Hi friends,
Another lifetime ago, I lived in the mountains of western North Carolina. At more than 3,000 feet elevation and more than 300 miles from the nearest shoreline, the last thing anyone in the Blue Ridge and Appalachian regions expected was a hurricane. The lesson here is that, in the new climate world, anything can happen to anybody. If you’re looking to help the folks in the region, I would suggest tuning in to Asheville’s 99.9 FM Kiss Country radio, which has really thrown itself into the recovery efforts with on-air updates and many ways you can give to help people. It’s a special part of the country.
Now, on with the show.
THIS JUST IN
The late Santa Cruz surfing legend and artist Shawn “Barney” Barron is the subject of a new film coming to the Rio Theatre titled “Particle Fever.” That happens in just a couple of weeks, Oct. 24. The great local Beatles tribute The White Album Ensemble is planning on back-to-back shows Dec. 29 and 30 at The Rio. And the indie dream-pop band Saint Motel comes to The Catalyst on March 18.
Be sure to check out Lookout’s carefully curated and constantly updated planning guide, Down the Line, for the staggering riches and amazing choices awaiting Santa Cruz audiences. It’s our look ahead at the best shows, concerts and events through the rest of the year at clubs, stages and venues all over the county.
Here they are, nine necessary know-abouts for the week ahead. It’s the Spirit-Halloween-is-open-for-business B9:
What’s so funny
The month before the most consequential presidential election of our collective lifetimes (don’t we say that for every election?) might not seem like the ideal time for comedy. But, then again, maybe it is. In any event, this weekend is all about live stand-up.
At the top of the list is the Santa Cruz Comedy Festival, which features a half-dozen fun comedy events Friday and Saturday at venues all over town (and Scotts Valley, too), with the big date on Friday at the Rio, featuring headliners Sam Miller and Beth Stelling.
But alas, the Comedy Festival doesn’t reach to South County. Luckily, there’s another big stand-up event that has nothing to do with the festival happening on Friday. Beloved local stand-up Richard Stockton is hosting a show with fellow headliners Phil Griffiths and Michael Meehan, all at El Vaquero Winery in between Corralitos and Watsonville.
The Game is on
After many months of preparation, Santa Cruz’s new downtown board-game café is ready to greet its public. Game Santa Cruz is holding its grand opening for three days, Friday through Sunday, with a ribbon-cutting, performances, game demos and more.
Game Santa Cruz is at the corner of Cedar and Union streets, at the site of the former Tabby Cat café. The new shop will feature a wide variety of board games and plenty of tables to explore them with friends or fellow game lovers, as well as a menu of small bites and coffee drinks.
Co-owner Wes Pannell looks to establish Game Santa Cruz as a particularly welcoming venue to audiences who might not be comfortable with the ultra-competitive vibe of some “combat” games: “There are people who don’t feel included in those types of environments,” he told me when I visited back in June, “because they are often hyper-competitive, and oftentimes hyper-competitive environments are toxic, and also very exclusionary. I’m going to try to attract more underserviced groups of people here, you know, the LGBT community, the BIPOC community.”
Game Santa Cruz will open at noon for its grand opening weekend. On Saturday, it’s also signed up as one of the downtown venues for the Santa Cruz Comedy Festival, hosting comic Grant Lyon.
It’s the Monster Month
It’s the month of monsters, so it makes sense that it’s time for the Festival of Monsters. The annual event mixes academic rigor with pop-culture fun, and it is set to begin Friday, Oct. 11, with a visit from author Kiersten White at the Museum of Art & History. She’s a bestselling author in the young-adult vein on the themes of fantasy and the paranormal. She comes to Santa Cruz to discuss her new novel, “Lucy Undying,” about the life of Lucy Westenra, one of Dracula’s victims in the Bram Stoker novel who transforms into a vampire herself.
That’s only the beginning of a festival devoted — not to “real” monsters; no Bigfoot stuff here — but to monsters in the literary realm. On Saturday, Oct. 12, the festival celebrates one of the most famous of those monsters, the haunting Count Orick of “Nosferatu,” the silent 1922 film which will be screened for free at Oakes College on the UC Santa Cruz campus.
That’s all followed by a big academic conference on campus — open to the public — and all hosted and organized by UCSC’s Center for Monster Studies. Check it out.
That’s all I got, friends. Come at me with comments, ideas, complaints, or thundering insights. Thanks to all Lookout members for your faith and support, and please, spread the word on what we’re doing.