Sunday Reads: Public art and Santa Cruz’s vibe; fiddling away our cares

What’s our vibe? Can Santa Cruz learn from Miami Beach?

(Wallace Baine / Lookout Santa Cruz)

Urban muraling, colorful and unique lifeguard towers and more. Santa Cruz finds itself in the throes of some big changes brought about by the ambitious plans for development, ones that could make the city look and feel radically different in just a few years. So it’s time to ask: What can or should the city or its residents do to assert its personality in the public sphere? We want your ideas — drawn from your travels and experiences. Click here to read Wallace Baine’s Sunday column, and let us know where you stand.

➤ LAST DAY TO GO: The sights, the sounds and the smells: Wallace Baine takes you on a tour of the Santa Cruz County Fair

Need an escape from bad news and politics? Try fiddlin’ in the forest

(Via Claudia Sternbach)

Lookout columnist Claudia Sternbach is amazed at her friend Nora, who at 68 took up fiddling in 2019 and recently performed in the Valley of the Moon Fiddle Extravaganza at DeLaveaga Park. Sternbach attended and was mesmerized by the range of emotions the music brought. “I had gone from foot tapping and clapping to sobbing silently, a lump in my throat the size of a boulder,” she writes. “I thought of the people I miss. The people I loved.” She also got a brief respite from the woes of the world. “Who knew that such a small instrument could provide such an abundance of joy?” Read her Community Voices opinion piece here.

➤ LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Make your voice heard and read what Santa Cruzans are saying about local issues

Santa Cruz Skateboards hits its 50th anniversary as a crucial component in the history of skateboarding

(Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz)

This year, NHS Inc. — the Seabright-based parent company of Santa Cruz Skateboards — marks its half-century anniversary in the skateboard business. In the immense but imaginary skatepark of today’s skateboarding industry, Santa Cruz Skateboards is that legendary skater that all the other kids stop to watch. It has shaped what the industry looks like today. And it has built a brand that has spilled out beyond the world of skateboarding, becoming a touchstone in the world of commercial art. Read more on a milestone for a seminal local company and what’s ahead.

➤ FROM 2021: MAH returns to the art of skateboard artist Jim Phillips