WEEKENDER
Your cheat sheet for eating well and going out in Santa Cruz County.
Sept. 24, 2026
FALL FESTIVALS ABOUND
Get ready for another fall weekend packed with community events. Choose your own adventure on Saturday with no fewer than seven festivals happening across the county. Allow me to break it down.
Families, check out the Capitola Beach Festival in Capitola Village and the Santa Cruz Elks Lodge Fall Festival in Santa Cruz, both of which emphasize an array of kids activities and seasonal fun, and are free.
Foodies, don’t miss A Taste of Soquel, a food festival highlighting nearby wineries, breweries and restaurants at the Congregational Church of Soquel. Oktoberfest Santa Cruz at Messiah Lutheran Church offers homemade Bavarian treats and beer, with live bands.
Love music? The first Duck Island Festival, presented by Moe’s Alley, The Crepe Place and Redwood Records, comes to San Lorenzo Park in downtown Santa Cruz. Feeling like you want to see something unconventional? Professional wrestlers collide at World Elite Sumo at Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz, and Freakfeast 2026 welcomes UC Santa Cruz students with a lineup of five bands at Hwy17 Studios in Santa Cruz. – Lily Belli
UPCOMING EVENTS YOU’LL LOVE
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FROM THE LOOKOUT LIST
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