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
Important News from The Puppetry Institute Like many arts organizations, we’ve been navigating the realities of a challenging economic landscape. Running two separate locations has become increasingly difficult, and after a great deal of thought we’ve made the decision to move from our previous location and reopen our art school inside our MIDDLEOF space, unit D-06 in the Capitola Mall. While change is never easy, we truly believe this move creates something exciting. By bringing everything together under one roof, we’ll be able to continue offering our incredible workshops while also having enough space for our interactive puppetry installations, art gallery, and live performances. It allows us to create a home where imagination, education, and immersive art can exist side by side. These are difficult times for the arts, and organizations like ours are constantly finding creative ways to keep the magic alive. We believe this move will help ensure that we can continue sharing our unique brand of creativity, storytelling, and wonder with the Central Coast community we’re proud to call home for the past 10 years Thank you to everyone who has supported us through every chapter of this journey. Your encouragement, attendance, donations, and belief in what we do continue to make all of this possible. We’re excited for this next adventure and can’t wait to welcome you into this new chapter of The Puppetry Institute. Learn more about who we are and what we do please visit us Sept 4th from 4-7pm for a tour of our classroom and our magical 5000 sq ft
★ Featured
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.
Coming up
⚡ Ceremony of Sound ⚡ Breath+Oneness’ 100-hour Sound Healing Certification Course Get Certified in 4 weekends over 4 months ✨ Designed for beginner and intermediate musicians, healers, yoga teachers, therapists, and anyone who wants to use resonance and vibration in their offerings, ceremonies, and classes. ♢ Add to your current career or start a new one as you share your gift of sound healing with the world ♢ Become who you are meant to be! Follow your purpose, passion, and artistic expression into the embrace of sound healing 🎵🎵🎵 _____________________________ 📅 Fall Session 2026 | 4 Weekends over 4 Months All days are 8:30am-5:30pm 9/4-9/6 10/3-10/4 11/7-11/8 12/4-12/6 🙌 EARLY BIRD pricing! Register by May 31st to save $250 on tuition. 😍 In order to provide each participant with personal feedback and to cultivate deep and meaningful relationships with our cohort, we keep the group size limited. Register early for early bird pricing and to reserve your spot! Staff teachers: Lead Teacher: Dallas McKenzie Co-Lead Teacher: Adron Beene Support Teachers: Alex Harrison, Sam David, and Carrie Arlah Burr _____________________________ This course is for you if you want to: - Initiate or expand your relationship with music, sound, resonance, and vibration - Deepen your ability to heal and offer healing to others - Play many different instruments (including renowned brands Meinl Sonic Energy and Crystal Tones crystal singing bowls) and develop further with the ones you resonate with most - Set and hold ceremonial space through prayer, intention, and sound - Take people on journeys, sound baths, potent yoga classes, and more - Explore vibrational healing instruments such as Crystal Tones crystal bowls, your voice, drums, flute, digeridoo, chimes, gong, and much more - Deepen and expand your self-expression and artistry - Connect with an intimate group of no more than 15 students along with your mentors and teachers for ample individualized attention and personal practice _____
Coming up
Photo: Ariel Taylor with artwork Deeper FIRST FRIDAY at TREEHOUSE! Celebrate the last month of Summer with us! Community over everything. <3 We offer specials on our featured cannabis brands, discounts on artists who have work on display, and a penny wheel for you to spin when you spend over $50! Specials run all day! Resident Artists on Display: Cole Lemke (aka Chump Magic), Ariel Taylor, Brittany Costanzo, & Mio Kamstra-Brown Featured Cannabis Brands (Some will be here in person from 11:00am – 1:00pm!): • Allswell • Arcata Fire • Auntie Aloha • BLOOM • Daze Off • Glass House Farms • Give Thanks/ Stony's Reserves • Greenline • Habitat • Heavy Hitters • Jetty • Kanha • KwikEase • Maven Genetics • Not Your Father's • Pabst • Pacific Stone • PLUS • Punch • Pure Beauty • Raw Garden • Shooters • Space Craft • St. Ides •. UpNorth • Follow us on Instagram @treehousedispensary_sc! Head to our website for all the details! www.OurTreehouse.io · (831) 471-8289 · 3651 Soquel Drive, Soquel CA · C10-0000105-LIC · 21+ only please We can't wait to see you there! 🙂 Swing by to look at the art on our walls & take advantage of our dope deals!
Coming up
Make the MAH your first stop this weekend with FREE First Friday. Explore all three floors of the museum and see our latest exhibitions, check out our giftshop, and hangout among art and history! Then stay into the night dancing to live music out in Abbott Square. First Friday hours are 12-8pm. See you then!
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6 upcoming events · Food & Drink · from 2026-09-04 · to 2026-09-04
For many of us the upcoming Labor Day is the end of summer. That may be but that is hardly the end of the most delicious produce available anywhere. There are still many summer fruits and certainly a wide variety of beautiful vegetables to be had. Come out and talk to the vendors about new and interesting recipes to delight your palate and your eye. More sites and times are available at https://www.montereycfb.com
The Watsonville Farmers Market is every Friday afternoon from 2-7 all year round at the City Plaza in Downtown Watsonville. Don’t miss out on the wonderful locally grown fresh fruits, vegetables and flowers. Bring your appetite as there are tons of delicious prepared foods to try.
Enjoy a shop and swap market throughout downtown Boulder Creek with deals and trades, live craft demos, a kid zone and more!
Soul Journey Jack Mento’s Abstract Expressionist Paintings A beautiful show of abstract paintings whose brilliance and color and freedom of line is transformative! Big Basin Tasting Room is open for First Friday Santa Cruz from 5-9pm, –open early and late, and are down at the beach end of Pacific Ave just past Evita Restaurant. Join us for a seat at one of the 2 fire-pit tables on our patio, or cozy up on a couch inside. We’ve been looking forward to this show– it’s all new work, recent work and we’ll be celebrating! See you there! Artist Bio Born in Hawaii and growing up in Syracuse, NY my nickname was Diamond, which in Hawaiian is Kaimana. Although Hawaii will always be my spiritual home, I have lived in different places including Hawaii, New York, Arizona, Colorado and currently in the beautiful Sierra Nevada foothills in Northern California. My art is a unique expression of the many roads I’ve traveled, the things I’ve felt and seen, and the countless colorful adventures this life has given me. I started painting in 1986 and realized it was a deep way to express myself. At first my art had more of a realistic style that depicted my everyday experiences. Over time my work developed into a visual impression of the world around me and the mystery within. The art always seems to take me beyond what I imagined. Sometimes when I paint, I realize I am merely a witness to what transpires while the brush is in hand. I hope my art reaches people on a level that evokes their imagination about their own inner landscape as well as their curiosity about the world outside themselves. I believe one function of Art is to make visible to you the Mysteries of life on an emotionally deeper level. It is the life within and without that truly has led me to create what you see here. All purchases are through the artist. Please contact the artist to arrange a sale! Email: [email protected] Website: www.kaimanaart.com Venmo: @John-Mento-7
5:30-7:30pm Local Honey is a Santa Cruz-based band that drips with honey sweet harmony and hums with tight, inventive musicianship. Local Honey's repertoire pays homage to some of the the big voices of the last seven decades, including Big Mama Thornton, Rachael Price, Gladys Knight, Stevie Nicks, Grace Slick, and Amy Winehouse, among other divas. They seek out feel-good songs with strong vocals and infectious beats and make them their own. Though Local Honey is a new band, all of them are veterans of the Santa Cruz and Monterey music scenes. Members have worked with Honeytone, Ten O'Clock Lunch, Come Together, Backyard Birds, Menage, and Bay Bop. Over the years they've played in different combinations at many venues, including Michael's on Main, Chaminade, Davenport Roadhouse, Hallcrest Vineyards, Joe's Bar and the Food Lounge.
Join us for HGP First Friday: September in Santa Cruz on Friday, September 4 from 6–8 PM at our Downtown Santa Cruz store! Spend an early September evening with us celebrating local art, good food, and community. Meet Capitola watercolor artist Eileen Butcher and explore a showcase of her beautiful, locally inspired paintings featuring scenes from around the area. While you take in the art, enjoy samples made from our HGP baking mixes, sip on tasty beverages, and browse our selection of handcrafted HGP products and goods from local makers. Come say hello, discover a local artist, try something delicious, and enjoy First Friday with us! 1338 Pacific Ave., Downtown Santa Cruz Friday, September 4 | 6–8 PM
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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