Arts & Culture

A weekly column that celebrates local businesses — especially eateries, watering holes, coffee shops and the like.

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...

APTOS—The performing arts sector has taken a major hit due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Large gatherings—especially those indoors—are discouraged in order to slow the spread of the virus, and as such theaters and other venues have been forced to remain closed. The Cabrillo College Theater...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—On March 10, 2020, the Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz held a live performance, complete with a large audience, full band, and an open kitchen and bar. What staff, musicians and patrons didn’t know at the time was that the concert would...

The Tobera Project, a local initiative aiming to preserve, honor and celebrate the Filipino immigrant experience in the Pajaro Valley, is continuing to grow in scope. From the ongoing “Watsonville is in the Heart” exhibit and subsequent calendar chronicling the history of local Filipino-American heritage,...

Marin Alsop grew up dreaming of being a conductor.  From a young age, she aspired to lead a group of talented classical musicians, performing for audiences and spreading her love of music—despite the fact there were very few women in such a position. Alsop is now...

The Watsonville City Council at its Tuesday night meeting solidified its decision to implement a new fee on development projects that would fund the arts in Watsonville. Soon, developers seeking to create commercial and residential projects will have to pay 0.75% of their project’s valuation,...

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

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville artist Guillermo Aranda sat in his second-floor studio on West Lake Avenue last week working on a new painting of a heron. The unfinished work was spread out on a table covered with various paints, sketches and several drafts of birds in flight—one...

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...