Thereโs a new nominee for the crown of โStrongest 30-Step Stretch of Santa Cruz Flavorโ: the 800 block of 41st Avenue in Capitola.
The short expanse already enjoyed Penny Ice Creamery, the original Verve Coffee, and East Side Eatery (with its sister Pleasure Point Pizza across the street).
ESE, BTW, has some popular promotions dropping every weekday, with curated tasting flights from the full wall of whiskey for Whiskey Wednesday (which is also Wing Wednesday, with deals on chicken too), discounts on apps and drinks for happy hour 3-6pm Monday-Thursday, and Bottomless Mimosa Fridays until 5pm, for $14.
Now the block also offers Mad Yolksโ brand-new second location, which soft-opened last week.
So Capitola can now bask in the drippy-delicious-delirious bounty of Mad Chick, crusted SPAM and breakfast burger egg sandwiches, plus a site-specific breakfast burrito, bespoke iced tea and matcha drinks, dirty tots and loaded salads.
Like their neighbors, co-owners/creators/twin brothers Henry and Peter Wong try to channel the vibe and flavor of a singular neighborhood.
โItโs hard to pinpoint what elements we emphasize to match the location, but our idea is to make it very comfortable, very inviting,โ says Peter, who notes live plants and cushy seating indoor and out. โI hear from other surfers that Mad Yolks is a perfect spot to grab a burrito or sandwich after a sessionโit provides enough calories, isnโt a gut bomb, and is fulfilling and flavorful.โ
Davenport Roadhouseโwhere the address 1 Davenport Ave., Davenport, speaks to its centralityโjust announced a sale effective as this publishes (July 16) that hopefully evolves rather than disrupts its solid burger program, nightly specials, happy hour and live music action. Outgoing owners Christopher and Vanessa Chamberlain describe a mix of emotion ranging from โa heavy heartโ to optimism for โawesome [new operators] who are very successful with other properties.โ โVanessa and I would like to thank all of you who supported us through this crazy journey,โ Christopher writes on Instagram. โThe locals here have been some of the best aspectsโฆof this story. You all know who you are. We will miss you. But ultimately, we want to thank our amazing, and epic, staff. We literally would have failed long ago if not for the trust and hard work they all put inโฆVanessa and I have always said, โWe want to be 90 and have stories to tell!โ Well thank you Roadhouse! We have a ton!โ More on the new leadership here as it becomes available, davenportroadhouse.com.
PERIODIC TABLE
The foodie fave show Check, Please from KQED is dipping south for its 20th season. Hanloh Thai Food (inside Bad Animal, 1011 Cedar St, Santa Cruz) aired last week with a taste of the double-fried gai tod hat yai. Next itโs Sampa Brazilian Kitchen (841 N Branciforte Ave., Santa Cruz) at 7:30pm on July 17 with moqueca, vegan feijoada, pรฃo de queijo, tropical juices, local beers, and live music on the menu. At Home in Soquel (3101 N Main St., Soquel), Chef Brad Briske takes a break from building out nearby Home Away casual spot (in the former VinoCruz) to craft fried chicken with anchovy aioli and candy cap mushroom panna cotta. That airs 7:30pm July 24, kqed.org/checkplease.
SPEED SNACKS
One highlight among manyโincluding Good Times editor Brad Kava on harmonica for J.A.M. bandโat GTSCโs 50th anniversary parking lot party: a sublime Taquizas Gabrielโs โpoโ boyโ fried shrimp taco from its food truck. Chefโs smooch level, served by El Gabriel himself, tacoscapitola.comโฆRexford Wines ( 309 Capitola Ave.) has a second tasting space in the pipeline in Capitola Village, strategically positioned next to La Marea Pizza & Bakery, which used to be Reef Dog Deli, rexfordwinery.comโฆHomeless Garden Projectโs dependably memorable and meaningful Sustain Supper still has tickets left for Saturday, July 19, with gifted Greens chef Katie Reicher on the stove and keynote speaker/author Manjula Martin on the mic, homelessgardenproject.org โฆArnold H. Glasow, lead us out through the henhouse: โThe key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it.โ
The young Hawaiian princes were in the water [yesterday], enjoying it hugely and giving interesting exhibitions of surf-board swimming as practiced in their native islands.
โSanta Cruz Daily Surf, Sunday, July 20, 1885
The story of the three Hawaiian princes surfing here in Santa Cruz in the mid-1880s has been woven into local lore. A plaque honoring the royal trio and their exploits in Santa Cruz has been erected at Lighthouse Point, overlooking the fabled surf spot Steamer Lane. A decade ago, the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (MAH) staged an exhibit featuring two of the princesโ redwood surfboards (shaped here in Santa Cruz and buried in the basement of the Bishop Museum in Honolulu for decades) that proved to be the most attended show ever held at the local museum.
Now, thereโs an even bigger historical set outsideโand it will be breaking this week right here in Surf City.
Beginning at 7pm Friday and running into January 2026, the MAH will be hosting the largest surfing exhibit of its kind ever mounted anywhere in the world: Heสปe Nalu Santa Cruz.
The exhibit will feature more than 50 surfboardsโmany of which were produced by world-renown shaper Bob Pearsonโincluding precise replicas of the two boards ridden by the princes here in Santa Cruz; the oldest known surfing artifact, a 16-foot, 240-pound wooden plank ridden in the 1830s by Hawaiian high chief Abner Paki (1808-1855); and a much more delicate board ridden by the Hawaiian princess Victoria Kaสปiulani (1875-1899).
The exhibit traces the history of surfing in Santa Cruz through the 20th century and features many contemporary boards designed by Pearson and ridden during the making of the Hollywood feature film Chasing Mavericks, which chronicled the lifeโand tragic deathโof Santa Cruz surfing legend Jay Moriarty.
โIโm so passionate about surfing,โ says an animated Pearson. โI made these boards to help tell the story of the beautiful Hawaiians who brought us the Sport of Kings, who made my life so much better and so much of my friendsโ lives better. They brought us the surfing culture that is thriving. They brought us this, made us this. To be a part of it, Iโm stoked! This entire story and the exhibit [at MAH] has us all just fired up, energy positive. Everybody is in this, and itโs family. Like the Hawaiians say, Ohana. Ohana. This is love, this is unreal.โ
BY THE SEA The main Santa Cruz beach, painted by nationally known artist A.I. Keller a few years after the Three Princesโ arrival, illustrates the ways in which locals engaged โsurf lineโ during that era. Bathers hung on to โswim linesโ extending into the water to protect them from breakers. PHOTO: Geoffrey Dunn collection
RIDING THE FIRST WAVES
Based on decades of research first presented in Good Times more than a dozen years ago and enhanced by several findings since, the exhibit chronicles the 140-year legacy of the princesโ seminal visit to Santa Cruz in the summer of 1885.
Of special note is a section featuring nine early Santa Cruz surf shops from the 1950s and โ60sโYount, Haut, Scofield, Olson, Hobie, Freeline and Johnny Rice shops and, of course, Jack OโNeillโs original surf operation overlooking Cowell Beach, which has grown into an international institution.
Also of focus are four women who have played a seminal role in this legacy: Antoinette Swan, the true linchpin of the princesโ sojourn to Santa Cruz and who was a prominent figure in the ruling Hawaiian monarchy of King David Kalakaua and later, following his death, of Queen Esther Julia Kapiสปolani; the aforementioned princess Kaสปiulani; legendary swimmer and surfer Dorothy Becker, who lived much of her childhood in Santa Cruz and moved to Hawaii, where she became one of the first women from the mainland to surf Wakaiki; and Rosmari Rice, the lone woman on the Dewey Weber surf team of the 1950s and a surfing fixture (along with her late husband, Johnny) in Santa Cruz.
There will also be a wide-ranging series of lectures, surfing exhibitions (including many of the worldโs greatest surfers), walks, films and even a short play, โThere Are No Kooks in Heaven,โ by Santa Cruzโs theatrical whiz Ian McCrae, the proprietor of Hulaโs Island Grill. It is truly a community-wide event.
โWeโre thrilled to share this exhibition with residents of Santa Cruz County but also with a larger regional and statewide community,โ said MAH Deputy Director Marla Novo. โOur intent is to highlight this fascinating cultural legacy, make links to a broader conversation, and to honor our relationship with the water that began before the princes came to Santa Cruz. This isnโt the beginning or the end of the narrative. It continues in the ways we connect with each other, share and listen, one wave at a time.โ
LOCAL LEGENDS The three princes were students at St. Matthewโs Hall in San Mateo. Left to right, Jonah Kuhio (โCupidโ) Kalanianaโole, David (โKoaโ) Kawananakoa and Edward Keliiahonui. PHOTO: Hawaiian Archives
REDWOOD BOARDS
The seminal moment in this story took place on the Santa Cruz waterfront, during the mid-summer of 1885. In the early edition of the Surf on Monday, July 20, the newspaper carried lengthy accounts of all the previous weekendโs festivities on the Santa Cruz waterfront under a detailed column titled โBeach Breezes.โ
The Surf reported that on no other Sunday of the season โhave so many bathers, both ladies and gentlemen, been in the water, and all pronounced it delightful.โ A small theatrical troupe, including a small donkey pulling a miniature cart, performed a comedy routine along the breakers and โafforded much merriment to the spectators.โ
Further east along the beach, however, at the mouth of the San Lorenzo River, history was about to be made. The three Hawaiian princesโDavid (โKoaโ) Kawananakoa, Edward Keliiahonui and Jonah Kuhio (โCupidโ) Kalanianaโoleโwere in the water with long surfboards made of local redwood, and milled in the shape of traditional Hawaiian oโlo boards, reserved in the Islands traditionally for royalty.
According to the Surf, โThe breakers at the mouth of the river were very fine and here occurred the very primest of fun, at least, so said those who were โin the swim.โโ As many as 30 or 40 swimmers were out in the water with them, โdashing and tossing, and plunging through the breakers, going out only to be tossed back apparently at the will of the waves and making some nervous onlookers feel sure that they were about to be dashed against the rocks.โ
And then came that fabled first account of surfing anywhere in the Americas: โexhibitions of surf-board swimming as practiced in their native islands.โ
What is significant to note in all of the waterfront descriptions appearing in the local newspapers that summer is that there were numerous accounts of both local and visitors alike engaging the surf and ocean in a multitude of sporting activities: swimming, body surfing (playing in the waves), diving and simply wading. The โsurf zoneโโreferred to in Hawaiian as ka poโina nalu and viewed as critical to the islandsโ historyโhad already been claimed for athletic activity long before the princesโ arrival.
LOST AND FOUND A recently discovered tintype photo, previously unpublished, of the princes and possibly a cousin of the Swan family, Richard Gilliland, who accompanied the princes to St. Matthewโs. PHOTO: Geoffrey Dunn collection
CHIEFESS
The three princes were not some casual day-trip visitors to Santa Cruz. And the family they stayed with hereโLyman and Antoinette Swanโalso had complex links to Hawaiian history and, in the case of Antoinette Swan, direct lineage to royal Hawaiian bloodlines.
Twenty years after the princes arrived in Santa Cruz, an obituary appeared in the Surf on Oct. 2, 1905, for โMrs. Antoinette Don Paul Marie Swan,โ who had died the day before at her family home on Cathcart Street. The obituary noted that Swan โwas courtly in manner, and had a charm in her dealing with people that won many friends. She was a kind neighbor and a devoted mother, loved by her children.โ She was clearly a well-liked and widely respected member of the community.
The obituary also included some detailed information about Antoinetteโs lineage, rather unique to Santa Cruz at this time:
She was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, of Spanish parentage on her fatherโs side, he being for many years consul from Spain at Honolulu, and owner of the island at the mouth of the Pearl River, and was very prominent in the islands.โฆHer mother was of Scottish and Hawaiian ancestry. She married Lyman Swan in the islands, and they came to California in 1846, and, about 12 years after their arrival came to Santa Cruz, where she has since resided, except for a number of years spent at the islands, where she dwelt with the royalty at the palace, being a member of the Kingโs household, as she was secretary to [the] Queen, wife of King Kalakau [sic].
WATCHFUL EYE Antoinette Swan, Santa Cruz resident who served as chamberlain to the Queen of Hawaii, was hostess to the princes during their visits to Surf City. PHOTO: Hawaiian Archives
Not all of the information in the Surf obituary is accurate, but it is close enough to provide both an open window into her life story and enough clues to put the various pieces of this intricate historic puzzle back together.
According to baptismal records in Hawaii and her death certificate here in Santa Cruz, Antoinette โAkoniโ Marin was born on the island of Oahu on October 6, 1832. Contrary to the reference in the obituary, her mother, Kaikuloa, was a full-blooded Hawaiian and a โchiefess,โ which made Antoinette, by birth, of aliโi or noble Hawaiian lineage.
Her father, Don Francisco de Paula Marin, was a legendary figure in Hawaiian history, from his first arrival in the islands in the early 1790s until his death in Honolulu in 1837. While he was never โconsul from Spain,โ as would later be claimed (indeed he deserted the Spanish army), he served in the role of unofficial consigliere to Kings Kamehameha III & IV and played a major role as liaison between European and American vessels and native Hawaiian authorities.
Records clearly indicate that Marin was a polygamist in Hawaii. In one fascinating letter sent to Marin from Monterey in 1823 by Luis Antonio Arguello, the first governor of Alta California under Mexican rule, Arguello suggests that Marin had expressed interest in relocating to the California coast. โAs to settling in this province, you alone could very well do it,โ Arguello intones, โbut by no means can I approve of your bringing four wives that are not legitimate, as I am informed that you have, and consequently some twenty children of theirs.โ
By the time Marin had died in 1837, he had fathered, according to various accounts, as many as 27 different children. His last daughter, Antoinette, had just reached her fifth birthday.
HANAI RELATIONSHIPS
Following Marinโs death, Antoinette was adopted by Dr. Thomas Charles Byde Rooke, a prominent British physician who had also married into an aliโi family.
Itโs hard for foreigners to fully grasp the significance of โhanaiโ (adopted) relationships in Hawaiian culture. Western traditions of genealogy simply do not translate. But a hanai relationship is very much equal to blood lineage. In her autobiography, Queen Liliuokalani offered that hanai โis not easy to explain to those alien to our national life, but it seems perfectly natural to us.โ
In November of 1851, an item in the Honolulu Polynesian newspaper noted that Antoinette had married Lyman Swan, then a young businessman on the Honolulu waterfront. He was a partner in Swan & Clifford, a seemingly successful chandlery business that fitted out whaling ships during the heyday of the Pacific whaling industry.
In April of 1853, Antoinette gave birth to the coupleโs first child, Olivia (โLilyโ), and the young Swan family appeared to be living a life of prosperity and promise in Honolulu. But as often would be the case with Lyman Swan throughout his life, appearances were often deceiving.
Apparently, unbeknownst to his partner, Ornan Clifford, Swan began forging โbills of exchangeโ (or checks) with several whaling ships. On April 13, 1855, authorities in Hawaii issued a detailed circular (akin to a wanted poster) charging both Swan and Clifford with forging $40,000 in promissory notes and leaving more than $80,000 in unpaid bills just after Swan had snuck out of Honolulu in March of 1854. It was a huge amount of money during that eraโthe equivalent of more than $10 million todayโand the case quickly garnered international attention. A $5,000 reward was offered for information about their whereabouts.
While Clifford immediately returned to Honolulu and declared his innocence, Swan was apprehended in Alameda, California. All of the forged bills, it turned out, had been executed in his handwriting. While Hawaiian authorities tried to extradite Swan, he was never to return to the islands again.
Somehow, during his various court cases, Swan managed to bring Antoinette and his daughter Lily to California, where the family first resided in San Jose, and then moved to Santa Cruz in the mid-1860s. By that time, there were four more children in the Swan household.
The family opened a bakery on Pacific Avenue and purchased a large plot of land in downtown Santa Cruz, at what is now the corner of Front and Cathcart streets, that backed up to the San Lorenzo River.
SURFINโ USA Santa Cruz waterfront circa 1880s while the princes were visiting here. PHOTO: Geoffrey Dunn collection
LIFE ROPES
In 1884, the popular Hawaiian monarchs, King David Kalakaua and his wife, Queen Consort Esther Julia Kapiสปolani, who were childless, adopted the three princes after the deaths of their parents. By blood, the three brothers were Kapiสปolaniโs nephews, the sons of aliโi from Kauai, and they had been sent to Hawaiiโs finest schools. Now they were being prepped for the monarchy.
David, the oldest (and nicknamed โKoaโ), was born in 1868. Strong and handsome, at the age of 16, in the fall of 1884, he was first sent to St. Matthewโs Hall, a full-fledged military school for boys, located in San Mateo. The following year, Edward, born in 1870 and the frailest of the three brothers; and Jonah, nicknamed โCupid,โ born in 1871 and a brilliant athlete in all sports, joined their elder brother in California.
When not at St. Matthewโs, the three princes were placed under the careful eye of Antoinette Swan in Santa Cruz. The recently completed railroad line made their commute from school to the seaside resort an easy one.
The location of the Swan family home is of significant geographical import to this story. Up until the construction of the San Lorenzo River levees by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1955, the banks of the San Lorenzo River were woven into the fabric of life in downtown Santa Cruz. Boating, canoeing, swimming, fishing and strolling in the riparian corridor were all common daily practices.
The rivermouth itself had long been a popular location for โsurf-bathingโ activity on the Santa Cruz waterfront. As early as the 1860s, โlife ropesโ or โswim linesโ (thick ropes attached at the beach by tall poles and extending out to floating rafts or anchors beyond the surf break) had been established at various points along both the main beach and Seabright Beach east of the river.
According to records kept by the waterfront historian Warren โSkipโ Littlefield (1906-1985), the princes rode surfboards made of โsolid redwood planks and milled locally by the Grover Lumber Company.โ The Swansโ proximity to the San Lorenzo would have made the transport of these heavy boards easily facilitated downstream to the river mouth.
REVOLUTIONARY Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaโole served time for his attempt to overthrow the U.S. colonial government in Hawaii. PHOTO: Library of Congress
TROOP TAKEOVER
In 1887, Edward was sent home ill from St. Matthews and died a short time later in Honolulu from scarlet fever. The two other princes, David and Jonah, would carve out significant niches for themselves in Hawaiian history. The eldest brother, David, would eventually become the immediate first heir to the throne. Youngest brother Jonah, who had been Queen Liliโuokalaniโs personal favorite, was second.
Neither of them, however, would ever become king.
In January of 1893, a group of American and European businessmen, aided by the U.S. military, overthrew the Hawaiian monarchy. Queen Liliโuokalani was deposed on January 17, 1893, relinquishing her throne to โthe superior military forces of the United States.โ Two years later, then 24-year-old Jonah, a fierce advocate for Hawaiian independence, fought in a rebellion against the U.S.-supported republic and was sentenced to a year in prison.
It was while Kuhio was incarcerated that a short account of Santa Cruz waterfront activities appeared in the weekly edition of the Surf. โThe boys who go in swimming at Seabright Beach,โ the newspaper noted, โuse surfboards to ride the breakers, like the Hawaiians.โ
Like the Hawaiians. From 2,400 miles away, Kuhio no doubt had more significant matters on his mind, but his waterfront exhibition of a decade earlier had taken hold in the surf at Santa Cruz and would flourish there for decades to come.
In 1902, Kuhio emerged from prison and a subsequent exile to participate in Hawaiian politics. While his brother David headed up the stateโs Democratic Party (and was a delegate to the 1900 Democratic National Convention), Jonah joined the Republican Party and was elected to the U.S. Congress in 1903 as a โdelegateโ from the Territory of Hawaii, where he served until his death in 1922.
The Museum of Art & History is located at 705 Front St in downtown Santa Cruz. For more info go to the website at santacruzmah.org. Or call 831-429-1964.
Heสปe nalu Santa Cruz
Museum of Art and History
Partial Schedule of Events
Princes of Surf
โ Opening Reception
Friday, July 18, 2025,
7-8 PM
at the MAH
โ Paddle Out at the Rivermouth
Saturday, July 19, 2025
10- 11:30 AM
Rivermouth, Main Beach 400 Beach St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
โ Surfing Exhibition of Traditional Hawaiian Boards
Bob Perason & Friends
Cowell Beach
August/September
TBD (depending on tides and conditions)
โ Dorothy Becker Talk
Ed Guzman
Friday, September 5, 2025
6-7 PM
at the MAH
โ Heสปe nalu Santa Cruz Book Launch
Geoffrey Dunn & Kim Stoner
Friday, October 3, 2025
6-8 PM
at the MAH
โ Antoinette Swan Gravesite Tour
Geoffrey Dunn & Barney Langner
Saturday, October 4, 2025
11-12 PM
Santa Cruz Memorial Cemetery
โ Antoinette Swan and the Princes of Surf Walking Tour
After sitting vacant for decades high above Soquel Creek, Capitolaโs Rispin Mansion is being repurposed at last, as a public park. While the building itself is currently entombed, or sealed off, to prevent further deterioration, the city has embarked on a project to transform the surrounding grounds into a new public park.
Among its features, the park will gain an amphitheater, picnic tables and fountain, according to Jessica Kahn, Capitolaโs public works director. โItโs definitely going to be one of our more passive parks, a quiet, reflecting, peaceful place.โ In other words, no play structures are being installed.
Completed in 1921, the Rispin Mansion has served many uses over the past century, including the home of the Rispin family, a convent and most recently, the set for a television show. The mansion was featured in May on the Discovery+ show Ghost Adventures and includes a segment with Deborah Osterberg and Carolyn Swift of the Capitola History Museum.
After years of vandalism, theft and a fire in 2010, the mansion has seen a flurry of activity this summer including plumbing, masonry and electrical restoration. New wrought-iron fencing was added in 2024 to line the property and provide better security. Construction crews installed water pipes and electrical wiring last fall. But then, eucalyptus trees and utility issues temporarily halted the project.
โWe had a bit of a hangup with PG&E,โ Kahn said. โWe ended up removing one of the power poles there.โ That area is now free and clear, she said.
On June 4, Triad Electrical was onsite installing lights, while a new walkway, amphitheater seating and ornately restored banisters are all proceeding on schedule, according to Kahn.
โThereโs been a lot of restraint work with the fountain and the railing work,โ Kahn said. โThey had to take ones that were still in good condition and recast them.โ A stairway has been redone into its original state, she added.
An amphitheater is the intended public use when construction is finished. Though Kahn doesnโt โanticipate the city programming any activities,โ she added, โWe do plan on holding an opening event later this summer.โ
OPEN SPACE Deborah Osterberg of the Capitola History Museum surveys the exterior of the Rispin Mansion. Photo: Kristen McLaughlin
Since the city already has an existing policy of renting out other park spaces, Kahn anticipates this park being used for private events as well. โYou get a great view from the library,โ said Osterberg, curator of Capitola Historical Museum for the past four years. โI definitely see myself doing programs here.โ
Voter Funding
The city has been holding onto funds to make this into a public park for quite some time. Under Proposition 68, every city got formula funds based on population, with Capitola receiving about $144,000 in state funding, according to Kahn. โIt is partially funded by the State Parks,โ she said.
Voter-approved initiatives contributed additional funds: Measure L, which protects the rail corridor, a Proposition 68 grant of $178,000 and $50,000 in Measure Q funding, which voters passed in 2024 for fiscal year 2025-26.
Measure Q is an investment in parks and public spaces, as Capitola Mayor Joe Clarke stated in his Mayorโs Message, published May 17 in the Sentinel: โThis voter-approved initiative provides $200,000 annually to the city of Capitola, specifically earmarked for parks, open spaces and public improvements.โ Contracts were awarded to local contractors Betz Works (formerly Earthworks), Triad Electric Inc. and Diamond D Concrete.
The project meets Capitola Municipal Code 8.72, the Greenway Capitola Corridor, which also calls for preservation of the historic Capitola Trestle. Exhibit panels have yet to be installed.
Local Landmark
An eclectic combination of Mission, Spanish Colonial Revival and Mediterranean architecture,ย the Rispin Mansion is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. According to records from the Capitola Historical Museum, Canadian-born entrepreneur Henry Allen Rispin built the mansion between 1919 and 1921 as a sort of demonstration home/example for developing Capitola as a resort. Rispin lived in the three-story, 9,000-square-foot, 22-room estate with his wife and son in the early 1920s.
โThe imprint from Rispinโs time here is why Capitola looks the way it does today,โ Osterberg said. โRispin is responsible for much of the initial paving of the village.โ He also curved the Esplanade, Osterberg explained. โThatโs why the Six Sistersโ lawns are so long,โ she said.
By the end of the decade, Rispin suffered a series of misfortunes and lost all his investments to creditors. In 1941, the mansion was sold for $90,000 to St. Josephโs Monastery for use by the Poor Clares, a cloistered order of nuns. The Poor Clares lived in the mansion until 1959. Rispin died in 1947 and is buried in a pauperโs grave in Olivet Cemetery in Colma, California.
Round and round it goes. City planners have decided that a roundabout is the next best step to easing traffic at a busy all-way stop in Capitola. The roundabout design aims to protect multiple modes of transportation, including drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists.
Planners anticipate the roundabout project to break ground within about two years to replace a โquick buildโ project that was installed last summer at the intersection of Hill Street and Bay Avenue adjacent to Nob Hill Shopping Center, with a single-lane roundabout.
โThe longer-term goal, probably two years out, is the plan to have it be a roundabout,โ says Jessica Kahn, professional engineer and public works director for the city of Capitola. The roundabout was one of three different configurations discussed at Capitola City Council meetings in February and April of this year.
Conceptual design refinement of the Bay Avenue corridor includes a study by Kimley-Horn & Associates to monitor the intersection, as well as along Bay Avenue from the freeway to Monterey Avenue.
In that study, existing conditions were analyzed using traffic count data from 2024, including peak-hour intersection movements and roadway classifications, along with projected traffic growth.
Among their benefits, roundabouts provide a continuous flow of traffic, enhance pedestrian safety through protected crossings, and reduce emissions by minimizing idling. โThey generally tend to help slow traffic,โ said Steve Wiesner, director of public works for Santa Cruz County.
Similar projects, such as the Highway 129 redesign at Lakeview, have shown significant safety and operational benefits since a roundabout was installed in 2021, said Israel Murillo, CHP Santa Cruz public information officer. โIt does seem like itโs helping,โ Murillo said. โIt does appear itโs calming traffic and reducing speeds in that area.โ
Officer Murillo offered the following tips for roundabout ease: Slow down as you approach the intersection. Watch for signs or pavement markings that guide or prohibit, and enter the roundabout when thereโs a big enough gap in traffic.
โUse your turn signals when you change lanes or exit the roundabout,โ he added. โAnd donโt forget, drive in a counter clockwise direction and donโt stop or pass other vehicles. Be patient, donโt be in a hurry.โ
Of course, improved traffic flow comes with a price. Preliminary cost estimates for the installation of the roundabout are $3 million to $5 million.
While an initial safety analysis began in 2022, the Bay Avenue corridor came into public scrutiny after local resident Deborah Towne, 70, was hit by a car near Crossroads Loop and Bay Avenue in November 2023. Towne was walking her dog at the time. In early 2024, the City of Capitola approved the Bay Avenue and Hill St. Quick Build Project as a short-term safety enhancement as part of a broader corridor study examining all intersections on Bay Avenue from Highway 1 to the village Capitola Village. Construction was completed in August of 2024.
In the short term, drivers will continue to navigate the quick build, including plastic bolsters over metal posts to accommodate multimodal transportation. โA separate green bike lane is likely part of the roundabout design,โ Khan added.
In the days before lighthouses, some coastal communities used โfire beaconsโโelevated structures where people tended open flames to guide sailors. In the coming weeks, Aries, I invite you to be like both the keeper and the flame. People will be drawn to your brightness, warmth and persistence as they navigate through their haze and fog. And surprise! You may find your own way more clearly as you tend to othersโ wayfinding. Donโt underestimate the value of your steady, luminous signal. For some travelers, your presence could be the difference between drifting and docking. So burn with purpose, please. Keep your gleam strong and visible.
TAURUS April 20-May 20
The ancestors of my American friend Arisa lived in Ukraine, Indonesia, the Choctaw nation and the Great Lakes region. Her new husband Anselme is of Japanese, Italian and French descent. Their wedding was a celebration of multicultural influences. Guests delivered toasts in five languages. Their marriage vows borrowed texts from three religious traditions. The music included a gamelan ensemble, a band that played Ukrainian folk music, and a DJ spinning Choctaw and Navajo prayers set to Indian ragas. I bring this to your attention in the hope you will seek comparable cross-fertilization in the coming weeks. Itโs an excellent time to weave richly diverse textures into your life.
GEMINI May 21-June 20
I predict a future when women will hold half of the leadership roles, when their income and time devoted to childcare will match menโs, when womenโs orgasms are as common as menโs, and when most guys know that misogyny is perilous to their health. Until the bloom of that wonderful era, I invite Geminis of all genders to invoke your tender ingenuity as you strengthen female opportunities and power. In my view, this work is always crucial to your maximum spiritual and psychological healthโbut even more so than usual in the coming weeks. Boost the feminine in every way you can imagine.
CANCER June 21-July 22
In Yoruba cosmology, ase is the sacred life force that animates the universe. Itโs divine energy that can be harnessed by humans to make things happen, to speak and act with ardent intention so that words and deeds shape reality. I am pleased to report that you Cancerians are extra aligned with ase these days. Your words are not casual. Your actions are not mild or minor. You have the power to speak what you mean so robustly that it has an enhanced possibility to come into being. What you command with love and clarity will carry enduring potency.
LEO July 23-Aug. 22
In medieval bestiaries, unicorns were said to be fierce, wild creatures. They were very real but also hidden. Only people with pure hearts could see or commune with them. I suspect you now have the chance to glide into a potent โpure heartโ phase, Leo. My fervent hope is that you will take this opportunity to cleanse yourself of irrelevancies and rededicate yourself to your deepest yearnings and most authentic self-expressions. If you do, you just may encounter the equivalent of a unicorn.
VIRGO Aug. 23-Sept. 22
Some Buddhist monks create mandalas on floors from colored sand. They work meticulously for days or weeks to build intricate, symmetrical masterpieces. Once their beautiful work is done, however, it typically doesnโt last long. The creators sweep it away either immediately or soon. The sand may be disposed of, perhaps poured into a river or stream. Whatโs the purpose of this strange practice? Most importantly, it displays a reverence for the impermanence of all thingsโan appreciation for beauty but not an attachment to it. I recommend you consider taking a cue from the sand mandalas in the coming weeks. Is there anything you love that you should let go of? A creation you can allow to transform into a new shape? An act of sacred relinquishing?
LIBRA Sept. 23-Oct. 22
Glassblowers shape molten sand with breath and fire, knowing the material can only be formed while itโs hot and glowing. If they wait too long, the stuff stiffens, turns brittle and resists change. But if they push too soon, it collapses into a misshapen blob. In this spirit, Libra, I urge you to recognize which parts of your life are now just the right temperature to be reshaped. Your timing must be impeccable. Where and when will you direct the flame of your willpower? Donโt wait until the opportunity cools. Art and magic will happen with just the right amount of heat applied at just the right moment.
SCORPIO Oct. 23-Nov. 21
โI have often been racked by obsessive urges that plague me until I act them out.โ So says my Scorpio friend Fatima, a conceptual artist. โFortunately,โ she continues, โI have finally retrained myself to focus on creative obsessions that fuel my art rather than on anxious, trivial obsessions that disorder my life. Iโd be an offensive maniac if I couldnโt use my work as an outlet for my vehement fantasy life.โ I recommend Fatimaโs strategy to Scorpios most of the time, but especially so in the coming days. Your imagination is even more cornucopian than usual. To harness its beautiful but unruly power, you must channel it into noble goals.
SAGITTARIUS Nov. 22-Dec. 21
The Igbo people of Nigeria have a term: ogwugwu na-adแป nโulo. It means โthe medicine is in the house.โ Itโs the belief that healing doesnโt necessarily come from afar. It may already be here, hidden among the familiar, waiting to be acknowledged or discovered. Dear Sagittarius, your natural instinct is to look outward and afar for answers and help. But in the coming weeks, you should look close to home. What unnoticed or underestimated thing might be a cure or inspiration youโve been overlooking? How can you find new uses for what you already have?
CAPRICORN Dec. 22-Jan. 19
I invite you to celebrate the holiday known as Be Your Own Best Helper. How should you observe this potentially pivotal transformation in your relationship with yourself? Divest yourself of yearnings to have someone clean up after you and service your baseline necessities. Renounce any wishes you harbor for some special person to telepathically guess and attend to your every need. Vow that from now on, you will be an expert at taking excellent care of yourself. Do you dare to imagine what it might feel like to be your own best helper?
AQUARIUS Jan. 20-Feb. 18
In the ancient practice of astronomy, the stars were considered โincorruptible.โ Unlike the planets, their movements were unchanging, their lights stationary, their destinies steady and stable. We human beings are the opposite of all those descriptors, of course. Thereโs no use in hoping otherwise, because constancy just isnโt an option for us. The good news, Aquarius, is that you are now poised to thrive on these truths. The inevitability of change can and should be a treasured gift for you. Youโre being offered chances to revise plans that do indeed need to be revised. You are being invited to let go of roles that donโt serve you. But what initially feels like a loss or sacrifice may actually be permission. Evolution is a tremendous privilege!
PISCES Feb. 19-March 20
The axolotl is an amphibian that never outgrows its larval form. Unlike most creatures, it retains its youthful traits into adulthood. Amazingly, it can regenerate its limbs, its spinal cord and parts of its brain. Letโs make the axolotl your inspirational animal, Pisces. What part of your โyouthโ is worth keepingโnot as immaturity, but as righteous design? Where are you being asked not to evolve past a stage, but to deepen within it? And what might be regenerated in you that seemed to have been lost? Your magic will come from being like an axolotl. Be strange. Be playful. Be ageless and original and irrepressible.
Eight-time New York Times bestseller Meg Waite Clayton just released her newest novel, Typewriter Beach. With thoughtful commentary on human nature and romantic depictions of the coast, Clayton weaves a tale of two women, separated through time, yet tied together through a Carmel cottage. In the 1950s, aspiring starlet Isabella Giori and blacklisted screenwriter Leon Chazan form an unlikely friendship. Flash forward to 2018, Chazanโs granddaughter prepares to sell the cottage and finds a hidden safe of secrets about her grandfatherโs past. Clayton will discuss the book. SHELLY NOVO
INFO: 7pm, Bookshop Santa Cruz, 1520 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. Free. 423-0900.
FRIDAY 7/11
NORTHERN SOUL
THE INCITERS
Northern Soul is meant to be done big, and The Inciters are doing it up right with a minimum of 10 people on the stage, including a full horn section, three vocalists, drums, guitar, bass and occasional surprise guests, all dressed to the nines in their retro mod finery. The excitement is so irresistible, even wallflowers get caught tapping their toes. The Inciters celebrate the release of their latest record, I Give You My Soul, by playing a hometown show this week with power pop friends Autos and rocksteady outfit The Tectonics. KEITH LOWELL JENSEN
Redwood Express is only for those who like their rock bluesy, their beats funky and their vibes groovy. This five-piece is a local super group, featuring members from the China Cats, Rosebud, and Grandpaโs Chili. Their bio says they draw inspiration from Janis Joplin, The Rolling Stones, Allman Brothers and Little Feat, but thereโs definitely some Hot Tuna, Manassas and, of course, Grateful Dead thrown in there. This past May, Redwood Express dropped its debut album, Sanctuary, available on its website and featuring nine original tracks all from the heart of the forest. What better way to celebrate than with a free, all-ages record release show at Woodhouse Brewery? MAT WEIR
Drag is dragged (yeah, pun intended) into the political arena, and itโs up for the fight, but beyond all the red-faced boys who are proud of something, lord knows drag isfun. Thatโswhy it wins. It laughs at power. It laughs at itself. It puts lipstick, false eyelashes and high heels on our sacred cows, and it has fun. Who better to get a nice drag makeover than Disney, that campy realm of fairies and evil queens? Sin Sister Burlesque and Drag performers will showcase many of your favorite characters and songs from Waltโs playbook. Fun! KLJ
INFO: 7:30pm, Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $35-$45. 423-8209.
REGGAE
BARRINGTON LEVY
Barrington Levy is a pioneering Jamaican reggae and dancehall artist, known for his distinctive vocal style and major influence on the genres. Levy debuted on record with 1979โs Bounty Hunter. His work with famed producer Henry โJunjoโ Lawes was creatively and commercially successful. His worldwide breakthrough came with Englishman, one of four albums he released in โ79. That record featured the Roots Radics rhythm section. Levy has been at the forefront of combining reggae traditions with modern electronic textures. His work has been sampled by Kanye West, Notorious B.I.G., Sublime, Olโ Dirty Bastard and many others. BILL KOPP
INFO: 8pm, Catalyst, 1101 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $35-$38. 713-5492.
SUNDAY 7/13
DOG FASHION SHOW
DRESSED TO THE K-9โS
Bow Wow! These dogs look fabulous! Connecting to a current exhibit at the MAH, HOWL: The Art & History of Pets, adoptable pups will prance down the runway showing off the latest head-turning canine couture. The dogs are all adoptable through the SCSPCA, and there will also be a silent auction with proceeds benefiting the SCSPCA. Attendance is included with admission, but for those who want to enhance their experience, a โTop Dog VIP Ticketโ is available, which gives access to wine, beer, hors dโoeuvres, and music along with front-row tickets to the glamorous fashion show and an exclusive meet and greet with the models. ISABELLA MARIE SANGALINE
INFO: 3:30pm, The MAH, 705 Front St., Santa Cruz. $8-$45. 429-1964.
MONDAY 7/14
JAZZ
LEW TABACKIN TRIO
Lew Tabackin is a master of the flute and tenor saxophone. Since the 1970s, he has led (with co-leader and spouse Toshiko Akiyoshi) a succession of acclaimed big bands. Tabackin has a deep catalog and has worked as a sideman with Donald Byrd, Benny Carter, Shelly Manne, Maynard Ferguson, Freddie Hubbard and many others. A true original, Tabackin is equally at home as a soloist, in a big band context or anywhere in between. For this special performance at the Kuumbwa, Tabackin will lead a trio featuring the rhythm section of bassist Boris Kozlov and drummer Jason Tiemann. BK
INFO: 7pm, Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $37-$42. 427-2227.
TUESDAY 7/15
ROCK
FRANKIE & THE WITCH FINGERS
This Los Angeles-based psych garage act has been a favorite of rockers for years with their chaotic mess of never-ending fuzz-punched grooves and high-octane fueled live performances. The words of the late, great Hunter S. Thompson come to mind when talking about Frankie & the Witch Fingers, โOne of Godโs own prototypes. A high-powered mutant of some kind, never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, too strange to die.โ Their latest album, Trash Classic, can only be described as if Devo dropped acid, took a hit of speed, and then decided to write songs about the end of the world as AI launched the bombs outside the garage window. MW
Gut-punching poetry accentuated with gritty drums and screaming guitar, Torpedo presents an opera of their own design. The trio from Lusane, Switzerland, seeks to challenge and transform the listener, blending elements of post-punk, industrial, and proto-punk. Beginning as a duo in 2016, Carro Loubere on scratchy guitar and Jay Liseron with bass and drum machines churned together psychedelic songs before adding drummer Drew Hammer and solidifying the bandโs live-wire, heady energy. Their newest record, What the Fucked Do We All Do Now? | – Light, is a cathartic dive into the realities of our treacherous and broken world. SN
First, to the purveyorsโthe 30 craft brewers, the 10 cider makers, the exponential VW enthusiasts displaying their rides, the bands banging it out on stage and the food slangers among themโfor giving Hop โN Barley (11amโ5pm Saturday, July 12) mad depth of flavor.
Then to the attendees, who not only tote along the entire fam and good energy, but also bring dogs in backpacks, dogs with beer T-shirts and dogs with beer goggles.
And to the organizers, for free music in a huge park that requires no ticket and, for simplicityโs sake, calling it Hop โN Barley and not its (more accurate) name of Hop โnโ Barley โnโ Cider โnโ Car Show โnโ Merch โnโ People Watch โnโ Food Truck โnโ Craft Arts โnโ Merch Party.
Itโs not easy to cultivate this sort of annual celebration, let alone keep it evolving every go round.
For 2025, some fresh elements include new producers like Alvarado Street Brewing (pouring its gold medal Mai Tai PA and an unreleased new creation), standout Oakland outfit Hop Sun Fat (and its 10-piece Ethiopian-jazz-funk), and a closing DJ-driven hour (by Monk Earl of Afrobeats Nite).
Oh, and new by-the-glass optionality for those who want to have a serving of wine or beer and bounce rather than wade in for the full tasting experience.
And a new place called Cider City, in a specially designated space, which co-organizer Patrick Grube flags as further evidence the idea is to year-over-year tack on value-added elements.
โLike an event within an event,โ he says.
The cumulative intrigue creates the vibe, which ultimately defines the event, as operations chief Katie Sabolek notesโeven as she downplays her work recruiting vendors and brewers from the Pacific Northwest to Westside Santa Cruz.
โIt feels uncurated in a really fun way, an organic experience that is incredibly family- and dog-friendlyโit doesnโt feel like a bro fest,โ she says. โItโs very Santa Cruz to me, honestlyโฆthe most Santa Cruz thing Iโve been a part of.โ hopnbar.webflow.io
The Santa Cruz Warriors, the four-time NBA G League Franchise of the Year, is about ball. But more. Theyโre about branding, and apparently fans are too: The SeaDubs are 2024-25 NBA G League Retailer of the Year, the league announced last week, noting the Warriorsโ annual Chase Center game on March 9 against the Mexico City Capitanes, which saw the Sea Dubs set a franchise high in single-day merchandise salesโฆSpeaking of S.F., KQEDโs Check, Please! sends its 20th season south to the Monterey Bay Area with a July 17 episode visiting Hanloh Thai Food(1011 Cedar St., Santa Cruz)โฆโWine, Charcuterie, and Crushpad Concertโ flows at Roberts Ranch in Ben Lomond with Samba Cruz on July 19, for under $15 (!), robertsranchvineyards.comโฆDave Barry, take it from here: โNot all chemicals are bad. Without chemicals such as hydrogen and oxygen, for example, there would be no way to make water, a vital ingredient in beer.โ
Still in its pup phase, Salty Otter Sports Grill was born two months ago to owner and general manager Rachael Smith. In addition to work in the legal and marketing fields, her restaurant industry career spans 33 years as a bartender, manager and owner, and her ZIP code rรฉsumรฉ is just as varied with time spent in London, Las Vegas, New York City and Orlando. But her favorite place of all was always Santa Cruz, which she fell for at age 14 during a coastal trip with mom. Smith moved here in 2020 and began looking to open her own restaurant, eventually finding the beloved former 99 Bottles space where she used to frequent as a customer.
Smith describes Salty Otterโs dรฉcor as modern, coastal and industrial, punctuated by a 22-foot photographic mural of Santa Cruz. The American sports bar fare menu features classic breakfasts served all day, headlined by a pinch-me-Iโm-dreaming breakfast burger with beef patty, smoked Gouda and American cheeses, over-easy egg, crispy bacon and honey barbeque sauce between a funnel cake waffle bun.Lunch/dinner succulent starters include a tomato-based Bermuda fish chowder, a hanging large soft pretzel with zesty cheese dip and housemade tortilla chips with pineapple pico de gallo. Main dish favorites are build-your-own burgers, fish & chips and seasonal glazed salmon selections. The highlighted dessert is white chocolate raspberry cheesecake along with rotating specials.
What makes you swoon for Santa Cruz?
RACHAEL SMITH: I loved California, but especially here because there is so much to do with the ocean, swimming and surfing, skateboarding, hiking and a lot of live music. I really just love that I could be on the beach and then 15 minutes later be hiking amongst redwoods in the forest. And I also love that itโs dog friendly and close to major cities, but isnโt one.
Whatโs next for the Salty Otter?
We just got a pool table and opened the upstairs lounge for activities like karaoke, comedy, darts, sports game watching and special events like birthday parties. A passion of mine too, we also plan to showcase live music on our main floor and have the vibe and sound spill out onto the street like in Nashville. And we plan on expanding the menu and letting customer feedback shape our evolution.
Summer is vacation seasonโfull of sunshine, spontaneity, and that long-awaited time to sit back and relax. But even with all the fun and freedom, I still find myself craving my wellness routines. So when I found myself in San Diego recently, I decided to drop into a yoga class. That is, until I saw the drop-in fee: $28 for a basic 60-minute session. Not at a luxury spa or celebrity gymโjust your everyday yoga studio.
I nearly walked out.
Thatโs when my daughter introduced me to ClassPass, a fitness and wellness membership platform that lets you access thousands of studios, gyms and wellness services across the globe. Instead of paying per class, you buy credits each month and use them however youโd likeโon yoga, barre, strength training, Pilates, even massage or infrared sauna.
While not every town has a good set of offerings, Santa Cruz definitely delivers. The day I got home, I opened the app and counted more than 45 different local classes offered that same day.
As a yoga teacher, I already receive discounted rates at the studios where I teach. But Iโd been intrigued by the option to try something new, like outdoor fitness at G.O.A.T., barre at Pleasure Point, reformer Pilates, and some of the newer downtown spots. So with ClassPass offering a 14-day free trial, I dove in headfirst.
First stop: Barre Fusion at Pleasure Point Studio, led by the teacher Lisa Baretta. Her energy was infectious, the mirrored studio inviting, and the transitions from mat to ballet bar seamless. We used resistance bands and light weights to sculpt and toneโexactly the kind of strength training I tend to skip (and need more of).
Next, I ventured into Reformer Pilates at Toadal Fitness. Surrounded by clearly dedicated regulars, I joined in a core-focused session with teacher Natalia that was both challenging and fun. The small group setting made it approachable, and the vibe was refreshingly friendly. If youโre looking for alignment-based strength work with a bit more feedback, this is a great pick.
Then came G.O.A.T. Santa CruzโGroup Open Air Trainingโlaunched in the thick of the Covid shutdowns and built on community, resilience, and fresh air. On a sunny Sunday morning, I joined a BODYCOMBAT class, a non-contact, martial arts-inspired cardio session with influences from karate, kickboxing, Muay Thai and more.
The energy was sky high. The music was loud and motivating. And the students ranged from 20-somethings to silver-haired fighters, all whooping and kicking in sync. I may have arrived two minutes late, but I left feeling like I fit right in. I even picked up a few self-defense moves along the way.
A few days laterโafter teaching and some much-needed restโI reopened the app to explore what was next. The list was both exciting and overwhelming.
There was Santa Cruz Parkour, which looked like an adult jungle gym playground and promised โfreestyle movementโ for building agility and confidence. Ballroom dancing at the Palomar piqued my interest, as did the Tropical Fusion dance class at Pleasure Point.
I briefly flirted with the idea of trying CrossFit and WODs (Workout of the Day), but decided those were better suited for more intense training days. I ended up choosing Sculpt at Fit Together Studio, a cozy women-focused studio located inside the Center Street Arts Building. Instructor Chelsea led a supportive, challenging class that hit the sweet spot between energizing and accessible. (Pro tip: give yourself extra time for parking!)
By the end of the week, I was still flying high on my ClassPass adventure. But suddenly, the class options on the app began to shrink. No more sculpt, no more reformer, no more dance. I messaged customer support and learned that the free trial has limitsโeither time- or usage-basedโand I had officially maxed out most of my options.
Fair enough. Iโd taken full advantage of the trial and loved every minute. Still, with so many classes left to explore, I decided to go ahead and subscribe at the lowest tier. Itโs affordable, flexible, and perfect for supplementing my regular studio routine with something new each week.
At the end of the day, Iโm a loyal studio-goer. I love the relationships, the consistency, and the familiarity of my yoga community. But ClassPass gave me something I didnโt know I needed: variety, inspiration, and that energizing thrill of trying something new.
So whether youโre away on vacation, hoping to shake up your summer fitness routine, or simply looking to sample what our vibrant local movement scene has to offerโClassPass might just be the nudge you didnโt know you needed.
And who knows? You might even find your new favorite class in the process.
Prices range from 8 credits for $19 a month to 125 credits for $249 a month.
Elizabeth Borelli is an author and Mediterranean lifestyle expert. Visit her website for free resources, news and events.
The stage is set for a full day of pickinโ and grinninโ as the Northern California Bluegrass Society hosts an all-day jam and potluck supper Saturday at the Live Oak Grange.
Headlining the Santa Cruz gathering is Brianna Colliard and the Desert Marigolds, โthe hottest new band in the South Bay/Monterey Bay Area,โ says Michael Hall, president of the Northern California Bluegrass Society. โThey are from the Carmel Valley mountains, the non-ocean side of Big Sur.โ
Colliard and her band recently played on the main stage of the Strawberry Music Festival, a multi-day camping and folk music gathering at the Nevada County Fairgrounds in Grass Valley.
Warming up the crowd will be the Keith Holland Bluegrass Band, โa group of jammers who get together once a week in Los Gatos,โ Hall says, followed by the Post Folk Revivalists, and Eric Burman and the Brookdale Bluegrass Band, host band of the evening, playing a mix of original and bluegrass music.
For the closing jam at 7pm, Hall says, โThere will be people with instruments both inside and outside so anybody who comes with an instrument can participate.โ
A Tennessee native, Redwood City local and retired lawyer, Hall has served with the society for more than 35 years. โMany, many years on and off,โ he says.
โThis is the fourth time that we have done this event,โ Hall explains. โThe first time was in Hollister, and the past two times were in Loch Lomond. This year weโve decided to move it into town and hold it in Santa Cruz.โ
Musicians, listeners or those interested in becoming a volunteer or member of the nonprofit Northern California Bluegrass Society are welcome to attend this free event.
On Aug. 7โ10, the society also hoststhe Good Olโ Fashioned Bluegrass Festival, a four-day fiesta with music, workshops and camping at San Benito County Historical Park.
The Northern California Bluegrass Festival jam takes place 3โ8pm on July 12 at the Live Oak Grange, 1900 17th Ave., Santa Cruz. Free. scbs.org
So Capitola can now bask in the drippy-delicious-delirious bounty of Mad Chick, crusted SPAM and breakfast burger egg sandwiches, plus a site-specific breakfast burrito.
The story of the three Hawaiian princes surfing here in the 1880s is woven into local lore. A plaque honoring the trio has been erected at Lighthouse Point
ARIES March 21-April 19
In the days before lighthouses, some coastal communities used โfire beaconsโโelevated structures where people tended open flames to guide sailors. In the coming weeks, Aries, I invite you to be like both the keeper and the flame. People will be drawn to your brightness, warmth and persistence as they navigate through their haze and fog. And...
Frankie & the Witch Fingers, the L.A.-based psych garage act, has been a favorite for years with their high-octane fueled live performances. Tuesday at Felton Music Hall.
Happy half century Good Times in the shape of a hang outside GTโs office at 107 Dakota Ave., Santa Cruz 4โ7pm Friday, July 11, with live music and food trucks.
The stage is set for a full day of pickinโ and grinninโ as the Northern California Bluegrass Society hosts an all-day jam and potluck supper Saturday at the Live Oak Grange.
