Free bike repair, ride scheduled
WATSONVILLE — Watsonville Bike Shack, Bike Santa Cruz County and Bike Friendly Watsonville will hold a free bike repair event and community bike ride on Saturday at the Bike Shack, 555 Main St.
The event will kick off at 11 a.m. with free bike safety checks and tune-ups courtesy of the Bike Shack. The ride will begin at 12:30 p.m.
Reflective bike and helmet decorating, a free raffle for kids’ bikes, bike lights and more round out the event.
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Buddhist Temple holding class series
WATSONVILLE — Watsonville Buddhist Temple will be sponsoring a new six-week series of study classes entitled “Buddhism Around the World: An investigation into different schools of Buddhism and their practices throughout the world.”
Weekly classes will be held Mondays, starting Jan. 8 through Feb. 12, from 7-8:30 p.m. at the Watsonville Buddhist Temple, 423 Bridge St. in Watsonville.
Classes will be taught by Rev. Jay Shinseki, resident minister serving Watsonville and Monterey Buddhist Temples. Shinseki is a graduate of CSU Monterey Bay; Institute of Buddhist Studies in Berkeley; and Central College of Buddhism in Kyoto, Japan.
Registration cost is $50 (temple members receive discount). Email [email protected] for registration form. Class size is limited.
For information, call the Temple Office at 724-7860.
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Community Foundation awards grants to nonprofits
WATSONVILLE — Twenty local nonprofits, with an operating budget of $200,000 or less, get a share of the $148,350 awarded by Community Foundation Santa Cruz County in its fall round of Community Grants.
Among the nonprofits in the Pajaro Valley receiving grants are: Agricultural History Project, $10,000, to create an expanded site plan for the Living History Farm; Pajaro Valley Arts Council, $10,000, to support the Moveable Murals pilot project; Pajaro Valley Historical Association, $10,000, to transcribe oral histories from tape and digital formats to written documents; Watsonville Film Festival, $5,250, to present year-round film screenings at various venues in South County and establish a “Festival on the Go.”
“Finding ways to help small nonprofits reach their potential in serving local residents is important to us,” Program Director Christina Cuevas said. “These grants where small nonprofits aren’t competing with larger organizations for funding, they told us, makes their job easier. We’ll continue to look at other types of support to assist small nonprofits grow stronger.”
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Grammy-winner, Durbin headline free concerts
APTOS — Two-time Grammy Award-winning cellist Jonah Kim is one of more than 200 musicians, singers and dancers in this year’s Twin Lakes Church Christmas Concert.
The free 75-minute concerts also feature “American Idol” finalist and current Quiet Riot lead singer James Durbin, violinist Rebecca Jackson, the Monte Vista Christian High School Choir, Agape Dance Studio and more.
Kim was awarded a full scholarship to the renowned Juilliard school of music at just 7 years old, and has since performed with symphony orchestras all over the world as well as with Mariah Carey, the Beach Boys and others.
He will join the concerts Friday at 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 3 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
“Our concerts are designed as a completely immersive light and sound experience, with beautiful animations and projections accompanying the music,” said pastor Rene Schlaepfer.
Twin Lakes Church is at 2701 Cabrillo College Drive in Aptos. For information, visit www.tlc.org.
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Mercantile event benefits children
CAPITOLA — The Capitola Mercantile and Capitola-Soquel Chamber of Commerce will present Uncle Nathan’s Celebration on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 115 San Jose Ave. in Capitola.
The event is geared toward giving disadvantaged children an opportunity to take part in a variety of activities, such as decorating cookies, meeting Santa Claus, gifts and more.
The event is sponsored by Peter Dwares, owner of the Capitola Mercantile.
For information, visit www.pathwaysforkids.org.
