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.

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.

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.

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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Beaches, Barbecue and Free Concerts at the Crow’s Nest

The Crow’s Nest Summer Beach Parties are quite possibly the quintessential Santa Cruz summer event. Every Thursday during the summer …

Take your pick of festivals each day this weekend, from film to Japanese culture to Santa Cruz Pride. It’s true, event season has begun in …

We all know that Memorial Day Weekend brings big crowds to town, but it also brings some great events. This weekend’s events include a …

This weekend kicks off with festivities benefitting our local schools and wraps up with swing music and swing dancing at two different …

This weekend brings a variety of music, cultural and food events to satisfy all of your senses. Music and the performing arts are taking …

There’s much to celebrate this weekend, from Cinco de Mayo to Mother’s Day and maybe a little rain in between. This weekend is also about …

Several festivals and fairs take place this weekend, enticing us to play, eat and shop. We’ve got a local history celebration, an astronomy …

Bountiful brunches are just the beginning of things to do for Mother’s Day in Santa Cruz, which falls on Sunday, May 8. We’ve compiled …

Earth Day festivities continue this weekend along with celebrations of surf, aloha shirts, jazz on the wharf, and wine. And in true Santa …