Hi friends,
Still glowing from that amazing show of force last week at “No Kings” in Santa Cruz, Watsonville and elsewhere across the country. The debate over whether it was all performative is beside the point. Protest is performative!
Now, on with the show.
THIS JUST IN
Literary humorist and bestselling author David Sedaris has been to Santa Cruz so often, he can probably pronounce “Branciforte” correctly. Sure enough, here he comes again for an appearance at the Santa Cruz Civic next spring, May 9 to be exact. Another literary star, novelist George Saunders, gets a night at the Rio Theatre on Feb. 3, in an event presented by Bookshop Santa Cruz. Jazz great Kenny Barron returns for a show at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center on Jan. 9. The singer-songwriter known as The White Buffalo plays Felton Music Hall on March 8. And the always amazing Santa Cruz vocalist Lori Rivera will do a show in tribute to the one-and-only Carole King at the Kuumbwa on Dec. 14.
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.
Halloween scene
It’s Halloween 2025 — which, for many, sounds like a redundancy. Doesn’t 2025 feel like one long Halloween? Still, you gotta show up somewhere in your Uncle Fester costume. Here’s a bit of what’s going on locally for Halloween and Día de Los Muertos:
Friday, Oct. 24: The 418 Project downtown is blowing up with the spooktacular musical “Night of the Vampire Queen,” Thursday through Saturday. Kianti’s downtown goes deep with the “Nightmare Before Christmas” theme with the performance “Jack is Back” Friday and Saturday. “Misery,” based on a Stephen King novel, is presented by Actors’ Theatre throughout this weekend and next, through Nov. 1. Over at Chaminade, the undead come out at night at the 21-and-over “Vampire Ball.”
Up in Scotts Valley, even the ballet is getting into the spirit with Santa Cruz City Ballet’s “The Nightmare Before Nutcracker” on Friday and Saturday. How about the Santa Cruz County Sheriff getting in the act too, with “Trunk or Treat” at the sheriff’s Live Oak headquarters from 5 to 8 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 25: The Santa Cruz Roller Derby bout at the Civic is all Halloween-themed, with witches and skeletons on skates. At the Tannery, it’s a Halloween Honky Tonk, a queer line-dance party and variety show.
The Museum of Art & History pays tribute to Día de Los Muertos with an all-afternoon celebration with performances and displays of community altars. The little ones might delight in the Halloween doings at Roaring Camp as Thomas the Tank Engine and his friend Percy throw a bash, with train rides and photo ops.
The Market Street Senior Center is also going all-in on Halloween with its show Spook House on Saturday and Sunday. The Crow’s Nest “Haunted Harbor” gets started at 4 p.m. Discretion Brewing has a fun party planned called “Museum of the Macabre.”
At the Brookdale Lodge, the witches are out at The Witches’ Ball.
Sunday, Oct. 26: The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is ready for early trick-or-treaters with its all-day “Halloween at the Boardwalk.” Check out the fine young musicians of Be Natural Music at its Halloween performance and fundraiser. Make stuff at the Halloween Makers Mash at Santa Cruz Maker Studios.
Watsonville’s “Downtown Candy Crawl” takes place Sunday afternoon.
Tuesday, Oct. 28: Bruno’s in Scotts Valley has got all your Halloween Trivia needs covered.
Wednesday, Oct. 29: The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is hosting its final “Fright Flicks” at the Cocoanut Grove (oops, sorry, The Grove) ballroom, and it’s, no surprise, the 2018 remake of “Halloween” at 7:30 p.m. ($15 ticket; 21 and over).
Simpkins Family Swim Center is hosting a free Día de Los Muertos altar-making workshop for the whole family, 4 to 6 p.m. Big Basin Vineyard’s downtown tasting room’s weekly trivia contest, Wig Out Wednesday, will be a Halloween-y affair.
Thursday, Oct. 30: Fun idea up at The Landing in Scotts Valley, as Jewel Theatre Co. re-produces the infamous Orson Welles stunt the “War of the Worlds” radio show.
Head on up to the allegedly haunted Brookdale Lodge for a big night of DJs and dancing at the “Freakers’ Ball.” Big shows on consecutive nights at The Crepe Place called “Crepe-O-Ween,” with live bands all night long.
Friday, Oct. 31: Downtown Santa Cruz is, of course, ground zero for Halloween fun and madness. The trick-or-treating begins midafternoon at 2 p.m. up and down Pacific Avenue. The family-themed stuff wraps up around 5 p.m. Then things get really interesting. The family dog gets in on the fun too, at the Halloween Dog Show at Abbott Square, 4 to 6 p.m. The Museum of Art & History in Santa Cruz is the scene for a free Halloween dance party, from 5 to 8 p.m. in the midst of your trick-or-treating.
It’s an annual tradition at the Capitola Wharf, with “Watch the Sea Witches,” featuring paddleboarders dressed as witches, from 10 a.m. to noon. Togo’s in Scotts Valley is sponsoring a treasure hunt for the whole family all day long. It’s a trick-or-treat family event at Children’s Discovery Museum in the Capitola Mall, beginning at 4 p.m. Out in Aptos, there’s a “Monster Mash” parade at the Village Green in Aptos Village in the afternoon.
The Vets Hall in Santa Cruz is putting a Grateful Dead spin on Halloween with the band China Cats in a Halloween “Spook-easy.” The Catalyst will also be jumping with its Spooky Rave and a costume party in the Atrium as well.
Barrios Unidos in Santa Cruz is getting in on the fun with its live music show with a Puerto Rican flavor.
“Crepe-O-Ween” at The Crepe Place features bands in costume themselves as other bands. Park Hall in Ben Lomond is hosting its Halloween “Monster’s Ball.” And, yes, there is an official Santa Cruz Halloween Bar Crawl.
CHECK THIS OUT
Best 9: Top events for the week ahead in Santa Cruz County arts & entertainment, Oct. 23-30
THIS WEEK IN A&E
Five years after the closure of the Nickelodeon, is indie film culture in Santa Cruz dead, or merely in hibernation?
The Nickelodeon Theatre in downtown Santa Cruz has been closed for more than five years, bringing up questions not only about the viability of independent film, but whether the once robust subculture of arthouse cinema in Santa Cruz will ever come back.
Fandom gone fatal in Actors’ Theatre’s ‘Misery’
Who needs ghosts or gore when human obsession can be even more terrifying? Santa Cruz County Actors’ Theatre delivers a slow-burn psychological thriller with “Misery” – a dark dive into the twisted side of fandom and the monsters we create ourselves.
The sound of Jesse Thorn’s America: A podcasting pioneer returns to Santa Cruz
Los Angeles podcaster and radio host Jesse Thorn comes to Santa Cruz on Nov. 1 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of his interview and arts show “Bullseye.” It’s a full-circle moment for Thorn, a UC Santa Cruz alum who was one of the first radio […]
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.