Quick Take
From music, beer, art and wine festivals to an array of entertainment at the Beach Boardwalk, ambitious productions on local stages and annual traditions like the Wharf to Wharf race, summer options are virtually endless in Santa Cruz County (and beyond).
With summer now in full swing, it’s time for our comprehensive planning guide to summer events in Santa Cruz County and beyond. For a full list of the best upcoming events, check out Down the Line, our constantly updated master list of happenings coming our way, and our BOLO events calendar.
Fourth of July
Fireworks are verboten, but there’s still plenty of fun to pursue on Independence Day in Santa Cruz County.
The Boardwalk
The first order of business just might be at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Lost in the hoopla surrounding the 100th birthday of the Giant Dipper has been the debut of the Dream Wheel. The Boardwalk’s new Ferris wheel stands 65 feet tall and is in a different position in the park than its previous Ferris wheel, which was closed in 2017.
The Boardwalk is, of course, at the center of the Santa Cruz summer, at least for many locals and out-of-towners. The Dipper begins its second century of service, alongside all the other attractions and rides. Another Boardwalk tradition is its series of free movies, every Friday night at 9 p.m. through Aug. 9. The Boardwalk is also offering free live music on Mondays and Tuesdays, magicians and acrobats on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and DJ dance parties on the weekends in its Evening on the Colonnade series.
Festivals
Beer lovers have circled on their calendars the Hop’n Barley Festival coming to Skypark in Scotts Valley on July 13.
The True Love Christian Festival takes place July 20 at Aptos Village Park, with free live music, arts, kids activities, and food & drink.
The Watsonville Strawberry Festival is exactly what it sounds like, celebrating all things strawberry, Aug. 2-4 in downtown Watsonville.
The Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music will again enliven downtown Santa Cruz the first two weeks of August. As in past years, the Cabrillo Festival welcomes audiences to its free open rehearsals. Then, the festival begins in earnest with its “In the Works” concert July 30 at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, kicking off a season that runs through Aug. 11.
The Scotts Valley Art Wine & Beer Festival goes down at Skypark in Scotts Valley on Aug. 17 and 18.
Late summer brings the big and bold Santa Cruz Mountain Sol Festival at Roaring Camp in Felton, this year featuring Michael Franti & Spearhead, the California Honeydrops, Tower of Power and lots more, on Aug. 24 and 25.
Into September — because summer in coastal California obviously bleeds well into September — is the storied Capitola Art & Wine Festival, set for Sept. 14 and 15.
If you’re looking for big things beyond the county line, there’s always the monumental Outside Lands festival in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, Aug. 9-11 with all kinds of superstar performers (Post Malone doing country?).
To the south, the legendary Monterey Jazz Festival marks its 67th year Sept. 27-29, with Mavis Staples, Lila Downs, Blind Boys of Alabama and tons more great artists.
And if you look ahead far enough, you’ll see Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in San Francisco, Oct. 4-6.
Theater
Santa Cruz is all about live theater in the summers with two magnificent theater traditions — Santa Cruz Shakespeare and Cabrillo Stage — dominating the spotlight all summer.
Santa Cruz Shakespeare begins a historic year under new artistic director Charles Pasternak at the Audrey Stanley Grove at DeLaveaga Park, with its summer season beginning in mid-July. The summer will see three productions: Shakespeare’s “As You Like It” along with “Hamlet,” and Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest.” SCS will then move into the fall for the first time with the Tennessee Williams classic “The Glass Menagerie.” Then, during the holiday season, the company comes to the Veterans Memorial Building in downtown Santa Cruz to present “A Christmas Carol,” based on the story by Charles Dickens, and starring longtime SCS leader Mike Ryan.
Cabrillo Stage gets rolling as well with a new production of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony Award-winning musical “In the Heights.” Opening night is July 12 at the Crocker Theater at Cabrillo College.
Other fun stuff
How about weekly block parties all summer long? That’s what’s in store at Event Santa Cruz Midtown Fridays, featuring live music and lots of food, right there along Soquel Avenue in the heart of Midtown, every Friday from 5 to 8:30 p.m. through Aug. 30.
Every Sunday afternoon comes Silent Disco in the Park, an ecstatic dance event at Ocean View Park in Santa Cruz.
On July 13, the Quarry Amphitheater on the campus of UC Santa Cruz will be presenting a screening of the amazing 1984 concert documentary “Stop Making Sense” featuring Talking Heads. That event will be followed a month later by Talking Heads keyboardist Jerry Harrison and guitarist Adrian Legg celebrating the band’s landmark “Remain in Light” album on Aug. 16.
The fabled Wharf To Wharf race is planned on July 28, and yes, that includes the live music acts performing along the route, what the race calls “The Road Show.”
Down south in Monterey County comes the always astonishing car show the Concours d’Elegance at Pebble Beach, this year coming on Aug. 18.
Also keep an eye on the perpetually packed venues around Santa Cruz County, such as the Kuumbwa Jazz Center, Moe’s Alley, The Catalyst, Felton Music Hall, the Rio Theatre, Bookshop Santa Cruz and others, and keep on top of Santa Cruz County’s performance scene with our weekly refreshing Down the Line curated calendar of events.
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