WEEKENDER
Your cheat sheet for eating well and going out in Santa Cruz County.
March 12, 2026
WATSONVILLE FILM FESTIVAL OPENS
The 14th annual Watsonville Film Festival kicks off Thursday evening and runs through March 21, showing more than 50 films by both award-winning directors and local filmmakers. The theme this year is “Art as Resistance,” with movies that uplift Latine and Indigenous stories and inspire meaningful change.
One film, “The Long Labor,” is a short documentary that follows Watsonville midwife Maria Ramos Bracamontes. Last week, Tania Ortiz, Lookout’s South County correspondent, spoke with the film’s co-director Consuelo Alba, who also founded the festival. Read the story here, if you missed it.
UPCOMING EVENTS YOU’LL LOVE
FROM THE LOOKOUT LIST
FAVORITE FOOD FESTIVAL
GREEK FESTVIAL
“I love all the grandmothers serving up moussaka and spanakopita and tzatziki and stuff. I love the food, and the music and dancing are great, too.”
ICYMI: ARTS & DINING STORIES
A TREAT BEFORE YOU GO
Want to check out a new restaurant this weekend? Pogonip Pizza opened in a small commercial center near the UC Santa Cruz campus last month.
In a county brimming with pizza joints — more per capita than New York or Chicago — co-owner Ryan Thompson brings his own vision to California-style pies, offering creative and primarily vegetarian toppings made with seasonal and locally sourced ingredients, and draws inspiration from Santa Cruz’s culture and mountain biking community. Here’s my story. – Lily Belli
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