DNA here in the captain’s perch again as our admirable Brad Kava braves a wedding in the middle of a nor’easter.
Traditionally, the season of fall is celebrated with a harvest. The hard work of the spring and summer comes to summation and a community rejoices. October in Santa Cruz is an incredibly busy banquet of creatives with their visions served to your personal preference throughout the county.
For 41 years, this event has persevered and has given an expanding buffet and wide platform to our deep collective of artists. Open Studios provides a three-week excursion behind the scenes and into the minds of creators, supplemented by a lot of free cheese and wine. Good Times journalist Christina Waters provides the menu.
Still in their humble beginnings, in Santa Cruz at least, is Porchfest. Beginning in 2007 out of Ithaca, New York, Porchfest was the brainchild of neighbors Gretchen Hildreth and Lesley Greene.
Good Times journalist Ryan Masters shared an interview with co-founder Greene who said, “We say that we’ve been ‘Celebrating community through music on the porches of Fall Creek & Northside since 2007!’ I also like to say that it’s a festival by and for the community. Most of the musicians live right here.
“We were surprised that it worked at all. Twenty bands told us they’d play on their porches for three hours on a Sunday afternoon, and we had no idea if they would really do it or if anybody would come. It turned out that everybody played and lots of people came. That gave us confidence to do it the next year, but we still didn’t think it would spread to other places. It’s been a surprising joy!,” Greene concludes.
Community members sharing art and music with anyone who needs to experience some joy in their lives reminds me what I love so much about Santa Cruz. Let’s all take some time in October to engage with actors, artists and musicians. I think you’ll be surprised by how human it feels. And feeling human is one way to fight AI.
As the days get shorter and the air chills around you, if you feel a disconnect, I urge you to get out of your silo mentality and take a chance on yourself and experience art in person. It’s not hyperbole to say that when you really engage with your community you can feel a harmony that is refreshing, empowering and often consequential.
No matter what color hat you wear there seems to be a daily tsunami of bad news. No matter the source, the effect is a sense that things are beyond your control. That can be exhausting. Without going full woo-woo, being around your community can be a remedy for what ails you. There’s magic out there waiting to be found. Treat it like a treasure hunt. And did I mention the free wine and cheese?
DNA | Interim Editor
PHOTO CONTEST
CONES AWAY Lesa Stollenwerk took this picture at Henry Cowell State Park by dropping a Redwood cone in water. The tannins seep out and eventually turn the water completely red. Photograph by Lesa Stollenwerk
GOOD IDEA
Senator John Laird recently announced he secured state funding for six projects in Santa Cruz County, supporting affordable housing, senior nutrition, arts and culture, health care, public transit safety, and climate-focused work.
“Santa Cruz County faces some very real challenges, from the high cost of housing and maintaining access to quality health care to supporting our seniors and preparing our coastal communities for the impacts of climate change,” said Laird. “These investments put state dollars toward local priorities and help give our communities the resources they need to meet those challenges.”
Funding will help the City of Santa Cruz with affordable housing, Community Bridges for its Meals on Wheels program, Watsonville Cultural District, upgrades to medical and surgical technology at Watsonville Community Hospital, Santa Cruz METRO to update its aging radio system, and Seymour Marine Discovery Center to support climate-focused work.
GOOD WORK
Rare is the international celebrity who is beloved by a wide swath of humanity. Dolly Parton was an example of a country folksinger, who became a sensation, and whose life, work and hardscrabble upbringing in Tennessee are now part of the American story, like Paul Bunyan.
Not to take away that Gov. Newsome’s shine established September 25th as Dolly Parton Day. That’s “9 two 5” if you didn’t see the humor. But the initial “Dolly Crusade” was started by Bay Area expats,comedian Lydia Popovitch, and comedy record label owner (goatsongrecords.com) Dan Dion in Nashville in January 2025.
“We had 50,000 signatures. Then with her passing, it blew up and we’re nearly at 200,000. I think that we found the singular issue in the history of world legislation that could not be opposed. The governor and the mayor had to support it. And what’s so cool is that two kids from California created a legacy in Tennessee,” says Dion from his new home in Nashville.
