Birdsong Orchards Offers Dozens of Varieties of U-Pick Roses

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Birdsong Orchards Offers Dozens of Varieties of U-Pick Roses

There is now a new way to assemble your own bouquet of roses, thanks to a pick-your-own rose venue at Birdsong Orchards in Watsonville.

Owner Nadine Schaeffer said she is growing dozens of varieties of roses on her 8-acre parcel, where she also tends to about 200 varieties of apple trees, as well as fig, walnut, plum, avocado, peach, pomegranate and other types of trees.

“I was trying to sell the roses to florists and other venues and it was a lot of work,” Schaeffer said. “And then a friend asked me if she could just pay me to pick her own roses—and that was the lightbulb moment for this idea.”

Adding to the richness of Birdsong Orchards are a pair of llamas, goats, two emus and a clutch of chickens underfoot.

“I like to see this land as a habitat for plants and animals,” she said. “Besides my animals, I have owl and kestrel boxes; and there are all kinds of wild birds that come through here.”

As she spoke, a red-tailed hawk soared overhead, followed moments later by an osprey. 

“There are a pair of golden eagles that fly by now and again as well,” she said.

People can order a two gallon ($35) or five gallon ($60) bucket online and set a reservation. Schaeffer said this allows her to stagger visitors for safe pandemic spacing.

“I meet them with a bucket and clippers, or they can bring their own,” Schaeffer said. “I just let them pick whatever they want and to have fun doing it. I like to have only three to five parties at a time on any one day.”

She said roses are originally from Turkey and they are very easy to grow in the Pajaro Valley. 

“The climate is perfect here: Hot, dry and good exposure,” she said. “I have this historical memory that growing roses is so hard. But have learned that they really take minimal care.” 

Currently Schaeffer has about a third of an acre of roses but is aiming for a half-acre in the coming year.

“Next year we plan to put in a couple hundred more roses and just build from there,” she said.

The most popular roses people pick there include Mr. Lincoln, which is brilliant red with a strong fragrance, Everlasting Joy and Poseidon.

Schaeffer added that there is plenty of room on her land for folks to stretch out and have a picnic to add to their rose gathering experience. She also offers two two informational handouts featuring a list of eateries and area attractions like Gizdich Ranch and Sierra Azul Nursery and a rose cutting and care guide.

“If I could have figured out how to do this younger in life—bringing people joy—I would have done it,” she said.

Birdsong Orchards is located at 613 Lakeview Road in Watsonville. Click here to schedule a visit.


Sambrailo Sees Major Growth in Sustainable Packaging Line

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Sambrailo Sees Major Growth in Sustainable Packaging Line

When Santa Cruz-based natural foods store Staff of Life opened its second location in Watsonville in March, employees from Sambrailo were pleased to see their products featured front and center.

Fresh, organic vegetables and fruit in the store’s produce aisle were nestled inside Sambrailo’s sustainable packaging line, ReadyCycle. Blueberries from Forbidden Fruit Orchards and strawberries from Sun Valley Berries, both in ReadyCyle products, were among the first things shoppers saw as they walked through the doors.

“It was so cool to quietly be part of the store launch, to have our packaging be the first thing people saw,” said Sara Lozano of Sambrailo’s Marketing and Product Department. “It’s extremely gratifying, seeing it being part of a brand new natural foods store opening right in our community.”

Sambrailo, based in Watsonville, has been a fixture in the agricultural packaging game for nearly a century, often leading trends in the industry and transforming the way crops are delivered, stored and sold.

In 2017, they launched ReadyCycle, a line of 100% recyclable packaging made from corrugated cardboard (also known as paperboard). It does not use any sort of wax, labeling or plastic coatings—things that prevent other cardboard products from being recyclable.

Slowly but surely, the line has taken off in popularity, being adopted by companies across the U.S. and Mexico. And in the past year, Sambrailo has seen an increase in usage of ReadyCycle. Not only in markets such as Staff of Life, but also at farmers markets and for community supported agriculture programs, which have become very popular during the pandemic. 

More farms began approaching the company about using ReadyCycle. Vegetable box business “blossomed,” Lozano said, growing from a couple bundles a week to an entire pallet.

In addition, Lozano guessed that people were looking for new ways to help the environment, in a time marred by takeout containers and a temporary ban on things like reusable grocery bags and coffee tumblers. 

“You’re coming home with lots more packaging, more trash,” she said. “Trash and recycling bins were getting fuller faster.”

ReadyCycle has been praised by various environmental organizations, including the Plastic Pollution Coalition, Oceans International and The Last Plastic Straw. Sambrailo works with these organizations, as well as with governments across the Monterey Bay Area, to promote sustainability. Lozano runs a blog focusing on subjects related to ReadyCycle, citing sources for those who want to dig deeper.

During Earth Week in April, Sambrailo published its second sustainability report for ReadyCycle, which included a “deep dive” into why the company chose to use paperboard.

“We want customers and people in the industry to know how much more there is to just packaging,” Lozano said, “and how detailed our services actually go. It’s not just transactional. And these services don’t just happen. Customers come to us and ask for things. That’s how services evolve.”

The Pizza Series Summer Pop-Ups Dish Out Artisanal Pies

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The Pizza Series Summer Pop-Ups Dish Out Artisanal Pies

For Santa Cruzan Matt Driscoll, pizza is a way of life. 

“I always say the pizza passion and craft found me,” he says. “To me it’s like artwork. I have this dough I want to make as round as possible and then add these great toppings. It feels like I’m doing a painting.”

And he’s not just tossing around hyperbole, either. 

Take a scroll through his @The_Pizza_Series Instagram account, and it’s apparent these aren’t your “after the kids’ soccer game” pies: pepperoni with Meyer lemon. Fried chicken with honey glaze.Pies made to look like ghosts, pumpkins and American flag. Even breakfast pizzas with eggs and bacon all fill his posts, earning him over 11,500 followers in the past seven years. 

Now, he is bringing his pizzas to the greater Santa Cruz County area with a series of pop-ups throughout the summer. The first one was held May 19 in Scotts Valley, and the pop-ups will continue the last two Fridays of the month in Midtown. The latter will be part of the new, ongoing series, Midtown Fridays, sponsored by Event Santa Cruz. 

“Come June we’re going to do a lot,” Driscoll says. “About 10 to 15 pop-ups a month.” 

Driscoll has been tossing dough and slathering the sauce for 24 years, ever since his first job at the old Domino’s in Aptos. But it wasn’t until 2004, when he started helping out at the Strawhat Pizza in Freedom—which his neighbor at the time had recently purchased—that Driscoll began to see pizza as more than just a tasty treat. 

“We helped him with ideas on how to get better business, and all of our ideas really took off,” he remembers. “That’s when I realized. ‘Someday this is what I want to do.’”

Over the next several years he would continue creating unique, artisanal pizzas on his own for friends and family. The next layer in Driscoll’s deep-dish story would come in 2010, when he was hired for the pizza kitchen at Whole Foods. For eight years he perfected his recipes using the craft sauce, cheese and toppings found throughout the supermarket. 

In 2014, Driscoll began The Pizza Series on Instagram. He originally started taking photos of his creations as a way to document his best recipes for later use. Little did he know the brand would go viral, garnering him followers from all over the globe. 

And for all those vegans and vegetarians out there, don’t worry: Driscoll says he doesn’t discriminate when it comes to his passion for his product. 

“If you scroll all the way to the beginning, the first 10 pizzas are vegan,” he says. “I got really into making vegan pizzas.” 

A breakfast pizza by Matt Driscoll, owner of The Pizza Series. COURTESY PHOTO

He launched a YouTube channel for the brand in 2018. Surprisingly, he’s only posted one pizza-related video to the page so far, practicing his dough acrobatics skills while in Hawaii. The rest of the nearly 100 videos are devoted to Driscoll’s other passions: videography and music. 

Longtime residents might already be aware of Driscoll from his label, S.A.F. Records, which stands for Strictly Amateur Films. Launched in 1998, S.A.F. Records began as a way for Driscoll to document the experimental music and hardcore scene, filming bands like The Locust, Blood Brothers and Cattle Decapitation. He went on to create two DVDS for Three One G, the label owned and operated by The Locust’s Justin Pearson. 

“I shot everything in eight and 16 millimeter formats so it adds a raw energy to these live bands,” he says, adding that the Covid-19 pandemic has allowed him to go back and rediscover old footage he’s since premiered online through the popular music blog, Brooklyn Vegan. “We’ve probably done 10 premieres through them, which has brought a lot of attention to the YouTube channel. They’ve been great and super supportive.” 

As his connections grew, S.A.F. Records released their own singles and albums from a variety of bands like Florida’s experimental electronic duo, Yip-Yip, to the legendary, all-woman British post-punk group, The Slits. Driscoll also helped release Santa Cruz’s Arsonists Get All the Girls first album, Hits From The Bow, on Process Records—owned by a longtime friend—before they hit success on Century Media. Of course, the S.A.F. Records also put out music by Driscoll’s hardcore groups, Makara and Ruhaeda, but he says when online piracy grew in the early 2000s it became harder for smaller labels to thrive. 

Today, the label still exists, but Driscoll says he’s taken a break from it since 2009 to focus on his food. However, he believes his passions aren’t mutually exclusive. He sees the future full of possibilities to combine them all into one fully baked idea. 

“We’re thinking of band names to tie in, like The Mohinder Special,” he laughs, referring to Cupertino’s post-hardcore act, Mohinder. “I want to incorporate S.A.F. and the Pizza Series side-by-side with each other.” 

But for now, Driscoll will be focusing on this summer’s pop-ups while he continues to shop around for a food truck and even a possible brick-and-mortar location if the opportunity rises. 

“It’s such an amazing industry and anyone can thrive in it as long as you’re passionate about your product,” he says. “It’s really driven home to me that pizza is meant to be my life.”

Proposed Target Sails Through Scotts Valley Planning Commission

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Proposed Target Sails Through Scotts Valley Planning Commission

Target Corp. easily cleared a hurdle as the flush-with-cash corporation continued its quick move to finalize a new store at 270 Mt. Hermon Road in Scotts Valley.

During the virtual May 13 Planning Commission meeting, upgrade plans for the 57,780-square-foot space located at the Scotts Valley Square Shopping Center sailed through unanimously.

Speaking from Minnesota in front of wooden walls, Jaci Obst Bell, a Target Properties real estate developer, introduced herself.

“Happy to Zoom-meet you all,” she said in a Midwestern accent.

Kevin Pratt, the owner of the shopping center that will get a facelift as part of the project, expressed gratitude for how easily things have gone, to date.

“I feel a little odd because we’re about a month behind them in design readiness,” he said. “We’re working with the architects to get our final proposal together.”

Pratt said his team is still preparing site-furnishing drawings, such as bike racks and benches.

“I want to assure everyone we have a great working relationship with Target,” he said. “I think everyone’s going to be pleased with what they see with our final design.”

No one spoke in opposition to the development, although a handful of Bluebonnet Lane residents raised concerns about increased vehicle traffic.

“The new Target store will increase vehicle traffic on all of our side streets,” said David Jones, one of these speakers at the public hearing. “Please do your due diligence in keeping our streets safe.”

Gina Cole, executive director of Bike Santa Cruz County, suggested the city should study traffic patterns around Target, now, so it can better understand the impact the big box retailer could end up causing, later.

Members of the Traffic Safety Subcommittee have already been in contact with Bluebonnet Lane residents, said Taylor Bateman, the city’s community development director. And because Target took over a ’80s-era structure, previously a Kmart, the company wasn’t required to submit a traffic plan.

“So there hasn’t been a new traffic report since 1985?” asked Planning Commission Chair Rosanna Herrera.

“That is correct,” Bateman confirmed, though he stressed commissioners are supposed to focus their decision-making on exterior design issues.

Earlier in the meeting, the Bluebonnet Lane residents complained that traffic-calming measures for their street were left out of the five-year Capital Improvement Program, which commissioners ultimately gave the thumbs-up to.

Bateman had reminded commissioners their role isn’t to adjust the CIP, but rather to ensure it’s in line with the city’s General Plan.

In an interview with the Press Banner, Mayor Derek Timm said the city hadn’t sought development concessions when negotiating with Target, noting large retailers are the ones with the bargaining power in the current economic landscape.

Contract Planner Jonathan Kwan introduced the Target item, and asked commissioners if they had any direction about the yet-to-be-delivered exterior improvements.

“I think it’s so well done no one’s complaining,” replied Commissioner Steven Horlock.

Commissioner Chuck Maffia asked Pratt if Togo’s Sandwiches—also located in the commercial complex—will continue offering outdoor dining that was brought in during the pandemic.

In fact, he answered, plans for permanent exterior eating areas—including an enclosed children’s play area—had just landed in his inbox that very day.

“Kids can play while parents eat and that sort of thing,” he said, noting this will be in poorly-tended-to landscape feature areas, not the parking lot. “We’ll need all of that parking.”

Pleasant Valley Farms Wins Best of Show at Olive Oil Competition

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Pleasant Valley Farms Wins Best of Show at Olive Oil Competition

Patrick and Teresa Royan were living in Los Gatos when they first discovered Pleasant Valley, a rural area in Aptos permeated with rolling hills, orchards, vineyards and pastures. The couple had been looking for a place to settle relatively close to the beach yet away from city life.

“We had absolutely no idea this area was here,” Patrick Royan said. “It’s like a mini Napa Valley, or Sonoma …. We were blown away.”

In 2017 the Royans purchased 26 acres of the valley, where they now live with their extended family. The property, Pleasant Valley Farms, includes a horse boarding facility, a small vineyard, a compost fertilizer operation and an orchard of established olive trees—which prompted the Royans to venture into making olive oil. 

Just a few years later, that homemade oil has won numerous awards, including Gold, Best in Class and Best of Show at the 2021 Central Coast Olive Oil Competition.

“When we won, we were just like, ‘Oh, great, that’s cool,’” Royan said. “But people told us, ‘No—this is a big deal!’ A lot of people enter the contest. And our little mom-and-pop operation won.”

Added Teresa Royan: “I didn’t know what that meant at first. I went online when they posted results …. People were reaching out, congratulating us …. It was very unexpected.” 

Teresa said she grew up farming and has always enjoyed it, but making olive oil is a new challenge. They are still learning about everything from orchard management to pest control. 

“For instance, last year … we harvested too early,” she said. “We got nervous about the weather. So [the product] was a bit bitter. This year we waited a bit longer, and we finally got it right.”

Added Pat: “We’re learning to work with Mother Nature. A lot of farming is realizing that you have a lot less control over everything than you think you do.”

Olive trees are hearty and can withstand a lot of weather, Teresa said. But they do need wind, as that is the primary way they are pollinated. When the flowers begin to open, that is a critical stage—you don’t want excessive heat or too much moisture.

“If there is a lot of rain, the trees will take on water,” she said. “There will be more water in the olives, which makes it harder to extract the oils.”

Pleasant Valley Farms was once an apple orchard, one of many in the area. After that crop was taken out, olive trees were planted in 2004. The orchard now includes five different varieties of olives on about 500 trees. The Royans prune every two years, then harvest by laying tarps or nets around the base of the trees.

Once harvested, the olives only have a window of about 48 hours when they can be pressed and made into extra virgin olive oil. Pleasant Valley Farms sends its harvest to a mill just north of Paso Robles, where they are pressed and partially filtered. Then the product is sent back to Aptos to be filtered further and bottled.

Extra virgin olive oils must be certified by the California Olive Oil Council. For them to certify it, it has to be cold-processed, without any sort of heat or chemicals. The product undergoes a chemical analysis and a number of sensory tests.

Olive oil is one of the healthiest products on the market. According to the Olive Oil Source, scientific studies have suggested that olive oil helps prevent and treat heart disease, high cholesterol and blood pressure levels, and other conditions.

“It’s just a great product,” Teresa said, “one of the healthiest things you can add to your diet.”

Pleasant Valley Farms offers some unfiltered olive oil, which Teresa says some customers wait for all year. Looking ahead, they are planning to make some blends, including an extra virgin oil infused with lime.

“We have high hopes for a good harvest, with bigger yields,” Teresa said. “We want to keep up the quality of our product, learn more every year.”

Pleasant Valley Farms Olive OIl is sold at select stores in Santa Cruz County, including Shopper’s Corner in Santa Cruz, Seascape Foods, Blossoms Farm Store & Cafe and Corralitos Market. But a bulk of sales are online—orders are shipped all over the country and even a few to Canada. 

Click here to view the complete results of the Central Coast Olive Oil Competition.


Drought-Like Conditions Keep Water Use Restrictions in Place

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Drought-Like Conditions Keep Water Use Restrictions in Place

The May 6 meeting of the San Lorenzo Valley Water District Board of Directors brought some important issues to light, including District Manager Rick Rogers’ recommendation on the Water Contingency Plan, the appointment of Director Jayme Ackemann, a delay on further reporting of the proposed merger with Scotts Valley Water District, and a surprise mention of pending litigation between the Water District and Santa Cruz County. 

Rogers suggested that the SLVWD continue with the 2015 Urban Water Management Plan based on drought-like conditions. In 2018, the district’s board and staff reaffirmed Stage 2 of the District’s Emergency Plan, which, among other things, asks SLVWD customers and businesses to limit their water use by 10-20%. Having only received 56% of total rainfall for that year, Stage 2 was held over into 2020, and the effects of decreased precipitation in the Valley are becoming more apparent.

As reported by Rogers during the online meeting, the area is only at 46% of average rainfall, with a total of 17 inches of rain this season. Given that it is mid-May, and Santa Cruz County has an extreme drought rating, chances are slim that the Valley can recover any of that lost water, Rogers said.

In addition to the lack of rainfall, water supplies were negatively impacted by the CZU Lightning Complex fire, resulting in decreased surface water availability.

July through November are typically the most critical production months for the region, but Rogers’ recommendation was for the district to remain married to the Stage 2 water restrictions for the time being, with reevaluation happening in 2022.

One factor that may affect that determination is the state’s potential Declaration of Emergency for drought conditions. More information is expected as the severe lack of rainfall impacts water usage and availability, but one impact will be a reduction of outdoor water usage.

MERGER TALKS

The board had originally asked Rogers to provide a list of pros and cons for the potential SLVWD-SVWD merger by the May 6 meeting. 

But there was some discrepancy amongst the board on the date of deliverables. The initial request had specified that feedback from Rogers needed to be delivered by the first meeting in May, but Rogers demurred, and assured the board that his report would be presented at the May 20 meeting.

TO THE COURTS

Santa Cruz County is suing the district for a number of items, including negligence, trespass, public nuisance, dangerous condition of public property and waste after a washout early this year at the bottom of Bear Creek Road in Boulder Creek created months-long traffic delays, as the road was rebuilt and the earth fortified against future failures.

In the complaint (Case 21CV00188) filed on Jan. 26 the county alleges that SLVWD had been provided a blanket encroachment permit back in 2001 “for the installation of service connections and ordinary maintenance of facilities.” Under the auspices of the permit, SLVWD had installed isolation valving and performed other work as it related to an 8-inch water main that was tucked beneath the pavement.

The county alleges that the main was leaking, and thereby created the earth failure around the lower section of Bear Creek Road. As a result, the district is being sued for $1,125,598.

District legal counsel Gina Nicholls submitted an immediate response to the county, alleging that since Bear Creek Road is maintained by the county, it was their responsibility to take notice of its “failing condition” prior to the road’s collapse. Since SLVWD had not been forewarned of the impending legal action, there was no way for the district to “resolve the matter in an amicable manner.”

In fact, Nicholls had filed a claim on behalf of the district against the county following the collapse of the roadway, alleging that the pavement had been inadequately maintained by the county, thereby causing at least $147,000 in damage to the district’s infrastructure.

The lawsuit and the district’s response may be found at portal.santacruzcourt.org/Portal.

Man Drowns at Main Beach in Santa Cruz; Two Children Rescued

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Man Drowns at Main Beach in Santa Cruz; Two Children Rescued

A San Jose man died Sunday afternoon after being swept into the sea by waves at the San Lorenzo River mouth.

Hai Pham, 50, died shortly after being pulled from the surf at Santa Cruz Main Beach around 6pm on Sunday, May 16, according to Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s spokesperson Ashley Keehn. 

The Santa Cruz Fire Department, Santa Cruz Police Department and Harbor Patrol responded to a report of a man and two children, ages 6 and 12, who were swept into the ocean and were approximately 200 hundred yards offshore.

Battalion Chief Daniel Kline said the fire department sent a rescue swimmer/paramedic into the water. A Harbor Patrol boat then arrived and found Pham unconscious in the water. 

Harbor Patrol members pulled Pham and the two children from the water, Kline said.

Paramedics began life-saving measures as the Harbor Patrol boat made its way to the Santa Cruz Harbor, where additional crews took over life-saving care. All three victims were taken to the hospital for continued resuscitation efforts.

Pham died a short while later from his injuries, Kline said.

The children were last known to be at the hospital, in good condition and undergoing an evaluation.

A fire department rescue swimmer/paramedic was treated at the hospital, then admitted overnight for an extended observation period.

“With summer months ahead and Memorial Day fast approaching, the Santa Cruz Fire Department wants to remind everyone of the dangers the ocean can present,” Kline warned. “Please proceed with caution and contact a lifeguard if you have questions regarding ocean conditions.”


Things To Do in Santa Cruz: May 19-25

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Things To Do in Santa Cruz: May 19-25

A weekly guide to what’s happening.

ARTS AND MUSIC

COMMUNITY DRUMMING WITH JIM GREINER IN PERSON Percussionist and educator Jim Greiner will conduct the next in his monthly Third Friday series of community drumming sessions at the Inner Light Center in Soquel in person. Doors open at 5:45pm. The cost is $10. Masks and social distancing requirements will be honored. Jim makes it fun and easy for people from all walks of life to play drums and hand percussion to release stress, to uplift and energize yourself, and to reinforce positive life rhythms through percussion playing. Friday, May 21, 6-7:30pm. Inner Light Center, 5630 Soquel Drive, Soquel.

KEEP ON TRUCKIN’ Powered by Tandy Beal and Company and a lot of great friends, this event presents exceptional artists in free 15-minute mini-shows on a flatbed truck outside. Knowing that everyone is a bit stressed, we are offering this taste of music and circus to uplift our neighborhoods. Keep each other safe, wear your masks and keep your distances social—otherwise, the truck will need to move on. Each stop on our Truckin’ Tour will be a 20-minute performance: 11am at Garfield Part (199 Seaside St.); 11:45am at University Terrace Park (369 Meder St.); 12:30pm at Westlake Park (Bradley Drive and Majors St.); 2:15pm at Ocean View Park (102 Ocean View Ave.); 3pm at Frederick St. Park (168 Frederick St.). More information at tandybeal.com. Saturday, May 22, 11am-3pm. Sunday, May 23, 11am-3pm.

T BONE MOJO BAND INSIDE DAVENPORT ROADHOUSE Veterans of the 1960s San Francisco and East Coast music scenes present a fun and groovin’ up-energy group, often featuring special guests geared to getting the party going, folks tapping their feet, and on the dance floor! Saturday, May 22, 5-8pm. Davenport Roadhouse Restaurant and Inn, 1 Davenport Ave., Davenport. 

VIRTUAL TWO-ACT PLAY BY HIROSHI KASHIWAGI The two-act play is a love story about a young Nisei couple who meet at Tule Lake and fall in love but are torn apart by two controversial, government-issued “loyalty” questions. Forty years later, they meet again and discover their answers to these questions had consequences that affected them for the rest of their lives. The controversial questions 27 and 28 tore the community apart and sent shockwaves of resentment, fear and division in the American concentration camps. Families were divided and no one was certain how the questionnaire would be used by the government. The stigma of answering “No” to both of these loaded questions would last for decades. “The Betrayed” illustrates how the questions led to divisiveness and disruption in the Japanese American community. The author Hiroshi Kashiwagi wished that an open and honest portrayal of the complex issue would bring about reconciliation and healing. During the post-screening discussion, supporters will have a chance to meet cast members Helen Ota and Michael Palma, and discuss the long-term effects of the loyalty controversy with Dr. Satsuki Ina and Soji Kashiwagi, executive director of Grateful Crane and son of Hiroshi Kashiwag. Benefit screening for the Watsonville Buddhist Temple. Donation: $25 per person/$50 per household. Tickets available at eventbrite.com; search “The Betrayed”. Ticket holders will receive an email with the link to the virtual play 48 hours prior to the showing. As a courtesy to those who may not be able to view the play at the scheduled time, ticket holders can view the taped play for 36 hours after the live performance. Saturday, May 22, 4:30pm. Watsonville Buddhist Temple, 423 Bridge St., Watsonville.

TOP DOG FILM FESTIVAL We will have a limited capacity, opening night, live audience screening. We will be following local Covid protocols. Celebrate the canine connection through this carefully curated collection of heartwarming stories about dogs and their people at the 2021 Top Dog Film Festival. The 2021 Top Dog Film Festival presents a two-hour cinematic celebration honoring the bond between dogs and their people. Filled with delightfully doggy moments of joy and celebration of our beloved canine companions. This program of short canine-themed films is comprised of the most inspirational, heart-warming and entertaining stories about dogs and their human companions, from independent filmmakers around the globe. Get your tickets before they all sell out —you’d be barking mad to miss it! If you aren’t ready for an in-person theatre experience, there is also a virtual screening held at 7pm from May 14-24. Visit riotheatre.com for more information.

COMMUNITY

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES WEBINAR Communication is more than just talking and listening—it’s also about sending and receiving messages through attitude, tone of voice, facial expressions and body language. As people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias progress in their journey and the ability to use words is lost, families need new ways to connect. Join us to explore how communication takes place when someone has Alzheimer’s, learn to decode the verbal and behavioral messages delivered by someone with dementia, and identify strategies to help you connect and communicate at each stage of the disease. The Effective Communication Strategies program of the Alzheimer’s Association was designed to provide practical information and resources to help dementia caregivers learn to decode verbal and behavioral messages from people with dementia. For more information and to register call 800-272-3900. Thursday, May 20, 10-11:30am. 

GREY BEARS BROWN BAG LINE If you are able-bodied and love to work fast, this is for you! Grey Bears could use more help with their brown bag production line on Thursday and Friday mornings. As a token of our thanks, we make you breakfast and give you a bag of food if wanted. Be at the warehouse with a mask and gloves at 7am, and we will put you to work until at least 9am! Call ahead if you would like to know more: 831-479-1055, greybears.org. Thursday, May 20, 7am. California Grey Bears, 2710 Chanticleer Ave., Santa Cruz.

HISTORIAN ROSS GIBSON SHOWS “HOW SANTA CRUZ AVOIDED LA-STYLE POST-WWII DEVELOPMENT” Trinity Presbyterian fourth Tuesday Zoom program will feature Santa Cruz historian Ross Gibson’s slide show presentation, “How Santa Cruz Didn’t Become LA.” It explores the post-WWII development pressures of suburban sprawl, freeways, industrial expansion, and its impact on agriculture and tourist areas of Santa Cruz and San Jose. The Zoom link for the program can be found under “News and Events” on the Trinity Presbyterian Church website at trinitypressc.org. Tuesday, May 25, noon.

SALSA SUELTA FREE ZOOM SESSION SALSA SUELTA FREE ZOOM SESSION Keep in shape! Weekly online session in Cuban-style Salsa Suelta for experienced beginners and up. May include mambo, chachacha, Afro-Cuban rumba, orisha, son montuno. No partner required, ages 14 and older. Contact to get the link. salsagente.com. Thursday, May 20, 7pm. Louden Nelson Community Center, 301 Center St., Santa Cruz.

TENANTS’ RIGHTS HELP Tenant Sanctuary is open to renters living in the city of Santa Cruz with questions about their tenants’ rights. Volunteer counselors staff the telephones on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays from 10am-2pm. Tenant Sanctuary works to empower tenants by educating them on their rights and providing the tools to pursue those rights. Tenant Sanctuary and their program attorney host free legal clinics for tenants in the city of Santa Cruz. Due to Covid-19 concerns, all services are currently by telephone, email or Zoom. For more information visit tenantsanctuary.org or follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/tenantsanctuary. 831-200-0740. Thursday, May 20, 10am-2pm. Sunday, May 23, 10am-2pm. Tuesday, May 25, 10am-2pm. 

GROUPS

CAREGIVER SUPPORT GROUP VIA ZOOM Support groups create a safe, confidential, supportive environment or community and a chance for family caregivers to develop informal mutual support and social relationships as well as discover more effective ways to cope with and care for your loved one. Who may benefit from participating in the support group? Family caregivers who: care for persons with Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia, those who would like to talk to others in similar situations, those who need more information, additional support and caregiving strategies. This meeting is via Zoom and telephone. To register or for more information, call 800-272-3900. Wednesday, May 19, 5:30pm. 

COMPLEMENTARY TREATMENT FORUM Complementary Treatment Forum is an educational group, a safe place to learn, for women with a cancer diagnosis. Meets every fourth Saturday, currently on Zoom. Registration required: Call WomenCARE at 831-457-2273. Saturday, May 22, 10:30am-12:30pm.

ENTRE NOSOTRAS GRUPO DE APOYO Entre Nosotras support group for Spanish-speaking women with a cancer diagnosis. Meets twice monthly. Registration required: Call Entre Nosotras at 831-761-3973. Friday, May 21, 6pm. 

OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS All our meetings have switched to being online due to sheltering in place. Please call 831-429-7906 for meeting information. Do you have a problem with food? Drop into a free, friendly Overeaters Anonymous 12-Step meeting. All are welcome! Saturday, May 22, 11am-noon. 

WOMENCARE ARM-IN-ARM WomenCARE ARM-IN-ARM cancer support group is for women with advanced, recurrent, or metastatic cancer. Meets every Monday at WomenCARE’s office. Currently on Zoom. Registration required: Call WomenCARE at 831-457-2273. All services are free. For more information visit womencaresantacruz.org. Monday, May 24, 12:30pm. 

WOMENCARE MINDFULNESS MEDITATION Meets the first and third Friday of the month, currently on Zoom. Registration required: Call WomenCARE at 831-457-2273. Friday, May 21, 11am-noon. 

WOMENCARE TUESDAY SUPPORT GROUP WomenCARE Tuesday cancer support group for women newly diagnosed and through their treatment. Meets every Tuesday, currently on Zoom. Registration required: Call WomenCARE 831-457-2273. Tuesday, May 25, 12:30-2pm. 

WOMENCARE: LAUGHTER YOGA Laughter yoga for women with a cancer diagnosis. Meets every Wednesday, currently via Zoom. Registration required: Call WomenCARE at 831-457-2273. Wednesday, May 19, 3:30-4:30pm. 

OUTDOOR

OUT AND ABOUT: NATURE JOURNALING AT THE MUSEUM Out and About is a monthly series hosted by the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History of family-friendly, small group get-togethers exploring Santa Cruz’s diverse natural spaces through guided activities. Let’s get out and about! This month we’ll be nature journaling in the museum’s Garden Learning Center. Museum staff—seasoned youth environmental educators and artists—will guide you through nature journaling exercises and making observations of native plants and wildlife in our Garden Learning Center. Materials will be provided. This program is family-friendly and all ages are welcome. Please review the following details prior to registering: Wear a mask at all times; if you feel sick, stay home; and maintain at least six feet of distance from others when possible. Registration prior to the event is required. We are limiting this to 15 individuals. Saturday, May 22, 10-11:30am. Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History, 1305 E Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz.

VIRTUAL YOUNGER LAGOON RESERVE TOURS Younger Lagoon Reserve is now offering a virtual tour in both English and Spanish. This virtual tour follows the same stops as the Seymour Marine Discovery Center’s docent-led, in-person hiking tour, and is led by a UCSC student! Virtual Younger Lagoon Reserve tours are free and open to the public. Part of the University of California Natural Reserve System, Younger Lagoon Reserve contains diverse coastal habitats and is home to birds of prey, migrating sea birds, bobcats, and other wildlife. See what scientists are doing to track local mammals, restore native habitat, and learn about the workings of one of California’s rare coastal lagoons. Access the tours at seymourcenter.ucsc.edu/visit/behind-the-scenes-tours/#youngerlagoon. Sunday, May 23, 10:30am. Seymour Marine Discovery Center, 100 McAllister Way, Santa Cruz.

YOU PICK ROSES We are growing over 300 roses, deeply fragrant, lush and in every color, and we want to share them with you! Get out of the house and enjoy cutting a bucket of roses for your own pleasure or to share with family and friends. Once you have made a purchase, you will be sent a calendar link to pick a time for your reservation and directions to our farm in Watsonville. Visit birdsongorchards.com/store/you-pick-roses for more information. Friday, May 21, 11am. Sunday, May 23, 11am. 


Local Metalhead Diversifies with Dylan Rose Band

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Local Metalhead Diversifies with Dylan Rose Band

Dylan Rose hasn’t played a lot of acoustic shows. The couple he does recall happened when he toured with James Durbin years back and would do the occasional unplugged radio station promotional event.

For most of the past decade, he’s been rocking out hard with his metal band, Archer Nation. In particular, they’ve become road dogs in the past five years, gigging as much as possible, slowly growing their international audience.

“Super loud Marshalls, ridiculously thrashy drums and a huge wall of sound,” lead singer and guitarist Rose explains. “I’ve developed a vocal style that caters to that. I can sing like Megadeth or whatever, but singing Beatles stuff is a lot different than screaming in a thrash band.”

When the pandemic hit, Archer Nation shows were no longer an option. It was a particularly tough moment for Rose since his band had finished their most successful tour to date in late 2019, a European tour with Annihilator. They were ready to hit the road again in 2020 and build on that momentum.

When shows started to come back this year, Rose jumped in eagerly but had to do so as an acoustic duo with Alisha Ripatti, which he called Ripatti and Rose. It’s been a unique, but fun, challenge for him.

“Obviously I could never bring Archer into a wine bar. So, let’s play some of these other places I’ve never been to before,” Rose says. “There was a palpable excitement that people had to actually see live music and see one another, even if you are sitting in tables spaced out.”

The duo has been gigging as much as they can, and now that restrictions are continuing to ease, Rose is bringing a full band to play at Felton Music Hall. But it’s not Archer Nation. It’s his new band, Dylan Rose Band, a five-piece group. Ripatti is a member. They play a lot of genres, and metal isn’t one of them.

“Archer Nation is very much a metal entity. We’re not going to throw in blues-rock or a folk tune into the set anytime soon, but I love playing different music,” Rose says. “The most satisfying part of this whole thing is challenging myself in ways that I haven’t had the time to do in a long time.”

The project didn’t start as a proper band. With nothing to do and no creative outlet, Rose started getting together with a group of friends to have weekly Friday jams. These were people in his bubble, so it made perfect sense. Since there was no end goal to the process, they all jammed out on songs they didn’t normally play.

“I grew up on the Allman Brothers and Led Zeppelin. I wanted to tap into more of that other stuff I enjoyed playing,” Rose says. “Make use of the time that we had last year not being able to do anything.”

But it did become something. The group made its public debut on April 20, a livestream event at Santa Cruz Boardroom. On May 20, they will play live and in person at Felton Music Hall, their first official non-livestream concert.

The Dylan Rose Band and Ripatti and Rose are closely connected because they share much of the same material.

“It’ll be this symbiotic thing. If Ripatti and Rose play somewhere, some people are already coming up to us in the last couple of months, and they’re saying, ‘I’d love to hear you guys backed by a full band.’ That conversation segues nicely into ‘Well, we do have a full band.’ I’m trying to play both off each other and cover all the bases and see if we can cross-promote.”

Coming out of the pandemic, Rose now has essentially three projects. So it’ll be more of a challenge of juggling his different outlets than anything else since he’s excited about all of them.

“I’ve been on the Archer Nation touring grind. It got really busy in 2015 and hasn’t relented since,” Rose says. “I haven’t had time to sit down and be like, ‘I like that solo in “Comfortably Numb,” let’s play that song real quick.’ So it was a really cool opportunity. We can play music from anybody. It could be a country tune, a blues standard, an Etta James song, or anything. We just let everybody spread their wings and learn and grow as musicians together.”

The Dylan Rose Band performs at 6pm on Thursday, May 20, at Felton Music Hall, 6275 Hwy. 9, Felton. Free. 831-704-7113.

Zack Snyder’s ‘Army of the Dead’ is the Ultimate Zombie-Pastiche Flick

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Zack Snyder’s ‘Army of the Dead’ is the Ultimate Zombie-Pastiche Flick

Before he was known for ridiculously self-important superhero movies and even more ridiculously self-important fans, director Zack Snyder made a hell of a fun first movie back in 2004, a remake of George Romero’s 1978 undead classic Dawn of the Dead.

Snyder’s version wasn’t as epic or convincingly built-out as the original, but it wasn’t trying to be. Instead, he took the most basic elements of Romero’s movie—a zombie outbreak, a group of survivors and a shopping mall—stripped them down and spun them into a wild, funny alternate take.

The best part of Snyder’s Dawn was a montage set to lounge singer Richard Cheese’s hilarious cover of Disturbed’s “Down With the Sickness.” There was more energy and excitement in those two-and-a-half minutes then in the entire two-and-a-half hours of Snyder’s Batman vs. Superman.

And for as hard as he fought to release his “Snyder cut” of Justice League—at four hours long, easily the most extreme example of his relentlessly square-jawed superhero aesthetic—there must be something in the star director that knew he’d been on to something way back then, because in 2019 he took a break from all the superhero stuff to film a decade-and-a-half-late zombie follow-up, Army of the Dead. It has finally arrived, and guess what its best sequence is? If you said another crazy montage set to a Richard Cheese cover (this time “Viva Las Vegas”), you win all the brains!

Truth be told, a lot of what’s most fun about Army of the Dead—and it’s pretty damn fun—is lifted from Snyder’s first zombie movie. The bright pop-art colors, horror camp and fast-talking characters have finally returned, replacing the grim palettes and stoic poses of his last three superhero movies.

This time, though, Snyder goes all-in on the horror pastiche, stealing from everyone and everywhere to tell this fairly basic story of a group of highly skilled thieves who try to rob a casino after Las Vegas has been walled off from the rest of the country—and is set to be nuked—following a zombie outbreak there. There’s even more Romero tribute here than Snyder was able to stuff into Dawn of the Dead, which is amazing considering that was a literal Romero remake. It had fast zombies in an era when Danny Boyle’s 21 Days Later had made those fashionable.

Here, though, Snyder has some slow zombies more in the original Romero mold, referred to by the characters as “shamblers.” He keeps some fast ones, too, and in an homage to Romero’s way-underappreciated Land of the Dead, introduces the idea that certain “alpha” zombies are smarter and more agile (some of these high-performing zombies also pose and preen like they’re auditioning for a Broadway production of Cats, I’m not sure what that’s about). There’s also a notion that the military wants these zombies for its own army, a la Romero’s Day of the Dead, although that never really gets explored.

Snyder doesn’t just borrow from the originator of undead cinema—he throws everything in here. From Aliens, the elite team tiptoeing through cramped passageways; from Ocean’s 11, the heist amid retro Vegas cool; from every monster movie ever, the notion that the humans are the real monsters, after all.

The weirdest echoes come from the fact that last year’s Train to Busan sequel Peninsula had literally this exact plot, but since Army of the Dead has been kicking around in development hell since 2007, that’s not as damning as it seems. They both steal a lot from John Carpenter’s Escape From New York, and are better for doing so.

The cast, especially Dave Bautista as the guy who puts the team together and Tig Notaro playing against type in every way as a cigar-chomping helicopter pilot (and stealing all the best lines, like “Was that a zombie in a goddamned cape?”), are good, and there are some genuine surprises in terms of who lives and who becomes zombie chow. The only real misfire is a terrible attempt at injecting some relationship drama into the proceedings that will make you think “Why tho?” every time the movie feels the need to check in on it.

So I guess that settles it: From now on, all Zack Snyder movies must include the ironic lounge stylings of Richard Cheese, and the only capes in them should be worn by zombies.

‘Army of the Dead’ debuts on Netflix on May 21.

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Things To Do in Santa Cruz: May 19-25

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Local Metalhead Diversifies with Dylan Rose Band

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Zack Snyder’s ‘Army of the Dead’ is the Ultimate Zombie-Pastiche Flick

Zombie follow-up to 'Dawn of the Dead' has finally arrived
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