Arts & Culture

The Watsonville High School (WHS) Drama Department had been preparing for a production of the musical “Matilda” in March 2020 when everything was shut down by the pandemic.  For three semesters, students were unable to return to the stage for performances, instead taking acting, tech...

It was a moment of sheer luck that historian and author Derek R. Whaley, while doing research for his own book, discovered the work of the late Ronald G. Powell.  Whaley owns local publishing company Zayante Publishing and is the author of the Santa Cruz...

Four decades ago, Janet Johns came to Watsonville as a new teacher, hoping to start a dance company with her former roommate from San Jose State, Frances Urbina.  It wasn’t long before Johns’ fellow teachers in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District expressed interest in...

APTOS—Cabrillo College’s theater arts department is finally returning to in-person performances after three seasons of virtual shows. “Charley’s Aunt” is a wacky farce chock full of love, deception, and confusion. Originally written by English playwright Brandon Thomas in 1862, Cabrillo’s production will be directed by...

WATSONVILLE—Local author and former Pajaronian editor Michael Wallace has released the ninth installment of his ongoing Quill Gordon Mystery series. The series follows the private investigator as he solves mysteries, usually in familiar west coast settings. Wallace released the first book in 2012, and has...

APTOS—Cabrillo College’s on-campus art gallery is reopening to the public after being shuttered since March 2020. After holding a variety of virtual shows for the past 17 months, Cabrillo Gallery returns to in-person with its annual “12x12: An Open Invitational” exhibit. The exhibit invites artists...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville Film Festival (WFF) will present its fourth annual Día de los Muertos event at Watsonville City Plaza on Oct. 29, featuring a screening of the animated Disney/Pixar movie “Coco” as well as music, dance and art. The free event, which brought thousands of...

The County of Santa Cruz has named multi-media artist Guillermo “Yermo” Aranda as the 2021 Artist of the Year. Every year the Arts Commission presents the award to a local artist for their achievements in performing, visual or literary arts, as well as their contributions...

WATSONVILLE—Every year, Pajaro Valley Arts (PVA) hosts an annual exhibit inspired by Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead in English), a traditional holiday in Mexico commemorating family and community members who have died. But this year, after almost two years of the Covid-19...

WATSONVILLE—Judy Gittelsohn has big plans for the downtown Watsonville arts scene. For the past two months, Gittelsohn has been slowly but surely moving her artwork, supplies and more into her new studio at 430 Main St. Large paintings line the walls of the small yet...