County Fair seeks theme
The Santa Cruz County Fair announced the return of the annual fair theme contest.
The fair invites the community to submit theme ideas that would reflect the spirit of the County Fair in a few words. The theme should reflect the spirit of the diverse community, agriculture, youth in agriculture, and the many elements that make up the coastal fair.
The winner will receive a VIP Family Pack for four for this year’s fair that includes a parking pass, four admissions and carnival wristbands.
The deadline for entry is March 25 at 5pm.
Entries can be emailed to [email protected], or mailed/hand-delivered to: Santa Cruz County Fair, Theme Contest, 2601 East Lake Ave., Watsonville, CA 95076.
The 2023 Santa Cruz County Fair will be held Sept. 13-17 at the fairgrounds located on Highway 152 just east of Watsonville. For information, visit santacruzcountyfair.com.
Elks Lodge celebrates St. Patrick’s Day
The Watsonville Elks Lodge, 121 Martinelli St., will hold a St. Patrick’s Day dinner and dance on March 17.
The dinner will feature corn beef, cabbage, carrots, potatoes, soda bread dessert and coffee.
Cocktails are served at 6pm, with dinner at 7pm and dancing to follow.
Tickets are $25 per person, and must be purchased by March 13. Attendance is limited to 100. To purchase tickets, call the Elks Lodge office at 724.2493 or call Jim at 510.648.5707.
Watsonville Film Festival continues
The 11th annual Watsonville Film Festival continues for a second week with film screenings through March 12.
This year’s Festival presents a line-up of films about ordinary people overcoming obstacles. A selection of 25 films are also available for online viewing at watsonvillefilmfest.org.
“The Watsonville Film Festival was created to bring the community together and shine a light on our cultures and traditions, our creativity and our resilience,” said Consuelo Alba, co-founder and director of the festival. “After all we’ve been through over the past three years, we wanted to make this year’s festival free and accessible to everyone on a donation basis. This is possible thanks to our generous sponsors and supporters who truly understand our vision.”
“Sansón & Me” is an internationally-acclaimed, award-winning documentary about an unusual friendship that develops between a young immigrant caught up in California’s criminal justice system and his court interpreter. Director Rodrigo Reyes will present the film on Saturday at 1pm at the Mello Center followed by a Q&A session.
“Santos: Skin to Skin” follows seven-time Grammy nominee John Santos, who connects the rhythms of the drum to past and present struggles for social justice and cultural identity. Filmmakers Katryn Golden and Ashley James will be on hand to discuss their award-winning film co-presented by Kuumbwa Jazz on Saturday at 4pm at the Mello Center.
“Los Tigres del Norte: Historias Que Contar” tells the story of the Norteño band that came to San Jose in the 1960s and rose to fame with ballads about farmworkers, immigration and narco-violence. Los Tigres have sold more than 60 million records, winning six Grammys and 12 Latin Grammys along the way. A Q&A session with Director Carlos Perez Osorio will be held at the Mello Center on Saturday at 7pm.
Frontera Collection Curator/DJ Juan Antonio Cuellar will host an after-party with selections from the 32,000 Spanish-language songs digitized and preserved by UCLA’s Chicano Studies Research Center thanks to a $500,000 grant from Los Tigres del Norte Foundation on Saturday at 9pm at El Alteño Restaurant, 323 Main St. in Watsonville.
For the full schedule, visit watsonvillefilmfestival.org.
Meeting to discuss Moss Landing battery facility
With several recent events at the Moss Landing Lithium Ion Battery Energy Storage System Facility causing community concern, the County of Monterey is hosting a Town Hall meeting on March 16 at 5:30pm to provide information and receive questions and comments.
The meeting will be held at the North County Recreation Center, 11261 Crane St. in Castroville, as well as streamed live on the County of Monterey’s Facebook page.
In addition to participation from Monterey County District 2 Supervisor Glenn Church, several public safety agencies, Pacific Gas and Electric and Vistra Energy Corporation will be present. Spanish translation will be available for participants.
