Page 797 – Good Times

5 Things to Do in Santa Cruz This Week

GT Staff

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May 17, 2017

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Event highlights for the week of May 17, 2017

Green Fix

Open Streets Watsonville

Reclaim the streets this Sunday, May 21, as Watsonville opens up Brennan and Union streets to a free community event so locals can bike, skate, walk, dance and play without cars present. Enjoy the “pop-up park” with friends and family, live music, educational outreach booths, art and activities. The first Open Streets in Santa Cruz County took place in 2012 on West Cliff Drive, and drew more than 9,000 participants.

Info: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday, May 21. Brennan and Union streets, Watsonville. scopenstreets.org. Free.

Art Seen

12th Annual Vive Oaxaca Guelaguetza

Coming from the Zapotec language, guelaguetza signifies giving, cooperation and community.

Celebrate its meaning through Oaxacan culture and tradition with Santa Cruz nonprofit Senderos’ 12th annual Vive Oaxaca Guelaguetza. Festivities will kick off with a traditional Calenda, a procession and fiesta with dancers, musicians, and large puppets parading on Cooper Street. The festival marketplace will be selling traditional Oaxacan food and beverages like mole, tlayudas and tejate, as well as crafts and souvenirs. Traditional Oaxacan band Banda de Viento will provide the tunes, along with students from Zoogocho, Oaxaca, and Senderos’ youth banda Ensamble Musical.

Info: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, May 21. Harbor High School, 300 La Fonda Ave., Santa Cruz.

Thursday 5/18

‘Queens of Syria’ Film Screening

The Watsonville Film Festival will screen Queens of Syria, an award-winning documentary that follows 50 Syrian women who were forced into exile in Jordan, and brings their tragedies to life through their rendition of Euripides’s classic The Trojan Woman.

Info: 7-9 p.m. Appleton Grill & Event Lounge, 410 Rodriguez St., Watsonville. 724-5555. queensofsyriatour.com. $8.

Friday 5/19

Third Friday Art Walk Capitola Mall Launch

This Friday, May 19, the nonprofit arts organization Arts of Santa Cruz will take over the empty stores in Capitola Mall and showcase more than 20 local artists’ work—photography, jewelry, ceramics, clothing, woodwork and more. Art of Santa Cruz works to support artists in Santa Cruz County with customer assistance, facilitating participation, and merchandizing art. Each month, the Art of Santa Cruz nonprofit will feature a local charity to support. May will showcase the Walnut Avenue Family & Women’s Center.

Info: 5:30-8:30 p.m. Capitola Mall, 1855 41st Ave., Capitola. facebook.com/ArtofSantaCruz. Free.

Saturday 5/21

Pie for the People

The past few months have been a scary time for immigrant communities in the U.S., which is why Pie for the People has teamed up with the Santa Cruz County Immigration Project and the Community Action Board. In an effort to raise community awareness and money to support local immigrant families, they’re hosting their eighth community fundraiser with this month’s featured nonprofit, the Santa Cruz County Immigration Project (SCCIP). SCCIP provides free, competent and professional legal services, advocacy and education for local immigrant families. Attendees are encouraged to bring a sweet or savory vegetarian pie, plates and cutlery.

Info: 1-3 p.m. Homeless Garden Project, Delaware Ave., Santa Cruz. Donation.

What is your earliest memory of Santa Cruz?

Columns

Matthew Cole Scott

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May 17, 2017

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What is your earliest memory of Santa Cruz?

“Coming here as a little kid and putting my fingers in the sea anemones on West Cliff.”

Peggy Bornfleth

Santa Cruz

Quality Analyst

“When my friends told me to be careful of high tide and I thought they were joking and as I was playing in the tide pools a big wave crushed me and I thought I was going to die.”

Tina Johnson

Santa Cruz

Business Owner

“1959, going to the Boardwalk with my sisters and my mom and dad.”

David Beck

Tow Truck Driver

“Capitola Beach, 20 years ago, where I found my family, my children, my wife. When I met her 20 years ago, it was my first experience in Santa Cruz and I never left. ”

Ross Fuller

Scotts Valley

Business Owner

“Traveling through, I stopped to get some pot and I loved it. It was in the late â€™90s.”

Wesley Williams

Santa Cruz

Jeweler/Pot Grower

Music Picks May 17—23

GT Staff

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May 17, 2017

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Live music highlights for the week of May 17, 2017

WEDNESDAY 5/17

COUNTRY

BREA BURNS & THE BOLEROS

A country and honky tonk outfit out of Phoenix, Arizona, Brea Burns and the Boleros features ace musicians from the city’s classic country and rockabilly scenes. Born in Southern California, Burns is a talented artist and frontwoman who draws comparisons to Loretta Lynn and Wanda Jackson—pretty good company for a rising star. She had a solid foundation to spring from, as her mother was a songwriter and musician, and her father a longtime music industry veteran. Also on the bill: the Western Wednesday All-Star Band, with special guest McCoy Tyler. CJ

INFO: 9 p.m. Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $10. 429-6994.

WEDNESDAY 5/17

INDIE ROCK

KING TUFF

Established by Kyle Thomas—who has since taken on the band’s name—King Tuff initially failed to draw much of a following. So Thomas moved to other projects, like playing with indie legends Dinosaur Jr., metalheads Witch, and prolific rocker Ty Segall. But when his second, self-titled album was released in 2010, it firmly established King Tuff as his own entity on the indie scene. MAT WEIR

INFO: 8 p.m. Don Quixote’s, 6275 Hwy. 9, Felton. $15. 335-2800.

FRIDAY 5/19

HIP-HOP

BLACKALICIOUS

In 2015, there was a certain potency to Blackalicious’ album Imani Vol. 1—the first album the bay area hip-hop duo had released in a decade. It was timely, politically unapologetic, and even a celebration of sorts. (“Darker than the random check of passengers/traveling first-class/blacker than the President/well half of him”). In 2017, considering everything going on with the nation, the record seems darker, and at the same time more necessary. The duo has almost single-handedly redefined how a rap group can be both experimental and accessible, and they still have a lot to say. AARON CARNES

INFO: 9 p.m. Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $17/adv, $20/door. 479-1854.

FRIDAY 5/19

ROOTS

MARTY O’REILLY

A four-piece that formed in Santa Cruz in 2012, Marty O’Reilly and the Old Soul Orchestra trips through Howlin’ Wolf and John Lee Hooker-inspired blues, rock and roll, and American roots music to emerge with a gritty, soulful sound of its own. Led by O’Reilly, who boasts a gorgeous voice and solid instrumental chops, the band raises the bar on the local roots singer-songwriter scene. Exploring topics of love, heartache, loss and joy with passion and precision, O’Reilly and company have established themselves as ones to watch on the larger American roots landscape. CJ

INFO: 8:30 p.m. Don Quixote’s, 6275 Hwy. 9, Felton. $15. 335-2800.

SATURDAY 5/20

SKA

DAN P & THE BRICKS

One of Santa Cruz’s most popular local bands was ’90s ska-rock-pop ensemble Slow Gherkin. The town is also home to Dan Potthast, lead singer of St. Louis’ biggest ska band of all time, MU330. For some reason, it took until 2009 before these monsters of ska joined forces to create the ultimate local ska Voltron. There’s even non-Gherkin/MU330 members in the group, 10 people total. This is the perfect band to see if you’ve grown embarrassed by your ska past, but you secretly miss skanking at shows. You will be among friends here. AC

INFO: 9 p.m. Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $10. 429-6994.

SATURDAY 5/20

SURF-PUNK

FRIGHTS

The song “Kids” off of the Frights’ latest record talks about how, when you still live with mom and dad, you hate everything they say and do. But once you move out, you realize that they were right about a lot of things. Musically, the Frights embody this mix of childish rebellion and grown-up self-restraint with a healthy mix of punk, pop, garage, and surfy earworms. They wail and scream and gently hum along tender melodies. The new record might actually be a bit scatterbrained for some fans, but if they can appreciate the diversity of sound, they are in for a crazy ride. AC

INFO: 8:30 p.m. Catalyst, 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $13/adv, $15/door. 429-4135.

SUNDAY 5/21

AMERICANA

DANGERMUFFIN

Remember when Americana was a sub-genre? Now that sub-genre has sub-genres of its own, including “alt-Americana,” “indie Americana” and now “coastal Americana.” I recently heard the phrase used to describe the Charleston, South Carolina-based band Dangermuffin. While I have no idea what the band name is about, I must admit, I really dig the coastal Americana tag. It makes me think that we need one to describe the Santa Cruz roots sound. Anyway, Dangermuffin is a rootsy four-piece that digs into folk, roots, traditional fingerpicking, jam tradition and even reggae to create something upbeat, catchy and, yes, coastal. CJ

INFO: 7 p.m. Don Quixote’s, 6275 Hwy. 9, Felton. $10. 335-2800.

MONDAY-TUESDAY 5/22-23

AFRO-CUBAN

CHUCHO VALDES: SOLO PIANO

Even in Cuba, where prodigious pianists are one of the new things not in short supply, Chucho Valdés stands head and shoulders above his virtuosic peers. At 75, he embodies the nation’s creatively fecund musical traditions with a sound springing from his Afro-Cuban heritage, European classical training, and love of American jazz. Playing solo, he’s a dominating force of nature whose huge hands coax a jaw-dropping array of sounds from the instrument, with thunderous low-end rumbles, lightning runs up the keyboard, and luxuriant, ringing harmonies. With six Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammys, he’s continued to evolve since leaving Irakere, the legendary band he co-founded in the early 1970s. ANDREW GILBERT

INFO: 7 p.m. Kuumbwa Jazz, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $50/adv, $60/door. 427-2227.

TUESDAY 5/23

HORROR PUNK

STELLAR CORPSES

For the last 12 years, Santa Cruz’s undead sons the Stellar Corpses have built an international audience of punks, goths, psychobillies and horror fans with their delightfully ghoulish lyrics and catchy beats. The band unleashed its third record, Dead Stars Drive-In, upon the Earth in 2012, which is coincidentally the same year the Mayan calendar ended. But since the world continued to exist, the Corpses continue to tour around it. MW

INFO: 8:30 pm. Catalyst, 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $8/adv, $10/door. 429-4135.

IN THE QUEUE

ANUHEA

Hawaiian pop music favorite. Wednesday at Moe’s Alley

LARRY JUNE

Bay Area hip-hop. Wednesday at Catalyst

VETIVER

Indie-folk and rock. Thursday at Moe’s Alley

AMY LAVERE & WILL SEXTON

Roots songwriter and bass player and her guitarist/husband. Gary Blackburn opens. Thursday at Don Quixote’s

WACO BROTHERS

Alt-country standouts. Sunday at Crepe Place

Giveaway: Tickets to Redwood Mountain Faire

A&E
Music

Cat Johnson

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May 17, 2017

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The Redwood Mountain Faire is one of the musical highpoints of summer in Santa Cruz County. Each year, the faire brings a stellar lineup of artists that cover the gamut, from folk, bluegrass and rock to soul, blues, pop and jam, including standouts of our rich local scene. This year is no exception. On June 3 and 4, Cracker, Dave Alvin & Phil Alvin (above) with the Guilty Ones, Katdelic, Poor Man’s Whiskey, Jesse Daniel and the Slow Learners, Taylor Rae, the Coffis Brothers and many more gather for a weekend of music, crafts, food, kids activities and community. Proceeds benefit local nonprofits and service organizations.

INFO: 11 a.m. Saturday & Sunday, June 3 & 4 at Roaring Camp, 5401 Graham Hill Road, Felton. More information: redwoodmountainfaire.com. WANT TO GO? Go to santacruz.com/giveaways before 11 a.m. on Wednesday, May 24 to find out how you could win a pair of passes to the faire.

Love Your Local Band: Spun

A&E
Music

Aaron Carnes

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May 17, 2017

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The members of Spun have been playing together since the late ’90s. But in the past couple of years, the band has played some incredible shows that they consider to be highlights. They played the Pleasure Point Bike Race three years in a row before it closed. Then last year, they got to play at Facebook, where they performed to some 700 people. And audiences have been loving them at bike and skate demos.

“The music really seems to fit the genre of skater, surfer, BMX mentality,” says guitarist/vocalist P-Bone.

Before starting Spun, the members played in several alternative rock bands, and Spun was conceived as a genre mashup group—the name refers to them “spinning all different styles of music.” Primarily playing covers, Spun audiences can hear songs from Bob Marley, Montrose, Van Halen, Sublime, James Brown, Poison, and many more.

“A lot of bands now are specialized. Like you’re the Led Zeppelin tribute band. You’re an AC/DC tribute band. Which we could do if we wanted to, but it’s nice to mix it up and throw those different vibes out,” says P-Bone.

They hope to work on more originals, while still maintaining the fun vibe of the shows.

“Life’s short,” says guitarist/vocalist T. Rollin. “We try to be as danceable as possible without getting cheesy with it. The classic rock songs that we do pull out are really good feel-good choices.”

INFO: 8 p.m. Saturday, May 20. Don Quixote’s, 6275 Hwy. 9, Felton. $10. 335-2800.

Who’s to Blame When Protesters Won’t Talk?

Local News

Jacob Pierce

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May 17, 2017

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Who’s to Blame When Protesters Won’t Talk?

Ryan Masters, a reporter for the Santa Cruz Sentinel, remembers it as “a nightmare situation.”

While he covered this month’s occupation at UCSC’s Kerr Hall, students repeatedly yelled, “Fuck you, Ryan Masters!” “Asshole!” and “Racist reporter!”

“The Afrikan/Black Student Alliance [A/BSA ]—I’ve got a lot of respect for them. I understand systemic racism. I understand white supremacy,” Masters says. “But unfortunately, with some things they say, they sound like a hate group.”

Masters had tried to get into the occupation by knocking on the door and asking to get into the building.

The A/BSA did not respond for comment for this story, but some students have said on social media that they felt the administrative building had been turned into a home for students. They say that by posting pictures, Masters was invading their privacy—although Masters responded that Kerr Hall is a public building. Students also criticized the way Masters wrote about a previous UCSC protest.

Some news outlets got more of a window into the occupation.

One day before the university acceded to protesters’ demands, A/BSA co-chair Imari Reynolds spoke on air with Tucker Carlson, who had just taken over Bill O’Reilly’s slot on Fox News. It struck Masters as an odd approach. “As far as them deciding the local news is the enemy and then going on Fox News, that just baffles me,” Masters says.

The protesters’ message may have been a little slow in getting out to the campus. One student told KSBW reporter Phil Gomez, “I tried reading news articles about it, and most of them said they wouldn’t talk to news crews, so I’m not entirely sure what that was all about.”

Masters says he saw people yelling at Gomez and KSBW cameraman Tom Lopez as well, although he took the brunt of the barrage himself—something the station’s news director Lawton Dodd agrees with, having followed the situation remotely.

“The protesters made it obvious that they weren’t going to talk to us. It was clear that Ryan was really the target of their ire,” Dodd says. “We cover the news, and if someone wants to talk, that’s part of the story. And if someone doesn’t want to talk—OK, that’s part of the story.”

One outlet, City on a Hill Press, UCSC’s student-run paper, did have reporters on the ground in Kerr Hall. In an editorial last week, the newspaper criticized local reporters for not showing more sensitivity in their coverage and for doing a lousy job building rapport with activists they cover.

If some people of color show distrust of how reporters represent them, a look at news trends nationwide might provide insight into why.

One study after another—conducted by researchers from institutions such as UC Santa Barbara and Yale—have found that news agencies skew their coverage, for instance, over-representing stories of African-Americans who are poor or involved in criminal activity. And a 2016 diversity census from the American Society of News Editors found that people of color made up 17 percent of newsroom journalists—an increase over previous years, but still nothing like the country as a whole.

Conn Hallinan, who taught journalism at UCSC for 23 years, says that—no matter the circumstances—it behooves activists to be open with reporters.

“The media is the way people access what’s going on in the world. As false as some of it may be, as controversial as some of it may be, it’s still the first line of communication,” says Hallinan, who was also provost for Kresge College for three years. “Even if you’re as critical of the media as I am, you have to talk to them and be confident that your protest is valid, that your demands are valid—that they reflect needs of students of color and the student population as a whole. There’s an old rule in politics that you don’t pick a fight with people who buy ink by the barrel.”

Hallinan, who once did 30 days in jail for a protest in 1963, stresses that he’s sympathetic to the struggles that people of color go through in this country. At the same time, he does not agree that protesters have any protection from being photographed.

On the other hand, he calls Masters’ decision to argue back-and-forth with people on Twitter “a dumb thing to do.”

We shouldn’t forget, of course, that the university did meet A/BSA’s demands, so the protesters didn’t really need any in-depth news coverage to achieve their stated goals.

Discussions around the First Amendment at schools isn’t unique to UCSC. In its controversial coverage of safe spaces, The Atlantic suggested in 2015 that some university activists have “weaponized the concept,” using safe spaces to shut down journalists.

Masters says, ultimately, his concern is that the press faces an assault—as he sees it—with intimidation coming from President Donald Trump on one side and some left-leaning protesters on the other.

Indeed, Americans’ trust in media has plummeted, beginning long before Trump took office, or even declared his candidacy. The portion of Americans who trust the news sank to 32 percent this past September, down from 55 percent in 1999 and a high of 72 percent in 1976, according to Gallup. The number dropped a whopping eight points between 2015 and 2016 alone.

But are protesters getting more standoffish with reporters than ever? Dodd, whose reporters spend a lot of time at breaking news scenes, says he’s hesitant to paint “in broad strokes”—looking for trends when they may or may not be there.

And although he doesn’t mind venting, Masters looks forward to putting the kerfuffle behind him.

“It upset me. It was interesting,” Masters says. “I don’t want to make a huge freaking deal about it because I don’t want to distract from the issues they’re talking about. That’s the story.”

Consensus on Homelessness?

Local News

Mat Weir

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May 17, 2017

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Men and women of all ages packed the Louden Nelson Community Center on May 8 for the standing-room-only first meeting of the Santa Cruz Coalition on Homelessness. Organized by members of the Warming Center Program (WCP), local religious organizations and community advocates for homeless rights, the meeting focused on the everyday struggles individuals have on the streets and what is being done to meet their needs.

“Emergency shelters have been providing to meet some of these needs,” explained WCP organizer Brent Adams. “But a lot of the funding has gone away.” For the last three years, the Warming Center Program has been an essential tool in the battle against homelessness, often providing safer and more accessible shelter than the federally funded programs, he said.

Coalition organizers informed the audience on what other communities are doing throughout the West Coast to help meet the basic needs that are falling through the systematic gaps. Coalition organizers argued that they can meet many of homeless people’s essential needs through innovative thinking, empathy for others and some creative financing.

“I’m a tightwad and I don’t just want to write out a check,” said Ron Powers, founder of Loads of Love. Based out of a van and fueled by a generator, Loads of Love is a mobile laundromat where individuals without shelter can clean their belongings and feel a little more human for an hour. Powers is an Apple employee, who uses the company’s philanthropy program to fund his endeavor.

“There are a lot of companies that have services where whatever you donate, they will match,” he explained.

The meeting happened around the same time that the city of Santa Cruz released its 20-point Homelessness Coordination Committee report, aiming to solve a lot of the same problems coalition members had discussed, including access to showers, charging stations, storage and emergency shelter.

The City Council unanimously adopted the report at its May 9 meeting. The council chose to prioritize certain efforts, including year-round shelter and mental health services, while looking for buy-in and collaboration from neighboring jurisdictions, as well as giving direction to explore “what a state of homeless emergency is,” and if it would have any impact on local services. MAT WEIR

Film Review: ‘Norman’

A&E
Film

Lisa Jensen

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May 17, 2017

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It’s a trope as old as the movies—and Jewish culture in New York. Everybody has an uncle or an in-law who specializes in connecting people to other people who might be able to do each other a favor some time. It’s the thrill of adding people as the web of connections becomes more intricately tangled that makes these usually small-time operators feel like big shots.

But what would happen if somebody involved in this roundelay of minor obligations suddenly came into a position of real power? How would that reverberate throughout the web—especially for the webmaster who constructed the whole thing? That’s the question posed by Norman, a droll, offbeat dramatic comedy of truth and consequences written and directed by New York-born Israeli filmmaker Joseph Cedar. It stars Richard Gere as a dealmaking, old-school New York “fixer” who gets in way over his head.

We first meet Norman Oppenheimer (Gere) trying to jump-start some shady-sounding financial scheme. It’s a confusing way to start the movie, but the details of this particular scheme aren’t important; all that matters is seeing Norman in action. Against his better judgment, his nephew, Philip (Michael Sheen) supplies his wheedling uncle with one bit of information, which sends Norman to Central Park at the crack of dawn to stalk a financial investor (Dan Stevens) on his morning run.

Roaming the city streets in a snap-brim cap, long coat, and muffler, earbuds constantly plugged into his phone, Norman doesn’t seem to actually live anywhere; he’s always on the move, looking for his next opportunity. (His business card reads “Oppenheimer: Strategies.”) One afternoon, he buddies up to a minor Israeli diplomat, Micah Eshel (Lior Ashkenazi) that somebody in his web wants to meet. That meeting fails to happen, but in the course of the hour or so they spend together, Norman insists on buying Eschel an expensive pair of shoes. (Shoes that will “last longer than the government I serve,” sighs Eshel, referring to his beleaguered party back home.)

Yet three years later, Eshel has become the Prime Minister of Israel. To Norman’s amazement, Eshel remembers him fondly when he goes to the reception at the New York consulate, introducing Norman to so many influential people (conveyed in a swoony, dreamlike montage) that Norman has to whip out his ever-present yellow legal pad and scribble down all their names and who they know on his way home.

But fortunes rise and fall as truth becomes ever more complicated and elusive. Players in the unfolding drama include Alex (Charlotte Gainsbourg), who’s investigating possible corruption in Eshel’s ties to New York, and Rabbi Blumenthal (Steve Buscemi), leader of Norman’s synagogue, who needs Norman’s help when their temple is facing eviction. Suddenly Norman finds himself where he thought he’s always wanted to be—right in the middle—but not necessarily in a good way.

Gere is effective as Norman. Well-meaning, but annoying in his relentless drive to link people up (“It’s the third time in five minutes you’ve tried to introduce me to someone,” Alex tells him), he’s desperate to embroider any chance remark or random encounter into a fantasy of significance and personal relationships that does not actually exist. When Eshel’s people stop taking his calls, they decide to brand him as a “delusional name-dropper.” (Hmm, sound like anyone else we know in the public eye?)

Ashkenazi is terrific as Eshel—debonair and determined to embrace compromise to keep himself and his agenda afloat. (He starred in the fine 2001 Israeli drama Late Marriage, about a thirtysomething bachelor involved with a Moroccan divorcee whose parents are pressuring him to marry a virgin.)

Norman has some sharp, sly moments, but the pacing often unravels over two hours, especially when focus shifts to complicated Israeli politics. Filmmaker Cedar tries to jazz it up with split-screen and other busy techniques, but the story feels a bit hollow. As sympathetic as Gere often is, his character is written as an empty archetype, who can’t quite sustain the whole movie.

NORMAN

**1/2

With Richard Gere, Lior Ashkenazi, Michael Sheen, and Steve Buscemi. Written and directed by Joseph Cedar. A Sony Classics release. Rated PG-13. 118 minutes.

Friday Food Destination: Watsonville Farmers Market

Food & Drink

Lily Stoicheff

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May 17, 2017

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Friday Food Destination: Watsonville Farmers Market

On Friday afternoons, a mouth-watering array of dishes, regional cuisines and snacks from Latin American countries line two sides of the Watsonville City Plaza, which is crowded with cross-generational community members and lately, one North County food writer.

With so many enticing smells wafting down the corridor, it can be difficult to decide where to go first. When in doubt, I always look for the longest line as an indicator of impending deliciousness, which, on a recent, exceptionally warm spring day led me to a stall offering ice cold drinks.

The most popular option was the mangonada—almost every person in front of me was walking away with a cold, sunny drink of chopped mango and lime spiced generously with chili and finished with a straw rolled in tamarind powder and a healthy squirt of Tapatio. But the weather is hot enough without adding to the furnace, so I order a tejuino, a sugary cooler made from fermented corn. My straw slid through the shaved ice and I tasted sweet corn, lemon and brown sugar.

Thirst quenched, I peeked into the Oaxacan stall and saw a woman grilling masa, and ordered a mamela. The base of this snack is similar to a tortilla, but thicker, chewier and toasted from the grill. It’s topped with frijoles, the wonderful, mozzarella-like queso Oaxaca, and a few spoonfuls of pickled vegetables. For a dollar more, I add a 6-inch quesadilla filled with diced, slippery nopales.

Although I’m running out of hands, Noe’s Churros causes me to pause. I watch as a hand-operated machine pulls and cuts the dough into long, thin, ridged doughnuts and drops them into a huge bowl of hot oil, until they’re fried to a golden brown. $1.25 later, I walk away with dessert and mix with the rest of South County in the tree-studded plaza.

1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays at Watsonville City Plaza.

Zayante Vineyard’s 2012 Santa Cruz Mountains Zinfandel

Josie Cowden

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May 17, 2017

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Zayante Vineyard’s 2012 Santa Cruz Mountains Zinfandel

This could be one of my last articles on Zayante Vineyard. Although an abundance of Zayante’s varietals are in wine stores and supermarkets right now, the winery is up for sale—so who knows what changes are afoot when the new owners come in?

Winery owners Kathleen Starkey-Nolton and Greg Nolton, along with winery co-owner Marion Nolten, have always made affordable wines, and the 2012 Santa Cruz Mountains Zinfandel is no exception. At just under $20, it’s worth the search to get some. Or head to Deluxe Foods in Aptos where the shelves are bursting at the seams with local wines, including those of Zayante Vineyard.

Zayante’s Santa Cruz Mountains Estate Zinfandel has earthy aromas of plum and strawberry jam—with a balance of fruit that leaves a lingering finish. The Noltens’ mission has always been to produce “the finest wines in California,” and they’re doing a stellar job.

The fascinating Zinfandel grape has many fans, and it’s always a sure-fire hit with anything barbecued—its typical peppery-jammy aromas and flavors adding lip-smacking spiciness.

After the devastating loss of their son three years ago in a motorcycle accident, Kathleen and Greg continued with the winery, producing their quality wine. But now they are moving on, and I wish them well for their future.

Zayante Vineyard, 420 Old Mount Road, Felton, 335-7992. Before you head to Zayante Vineyard, check zayantevineyards.com for opening times.

Route 1 Farms Summer Dinners

Route 1 Farms’ spectacular al fresco dinner events are coming right up.

June 25 is at Rancho del Oso with Chef Stephen Beaumier of Mutari Chocolate in Santa Cruz, and Richard Alfaro of Alfaro Family Vineyards as the featured winemaker.

Aug. 13 is at Rancho del Oso with Chef Jessica Yarr of Assembly in Santa Cruz, and Eric Stockwell of Stockwell Cellars.

Sept. 24 is at Ocean Street Extension with Chef Katherine Stern of La Posta in Santa Cruz and Denis Hoey of Odonata Wines. This dinner is sold out but you could request to be put on the waitlist.

Visit route1farms.com for more info.

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Thursday 5/18

Friday 5/19

Saturday 5/21

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Santa Cruz

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David Beck

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Ross Fuller

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Wesley Williams

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Route 1 Farms Summer Dinners