With cooler temperatures and the possibility of rain next week, it’s finally beginning to feel like winter around Santa Cruz County. But don’t you worry, we won’t let a little weather keep you from having a ton of fun this weekend!
Maybe you will want to bundle up and go to the Boardwalk to taste some of the best chowder around at this popular local cook-off. If you feel like staying inside, you can watch Team USA Basketball’s first appearance in Santa Cruz, attend some expert talks about our ocean, or watch a film festival packed full of epic mountain adventures.
These are just some of the many things going on in Santa Cruz County this weekend. Check it out!
See our picks for the top events each day this weekend:
Friday
Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour
When: 2/22 – 2/25 from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm
Where: Rio Theatre
Cost: $18-$22
View some of the most epic mountain adventures at this annual film festival tour. You will see some of the most thrilling real-life footage of adrenaline-packed action sports in mountain settings such as the world’s highest peaks, dangerous raging waters and extreme remote locations. Two programs will be shown across four nights.
Downtown Santa Cruz Pre-AM Mini Golf and Art Festival
When: 2/23 from 3-8 pm, 2/24 from 12-8 pm & 2/25 from 12-6 pm
Where: Start at the Downtown Santa Cruz Info Kiosk
Cost: $10 – $20
Take a fun mini golf tour through downtown with nine cleverly designed golf holes in various locations at this art festival. Each hole was created by teams of artists, engineers, makers and other groups. Vote for your favorite! There will be an opening night reception as well as an awards presentation on the closing night.
Our Ocean
When: 2/23 from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Where: Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Exploration Center
Cost: Free
A night of celebration comes to the center as Event Santa Cruz presents a lineup of eight expert speakers who will talk about our ocean and marine sanctuary. Enjoy food, drink and more than 20 vendors with ocean themed items for purchase.
Team USA Basketball in Santa Cruz
When: 2/23 at 8:00 pm & Monday, 2/26 at 8:00 pm
Where: Kaiser Permanente Arena
Cost: $13+
USA Basketball is making its first ever appearance in Santa Cruz! Team USA will be competing to qualify for the 2019 World Cup. Top NBA G League players will be playing on the team led by Head Coach Jeff Van Gundy. Team USA will face Cuba at this Friday night game. Free limited edition T-Shirt for the first 1000 fans.
Also on Friday
- Langhorne Slim @ Don Quixote’s
- Groovity @ Crow’s Nest
- Nomalakadoja (CD Release) + Soulwise & Burnt @ Moe’s Alley
- Sean Rowe, Anna Tivel @ The Crepe Place
- Phoenix Rising @ Severino’s
- Grad Slam @ Music Center Recital Hall
- Jesse Daniel, Rachelle Sheehan & The Hipshake Band, Rabbit Truck @ The Blue Lagoon
- Jazz The Dog @ Michael’s On Main
- Medicine Road plus The Drool Pigs @ Michael’s On Main
- Ka Nalu @ Pono Hawaiian Grill
- Palehound, Weaves @ The Catalyst
- The Frights @ The Catalyst
- Live Blues @ Aptos St. BBQ
- Grad Slam (3-Minute Thesis Challenge) @ UCSC Music Center Recital Hall
- 2018 Sidhartha Maitra Memorial Lecture @ UCSC Colleges 9/10 Multi-purpose Room
- Santa Cruz Contra Dance @ Live Oak Grange
- Friday Make Night: Book Page Flowers @ Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History
- Free Santa Cruz Symphony Open Rehearsal (Celebration!) @ Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium
- Homeschool Day 2018 @ Seymour Marine Discovery Center
- The Great Chili Cook-off @ Resurrection Church
- Alice in Wonderland jr. @ Louden Nelson Community Center
- Watsonville Farmers Market @ Downtown Watsonville Plaza
- Morgan Jerkins Book Talk & Signing, This Will Be My Undoing @ Bookshop Santa Cruz
Want to see all the best events in Santa Cruz every weekend? Click here to get these Weekend Roundup posts delivered straight to your inbox.Saturday
DANCE PARTY! Santa Cruz Waltz
When: 2/24 at 8:00 pm
Where: Market Street Theater
Cost: $10/single $16/couple $7/student, senior 65+
A Sweetheart Dance will be the theme of this month’s installment of the Saturday Social Dance Party. Grab a partner or come alone and dance to a variety music.
Clam Chowder Cook-Off and Festival
When: 2/24 – 2/25 at 10:00 am
Where: Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
Cost: Free Admission, tasting kits @ $10
Join in on two days of the best in clam chowder! Saturday will be the cook off day for the amateur teams, while Sunday the professional teams compete for the best in clam chowder categories. Kits go on sale at 10 am. Tasting begins at 1 pm.
Community Writers Presents Santa Cruz Author Jessica Breheny
When: 2/24 from 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm
Where: Porter Memorial Library
Local author, Jessica Breheny, will be the featured reader at this month’s community writer’s series. This monthly writer’s series is a gathering of local writers who share and read their original work.
Art of Communication Festival
When: 2/24 from 9:30 am to 5:00 pm
Where: A Peace United Church
Cost: $25 – $100
Sign up for an entire day dedicated to learning the art of communication. Many workshops are offered that will help teach you better ways to communicate. Tuition is on a sliding scale.
40TH Annual Quilt Show and Auction
When: 2/24 – 2/25 from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm (Sunday until 4:00 pm)
Where: Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds
Cost: $10 General Admission – $8 Advance Ticket
The Pajaro Valley Quilt Association celebrates the 40th Anniversary of this quilt show. Come out for a day of activities including a live auction and a drawing, too. Alice Beasley will be the featured speaker.
Santa Cruz Scholastic Surf League (SCSSL) Youth Surf Event
Two Day Event
When: 2/24 at 6:30 am – 2/25 at 5:30 pm
Where: Steamer Lane
Head on down to Steamer Lane to watch the action! Middle school and high school students from Santa Cruz to Half Moon Bay will hit the waves and compete in a series of five events that are scheduled over two days. Contests will include both team and individual formats.
Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour
See Description Under Friday Section
Downtown Santa Cruz Pre-AM Mini Golf and Art Festival
See Description Under Friday Section
Also on Saturday
- Jeff Rosenstock @ The Catalyst
- Hari Kondabolu @ The Catalyst
- Trappist One @ Davenport Roadhouse Restaurant & Inn
- HOT Jazz Swing Night & Speakeasy @ Santa Cruz Food Lounge
- Radolescents featuring og members Casey Royer/ Rikk Agnew @ The Blue Lagoon
- China Cats – A Tribute to the Grateful Dead @ Don Quixote’s
- Matt Masih & The Messengers @ Crow’s Nest
- B-Side Players @ Moe’s Alley
- Slaid Cleaves @ Kuumbwa Jazz Center
- Khan, Brycon, Otayo Dubb @ The Crepe Place
- Bonedrivers (Roadhouse Style Rock ‘n’ Blues) @ Severino’s
- Stormin’ Norman & the Cyclones @ Michael’s On Main
- Live Blues @ Aptos St. BBQ
- Board in the Library @ Santa Cruz Public Library – Scotts Valley Branch
- Haji Basim and Arindam Krishna Das – Kirtan and Song Circle @ DiviniTree Yoga & Arts Studio
- Aptos Farmers Market @ Cabrillo College
- Speaker Series features Reverend Deborah Johnson: “Making Sense of Racial Nonsense” @
Inner Light Center - The Red Ball 2018 @ MAH
- Boardwalk BOGO @ Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
- Illuminated Body – An Introduction to Your Sacred Anatomy @ WellSpring Gardens
- Guided Elephant Seal Walks @ Año Nuevo State Park
- The Road Less Traveled – A Dog-Friendly Walk @ Big Basin Redwoods State Park
- Living History Demonstrations and Ranch Tour @ Wilder Ranch State Park
- Guided Redwood Grove Walk @ Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park
- Old Cove Landing Coast Nature Walk @ Wilder Ranch State Park
- Discover Big Basin Redwoods Hike! @ Big Basin Redwoods State Park
- Redwood Grove Loop Walk @ Big Basin Redwoods State Park
Keep up with us all weekend long, and see which events we’re attending, by following Santa Cruz Life on Instagram.Sunday
The Orchestra Rocks (Family Concert)
When: 2/25 from 2:00 pm to 4:30 pm
Where: Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium
Cost: Adults $15, Students $8 (plus box office fees)
The Santa Cruz Symphony will be joined by the Santa Cruz Youth Symphony, Cabrillo Youth Chorus, Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre, Kuumbwa Jazz Honor Band and the Santa Cruz High School Drumline for an afternoon of music and rhythm discovery. Stay after the concert for an instrument “petting zoo”.
Play with Art! With the Boy’s & Girls Club
When: 2/25 from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm
Where: Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History
Bring your family for an afternoon of art-filled fun. View the work of our local downtown Santa Cruz Boy’s and Girl’s Club and make some art of your own while you’re there. Youth led family art activities include yarn bombing and 3D Lab until 2pm.
Natural History Art Day
When: 2/25 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Where: University of California Santa Cruz
Cost: $10 / $20
Have some fun in these natural history art workshops led by advanced students and professionals. Create with printmaking, watercolor, illustration, as well as insect antenna crafting. Two different art making sessions will be held. Free parking at the Core West parking structure.
Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour
See Description Under Friday Section
Downtown Santa Cruz Pre-AM Mini Golf and Art Festival
See Description Under Friday Section
40TH Annual Quilt Show and Auction
See Description Under Saturday Section
Santa Cruz Scholastic Surf League (SCSSL) Youth Surf Event Two Day Event
See Description Under Saturday Section
Clam Chowder Cook-Off
See Description Under Saturday Section
Also on Sunday
- Ty Dolla Sign @ The Catalyst
- Live Blues @ Aptos St. BBQ
- Live Comedy @ Crow’s Nest
- Melvin Seals & JGB @ Moe’s Alley
- Väsen @ Kuumbwa Jazz Center
- The Box @ The Blue Lagoon
- Grateful Sunday Concert Series @ Michael’s On Main
- Adult Art and Crafts @ Santa Cruz Public Libraries – Felton Branch
- Watsonville Nature Walks @ City of Watsonville – Nature Center
- Rain Reign: Parent / Child Book Group Discussion @ Bookshop Santa Cruz
- SURFER’S PATH 10K AND 5K @ Capitola Village
- Sunday Seaside Crafts @ Seymour Marine Discovery Center
- Boardwalk BOGO @ Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
- Guided Elephant Seal Walks @ Año Nuevo State Park
- Guided Hike in Burleigh Murray State Park @ Burleigh Murray State Park
- Living History Demonstrations and Ranch Tour @ Wilder Ranch State Park
- Discover Big Basin Redwoods Hike! @ Big Basin Redwoods State Park
- Redwood Grove Loop Walk @ Big Basin Redwoods State Park
- Photography Tour @ Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park
Featured Upcoming Event
What: Santa Cruz Derby Girls Pub Crawl
Where: Downtown Santa Cruz
When: Friday, March 2 from 6 – 11 pm
Help the Santa Cruz Derby Girls kick off the 2018 season with a pub crawl in downtown Santa Cruz. Your favorite Derby Girls will start the night at El Palomar and make a few stops along the way, before ending the night at the Blue Lagoon. Sport your Derby gear (or buy a hat on the crawl). There will also be prizes, including bout tickets.
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