Live music, festivals, art walks, surf contests, trail days and everything in between.
In-person only, on purpose. Everything here is something you can actually show up to. No screens, no streams.
★ Featured Event
THE KICK OFF is a one-night fundraiser for the Sonivore Listening Lounge at 701 Front Street. DJs, live performances, visual art by Made Fresh Crew, and a first taste of Sonivore — just days before our Kickstarter closes. Donation-based entry. To RSVP in advance, pledge at least the minimum tier on Kickstarter, or Venmo a donation to @sonivoremusic with “Fundraiser” in the note. You can also donate at the door. Come through and help us bring the lounge to life.
★ Featured
Join us for a night of dancing, joy, and community organized by Afrobeats Nite Santa Cruz featuring DJ Mai Girl and DJ Monk Earl. In addition to music, there will be vendors, food trucks, and late night showings of the exhibitions Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez: Ni de Aquí, Ni de Allá and Carlos Motta: When Time Stands Still . This event is FREE and open to the public. Afrobeats Nite at the IAS is a collaboration with 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. Jase “Monk” Earl is a Santa Cruz–based DJ, curator, cultural producer, educator, and writer whose understanding of community is rooted in Hip Hop culture and shaped by his upbringing in the immigrant-rich neighborhood of Crown Heights, Brooklyn. As the founder of Afroscope Promotions and founder, curator, and resident DJ of Afrobeats Nite Santa Cruz, he creates public spaces where African and diasporic music become catalysts for connection, cultural exchange, and collective celebration. DJ Mai Girl plays festivals, clubs, shows, and private events all over the West Coast and beyond. Her unique blend of genres and hand-picked selections– whether it be hip hop, soul, house, jazzy vibes, old school jams, Afro, Caribbean or Latin rhythms– keep people moving all night. She consistently plays one Stevie or Prince song every set to remind herself of why she started DJing in the first place.
★ Featured
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.
Coming up
(((folkYEAH!))) presents KISHI BASHI Rio Theatre Santa Cruz, CA October 6, 2026 Doors 7pm / Show 8pm All Ages
Coming up
A recurring dance class in Santa Cruz. Check with the venue for specific style and level.
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17 upcoming events · Education · from 2026-10-06 · to 2026-10-06
The Arboretum opens its gates to the community free of charge the first Tuesday of every month. Come enjoy our gardens and wildlife. Don’t forget to stop by Norrie’s, our wonderful gift shop and plant nursery (Open Tues-Sun 10 am-4 pm). Community Days are popular, please consider carpooling or using alternative transportation. Current Arboretum members and UCSC Students always receive free admission.
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.
Tuesday, October 06 2026 10:00am - 12:00pm Are you stuck with a technology question? You can make a free appointment with a tech savvy library staff member!
Tuesday, October 06 2026 10:00am - 12:00pm Are you stuck with a technology question? You can make a free appointment with a tech savvy library staff member!
Tuesday, October 06 2026 10:30am - 11:30am Learn to plan bus trips, ride safely, apply for discounted fares, use the Transit app, and access free mobility training to travel confidently and independently.
A tech-focused gathering for those interested in STEM, offering opportunities to explore technology and innovation.
Meet Provost Aims and Poppy the Chihuahua outside of the Crown College Office for yummy cookies and conversation. Stay and chat or grab and go.
Tuesday, October 06 2026 1:00pm - 2:30pm Would you bet your life on the accuracy of your family tree? Robert Givens will walk you through a way to verify those parts lacking documentation or just don't seem right.
Tuesday, October 06 2026 1:00pm - 2:30pm Practice your English and make new friends!
Tuesday, October 06 2026 1:00pm - 2:30pm The Travelling Book Club welcomes local author Nina Simon to discuss her newest book, My Sister is Going to Kill Me.
Tuesday, October 06 2026 3:00pm - 5:00pm R.E.A.D. is one-on-one reading comprehension instruction for grades 1-12. R.E.A.D. ofrece instrucción individual de comprensión lectora para los grados 1 a 12.
Tuesday, October 06 2026 3:00pm - 5:00pm R.E.A.D. is one-on-one reading comprehension instruction for grades 1-12. By appointment only. Please, no drop-ins! To make an appointment, call 831-427-7713
Junior Animal Care Team (Ages 11+) Ready to level up your animal skills? If you love animals and want real, hands-on experience, the Junior Animal Care Team gives you the chance to go behind the scenes at the Santa Cruz SPCA! Start with a three-week training program where you’ll learn how to safely support shelter animals and prepare for your role on the team. Each session includes one hour of hands-on animal care projects—creating enrichment, preparing supplies, and helping support the shelter team—followed by one hour socializing with our shelter animals. After graduating, you’ll become a Junior Animal Care Team Member, returning for ongoing sessions to build your skills, take on more responsibility, and make a real difference for animals in need. A progressive step before becoming an SPCA volunteer—perfect for future animal care professionals and passionate animal advocates! Junior Animal Care Team Training: Tuesday 4pm-6pm (September – May) Junior Animal Care Team Sessions: Thursday 4pm-6pm (September – May)
Wing Chun martial arts classes with instructor Marcus at The 418 Project in Santa Cruz, meeting multiple times per week.
Food, Socializing, and Excellent talks from the PyTorch Ecosystem 5:30 – 6:30 Food and Socializing 6:30 – 7:00 Rob Timpe – Using and Debugging Torch.compile 7:00 – 7:30 Roy Shadmon – EdgeFL and Federated Learning 7:30 – 8:00 Talk 3 Talk 1: Using and Debugging Torch.compile Torch.compile promises great speedups with a one line change, but can give cryptic error messages when it fails. We’ll describe some common failures and how to fix them, as well as recent efforts to both reduce failures and make the remaining ones easier to debug. Rob Timpe is a software engineer at OpenTeams where he works on the front end of torch.compile (Dynamo). Previously he was an ML engineer working on autonomous aircraft at Xwing, and computer vision at Microsoft. Talk 2: EdgeFL and Federated Learning EdgeLake coordinates federated learning across distributed sites without moving raw training data to a central location. Each site trains locally, EdgeLake handles the distributed data and coordination layer, and the resulting models are shared across the network and deployed for inference at the edge — creating a continuous path from managing distributed data to training models to running inference, all at the edge. Roy Shadmon is a System Architect at AnyLog, where he works on EdgeLake and its applications in federated learning and distributed edge intelligence. He holds a PhD from UC Santa Cruz. Other speaker(s) announced soon
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
A recurring dance class in Santa Cruz. Check with the venue for specific style and level.
If it's happening in person anywhere in Santa Cruz County, whether it's a show, a market, a paddle-out, or a gallery night, we want it on the calendar. Submissions are free and reviewed by our editors.
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