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Showing 30 of 477 upcoming events Β· from 2026-07-24 Β· to 2026-07-31
π Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History
π 8:30 AM β 3:30 PM Β· $400
Calling young artists and scientists curious about nature! This summer, young explorers can join us on a journey to investigate symmetries, patterns, and curiosities in the natural world. Spend the week exploring nearby beach, creek, and garden habitats, and making all sorts of art inspired by what we discover.
π Dynomite Farm
π 9:00 AM β 5:00 PM Β· $59
Enjoy Dynomite Farmβs show-quality dahlia beds for intimate, unhurried cutting experiences where you and your friends have the field to yourselves. No crowds. No rushing. Just you, your people, and a thousand flowers. Companion passes are available for guests who want to join the fun, explore the farm, and take in the beauty without cutting flowers. Friendly chickens roam the property, there are swings for little ones.
π All About Theatre
π 9:00 AM β 12:00 PM Β· $345
A week-long summer production of Moana Jr. for young performers.
π BEYOND liberty
π 9:00 AM β 10:00 AM Β· $10
Mindful Movement with Horses Blending Tai Chi, Qigong, Horses and Mindfulness and informed by Polyvagal Theory, this class supports nervous system regulation, embodied awareness, and safe connectionβwith yourself, the herd, and the natural world. All proceeds benefit BEYOND liberty, a nonprofit horse sanctuary and equine education center improving the lives of both humans and horses through education, experiential learning and wellness and enrichment programs. $10 drop-in. Registration required: https://BeyondLibertyandPMR.as.me/MindfulnessThroughMovement
π All About Theatre
π 9:00 AM β 4:00 PM Β· $895
A longer production of Moana Jr. with intensive rehearsal and performance experience.
π Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History
π 9:30 AM β 12:00 PM Β· See listing
Leave your mark on Santa Cruz history by volunteering at the historic Evergreen Cemetery every Friday from 9:30am-12pm. No need to register, just show up ready to work! All ages are welcome to help, including high school students seeking community service hours. Tools and work gloves will be provided. Please bring a mask and your own bottled water. For more information, email [email protected]
π Roaring Camp Railroads
π 10:00 AM β 4:00 PM Β· $32
From Trees to Shining Seas β Felton to Santa Cruz. Departing from the Santa Cruz Mountains, travel through Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, down the scenic San Lorenzo River Gorge, across a 1909 steel truss bridge, and through an 1875 tunnel before arriving at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Reverse roundtrips departing from the beach in Santa Cruz to Roaring Camp and back may be purchased from the conductor on the train departing from Santa Cruz. The Santa Cruz Big Trees & Pacific Railway operates passenger and freight services on one of the oldest and most historic lines in California. When the route opened in 1875 it carried lumber as well as picnickers and tourists to the Big Trees and Santa Cruz. Todayβs Beach Train passengers can start their roundtrip journeys from either Roaring Camp in Felton or from the beach in Santa Cruz. Departs from both the beach in Santa Cruz and Roaring Camp. See departure times for more information. The Beach Train will run weekends and holidays through May, and then daily June through the first week of August, then back to weekends and holidays to the end of September. Please note that the 4 p.m. train leaving Santa Cruz is one-way only. There is no return train to the beach.
π City of Santa Cruz Resource Recovery Facility
π 10:00 AM β 11:30 AM Β· FREE
Free Public Tours of the City of Santa Cruz Resource Recovery Facility are here. Don't miss this educational community favorite activity! Summer Public Tours Are Back! Public Tours of the Resource Recovery Facility will be offered every Friday at 10 AM from June 12th through August 14th, 2026. A single Saturday will also be offered on July 25th. Out of consideration for others, please only sign up on Saturday if Fridays are not an option for you. Come join us! Get ready to discover the journey your recycling and food scraps takeβand see firsthand how your actions make a difference! Visitors will see what happens to the 30 to 50 tons of material that Santa Cruzians place into their blue recycle bins every single day. We will also learn why it is important to βrecycle right,β avoid βwish-cycling," and why we can't rely on a triangle and a blue bin anymore. Visitors will see a mountain of scrap metal, learn about the facilityβs Household Hazardous Waste Program, and see the Food Scrap Pre-Processor Machine. Donβt miss out on this chance to become a waste reduction pro! Tours are limited to 20 people. Children must be at least 8 years old. Youth ages 8 to 17 must be accompanied by an adult. Carpooling is encouraged as parking is limited. Pre-registration is required. Registration closes 48 hours before the tour date. No Drop-Ins. Safety Notice: This tour includes stairs and standing/walking for approximately 45 minutes. On this tour, you may be exposed to loud noises, dust, or tight spaces. Please note that this is a working industrial facility with potential hazards, and your safety is our top priority. Please wear closed-toe sturdy shoes and long pants. We will provide safety vests, eye protection, ear protection, and hard hats. Please inform City staff before your tour date if you will need accommodations.
π Santa Cruz Mountains Art Center
π 10:00 AM β 2:00 PM Β· See listing
0 booked, 6 available Handbuilding
π La Bahia Hotel & Spa
π 11:00 AM Β· $54
A notable new offering for the property, La Bahia has introduced Spa Day Passes, now available via ResortPass (based on availability), granting both travelers and locals access to enjoy the propertyβs serene spa amenities for a restorative escape by the sea.
π Wilder Ranch State Park
π 11:00 AM β 12:00 PM Β· FREE
Young adventurers are invited to join the Junior Ranger Program at Wilder Ranch State Park this summer! The free program is 11 a.m. to noon. Kids ages 7-12 are invited. Parents and guardians can learn more and register their young adventurers online. Parking is $10 and helps Friends support the park.
π Comicopolis
π 12:00 PM Β· FREE
It's time to get those crayons sharpened, paints mixed and markers at the ready for our Summer 2026 PokΓ©mon Art Contest for kids 5-12! To join in, create a picture of your favorite PokΓ©mon 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 PokΓ©mon:Chaos Rising 11x17 mini-poster (while supplies last) when you hand in your art.
π Santa Cruz Public Libraries
π 12:00 PM Β· See listing
Friday, July 24 2026 11:00am - 1:00pm We are knitting at Live Oak Library on Fridays.
π Institute of the Arts and Sciences
π 12:00 PM β 5:00 PM Β· See listing
Visit the IAS, UCSCβs premier art galleries, for our spring exhibitions. On view April 10βAugust 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 β 5 pm. Admission is free to the public. Libia Posada: Everything is Going Right Libia Posadaβs 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
π Santa Cruz Public Libraries
π 12:00 PM Β· See listing
Friday, July 24 2026 11:00am - 12:30pm Join our Bridge Club for friendly games and social fun, open to players of all skill levels.
π Santa Cruz Public Libraries
π 12:30 PM Β· See listing
Friday, July 24 2026 11:30am - 12:00pm Come join Librarian Emily for stories, songs, and lots of fun for preschoolers and their caregivers in our beautiful, newly-renovated Scotts Valley Library Branch every Friday at 11:30am.
π Santa Cruz Public Libraries
π 12:30 PM Β· FREE
Friday, July 24 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm Join us for great stories and a fun craft. Ages 4-6
π Pajaro Park
π 1:00 PM β 2:00 PM Β· See listing
Tie-Dye: Join MCFL staff to tie-dye a book bag. Adult and Teen Workshops - Ages 13 and up Registration required - Materials provided - No experience needed Call the branch directly to register Please note, programs will be cancelled if no one is registered 24 hours before the program This program is brought to you by the Foundation for Monterey County Free Libraries. Sign up for the Summer Reading Club at any MCFL branch between June 1st and July 31st. Or sign up online at https://emcfl.beanstack.com/reader365
π Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History
π 1:00 PM β 1:30 PM Β· See listing
Take a guided tour of the MAH by one of our staff members! At the MAH, our tours don't just take you through art and history. They immerse you in it and connect you to Santa Cruz and beyond. If you're ready to dive into a new perspective, join us every Friday for an informative private tour free with admission. Art experts, historians, and educators are here to help. Plus, stick around to meet new people or check out our new gift shop. If you are an educator and interested in booking a tour for your class or group, browse our educational field trips here.
π Capitola
π 1:00 PM β 3:00 PM Β· See listing
Join a diverse group of cyber security enthusiasts every 3rd Friday of the month from 1-3PM or on the 1st Sunday of the month from 3-5PM. Join a group of folks who have a passion for cyber security. Group members have a broad range of interests and skill within the field and invite other people interested in cybersecurity to this public space where we can hangout, share new ideas, projects, and socialize. https://santacruzpl.libnet.info/events?term=cyber+security&r=range&start=2026-06-02&end=2026-09-30
π All About Theatre
π 1:00 PM β 7:00 PM Β· $395
A technical training camp for theater at All About Theatre in Santa Cruz, covering skills for behind-the-scenes production.
π Santa Cruz Public Libraries
π 1:30 PM Β· See listing
Friday, July 24 2026 12:30pm - 2:30pm Are you stuck with a technology question? You can make a free appointment with a tech savvy library staff member!
π Downtown Watsonville
π 2:00 PM β 9:00 PM Β· See listing
The Watsonville Farmers Market is every Friday afternoon from 2-7 all year round at the City Plaza in Downtown Watsonville. Donβt 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.
π Santa Cruz Public Libraries
π 2:00 PM Β· See listing
Friday, July 24 2026 1:00pm - 2:30pm Sharpen your word skills and enjoy friendly competition at our Scrabble Club - fun for all levels.
π Santa Cruz Public Libraries
π 2:00 PM Β· See listing
Friday, July 24 2026 1:00pm - 3:00pm Play cards with fun folks every 2nd and 4th Friday.
π Engineering 2
π 2:00 PM β 4:00 PM Β· See listing
While large language models can match or exceed human performance, they do so with memory and energy costs orders of magnitude greater than biological cognition. We investigate sparsity as a brain-inspired computational principle to address both. We first establish a framework for evaluating small language model construction methods, using the next-token logit distribution as a behavioral fingerprint. Then, we introduce a semi-structured correlation-aware weight sparsity (CWS) method that uses the full activation covariance to identify and prune correlated weights whose combined removal cost is lower than any individual score predicts. CWS, improves perplexity over existing criteria up to 70% sparsity. To extend this gain to extreme sparsity, we propose a hierarchical ADMM framework that optimizes pruning directly against cross-entropy and distillation loss, first layer-wise for efficiency and then globally for cross-layer coordination. This research establishes brain-inspired principles as a foundation for efficient language models that remain accurate even under extreme compression. Event Host: Kimia Gholami, Ph.D. Student, Electrical & Computer Engineering Advisor: Jason Eshraghian Zoom: https://ucsc.zoom.us/j/9827512398?pwd=SGpDWGtVVG81dkgyTHhjbG81dEVUZz09&omn=98349793611 Passcode: 8398
π Sub Rosa
π 3:00 PM β 9:00 PM Β· See listing
Sharing the wonderful art of Gazan organizer Yazan Mohammadπ₯³ join us to explore his work and support his university costs so he can proceed with his evacuation from Gaza. lets get YAZAN to Ireland!~ a fundraiser for YAZANβs education at UNIVERSITY of LIMERICK and evacuation from GAZA Join us to celebrate Yazanβs commitment to UL in Ireland and help raise funds for his evacuation from Gaza [β] Art Market [β] Music [β] Community [β] Zines! Friday, July 24. Subrosa, 703 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz. 3-9PM * Interested in vending or playing music? Contact meowzedong.420 on Signal. Free entry (NOTAFLOF*) // all-ages // dry space // safe(r) space // anti-capitalist space // respect the space and each other! *no one turned away for lack of funds SubRosa is at 703 Pacific Avenue in downtown Santa Cruz, CA β@@@@@β 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. Letβs create together the wo
π Santa Cruz Public Libraries
π 4:00 PM Β· See listing
Friday, July 24 2026 3:00pm - 4:30pm S.T.E.A.M Projects. Explore Your World
π Santa Cruz Public Libraries
π 4:30 PM Β· See listing
Friday, July 24 2026 3:30pm - 4:30pm Use your imagination and build anything you can dream! Lego and Duplo blocks will be available for children and youth to tinker with, build, explore, and creatively play! No registration necessary.
π Santa Cruz
π 5:00 PM β 8:30 PM Β· FREE
Free summer block party in Midtown Santa Cruz featuring live music, food trucks, local artists, makers, and family fun.