Several festivals and fairs take place this weekend, enticing us to play, eat and shop. We’ve got a local history celebration, an astronomy talk, dance event, duck race and more in store for you. And yes, we said duck race!
See our picks for the top events each day this weekend:
Friday
Branciforte Spring Festival
When: 4/29 from 4:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Where: Branciforte Middle School
Cost: Activity Wristbands: $15 (food additional)
Branciforte Middle School will be putting on quite the party to help raise funds for this year’s 8th grade graduation dance. Whether your kids go to the school or not, there’s lots of fun to be had from the climbing wall, games, DJ music, food, entertainment, special appearances and more.
The Event Santa Cruz Food Truck Roundup
When: 4/29 from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Where: The Delaware Additon, 2120 Delaware Ave.
Cost: $3 plus food for purchase; Kids get in free
Exciting dinner options are rolling into the Westside this Friday. Brought to you by Event Santa Cruz and Food Trucks A Go Go, this food truck roundup features Ate3one, Tacos Las Varas Nayarit, and Aunt LaLi’s Mobile Cafe. Wash it all down with a Humble Sea brew and enjoy some fun local speakers.
Also on Friday
- Saritah & Cempoalli @ River Cafe
- Electrifying Motown & Rockin’ Soul @ Don Quixote’s
- FishHook @ Crow’s Nest
- Diego’s Umbrella + Zach Deputy @ Moe’s Alley
- An Evening with Keith Greeninger and David Jacob Strain @ Kuumbwa Jazz Center
- BEACH FUZZ, WALLY JOYNER, MUST BE THE HOLY GHOST @ The Crepe Place
- The Slackers @ The Catalyst
- Kottonmouth Kings @ The Catalyst
- Funkrunomican @ Severino’s
- Joe Ferrara @ Shadowbrook
- Watsonville Farmers Market @ Downtown Watsonville Plaza
- Downtown Sidewalk Sales @ Downtown
- Midnight Movies: My Neighbor Totoro @ Del Mar Theatre
- Community Rental: Rising Root Wellness Presents Resuscitating Ancestral Power @ MAH
- Argentine Tango @ Tannery World Dance Center
- 61st Annual High School Show @ Santa Cruz Art League
- The Jungle and the Beast: A Conversation with Lewis Watts and Óscar Martínez @ Merrill Cultural Center UCSC
- UCSC Alumni Weekend 2016 @ UCSC
- Word to Our Mother @ Merrill Cultural Center
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
OMEGA NU’s Annual DUCKY DERBY
When: 4/30 from 10:30 AM to 3:30 PM
Where: Harvey West Park Friendship Gardens
Cost: Free
12,000 rubber ducks will race down a specially crafted waterway in this not-to-be missed fun festival. Adopt a duck to have your chance at winning over 100 great prizes, or just watch and cheer them on. In addition to the ducks, this event will have carnival games, entertainment and food. Step right up!
Snapshot Day Volunteer Training
When: 4/30 from 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Where: Santa Cruz Harbor Community Room
Cost: Free
Training begins today to become a water quality monitoring volunteer. You’ll learn methods of surveying, how to collect samples and how to test the water quality. Volunteers will participate in the Coastal Watershed Council’s 17th Annual Snapshot Day Saturday May 7th in San Lorenzo park where they will put their training to work by collecting water quality data from rivers and streams in Santa Cruz, San Mateo, Monterey and San Luis Obispo Counties.
En Route Urban Dance Showcase 2016
When: 4/30 from 5:30 PM – 9:30 PM
Where: Cabrillo College Crocker Theater
Cost: Presale: $15 Student, $20 General | At the Door: $20 Student, $25 General
Santa Cruz’s hip-hop dance team, Haluan, hosts this annual urban dance showcase featuring over 17 competitive performers or teams.
Archery Tag
When: 4/30 from 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Where: Louden Nelson Community Center
Cost: $15
IMPORTANT UPDATE: Time, location & cost have changed for this event. It will now be held at Brommer Park from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM for $10.
Have a desire to act out the Hunger Games without anyone getting hurt? Archery Tag is a cross between dodge-ball, paintball and archery where two teams “hunt” each other with foam tipped arrows. Face masks, rules and safe zones make it a fun but safe time for all.
Independent Bookstore Day! at Bookshop Santa Cruz
When: 4/30 from 9:00 AM – 11:00 PM
Where: Bookshop Santa Cruz
Cost: FREE Admission
This daylong event has a little something for everyone, all for a great cause — celebrating independent bookstores including this one, near and dear to our hearts. Check our link below for a full schedule including a flash mob, coloring book happy hour, literary trivia, a scavenger hunt, pop-up museum and photo booth. Verve coffee and Santa Cruz Mountain brewery will provide beverages. There will be raffles and prizes too.
Explore the Night Sky
When: 4/30 from 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Where: Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History and UCSC
Cost: $12 General/$6 Members
Join astronomy and astrophysics graduate student Kat Feng in a fascinating talk about neighboring exoplanets, planets around other stars. These other solar systems have only been discovered in the last two decades. If skies are clear, participants will caravan to UCSC for some guided stargazing.
Community Celebration of Historic Aptos Village
When: 4/30 from 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Where: Bayview Hotel
Cost: Free
Interested in local history? Join other history enthusiasts in the Bayview hotel garden where long-time residents of Aptos will tell of Aptos Village’s background and relay their personal stories. Refreshments and live music will be on hand.
Mad Hatter Tea Party
When: 4/30 from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm
Where: Louden Nelson Community Center
Don’t be late for this very important date or it may be off with your head! Celebrate spring with a whimsical tea party complete with lawn games, live music, and a hat contest.
Also on Saturday
- A full night of authentic Grateful Dead music from the late ’70’s era @ Don Quixote’s
- Hall Pass @ Crow’s Nest
- DEAD WINTER CARPENTERS, THE SAM CHASE & Rin Tin Tiger @ Moe’s Alley
- HARMED BROTHERS, TOM VANDENAVOND, ACOUSTA NOIR @ The Crepe Place
- The Movement @ The Catalyst
- Justin Martin (Dirtybird) @ The Catalyst
- Beach Cowboy Band @ Severino’s
- Claudio Melega @ Shadowbrook
- Mother’s Day Pop-Up @ Marianne’s Ice Cream in Aptos
- Midnight Movies: My Neighbor Totoro @ Del Mar Theatre
- Community Rental: Native American Land Stewardship, Amah Mutsun Tribe @ MAH
- NSSA Youth Surf Event @ Steamer Lane
- ALLADIN NURSERY HOSTING 36TH ANNUAL ROSE SHOW @ Alladin Nursery and Gift Shop
- Bagel Brunch Silent Auction @ Santa Cruz Toddler Care Center
- Reel Work Labor Film Festival @ Various Locations
- UCSC Farm & Garden Spring Plant Sale @ UCSC Barn Theater
- Brewing up Success: The Story of Blue Bottle Coffee @ Oakes College
- Downtown Sidewalk Sales @ Downtown
- 61st Annual High School Show @ Santa Cruz Art League
- UCSC Alumni Weekend 2016 @ UCSC
- Take Me to the Tide Pools @ Slowcoast Airstream in Davenport
- Redwood Grove Loop Walk @ Big Basin
- Guided Redwood Grove Walks @ Henry Cowell
- Wilder Ranch Coast Nature Walks @ Wilder Ranch
- Wilder Ranch Living History Demonstrations and Ranch Tours @ Wilder Ranch
- Wool, Spinning and Weaving @ Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park
- Art, Books and Coffee @ Big Basin
- Meteor Trail Hike @ Big Basin
- In the Shadows of the Ancients @ Big Basin
Keep up with us all weekend long, and see which events we’re attending, by following Santa Cruz Life on Instagram.Sunday
Mother’s Day Gift Fair
When: 5/1 from 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Where: Live Oak Elementary School, 1916 Capitola Rd
Cost: Free!
Don’t know what to get Mom for Mother’s Day and looking for something unique? Come check out the Mother’s Day Gift Fair and get your shop on. Plenty of vendors will be there selling plants, beauty products, jewelry, clothes, ceramics and more. Food will also be for sale and family friendly games round out the event. All proceeds will benefit Live Oak Community Resources.
SCM Makers Market
When: 5/1 from 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Where: 6134 Highway 9, Felton
Cost: FREE Admission
Over 40 artists and crafters will populate the Santa Cruz Mountains Makers Market, displaying their goods for purchase. Enjoy live music while you shop and support Mountain Community Resources non-profit.
Pottery & Glass Seconds Sale
When: 5/1 from 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Where: Cabrillo College parking garage
Cost: Free admission
Over 50 jewelry, pottery and glass artists as well as other creative types will have their works for sale at bargain rates. Items are overstock, seconds or experiments. Something here is bound to speak to you or for a loved one and Mother’s Day is around the corner!
Also on Sunday
- AL Drake White @ Don Quixote’s
- Live Comedy @ Crow’s Nest
- PETER HARPER + Asher @ Moe’s Alley
- Crystal Bowersox @ Kuumbwa Jazz Center
- Bob Wayne @ The Crepe Place
- Thrash Compactor @ The Catalyst
- Sigma Pi Fraternity Multiple Sclerosis Fundraiser Volleyball Tournament @ Main Beach Volleyball Courts
- Sunday Seaside Crafts @ Seymour Center
- Bi-Monthly Cleanup Cowells Project @ Cowelll Beach
- Weekly Davenport Beach Cleanup @ 490 Cabrillo Hwy
- Creativity PlayShop for Adults @ Kaiwa Art & Play Space
- Hidden Gems Film Club @ Downtown Library
- Downtown Sidewalk Sales @ Downtown
- 61st Annual High School Show @ Santa Cruz Art League
- UCSC Alumni Weekend 2016 @ UCSC
- Reel Work Labor Film Festival @ Various Locations
Featured Upcoming Event
Bountiful brunches are just the beginning of things to do for Mother’s Day in Santa Cruz, which falls on Sunday, May 8.
Check out our Guide to Mother’s Day Events in Santa Cruz and start planning mom’s special day!
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