Annual Events

Free First Friday
Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History
Enjoy our intertidal touch pool, large-screen microscope, and geology exhibit and "dig pit".
Date: Every day from 11:00am to 4:00pm
Ages: All ages Admission Fees: FREE

FREE First Friday 11am-4pm. Enjoy the Museum for FREE with your family on the first Friday of every month. Enjoy our intertidal touch pool, large-screen microscope, and geology exhibit and "dig pit". Santa Cruz Natural History Museum. 1305 East Cliff Dr, Santa Cruz. 420-6115

Salvador Dali Museum
Dali17 Museum
The exhibition will be the largest collection of Dali’s art on the West Coast and will feature over 300 originals.
Date: Every day

Special Instructions: Call for hours

Dali17 Museum is Open

Dali17 Museum will open to the public on Friday, July 8 at 10am!

 

The new museum is a permanent exhibition of original etchings, mixed media, lithographs, and rare sculptures by one of the twentieth century's most celebrated surrealist artists, Salvador Dali.

 

This is the first permanent Dali exhibition on the West Coast and the second largest private collection in the United States. Previously, this collection has only been exhibited in Spain and Belgium.

 

will feature over 300 originals. Did you know that Monterey was the only place in the United States where Dali lived and worked? The exhibition will reintroduce Dali’s local history and will be the only museum to showcase photographs from Dali’s fundraiser Surrealistic Night at Del Monte.

 

Monterey was the only place in the United States where Dali lived and worked. While the Nazis stormed across Europe, Dali and his wife Gala fled to the U.S. and in July 1941 found refuge at the Hotel Del Monte. While living in the Monterey area, he was heavily involved with the arts. Dali exhibited vintage sourced photographs as an early member of the Carmel Art Association and every May he participated as a juror for the local high school art competition.

 

https://www.facebook.com/1865086710385172/pho...

Animal Advocates Afterschool Club
Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter
Club offers opportunities for young animal lovers
Date: Every day

Special Instructions: Starts up in October

Animal Advocates Afterschool Club

Youth Service Clubs at the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter

The Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter provides after-school clubs for two age groups (1st - 5th & 6th - 12th grades), encouraging and supporting the young animal lovers in our community to learn and grow as compassionate stewards. Membership is required and space in the Clubs is very limited so sign-up today!

 

If there are fewer than four registrations for any month, there will be no Club and refunds will be issued. All registrations must be completed the week before Club for that month begins. Refunds are only offered is Club is canceled.  

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Kids Animal Advocates (1st - 5th graders)

What: Students learn about animals and do projects to help the Shelter pets.

When & Where: Tuesdays 4:00-6:00pm, at Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter, 2200 7th Ave, Santa Cruz, CA

How Much: $60 - $80 monthly, depending on the month

Click here for further information and to register!

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Youth Animal Advocates (5th - 9th graders)

What: Youth volunteers learn about animals and animal welfare, help pets during their stay at the Shelter, and earn Service Hours.

When & Where: Wednesdays 4:00 - 6:00 pm, at Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter, 2200 7th Ave, Santa Cruz, CA

How Much: $60 - $80 monthly, depending on the month

Click here for further information and to register!

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If you have further questions, please call 831-454-7235 or email jen.walker@santacruzcounty.us

Watsonville Open Streets
Open Streets Santa Cruz County
Enjoy a fun event with family friendly activities on the streets
Date: 05/21/2017 from 11:00am to 3:00pm

Special Instructions: Brennan/Union St. from Callaghan Park (Freedom Blvd.) to the City Plaza

We're less than a week away from Open Streets Watsonville 2018! Join us on Sunday to play in the streets without cars and interact with over 35 different local organizations, businesses, agencies and performers!

 

Be sure to stop by the Annieglass booth to check out some of their awesome glass items and receive fun giveaways! You can also enter the Open Streets raffle at any info booth for a chance to win a beautiful glass bowl donated by Annieglass.

 

Open Streets Watsonville will be held in the historic downtown Watsonville on Brennan/Union St. from Callaghan Park (Freedom Blvd.) to the City Plaza. Come out and enjoy the car-free Pop-up Street Park with free activities and performances!

 

Open Streets Santa Cruz County's mission is to promote alternative transportation and healthy communities. Interested in sponsoring or hosting an activity? Email julia@bikesantacruzcounty.org.

EAT LIKE A GREEK Food Faire
Greek Orthodox Church
Enjoy authentic, handcrafted Greek Food and Desserts
Date: Every day (May 19-May 21)
Admission Fees: Free admission

Eat Like a Greek Food Faire 2017

Come Enjoy our 11th Annual Greek Food Faire

Please join us for our annual Eat Like a Greek Food Faire, a three-day celebration of Greek culture, delicious food, and live music on May 19, 20, and 21 at the Mediterranean courtyard at Prophet Elias Greek Orthodox Church, located at 223 Church Street, downtown Santa Cruz. Visitors will have a chance to taste many Greek specialties.

Enjoy live Greek music performed by The Spartan Band throughout the three-day event. Bring friends and family, sit in the sunshine in the courtyard, and relax Greek style! Our Greek taverna features imported Greek spirits, wine, and beer, as well as local selections. Feel like dancing? Push a few chairs aside and enjoy yourself! New this year - FREE Wi-Fi will be available throughout the event!

Come live and Eat Like a Greek for a weekend!

 

1st Day May 19, 5 pm to 10 pm
2nd Day May 20, 11 am to 10 pm
3rd Day May 21, 12 pm to 7 pm

Monet: The Early Years
Legion of Honor Museum
This exhibition is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience Monet's mastery before Impressionism, and includes paintings
Date: Every day (Feb 25-May 29)

Monet: The Early Years

Monet: The Early Years will be the first major US exhibition devoted to the initial phase of Claude Monet's (French, 1840-1926) career. Through approximately sixty paintings, the exhibition demonstrates the radical invention that marked the artist's development during the formative years of 1858 to 1872. In this period the young painter developed his unique visual language and technique, creating striking works that manifested his interest in painting textures and the interplay of light upon surfaces.

 

This exhibition is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience Monet's mastery before Impressionism, and includes paintings that are profoundly daring and surprising. Depictions of moments both large and small, with friends and loved ones, in the solitude of forests and fields and in the quiet scenes of everyday, offer new revelations about an artist that many consider to be ubiquitous.

 

With a selection of works gathered from some of the most important international collections - the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and other public and private collections worldwide - Monet: The Early Years authoritatively demonstrates the artist's early command of many genres, not only the landscapes for which he has become so renowned but also still lifes, portraits and genre scenes.

 

This exhibition follows the Legion of Honor's strong history of showing highly important moments in French Impressionism. By following Monet before Impressionism, visitors can see the emergence of his style and how he helped shape the movement. Monet: The Early Years will be on view at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco from February 25 through May 29, 2017. 

 

San Francisco Botanical Gardens
San Francisco Botanical Garden
Escape to a unique 55-acre urban oasis of extraordinary beauty at San Francisco Botanical Garden, showcasing over 8,000 differen
Date: Every day

Special Instructions: 2nd Tuesday is FREE DAY

Second Tuesday of every month is free!

 

The San Francisco Botanical Garden is one of the most diverse gardens in the world. A unique urban oasis, the Garden is a living museum within Golden Gate Park, offering 55 acres of both landscaped gardens and open spaces, and showcasing over 8,000 different kinds of plants from around the world.

 

Free Admission Day Every second Tuesday of the month

Regular cost: $7/adults; $5/youth and seniors; $2/children; free/4 years and younger

 

Docent-led Tours: Join us for daily tours through the Botanical Garden led by trained docents or explore on your own with special features designed to enhance your next visit.

Free Tours Daily; 1:30pm at Main Gate

 

LOCATED In Golden Gate Park, with entrances at the corner of Ninth Ave. at Lincoln Way (Main Gate) & at MLK Jr. Drive off the Music Concourse

Navigating t! he Garden

• Printable Garden Map
• Printable Garden Map with Bed Numbers

 

 

Hours
Open daily, starting at 7:30 am. The Garden closes one hour after last entry. Last entry changes seasonally:

Last entry: Fall & Winter

• October through early November: Last entry at 5 pm.
• 1st Sunday in November through January: Last entry at 4 pm.
• February through 2nd Saturday in March: Last entry at 5 pm.

From a reviewer: 9/12/2016

"I've been to botanical gardens around the US and other countries, and this one is truly world class. I can't believe I've lived here for years and had never gone. I was worried that there might not be many things blooming since it's September, but there were so many amazing flowers packed together, that I can't even imagine what it's like in the spring. The ratio of plants-to-walking is really excellent. Every square foot of the garden seems carefully planned to pack in more wonderful things to see, all meticulously labeled and growing vigorously."

FIRST NIGHT MONTEREY
First Night Monterey
Dance, play, act, perform, create and sing our way into 2018!
Date: Every day (Dec 17-Jan 1) from 3:00pm to 12:01am
Admission Fees: $0 - $20

Welcome to our FNM 2018 website, celebrating 25 years! Planning is being finalized and we will keep you updated with changes as they occur. Watch for a complete listing of performers, coming later this month (you can see a sneak peek here). 80% of the performances are indoors and an FNM Button is your ticket to those performances. 

 

Kids' Night Out! The First Act for the Young and Young-at-Heart

The most creative New Year's Eve you will have with your family!

Kids' Night Out! The First Act for the Young and Young-at-Heart

First Night is Monterey's most exciting, imaginative and uplifting cultural event. FNM is an affordable, alcohol-free family celebration of the arts on New Year's Eve from the 3 pm Opening Ceremony to the Countdown to Midnight; our theme for FNM 2018 celebrates "25 Years of Magic". The many performances range from Classical to Hip-Hop, Jazz to Reggae, dance and artwork.

The most creative New Year's Eve you will have with your family!

Kids' Night Out (5 and under free) features music & art activities for the younger set, culminating with the Costume Contest & Twilight Procession at 5:30 pm.

 

At 3:00 p.m. kick-off at Colton Lawn on Pacific Street, culminating with the Twilight Parade at 5:30 p.m on Alvarado Street serving as the kids' Finale. Music, song, drumming, dance, ballet, face art, art creating, hat making and more! Check out the Colton Lawn on Pacific Street, the Monterey Art Museum and the Work Building on Alvarado Street for activities to complete artful time.

 

Make sure to have your FNM button - admission to all the fun for the over-5 set! Please refer to the afternoon and evening grids to plan your New Year's Eve and participate in all the fun! Thanks to First Five Monterey County for their support of the free kids' activities.

Guided Redwood Grove Walks
State Park Henry Cowell
Amazing forest adventure - ask any questions you may have
Date: Every Su and Sa at 11:00am
Admission Fees: Day-use parking fee is $10
Special Instructions: Saturdays at 11 am & 2 pm

Guided Redwood Grove Walks

Saturdays at 11 am & 2 pm

How do redwoods grow to become the tallest organisms on earth? How important are banana slugs to the redwood ecosystems? Why are there so few old growth trees left? Answer these questions and more every Saturday and Sunday on our Redwood Grove Walks. One of our knowledgeable docents will lead you through our magnificent old growth forest and answer any questions you may have. Meet at the Visitors Center in the Day Use area of Henry Cowell off of HWY 9, at 101 N. Big Trees Park Road in Felton.

 

Sunday Seaside Crafts
Seymour Marine Discovery Center (at Long Marine Lab)
Join us with your small fry every Sunday for hands-on fun!
Date: Every Su from 1:00pm to 3:00pm
Ages: Kids and up Admission Fees: General admission fees apply.

Sunday Seaside Crafts -make it and take it! Come create and take home a fun souvenir, an activity for the whole family to share.

 

For example, find out what gray whales eat by creating a bright sun catcher for your window, or create a fancy fish with paper, paint, and color.

 

Build a seal or sea lion puppet decorated with your own special seal nose, complete with whiskers!

 

Join the fun in the crafts room every Sunday from 1-3 PM for hands-on fun.

Sponsored by: Sigma Alpha of Omega Nu