Cooler temperatures and even some rain this week will surely get you in the mood for some clam chowder at Saturday’s 35th Annual Clam Chowder Cook Off and Festival.
For those interested in events with a cause, you can sip wine for Second Harvest, enjoy a piano concert supporting our county’s outstanding music students, or attend a film festival benefitting UCSC’s Wilderness Orientation Scholarship Fund.
Throw in a Santa Cruz Warriors home game, Derby Girls season opener, and a youth surf contest and consider your weekend planned.
See our picks for the top things to do in Santa Cruz each day this weekend:
Friday
Santa Cruz Warriors vs. Rio Grande Valley Vipers
When: 2/19 at 7:00 pm
Where: Kaiser Permanente Arena
Cost: $22 – $40
Come cheer on your Santa Cruz Warriors as they take on the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, hailing from Hidalgo, Texas.
Joe Ferrara
When: 2/19 from 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Where: Shadowbrook Restaurant
Santa Cruz local (and Atlantis Fantasyworld owner) Joe Ferrara’s deep voice gives a soulful take on many classics, including Unchained Melody, If I Were a Rich Man, and over 500 other folk and pop hits. Enjoy some of Shadowbrook’s finest cuisine while Ferrara sets the ambiance.
3rd Friday: Lightning Talks on Mystery
When: 2/19 from 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Where: Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History
Cost: $5 General, $3 Students & Seniors, FREE for MAH Members & children under 4
Santa Cruz is home to many mysterious things, including mushrooms, the Santa Cruz Ghost Hunters, and, of course, the Mystery Spot. Delve into the folklore and science behind all these things and much more at the MAH’s 3rd Friday exhibit.
Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour 
When: 2/19 – 2/21 from 7:00 pm 10:00 pm
Where: Rio Theatre
Cost: $18
Explore your wild side at the Banff Mountain Film Festival, which features flicks about insane slopes, isolated mountain cultures and extreme mountain sports. Proceeds go to benefit the UCSC Wilderness Orientation Scholarship Fund.
Also on Friday
- Vaud & The Villains @ Don Quixote’s
- DeadPhish Orchestra @ Moe’s Alley
- AZA’s 15th Anniversary Concert @ Kuumbwa
- DIO Fest Presents: Scary Little Friends, Sky Country @ The Crepe Place
- The Felton Trout Farm Donky Breaker Fest @ Felton Trout Farm
- Supersuckers @ The Catalyst
- The Billy Martini Show LIVE @ The Crow’s Nest
- Keys N Krates @ The Catalyst
- Local Essence Members´ Exhibit – Part II (L-Z) @ Santa Cruz Art League
- Bone Broth Making Workshop @ New Leaf Community Markets
- Lenten Fish Fry Dinners @ St. Joseph’s Catholic Church
- Watsonville Farmers Market @ Downtown Watsonville
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
Santa Cruz Derby Girls Season Home Opener
When: 2/20 Doors open at 4:00 PM
Where: Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium
Cost: $16 – $32
After a long winter, the Santa Cruz Derby Girls are finally lacing up their skates and getting back on the rink. This season opener is a double header, with the junior Groms up first and the Steamer Janes and Organic Panic facing off for the main event.
35th Annual Clam Chowder Cook Off & Festival
When: 2/20 Purchase tasting kits at 10:00 am; Public tasting starts at 1:00 pm
Where: Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
Cost: Tasting kits $10 each
Amateur and professional chefs from all over Northern California will be hitting the Boardwalk this Saturday with one common goal: making the best clam chowder you’ve ever eaten! Each tasting kit comes with six tastings and 100% of Tasting Kit sales benefit Santa Cruz Parks & Recreation.
Romance on the Rancho Open House
When: 2/20 from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm
Where: Castro Adobe State Historic Park
Cost: Free
Enjoy Mexican hot chocolate, hand-pressed tortillas, and a glimpse into pre‐Gold Rush California life. This event promises to be historical, romantic, and very charming.
Bicicletas Por La Paz
When: 2/20 at 9:00 PM
Where: The Crepe Place
Cost: $8
This collective of artists, environmentalists and cyclists is biking down to Colombia, where their goal is to create a safe space for displaced individuals to live and access healing arts. You can catch them perform and donate to a great cause at the Crepe Place this Saturday night.
Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour
See Description Under Friday Section
Also on Saturday
- Prezident Brown + Pablo Moses @ Moe’s Alley
- Kendra McKinley // Battlehooch // Harry and the Hitmen @ Kuumbwa
- Blessthefall @ The Catalyst
- Claudio Melega @ Shadowbrook Restaurant
- Ugly Beauty @ Davenport Roadhouse Restaurant & Inn
- FOREVERLAND @ Don Quixote’s
- Stamina! All-Stars @ The Crow’s Nest
- What is Erotic @ 418 Project
- Westside Farmers Market @ Western Dr. and Mission St.
- Restoration Day @ Natural Bridges State Park
- Wilder Ranch Coast Nature Walks @ Wilder Ranch State Park
- Living History Demonstrations and Ranch Tours @ Wilder Ranch State Park
- Hides and Tallow @ Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park
- Guided Redwood Grove Walks @ Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park
- Coffee Talk and Crafts @ Big Basin Redwoods State Park
- Redwood Grove Loop Walk @ Big Basin Redwoods State Park
- Sutter Babies Art Days @ Radius Gallery
- Grand Opening & Ribbon Cutting @ Monet Salon
- SCSSL YOUTH SURF Event @ Steamer Lane
- Clean the Streets – Corcoran Lagoon @ Live Oak Library
- Naturalist Training @ Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve
- Aptos Farmers Market @ Cabrillo College
- Animal Shelter Relief Rescue Adoption Fair! @ PetSmart
Keep up with us all weekend long, and see which events we’re attending, by following Santa Cruz Life on Instagram.Sunday
Celebrate Piano Ensemble! in Concert
When: 2/21 at 2:00 pm
Where: UCSC Music Center Recital Hall
Cost: Suggested donation of $10
Some of the area’s finest professional musicians, as well as teachers and students from Cabrillo College, will come together to perform piano music ranging from Bach to Led Zeppelin at this eclectic, uplifting concert.
Sip for Second Harvest
When: 2/21 from 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm
Where: Seascape Beach Resort
Cost: 1-guest past $25; 2-guest pass $40
This event is a wonderful opportunity for you and a friend to sample ten different local wines, enjoy appetizers and a raffle, and support Second Harvest, a local food bank that provides food for nearly a quarter million people each month.
Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour!
See Description Under Friday Section
Also on Sunday
- Dave Steezy @ The Catalyst
- Danny Paisley and The Southern Grass @ Don Quixote’s
- Johnny Sketch & The Dirty Notes @ Moe’s Alley
- Live Comedy at the Crow’s Nest @ The Crow’s NestWhat is Erotic @ 418 Project
- What is Erotic @ 418 Project
- Food Truck Brunch @ Skypark, Scotts Valley
- Artist Talk: Peter Hiers & Terese Garcia @ Radius Gallery
- Women’s Homebrewing Class @ Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing
- Cleanup Cowell’s Project @ Cowell Beach
- Science Sunday @ Seymour Marine Discovery Center
- Sunday Seaside Crafts @ Seymour Marine Discovery Center
- SCSSL YOUTH SURF Event @ Steamer Lane
- If Houses Could Talk – A Ranch House Tour @ Quail Hollow Ranch
- Discover Big Basin Redwoods @ Big Basin Redwoods State Park
- Redwood Grove Loop Walk @ Big Basin Redwoods State Park
- Living History Demonstrations and Ranch Tours @ Wilder Ranch State Park
Featured Upcoming Event
You may think you want to watch the Oscars in sweatpants at home, but really, you want to break out your best black tie attire and head to the Assembly for a red carpet-worthy viewing party!
What: Academy Awards Viewing Soirée
Where: Assembly
When: Sunday, 2/28 at 5:00 pm
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