Hi friends,
Wednesday marked the final Lookout Trivia Night of the summer, and it was a special one. Our guests included Katherine Bell, coordinator of the upcoming Festival of Dreams, and Renee Fox, the co-director of the also upcoming Festival of Monsters, for trivia categories on, respectively, the dreaming life and all things “Frankenstein.” And, even during the event, I thought, how many cities can host a full-on festival about dreaming (Oct. 10-12) and a festival about literary monsters (Oct. 15-18) within the same week? Santa Cruz has still got it, folks.
Now, on with the show.
THIS JUST IN
The Santa Cruz Symphony recently announced its big 2025-26 season, and among the highlights are the opening concert on Oct. 4-5 featuring a performance of Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Scheherazade,” a blend of Mozart’s music with dramatic narration from Santa Cruz Shakespeare’s Charles Pasternak in “Amadeus” on March 28-29, and a performance of Beethoven’s immortal Ninth Symphony on May 2-3. Rapper Earl Sweatshirt is set to play The Catalyst on Nov. 8. Bookshop Santa Cruz is hosting a panel of writers Oct. 18 as part of the Festival of Monsters. And the great Santa Cruz band the Expendables comes to The Catalyst on Dec. 6.
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.
Comedy fest coming
The Santa Cruz Comedy Festival has changed form and venues over the years, but each year it keeps answering the bell. The 2025 event is slated for the weekend of Oct. 3-4, this time making its home base at Woodhouse Blending & Brewing. The Friday night headliner will be Second City alum comic/writer Valerie Tosi, and on Saturday, straight outta Brooklyn comes stand-up Myq Kaplan.
The festival has a name this year — it’s “Laughtopus” (just because you still can make up words doesn’t necessarily mean you should). The event will be hosted by, of course, the first and last name in comedy in these parts, DNA.
The Lanier link
Potentially fascinating event coming up Oct. 7. Santa Cruz resident Jaron Lanier, one of the tech world’s most transgressive and defiantly humanist thinkers, will be hosting an event at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center called “Music and the Future of Humanity.” Among Lanier’s varied interests is music, and joining him at the Oct. 7 event will be musicians Harper Simon, Tim Jackson, Haruki Fujii and others.
Lanier will also be part of the Santa Cruz Symphony’s upcoming season. Next spring, the symphony will present the world premiere of Lanier’s composition “Serene,” right alongside a performance of Dvorak and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.
Journalism’s story
A reminder that we at Lookout, in collaboration with fellow journalism organization CalMatters, invite one and all for a screening of the documentary “Stripped for Parts: American Journalism on the Brink,” on Sept. 24 at the Del Mar in Santa Cruz. “Stripped” tells the story of hedge-fund ownership in the newspaper industry, specifically the company Alden Global Capital, which owns almost every single daily newspaper in the Bay Area (including the Santa Cruz Sentinel). A panel to discuss the crisis in local journalism will feature Lookout CEO Ken Doctor, as well as our managing editor, Tamsin McMahon, and CalMatters CEO Neil Chase.
CHECK THIS OUT
Best 9: Top events for the week ahead in Santa Cruz County arts & entertainment, Sept. 4-11
THIS WEEK IN A&E
‘Nuanced, rich, beautiful’: The story of the Kuumbwa Jazz Center – told through its pianos
The Kuumbwa Jazz Center, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, has had three pianos since its beginning. The latest, a Steinway Model B purchased in 2020, represents the club at its highest point in national and regional prominence.
All About Theatre delivers energetic take on provocative teen musical ‘Spring Awakening’
If you think community theater can’t rock, “Spring Awakening” at All About Theatre will prove you wrong. With a driving rock score powered by an impressive orchestra and a cast that builds to explosive energy, “Spring Awakening” is messy, moving and alive — a reminder […]
CLOSING THIS WEEKEND: Santa Cruz Shakespeare goes ‘Into the Woods’ — and strikes gold
Santa Cruz Shakespeare goes musical — and nails it, Lookout theater critic Jana Marcus writes. “Into the Woods” at the outdoor Audrey Stanley Grove is bold, funny and pure summer magic.
Santa Cruz County Fair is set to return, with a brand-new CEO and a few new attractions
The Santa Cruz County Fair is set to return Sept. 10-14 to the county fairgrounds outside Watsonville. The fair is expected to have many of its beloved features and attractions, with new additions to the fun, including lucha libre wrestling and something called the Slime […]
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.