Considered one of the funniest Broadway musicals of all time, the Producers is a laugh-out-loud stage show that raked in a record-breaking 12 Tony Awards and three Olivier awards. Based on Mel Brooks’ Academy Award-winning film of the same name, the Producers is a romp about trying to pull off Broadway’s biggest scam by producing the worst show ever. Hilarity ensues.
In 2016, local world beat dance ensemble Universal Language played its first show in 6 years. The show, at Moe’s Alley, was a huge success, with the band playing every song off of its 2005 album Revolución, as well as nearly another album’s worth of unreleased material.
“It was fun. There was no pressure. There was no ego. It was like everybody was there for the music and to have a good time,” says lead singer Moshe Vilozny.
Now the group is doing it again, this time at the Crow’s Nest.
“This will be our first all-ages event in a long time,” Vilozny says. “It’s a perfect fit for us. I’m just stoked. It’s just going to be a party on the beach.”
Back in the mid-2000s, Universal Language was one of the biggest local draws. The group melded elements of Latin, African music, reggae and funk into an incredibly fun live experience. Then the group’s percussionist Pacha moved back to Mexico, which effectively ended the band’s run.
“It’s not the same band without him,” Vilozny says.
But when Pacha is back in town—like he was two years ago, and for this coming show—the band is more than happy to reunite.
“Everyone in the band is just a good friend and great musician. That’s the perfect combination. Since we get together so rarely, it’s just for fun,” Vilozny says. “We’re doing it just for the joy of getting together and playing music and to give the community.”
INFO: 5:30 p.m. Thursday, July 19. Crow’s Nest, 2218 East Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz. Free. 476-4560.
A couple of weeks ago, we did a cover story on how the nonprofit group Gravity Water was using a creative solution to help communities around the world that don’t have access to clean drinking water. I remember thinking at the time that this was a very Santa Cruz model; we have historically had a lot of forward thinkers in our community who have developed their ideas here and then taken them international.
Usually we think about this “think locally, act globally” ethos in terms of nonprofits or political activists, but this week’s cover story about photographer R.R. “Ron” Jones shows that it exists in our arts community, as well. Jones made his reputation in Santa Cruz shooting arts performances and musicians, but what I especially like about the retrospective of his work at the R. Blitzer Gallery—and Wallace Baine’s cover story on it this week—is that it shows a side of Jones that most of us have not gotten to see. The trips he’s taken to sometimes dangerous places to document life in different parts of the world shows that same need that so many people here feel to connect with a global consciousness. And his eye for the unusual and visually grabbing, developed over four decades of refining his art, comes through whether he’s photographing the AIDS crisis in Africa or doing a self-portrait in Santa Cruz. Jones is the kind of local—one whose work has made a lasting mark in our community, without most of us ever knowing his whole story—that I’m always excited to profile in GT.
I was disappointed when reading the “report” by Jacob Pierce regarding affordable housing and rent control (GT 7/4/18). I put report in quotes because the piece, regrettably, strays far beyond merely presenting the facts and letting the reader form their own judgment.
Reading the piece leaves one with a strong impression as to the reporter’s opinion on the subject. And, unfortunately, the article goes even further, casting judgment on a public figure—Councilmember Chris Krohn—saying “Krohn implied a new plan somehow changes ownership rules for ADUs—it doesn’t.”
We’re not presented with the language of either the alleged implication by Krohn or the language supposedly supporting the author’s allegation, only the author’s opinion is supplied to the reader. In other words, “I’ll tell you what to think—don’t bother with the actual facts! This attitude, especially in this Trump era, is particularly unsettling!
As the community watches the slow death of the obviously biased Sentinel, many are hoping that the Good Times will step up as a reliable source for local news coverage. It is obvious for that to be achieved there needs to be a clearer separation of editorializing and reporting in the Good Times.
Fred J. Geiger
Santa Cruz
Fred, the sentence you quoted was fact, not opinion. To explain further: despite Councilmember Krohn’s claim to the contrary, the recent city report does not loosen owner-occupied requirements for ADUs, but rather offers a path to protect them. Nor does the plan mention corridor-rezoning efforts, although it does suggest proceeding with the early stages of Ocean Street Area Plan, which was approved with relatively little fanfare four years ago, before the corridors became a contentious topic. As for journalism in the Trump era, we hope it will continue to include holding public figures accountable. — Editor
Goodbye, Riverfront
Looks like the old UA/Regal Riverfront has turned off their projectors. The problem with this nice, clean semi-large building as a twin cinema has always been the location of the marquee. They placed it way in the back on River Street at the entrance, and many tourists and locals never even knew where the theater was. As Regal does not ever even advertise what they are playing, the new owners of Regal have pulled the plug on our Riverfront Cinemas. They always showed mostly their worst movies here. Let’s hope some new theater people can take it over soon and move the marquee to Front Street. At least this cinema did not have sound leakage that they have at the Regal 9 down the street. Time for Drafthouse Cinemas to open up in Santa Cruz for the first time with food and a movie, and show what Regal and Landmark are not doing or showing in this college and tourist town. Bring in their unique blend of programming and showmanship missing in Santa Cruz movie theaters. Let’s hope they don’t turn the place into another rock music club.
Some newer films never even play in Santa Cruz. And don’t forget the seniors that enjoy going out to a movie that is not full of R-rated junk. Maybe even our local Cinelux chain can reopen the cinema with their first theater downtown and not play the same first-run junk that everyone else is playing and bring in some fresh new art movies or classics with some local comedy shows. Maybe Netflix can take it over, as the owner is local.
Terry Monohan
Felton
PHOTO CONTEST WINNER
Submit to ph****@*******es.sc. Include information (location, etc.) and your name. Photos may be cropped. Preferably, photos should be 4 inches by 4 inches and minimum 250dpi.
GOOD IDEA
TRAINING DAY
The Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) is continuing its speaker series with back-to-back speakers offering insights on implementing different transportation models. Farhad Mansourian, general manager of Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART), will discuss the Bay Area’s newest passenger rail service. Kurt Triplett, city manager for Kirkland, Washington, will discuss how he spearheaded the purchase of the Cross Kirkland Corridor and implemented an interim trail along the former rail corridor. The talk will start at 9 a.m. Aug. 2., at the Watsonville City Council Chambers. For more information, visit sccrtc.org/speaker-series.
GOOD WORK
BUILT TO PASS
Santa Cruz County’s Safe Structures Program promotes safe, healthy and habitable structures through special inspections and safety upgrades. Once a building’s certified as safe, owners will be offered relief from code enforcement so their structures can continue providing needed housing and other resources to the community. Unpermitted remodels and structures may qualify for certification. Projects must have been completed prior to 2014, and must be unable to be modified to meet current building and zoning codes, or be otherwise ineligible for a building permit. For more information, visit sccoplanning.com.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“A thing that you see in my pictures is that I was not afraid to fall in love with these people.”
The second Aptos Wine Wander was a roaring success last month—and businesses in Aptos Village enjoyed hosting the many wineries taking part in the event. Imagine tasting wine surrounded by leather in a saddle-maker’s store—as was the case when I sampled Nicholson Vineyards’ Terra Cotta 2014 Central Coast. Gravity Saddles, located in the heart of Aptos Village, specializes in handmade saddles, some of which are specifically designed to meet the rider’s needs. After doing the rounds of every winery that day, I went back for more of Nicholson’s Terra Cotta Red ($27)—a delicious blend of 50 percent Sangiovese and 50 percent Syrah.
A lighter-bodied wine with aromatic hints of ripe red fruit, licorice and sweet spice, it has a palate of cocoa, ripe plum, strawberry, spice and a hint of earth. “We make it in honor of my Italian heritage,” says Marguerite Nicholson, who runs the winery with husband Brian Nicholson. “It’s made from two wines that are not often blended, and what we have found is that the crispness of the acidic Sangio brightens a soft Syrah, and the jammy Syrah really softens a crisp Sangio—if that makes sense!”
From now until Aug. 4, Nicholson Vineyards will be open for a Series of Live Music from 3-8 p.m. on Fridays; and on Saturdays, various food trucks will be serving good grub from noon to 5 p.m. And if they haven’t already sold out, you might be lucky enough to get some of Nicholson Vineyards’ exceptional olive oil made from their estate-grown olives.
Nicholson Vineyards also participates in every Passport event—the next one being Saturday, July 21. And you’re welcome to take a picnic.
Nicholson Vineyards, 2800 Pleasant Valley Road, Aptos, 724-7071. nicholsonvineyards.com.
Passport Day
The July 21 Passport event is a day when you can visit vineyards, meet winemakers and enjoy a summer tasting of wines of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Passport Day is on the third Saturday of January, April, July and November and offers an opportunity to visit wineries not usually open to the public. Passports cost $65 and are valid for one year.
Most election cycles have their surprises. Four years ago, one of the biggest ones came out of Capitola, where a transient occupancy tax (TOT) was before voters. The tax on visitor lodging would have posed no direct cost to local residents and would have brought the tourist tax from 10 percent up to 11 percent, the same level that both the city and the county of Santa Cruz had approved two years prior, each with little fanfare.
However, Capitola—which is one of the more conservative (well, less liberal, anyway) areas of the county—voted against the 2014 measure by a sizeable margin after an opposition campaign formed. The city never clearly articulated how the money would be spent or why it was really needed.
Not deterred by the embarrassing showing, the Capitola City Council is pursuing a TOT measure again for the upcoming November election. This one would raise the TOT up to 12 percent and Mayor Mike Termini is optimistic about its chances at the polls—which may seem surprising, given that the new version now needs to score more than 20 percentage points higher than Measure M earned in 2014. While the first TOT measure needed only a simple majority to pass, the new one needs a two-thirds of the vote.
But in contrast to the confusion and ambiguity that surrounded the 2014 measure, Capitola city leaders have this time around outlined that most of the money will go to the general fund, but with 20 percent going to local business groups and marketing. Ted Burke, co-owner of Capitola’s Shadowbrook restaurant, says that could more than offset the risk to the industry. Burke was among those who campaigned against the previous measure, but he’s now a vocal supporter of the new version. He’s particularly pleased that 17.5 percent would go to child education programs.
“As a business owner, who for more than 40 years has made children the primary recipient of our community giving, I have even more reason for support,” Burke says via email.
In 1978, California voters passed Proposition 13, which among its provisions required two-thirds of voters to support any special-use tax like the new TOT measure. That requirement doesn’t apply, though, to general-use measures, like Capitola’s previous version.
For the most part, left-leaning activists and local government officials alike have long derided the variety of ways that Prop 13 makes it difficult to raise revenues.
But 40 years later, it also presents a strange irony in the electoral landscape. Generally speaking, a city government may go to voters and say “We have a detailed plan for this money, and this is how we’ll spend it,” and they’ll need two-thirds of the vote to pass it. But a local government can also go to the ballot and say, essentially, “More cash, please?” and only need a simple majority.
In any case, cities are increasingly strapped financially, thanks largely to burgeoning pension costs. This November, voters from Watsonville will weigh in on a TOT measure raising their transient occupancy tax to 12 percent, and the Scotts Valley City Council has approved its own measure to raise the TOT there to 11 percent.
In Capitola, Burke remembers the previous TOT measure getting jammed onto the 2014 ballot by the council at the last minute. He says that this year, the city did a much better job of outreach with the business community.
Even Mayor Termini won’t deny that the 2014 effort felt “rushed” and “icky.”
“In hindsight it was good that it didn’t pass,” Termini says. “This year’s is a better measure.”
There is no music playing at the R. Blitzer Gallery in Santa Cruz. But in the spacious quiet of the gallery, you can practically hear the song anyway.
“Ballad of a Thin Man” is one of several of Bob Dylan songs more readily recognized by a signature line than its title. He dishes it out like a snake showing its fangs: “Something is happening here, but you don’t know what it is/Do you, Mr. Jones?”
From Dylan’s standpoint, “Mr. Jones” may be some kind of bewildered everyman. But at the Blitzer, he’s an actual guy—Santa Cruz photographer R.R. “Ron” Jones.
This Mr. Jones is the subject of a career retrospective show at the Blitzer in the Wrigley Building on Santa Cruz’s Westside called Ballad of a Photographer: 40 Years of Photographs. And, just in case you don’t catch the reference, the gallery features posters on which is printed the maddeningly enigmatic lyrics to Dylan’s ballad.
“I changed one word,” Jones says as he stands in the gallery, surrounded by about a hundred of his prints. With that, he points to the very first line of the song: “You walk into a room with a pencil in your hand.” He changed “pencil” to “camera.”
The following line, a reference to a naked man in surreal surroundings, parallels an image of Jones himself, naked from the waist up, with one of Thailand’s most prominent drag queens. From that first moment, it’s clear that deep-diving into Jones’ work is not so different than listening to Dylan’s song—we’re all in for a hallucinatory passage into unfamiliar worlds.
Jones, 68, is originally from Houston, Texas, but has been a fixture on the Santa Cruz arts scene for almost 35 years. Locals may know many of his performance shots from the Kuumbwa Jazz Center, Shakespeare Santa Cruz and the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music. But the heart of Jones’s work—the thing that gives his photographs a uniquely haunting, hypnotic quality—lies far from Santa Cruz.
As an artist, Jones has a taste for traveling to the places where the cruise ships don’t go, and no one is taking selfies. He and his camera have traveled widely, but clearly he has places that draw him: Mexico, Java, Southeast Asia.
FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT International work from the R.R. Jones retrospective includes this image of a young dancer in Bali, 2000.
The new show doesn’t shy from the barbarity of state violence, juxtaposing a shot of fresh graves in Chiapas during the Zapatista rebellion in the mid-1990s with a tight close-up of skulls unearthed in the “killing fields” of Cambodia. “Those are all women between the ages of 40 and 50,” he says, gesturing to the latter.
However compelling the images, touring the work with Jones clues you in that the photos are merely portals to larger experiences in terrain that the vast majority of Americans will never explore.
In one tight close-up, a man looks somberly and wall-eyed into the camera. “Zimbabwe,” says Jones. He traveled there in the early 2000s, smack in the middle of the reign of dictator Robert Mugabe. He was there to document the AIDS crisis in Africa, sponsored by a group of American physicians running an AIDS research project.
“Idiot me, I thought, ‘Oh, this will be cool,’” says Jones. “It was fucking heartbreaking. Everyone’s dying. Everybody’s got AIDS. And right next door was the insane asylum. You can’t go out into the street because Robert Mugabe is going to arrest you. It was a nightmare.”
As Jones tells the story, it’s something of a miracle that he got to shoot inside Zimbabwe at all. On the flight to Harare, he struck up a conversation with a man from the African nation, who asked Jones why he was traveling.
“I’m going to photograph an AIDS research project,” said Jones.
The man laughed. “No, you’re not,” he said. “They’re going to take your camera away the minute you get to the airport.”
When the plane landed, Jones stuck closely to his new friend. He watched as a German film crew was waiting at a luggage turnstile for their camera equipment. When it emerged, it was picked up by airport workers and carried away, to angry protest from the waiting Germans.
The Zimbabwean man had told Jones to tell authorities that he was a schoolteacher, and not to take his bag to customs. “Right before we get to customs,” Jones remembers, “he points to a door in the very far corner that says ‘Airport.’ We open it and suddenly we’re in the parking lot. I didn’t walk 10 feet before I met the doctor who was there to greet me. She goes, ‘I knew you would make it.’”
Once at the AIDS hospital, Jones walked past hundreds of people lining both walls of a broad corridor, all waiting to see his host, the only doctor on duty.
“Margaret, are all these people waiting for you?” the photographer asked.
“Yes,” said the doctor. “I’ll see half of them today. The other half will spend the night here, and I’ll see them tomorrow.”
Zimbabwe represents only two of the images in the show, but many carry similarly engrossing stories. There’s one of the Ku Klux Klan marching down the street in Jones’s hometown of Houston, dating back to 1983. There’s the oldest photo in the set, a sand dune shot that evokes Edward Weston. There’s a portrait of Weston’s former wife and most famous model, the late Charis Wilson who lived in Santa Cruz for most of her later years. Jones knew her well. “She didn’t take shit from anyone,” he says with a laugh. “She’d say, ‘I don’t like these pictures, Ron. You’re not very good.’”
Jones shows a fondness for artists, and his show is chock full of portraiture of great artists, writers and musicians from poet Pablo Fernandez to banjo master Bela Fleck to composer Lou Harrison to painter Julian Schnabel to saxophonist Donny McCaslin, who grew up in Santa Cruz. “I remember when the saxophone was bigger than he was,” says Jones.
HIGH NOTES Jazz saxophonist and Santa Cruz native Donny McCaslin, 2014.
He’s also inexorably drawn to religious themes, from the portrait of the shy monk he took at Cambodia’s Angkor Wat to the tattoo of Buddha’s foot on the top of another man’s bald head. He photographed a local bodybuilder holding a head of Buddha from the seventh century, and two young women called the Sin Sisters forming a trio with a 17th-century statue of Jesus.
The photographer is resolutely old school in the film-vs.-digital debate. “It’s better,” he protests, about shooting film. “It just looks good. You go into this,” he says, making a diving gesture with his hand at one of his silver-gelatin prints. “You don’t go into that,” pointing over his shoulder at the one room in his exhibit that features digital prints.
Even so, the digital prints may prove to be one of the most popular draws of the exhibit. They are shots of performers on stage at Kuumbwa, dramatically lost in vividly colored motion blurs. Another themed room in the exhibit features a series of images with models and unusual animal skulls and bones, a tribute to late San Francisco biologist and bone collector Ray Bandar.
Skulls, religious icons, nudes, performers, elbow-to-elbow in compelling contexts. They are all aswirl in an aesthetic that has been 40 years in the making. The totality of Jones’ vision brings us right back to the song, as if the images that crowd the Blitzer each can find their counterpart in Dylan’s lyrics.
Something is happening here, and even if Mr. Jones does not know what it is, he’s still working at figuring it out.
“I got a few more years left in me,” he says. “What I’d like to do is really get in the darkroom and lock the door for a month. I got things I’ve never even printed. I could put together another five books.”
Ballad of a Photographer: 40 Years of Photographs by R.R. Jones
Blitzer Gallery, 2801 Mission St., Santa Cruz Through July 28. Gallery hours Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. rblitzergallery.com
This is our last week of the sign of the scarab (Cancer) before Leo Sun begins (Sunday afternoon) and the next Mercury retrograde (next Wednesday). Before the Sun completes its days in Cancer, let’s look at this sign of the World Mother. The sign Cancer has a very deep and abiding connection with the human race. Cancer is the “Gate Into Matter,” the doorway through which humans appear on Earth. Thus, Cancer rules mass consciousness. Cancer people (Sun, Moon, Ascendant) intuitively understand the common people’s basic needs and motivations.
Cancer rules (oversees, protects, etc.) home, motherhood, family, birth, childbirth, the sea, women (in general), inherited tendencies, domestic life, cooks, kitchens, basic nurturing, gestation, protectiveness, baskets, the demarcation line between water and land, moody feelings and all places of repose. Cancer receives and distributes Ray 3 (new ideas) and Ray 7 (taking root, anchoring in the world, the great sea of life).
Cancer is the “Light within the form—awaiting the Light of the Soul.” Cancer lives half on earth and half in the water. Often Cancer hides away under its shell, silently waiting for the environment to be safe and trusting. Cancer rules our treasures, our private life, conception, heredity and one’s spiritual security (ashram or sangha). Cancer is always seeking home as refuge (sangha). Cancer has unrealized gifts buried deeply within. Cancer’s gifts of nourishment are profound, deep and mysterious.
ARIES: Are you unusually hungry, and have your appetites for creative work increased? Are you searching for enjoyment? Creative self-expression and entertainment is how you’re to be in the world now. Careful though—others may compete with your starry brightness. Let them win. You know you’re the first and the very best. Let all of creation be playful for you.
TAURUS: Your work always reflects your deepest values as you attempt to resolve financial problems and create an informed and secure future for everyone. You keep saying, “We must safeguard the food and water supplies.” You’re correct. You tell us we must tend to the lives of many generations to come, beginning now. Of all the signs, you’re the most composed and prepared. Rest more. You are always communicating dual realities so everyone can understand.
GEMINI: The Sun always seems to be illuminating you from within; a golden light emanating from your eyes and heart. Gemini eyes are shaped differently, in order to see what others cannot. Gathering, holding, dispersing and radiating Love/Wisdom is a task of the heart. Its emergence from you is important now. Many are puzzled by events in the world. You are to soothe them. Understanding both sides, offering Goodwill. You are the twins, Castor and Pollux. Study and communicate with them.
CANCER: Working with finances and resources becomes exciting when you realize you want to use all that you have to create a sustainable and ecological future for your family. And this is the template for all of humanity. Many will look to you for information as changes in our world accelerate. One such preparation is seed saving. Share your seeds and teach others how to, too. This is one of the most important ways of nurturing humanity–present and future–that of seed saving.
LEO: You must be busy with this and that, here and there and everywhere. It’s good to participate in many varied activities so you can be recognized, praised and appreciated. This helps develop a newer self-identity. It’s also good if you facilitate meetings, group discussions, and community matters. You always have leadership qualities, but soon they will truly be needed and your ideas applied. Remember: the best leader is the humblest.
VIRGO: Mercury (your ruling planet) will soon retrograde again, and your mind will assess what achievements you have accomplished in the coming months, and what to do in the future. You’re often very busy working behind the scenes with research and study, tending the ill and weary or reading books on religion or seeking respite and seclusion in water gardens. Plant dill, borage, burdock and roses, and create another water fountain.
LIBRA: The Sun highlights your home, and I wonder if you’ve been somewhere far away. Wherever you are there’s always beauty, art and culture. Hopefully you have access to warm waters, pools, rivers, streams, a spa because you need care, tending and time for healing and away from work where you push yourself beyond limits. So many changes in our world in the coming months. Prepare yourself to have what you want and need. This requires self-definition.
SCORPIO: You will assume more work responsibilities. Great resources are available to you. They are all around. It’s important to recognize your specific gifts and abilities. There’s a kindness to what will occur between the world and you, a culmination of your ambitions and achievements. As more work is required in the public, stand with grace and equanimity and use Right Speech, which creates Right Relationships. You will be imitated by many others.
SAGITTARIUS: Work has been very busy, and you’ve been very disciplined. It called for all your creative talents. Now you’ll begin to remember past relationships. The purpose will reveal itself very soon. Are you thinking of faraway places, people, events? Longing for something past that held you in love and care? Remember it as long as you can. You’ll assess, discriminate and then decide. In time there will be more ease.
CAPRICORN: Be aware of the accelerated passages of time. Have the intention to be closer and kinder to family, partner and loved ones. Many benefits will emerge from this. Always with contact, more and more love is released. This is nourishing for you as you need nourishment now, not just from foods but from the morning and evening Sun and from the love (pink-like cotton candy stuff emerging from hearts) around you. But you must make the first contact. Contact releases love.
AQUARIUS: The Sun illuminates your need for home. Soon it illuminates the need for fun, pleasure, love, children and creativity. If you’re an artist, this is a time to be in your studio warehouse creating inspired work. Many memories from the past are appearing. It is difficult to balance inner and outer worlds when this occurs. Many seek your attention, needing you to love them. Know that a new self-identity is growing within. It’s a very good time for change and for freedom.
PISCES: You find yourself accomplishing tasks and interacting with people from the past. You’ve been given an opportunity to fulfill certain dharmic tasks. As you perform daily work, maintain a calm interior, practice mantras (Ohm Mani Padme Hum) and harmlessness and know you must continue ’til the work that is yours to do is complete. It has taken years to come to this place in time and space. Your personality is resisting. However, your Soul brought you here.
“Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do.”
This is the directive of Ecclesiastes 9:7, a favorite Bible verse of the local Greater Purpose Community Church, which has big plans for an expansion in downtown Santa Cruz.
Pastor Christopher VanHall says the progressive-minded church will be opening the Greater Purpose Brewing Company in the former Logos bookstore building on Pacific Avenue. The group has already signed a lease with former Logos owner John Livingston, who still owns the building.
“Jesus drank wine and had a reputation of hanging out in places where people consumed alcohol,” VanHall says. “But for some reason, American churches have been vigilant in saying ‘You can’t drink alcohol.’”
After a remodel, the building will have a full restaurant upstairs and a brewery on the basement floor. VanHall describes the idea as more of a community space than a traditional church, although there’ll be literature available and normal church services on Sunday. He explains that the menu will feature their craft beer and mead, while the dining will be mostly soul food, “Southern fusion,” as VanHall calls it. A coffee corner nook will serve as a common area for people to hang out and chat.
Greater Purpose is not your typical Christian congregation. The church, which marched in Santa Cruz’s recent Pride parade, already has regular Faith On Tap meetings, which are open to people of all religions to gather and drink craft beer while discussing how to raise money or volunteer their time for local issues.
“If there’s something that needs to be done in the community we should do it together,” emphasizes VanHall.
While the connection between brewing and Bibles may sound tenuous to some, VanHall notes that monks have brewed their own beer for centuries, so it’s not a radical idea, but rather one that Greater Purpose hopes to resurrect. Some of the most famous brewing monks were the Trappists, who began brewing in the 1600s. Today, seven Trappist monasteries still brew their own suds, with Chimay being the most recognizable to Americans. VanHall says Greater Purpose will even take a page from the Belgian company’s business model of giving back and will split their profits with local organizations working for social and environmental justice, as well as homeless rights.
“Giving people the opportunity to ‘pour with a purpose’—knowing every pint you drink goes to a charitable cause—was very attractive to me,” he explains. “One of the most common things that bubbles up in conversation with nonprofits is their lack of funding.”
VanHall says starting a brewery and restaurant has been the church’s plan for some time, ever since selling its Garfield Park location, known as the Circle Church, in January. Since then, the pastor and his board of directors looked all over the county for a building to house the project until their rental agent mentioned the Logos vacancy.
“It’s more about community than anything,” Livingston, their new landlord, says. “I really like their approach.”
Livingston has owned the building since 1991, after the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake left Logos’ previous Cooper Street location condemned and red-tagged. That forced him to move his beloved used book and music store to Pacific Avenue, where it remained until closing in September.
VanHall says he likes that Planned Parenthood has local offices just upstairs from the church’s soon-to-be new location in the old Logos building. “A woman’s right to choose is something most churches are silent on or opposed to, but that’s not where we stand in the faith community,” he explains.
The church hopes to open next summer, but VanHall says that date could change. Not only will Greater Purpose need to completely remodel the inside of the building, but it has also only just begun to file all of the necessary paper with the city of Santa Cruz. The new company’s leaders have to apply for an alcohol license in a town that is already saturated with 260 alcohol outlets—one of the highest concentrations in the state, according to Santa Cruz Police Deputy Chief Rick Martinez. After the earthquake, alcohol permits were used as an incentive to attract businesses back to the devastated downtown area. However, Martinez says Greater Purpose Brewing Company shouldn’t have any trouble securing a license. “It won’t be that hard if they keep it low risk,” he says.
Compared to high-risk outlets such as liquor bars, the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control defines low-risk outlets as pubs and restaurants. These permits are easier for businesses to obtain because these businesses generally close earlier and offer patrons food to soak up the booze.
Once open, the space could be seen as another step in Pacific’s continuously changing climate. In the wake of booming online retailers, the faces of American brick-and-mortar stores are becoming increasingly niched, while eateries are on the rise. Santa Cruz isn’t any different.
“Over the last number of years, the growth has definitely been in the restaurant/pub area,” says Santa Cruz Economic Development Director Bonnie Lipscomb.
She feels that many local business owners excel at creating unique dining and retail experiences that fit a Santa Cruz vibe. The city’s Economic Development Office is awaiting an updated retail analysis from business expert Robert Gibbs, who first visited Santa Cruz in 2011 and came back earlier this year.
As for Greater Purpose Brewing Company in particular, Lipscomb praises the idea. “Its primary purpose as a restaurant and brewery really fits our downtown core,” she says, adding that there will be plenty of demand, given consumers’ changing habits.
Aside from spreading the Gospel, VanHall really just wants to turn heads and help people challenge their own preconceived notions—not unlike the message that the church’s original messiah sent some 2,000 years ago.
“We hope to be an absolute conundrum for people walking by,” he says. “A church that serves beer and gives the profits away to places like Planned Parenthood is really exciting to me.”
Free Will astrology for the week of July 18, 2018.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): “Take a lover who looks at you like maybe you are magic.” Whenever that quote appears on the internet, it’s falsely attributed to painter Frida Kahlo. In fact, it was originally composed by poet Marty McConnell. In any case, I’ll recommend that you heed it in the coming weeks. You really do need to focus on associating with allies who see the mysterious and lyrical best in you. I will also suggest that you get inspired by a line that Frida Kahlo actually wrote: “Take a lover who looks at you like maybe you are a bourbon biscuit.” (If you don’t know what a bourbon biscuit is, I’ll tell you: chocolate buttercream stuffed between two thin rectangular chocolate biscuits.)
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Here’s what author Franz Kafka wrote in his diary on Aug. 2, 1914: “Germany has declared war on Russia. I went swimming in the afternoon.” We could possibly interpret his nonchalance about world events to be a sign of callous self-absorption. But I recommend that you cultivate a similar attitude in the coming weeks. In accordance with astrological omens, you have the right and the need to shelter yourself from the vulgar insanity of politics and the pathological mediocrity of mainstream culture. So feel free to spend extra time focusing on your own well-being. (P.S.: Kafka’s biographer says swimming served this role for him. It enabled him to access deep unconscious reserves of pleasurable power that renewed his spirit.)
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Am I delusional to advise a perky, talkative Gemini like yourself to enhance your communication skills? How dare I even hint that you’re not quite perfect at a skill you were obviously born to excel at? But that’s exactly what I’m here to convey. The coming weeks will be a favorable time to take inventory of how you could more fully develop your natural ability to exchange information. You’ll be in robust alignment with cosmic rhythms if you take action to refine the way you express your own messages and receive and respond to other people’s messages.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Self-described skeptics sometimes say to me, “How can any intelligent person believe in astrology? You must be suffering from a brain dysfunction if you imagine that the movements of planets can reveal any useful clues about our lives.” If the “skeptic” is truly open-minded, as an authentic skeptic should be, I offer a mini-lecture to correct his misunderstandings. If he’s not (which is the usual case), I say that I don’t need to “believe” in astrology; I use astrology because it works. For instance, I have a working hypothesis that Cancerians like myself enjoy better-than-average insight and luck with money every year from late July through the month of August. It’s irrelevant whether there’s a “scientific” theory to explain why this might be. I simply undertake efforts to improve my financial situation at this time, and I’m often successful.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Here are some of the fine gifts you’re eligible for and even likely to receive during the next four weeks: a more constructive and fluid relationship with obsession; a panoramic look at what lies below the tip of the metaphorical iceberg; a tear-jerking joyride that cracks open your sleeping sense of wonder; erasure of at least 20 percent of your self-doubt; vivid demonstrations of the excitement available from slowing down and taking your sweet time; and a surprising and useful truth delivered to your soul by your body.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): During the last three months of 2018, I suspect you will dismantle or outgrow a foundation. Why? So as to prepare the way for building or finding a new foundation in 2019. From next January onward, I predict you will re-imagine the meaning of home. You’ll grow fresh roots and come to novel conclusions about the influences that enable you to feel secure and stable. The reason I’m revealing these clues ahead of time is because now is a good time to get a foreshadowing of how to proceed. You can glean insights on where to begin your work.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): A reader asked Libran blogger Ana-Sofia Cardelle, “How does one become more sensual?” I’ll ask you to meditate on the same question. Why? Because it’s a good time to enrich and deepen your sensuality. For inspiration, here are some ideas that blend my words with Cardelle’s: “Laugh easily and freely. Tune in to the rhythm of your holy animal body as you walk. Sing songs that remind you why you’re here on Earth. Give yourself the luxury of reading books that thrill your imagination and fill you with fresh questions. Eat food with your fingers. Allow sweet melancholy to snake through you. Listen innocently to people, being warm-hearted and slyly wild. Soak up colors with your eager eyes. Whisper grateful prayers to the sun as you exult in its gifts.”
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): “If people aren’t laughing at your goals, your goals are too small.” So says bodybuilder Kai Greene. I don’t know if I would personally make such a brazen declaration, but I do think it’s worth considering—especially for you right now. You’re entering into the Big Bold Vision time of your astrological cycle. It’s a phase when you’ll be wise to boost the intensity of your hopes for yourself, and get closer to knowing the ultimate form of what you want, and be daring enough to imagine the most sublime possible outcomes for your future. If you do all that with the proper chutzpah, some people may indeed laugh at your audacity. That’s OK!
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): This mini-chapter in your epic life story is symbolically ruled by the fluttering flights of butterflies, the whirring hum of hummingbird wings, the soft cool light of fireflies, and the dawn dances of seahorses. To take maximum advantage of the blessings life will tease you with in the coming weeks, I suggest you align yourself with phenomena like those. You will tend to be alert and receptive in just the right ways if you cultivate a love of fragile marvels, subtle beauty, and amazing grace.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): I swear the astrological omens are telling me to tell you that you have license to make the following requests: 1. People from your past who say they’d like to be part of your future have to prove their earnestness by forgiving your debts to them and asking your forgiveness for their debts to you. 2. People who are pushing for you to be influenced by them must agree to be influenced by you. 3. People who want to deepen their collaborations with you must promise to deepen their commitment to wrestling with their own darkness. 4. People who say they care for you must prove their love in a small but meaningful way.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): You will never find an advertisement for Nike or Apple within the sacred vessel of this horoscope column. But you may come across plugs for soul-nourishing commodities like creative freedom, psychosexual bliss, and playful generosity. Like everyone else, I’m a salesperson—although I believe that the wares I peddle are unambiguously good for you. In this spirit, I invite you to hone your own sales pitch. It’s an excellent time to interest people in the fine products and ideas and services that you have to offer.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Would you do me a favor, please? Would you do your friends and loved ones and the whole world a favor? Don’t pretend you’re less powerful and beautiful than you are. Don’t downplay or neglect the magic you have at your disposal. Don’t act as if your unique genius is nothing special. OK? Are you willing to grant us these small indulgences? Your specific talents, perspectives, and gifts are indispensable right now. The rest of us need you to be bold and brazen about expressing them.
Homework: Tell a story about the time Spirit reached down and altered your course in one tricky, manic swoop. Freewillastrology.com
An orgy of English! A barrage of wordplay! An excess of wit! Shakespeare is back. And if this season’s opener is any gauge, Santa Cruz Shakespeare has entered the big leagues. Love’s Labour’s Lost—a daring choice—is nothing less than a showcase for some of the finest actors working in this country today.
Director Paul Mullins (director of Hamlet and 39 Steps in past seasons) polishes, energizes, and then unleashes his exceptional cast on one of Shakespeare’s most challenging works. Mullins had confidence in what has to be the most diverse cast this side of Hamilton. Good thing he did, since Labour’s is packed top to bottom with extravagant wordplay, historically dated asides, and the sorts of linguistically dense speeches that can leave lesser acting companies mumbling in the dust. This is a tricky play to get right. But because we can understand what the actors are saying—and because the cunning bits of stagecraft reinforce the words’ meanings—there are no dead spots. Everything moves, flows, and often astounds. Terrific staging from start to finish.
The story is quintessential Shakespeare: the King of Navarre (Lorenzo Roberts) has gathered three of his noble friends to join him in a utopian experiment. The men take an oath, albeit reluctantly, to forswear women and retreat from the world for three years. Alas, that very evening the Princess of France and her three noblewomen arrive on a political mission. As you can imagine, the men immediately ditch their pact and fall madly in love. Love letters are written, disguises are donned, and mischief is afoot.
Ribald counterweight to noble declarations of love is provided by pompous Spanish knight Don Armado (played to the hilt by Tommy A. Gomez), who is smitten with a country wench called Jaquenetta (Clea DeCrane). Enter a clueless bumpkin Costard (a terrific Vincent Williams), who also loves Jaquenetta. Kudos to Kailey Azure Green as the resourceful Moth. The interplay between the realms of noble court and real world are pitched to illuminate the deceit in each. Over-the-top declarations of desire and distress (Gomez rules!) provide dizzying slapstick. “Sweet smoke of rhetoric!”
What we have is ingenious comedy that doesn’t gloss over the nuances of love’s bitter sacrifices and compromises. “All delights are vain,” swears one of the hapless lovers. The entire ensemble ripples with invention, wit, and inspired play.
One of Shakespeare’s early comedies, Love’s Labour’s Lost casts its spell with puns, double meanings, riddles, and other juicy language games. High language and low are braided together, each exposing the hypocrisy—and power—of the other. Every word, every inside joke, every crisp consonant was clearly spoken, heard, and understood. No muffled garbling, no unintelligible speechifying, and no amateurish shouting.
When the four noblemen, united in their determination to woo the princess and her women, disguise themselves as visiting Russians, ridiculous accents are added to the hilarity. The stage becomes a master class in dueling dialects, attitudes, and displays of the endless flexibility of the English language. That flexibility is pushed to its limits by Paige Lindsey White, who simply tears up the entire stage as a Latin-conjugating schoolmistress.
Brian Ibsen’s Berowne is masterful. Smooth, stylish and unerring in diction, Ibsen is a class act. As Boyet, eagle-eyed companion of the princess, Patty Gallagher has found the perfect part for her brilliant bag of tricks. Navarre’s other conspirators, Dumaine (Taha Mandviwala) and Longaville (Noah Yaconelli) are deliciously adroit. And as feisty Rosaline, Nia Kingsley smartly matches wits with Ibsen’s Berowne.
So much disarming and effective stage movement ignites this production that we are charmed just when we’d expect to disengage. Dashing, dancing, posing and prancing, the four men are utterly charismatic. Ably matched by the female players, who relish their clever game to confuse the men (this is Shakespeare), the company is ravishingly costumed by Nikki Delhomme. Everybody looks like a million dollars. Men in linen suits, tuxedos, and silly costumes for the play within the play, women in elegant traveling outfits and glittering ball gowns—all bearing a turn-of-the 19th century stamp. The set design by Erik Flatmo functions handsomely as a platform for endless antics. A musical finale, sung by the entire company, brings the unconventional tale of love, desire, and linguistic pretension to an enchanting close.
How we talk about love might or might not interfere with how we feel and how we act. Shakespeare knew enough about this to spark revelation a full five centuries later. Love’s language, in all its depth and silliness, is explored without mercy in this charming production of Love’s Labour’s Lost.
‘Love’s Labour’s Lost’ runs through Sept. 2, at the Grove in Delaveaga Park. santacruzshakespeare.org.
