Santa Cruz Events

Santa Cruz County has great events all year long, and we'll keep you up to date on the best events, right here.
 

Holidays

Santa Cruz knows how to celebrate holidays, as is evidenced by the massive influx of visitors with each major holiday. HIghlights include 4th of July in Santa Cruz, Halloween, and the Christmas holidays.
 

Recurring Events

Santa Cruz is home to some great recurring events. The First Friday of each month is an art lover's dream, while bargain hunters love the Santa Cruz Antique Faire, held the first Sunday of each month.
 
During the summer months you can enjoy weekly outdoor events like the Wednesday night Movies on the Beach, Thursday night Beach Parties at the Crow's Nest, Friday Night Bands on the Beach, Sunday Art & Music in Capitola, and many more.
 

Annual Events

Over the years Santa Cruz, Capitola, and the surrounding communities have developed some amazing annual events. Summer is the unofficial event season, but you can find great events year round.
 
Favorites include Woodies on the Wharf, the Capitola Rod & Custom Classic Car Show, the Wharf to Wharf Race, the newly added Pleasure Point Street Fair, Begonia Festival, Capitola Art & Wine Festival, Restaurant Week, the Santa Cruz County Fair, the Santa Cruz Open Studios Art Tour, Santa Cruz Film Festival, the Santa Cruz Greek Festival, and Santa Cruz TEDx. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
 
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This Weekend in Santa Cruz: October 25th – 27th, 2019

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Capitola Halloween

There’s no escaping Halloween events this weekend in Santa Cruz (insert evil laugh)!

Whether you attend a parade, concert, Derby game, 5k run, or chili cook-off, there’s bound to be some spooky spirits and costumes aplenty.

Enjoy a jam-packed weekend celebrating one of Santa Cruz’s favorite holidays of the year.

See our picks for the top events each day this weekend:

This week’s Roundup is sponsored by the Santa Cruz Derby Girls. Come cheer on the Santa Cruz Derby Girls at their last home game of the season. It’s a Halloween themed double-header and dressing up is strongly encouraged! With food trucks, full concessions and beer and wine, this is one you won’t want to miss.

Click here for tickets. Use code SCLife19 at checkout for 10% off (discount not valid on game day so grab those tickets today!)

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Halloween Events in Santa Cruz 2019

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Santa Cruz Halloween


Have no fear, your Santa Cruz Halloween Guide is here!

We’ve got midnight movies, costume parades, haunted houses, and early trick or treats—all leading up to the big day, which happens to fall on a Thursday this year.

Here’s a day-by-day listing of all the Halloween-themed events this month. Check back weekly for updates:

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This Weekend in Santa Cruz: October 18th – 20th, 2019

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If you have not had a chance to attend a fall harvest festival or Open Studios, then this weekend is for you.

This month’s 30th anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake brings nature walks and talks at the Forest of Nisene Marks.

And the Santa Cruz Wharf kicks off a 13-day countdown to Halloween.

See our picks for the top events each day this weekend:

This week’s roundup is sponsored by Arts Council Santa Cruz County & the Open Studios Art Tour. This is the final weekend of Open Studios this year and artists from the entire county will be participating. Look for the free Open Studios guide around town, download the “Open Studios Art Tour” app, or just follow the green signs around town.

Click here for more information about Open Studios.

Photo: Kelsey Cerdas Artist #32

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