Arts & Culture

In celebration of the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History’s (MAH) 25th anniversary, the RedBall Project, a global art installation that has been to over 30 cities since 2001, is coming to Santa Cruz County. And now, after a countywide search by MAH staff...

Try this is a weekly column that celebrates local businesses — especially eateries, watering holes, coffee shops and the like. Tarmo Hannula Food Blaze Pizza I had a late lunch recently at a new (for me) pizza spot on the West Side of Santa Cruz—Blaze Pizza, 1901 Mission...

Gabe Medina and Marcus Cisneros had no idea how quickly their new media company, Calavera Media, would take off during the pandemic. Having started as a loose collective of creators, working with colleagues from Digital NEST and the greater filmmaking community of Watsonville, they officially...

A weekly column that celebrates local businesses — especially eateries, watering holes, coffee shops and the like. TONY NUÑEZ Food La Fondita: enchiladas Having our offices in downtown Watsonville has been a delight for me come lunchtime. So many great restaurants. So little time—and money. I’ve started to...

WATSONVILLE—A new arts and culture hub will soon open in downtown Watsonville, acting as a home base for a number of longstanding organizations, education programs and more. Watsonville Center for the Arts, 375 Main St., is the culmination of decades of work by local groups...

Do you have a recent photograph you’d like to share? Send it to us for consideration by emailing it to [email protected] or mailing it to 21 Brennan St., Suite 14, Watsonville, CA 95076. Please include a brief description of the photo as well as the name...

WATSONVILLE—A new 50-by-54-foot colorful outdoor mural of a humpback whale was recently completed at Marinovich Community Center on Second Street. Painted on the blacktop of the basketball court, work began on Oct. 25 by Watsonville artists Augie WK and Jessica Carmen. “Once we were done and...

When local conservation pioneer and philanthropist Diane Porter Cooley died last March, members of Pajaro Valley Arts (PVA) knew they wanted to pay tribute to her in some way. Cooley was a founding board member of PVA and instrumental in its success over the years....

WATSONVILLE—As lunchtime drew to a close Wednesday, fourth- and fifth-grade students at Starlight Elementary School began to gradually filter into the classroom of art teacher Meredith Branan Freeman. They were there to learn about stop-motion animation and create their own movies. Some students worked individually,...

WATSONVILLE—The musical group Rosa Azul is set to perform Sunday at Studio Judy G on Main Street.  The quartet, which describes itself as “a new ensemble of professional musicians that perform some of the best Mexican music with a polished flare,” will perform in the...