhibition title alludes to the portfolio critique process and suggests ideas of reflection and reevaluationβ€”whether revisiting past work, rethinking materials, or tracing how a practice evolves over time. This exhibition celebrates the creative path of artists who began their journeys at UCSC. United by shared roots yet defined by distinct paths, the participating alumni reflect the lasting influence of the Arts Division programs. Their works speak to the spirit of inquiry, experimentation, and perseverance that has long shaped the university’s artistic community. ReView presents an opportunity for the campus and larger community to see the professional practice of these artists who continue to build on the creative foundation that they received at UCSC and to inspire our current students, offering visualization of their own future artistic journeys after graduation. ReView offers a unique opportunity for returning alumni to celebrate their creative expressions while reconnecting with classmates and the university community. Admission is free and open to the public. Summer Gallery Hours: Thursday-Saturday, 1-5pm

Art & Culture Free πŸ“ UCSC Details β†’
Aug
13

Tech Cafe

πŸ“ Freedom Branch Library
πŸ•’ 4:30 PM – 6:30 PM Β· See listing

Are you interested in learning about technology? Visit us during our weekly Tech CafΓ© program where you have the opportunity to get basic tech-related questions answered and test a new piece of technology. This program will take place on Thursdays from 4:30-6:30pm at the Main Library (unless otherwise indicated). The technology we demo will change each month; here is a list of what technology will be featured: - January (program starts on the 15th): Doodle Pens - February: Makey Makeys (circuit boards) - March: 3D Printer - April: Spheros (programmable robots) - May: Cricut - June: Glowforge - laser cutter (This program will take place at the Freedom Branch) - July: iPad Stop Motion movies - August: Spheros (programmable robots) - September: 3D Printer - October: Doodle Pens - November: Cricut - December: Makey Makeys (circuit boards) Audience: All Ages ΒΏLe interesa aprender sobre tecnologΓ­a? VisΓ­tanos durante nuestro programa semanal Tech CafΓ©, donde tendrΓ‘s la oportunidad de obtener respuestas a preguntas bΓ‘sicas relacionadas con la tecnologΓ­a y probar una nueva tecnologΓ­a. Este programa se llevarΓ‘ a cabo los jueves de 4:30 a 6:30pm en la Biblioteca Principal (a menos que se indique otro horario o lugar). La tecnologΓ­a que mostraremos cambiarΓ‘ cada mes; las tecnologΓ­as que se presentarΓ‘n: - enero (el programa comienza el dΓ­a 15): Doodle Pens - febrero: Makey Makeys (placas de circuitos) - marzo: Impresora 3D - abril: Spheros (robots programables) - mayo: Cricut - junio: Glowforge - cortadora lΓ‘ser (este programa se llevarΓ‘ a cabo en la sucursal Freedom) - julio: iPad Stop Motion (pelΓ­culas) - agosto: Spheros (robots programables) - septiembre: Impresora 3D - octubre: Doodle Pens - noviembre: Cricut - diciembre: Makey Makeys (placas de circuitos) Audiencia: Para todas las edades

Art & Culture Family πŸ“ Watsonville Details β†’

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