Arts & Culture

WATSONVILLE—For the owners of The Slough Brewing Collective in Watsonville, beer is much more than just a drink, or a lucrative business—it’s a community. The brewery, formerly Elkhorn Slough Brewing Company, even reflects this in its motto: “Beer is people.” “Beer is a way of bringing...

Every year, tens of thousands of people from across the globe gather in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert for Burning Man, an experimental festival focused on art, self-expression and community.  The week-long event has participants arrive with their own shelter, food and water, and supplies to...

WATSONVILLE—The third phase of Watsonville Brillante, the massive mosaic project in downtown Watsonville, is taking shape. Splashed across the exterior walls of the six-story Civic Plaza parking garage at Rodriguez and Second streets, the new phase will come in two halves five months apart. Last...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Writer Stephen Kessler has been named the 2023 Artist of the Year by the Santa Cruz County Arts Commission.  Kessler has written a dozen volumes of original poetry, 16 books of literary translation, three collections of essays and a novel, “The Mental Traveler.”...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville Film Festival announced the launch of its 2023 Cine Se Puede Fellowship, a program designed to support emerging Latine filmmakers in the region.  The fellowship is a year-long program that provides funding, mentorship, industry connections, workshops and master classes, as well as peer...

A large mosaic sculpture, created by local artists Kathleen Crocetti and Monica Galvan to memorialize victims of Covid 19 now stands in a field near upper Struve Slough. On Saturday and Sunday from 2-6pm each day, community members who have lost someone to Covid...

WATSONVILLE—Twenty years ago, Linda S. Gunther was working as a Human Resources Executive in Silicon Valley when she had an idea for a story. A character formed in her imagination: Polly, a young girl who regularly panics over small things that go wrong in...

WATSONVILLE—A new book has hit the shelves, “Fruit of the Devil,” by retired Pajaro Valley Unified School District teacher Mary Flodin.  The novel unfolds between the exclusive golf courses of Pebble Beach to the world-famous surf breaks of Santa Cruz and the fertile lands 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...

"Try This" is a weekly column that celebrates local businesses — especially eateries, watering holes, coffee shops and the like.