Santa Cruz has had two wildly successful Open Streets events on West Cliff Dr. in the past two years.
Now it’s Capitola’s turn.
The inaugural Open Streets Capitola will be held this Sunday, May 4, in the Capitola Village.
This is a free event with plenty of fun on tap for the entire family.
What to Expect
Well, one thing you shouldn’t expect is cars. The Esplanade will be closed to traffic and won’t even have any parked cars. This day is all about opening the streets after all.
For five hours the Esplanade will transform into a big pop-up block party for the entire community. There will be plenty of entertainment and activities, with live music, a kids bicycle obstacle course, hula hooping, and juggling to name a few.
Live music includes the Ukulele Club, Plateau Dixieland Jazz, Sadza, the Steve Graves Band and more.
Save Our Shores will be conducting a street clean up on the Esplanade and the Capitola History Museum will be offering Capitols history tours.
You can find a full list of entertainers, activities and presenters at the Open Streets website.
The two Santa Cruz Open Streets events the past two years have been very popular, with 9,000+ attendees each year. Expect a great turnout at this event as well. And for those of you who can’t make this one, the 3rd annual Santa Cruz Open Streets is scheduled to take place this October.
Open Streets Capitola will no doubt have its own unique vibe, but if you want to catch a glimpse of what has transpired at the Santa Cruz Open Streets event then check out this video:
Helpful Tips
The Capitola Village is a perfect location for events, with one exception…parking. Be prepared for a bit of a walk in to the Village, especially since many of the regular parking spots will be unusable during the event.
Anyone who bikes, walks or rides the bus to the event can enter into a free raffle. Grand prize is a $500 gift certificate to the Family Cycling Center. Bike riders will also be treated to free valet bicycle parking, provided by People Power.
There will also be a free car parking and shuttle service provided by the City of Capitola. Park in either the Pacific Cove parking lot on Monterey Ave. or the new Lower Pacific Cove lot on Capitola Ave.
One last tip – check the music lineup on the official Open Streets website. I’ll be showing up early to check out the Ukulele Club on the Esplanade Park bandstand. Hope to see you there!
Capitola Open Streets
Sunday, May 4th, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Capitola Esplanade
Open Streets Website
