Hi friends, Three things I loved in the ’90s: Cubavera cabbie shirts, Mazzy Star CDs, and Chandler Bing — Chandler (hanging up a phone call): “I got her machine.” Joey: “Her answering machine?” Chandler (incredulous smirk): “Uh, no, her leaf blower picked up.” Thanks for the laughs, Matthew Perry. We’ll never forget you. Now, on […]
Wallace Baine
Posted inArts & Entertainment, City Life
After a career as a high-profile journalist, Santa Cruz’s Peggy Townsend is living the novelist’s life
Since her retirement from journalism, longtime Sentinel writer Peggy Townsend has shifted her storytelling skills to the realm of fiction. In her latest novel, “The Beautiful and the Wild,” Townsend explores the depths of isolation and the power of secrets, drawing from her personal experiences as a journalist and a seven-week van trip across Alaska. She appears at Bookshop Santa Cruz on Tuesday.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
The biggest picture: Meaningful Universe Club looks to light a humanity-saving spark
What started as a Santa Cruz book club/discussion group now has its sights set on inspiring a critical mass of humanity to make the commitment to avoid catastrophic climate change. That begins Saturday with the first in a series of talks aimed at building a bridge between science and spirituality, to take “a next step beyond religion” into a broader movement.
Posted inCity Life
Children’s theater lights up the stage this weekend with ‘Matilda’ and ‘The Addams Family’
Forget Halloween — if you really want to see children delight in costumes and festivities, check out two theater productions slated for this weekend. Christian Youth Theater in Santa Cruz brings a new take on Roald Dahl’s “Matilda” to the Crocker Theater at Cabrillo College, while All About Theatre stages a season-appropriate production of “The Addams Family” at the London Nelson Community Center.
Posted inArts & Entertainment, Events
Weekender: Halloween, Día de Los Muertos and a curveball trivia question
One Halloween, when I was maybe 9 or 10, my mom found a beat-up old hat, put me in one of my dad’s ragged weekend shirts, rubbed charcoal on my face, and sent me out trick-or-treating as a “bum.” And, no, I’m not over it. I mean, what kind of message does that send? It’s […]
Posted inEnvironment
Can California continue to fight the ocean? A new book argues for new approaches
As last winter made clear all over Santa Cruz County, nothing is permanent when confronted with the power of the Pacific. In “California Against the Sea,” Los Angeles Times journalist Rosanna Xia examines the postwar coastal development boom and the daunting challenges facing the 27 million Californians who live in the coastal zone as sea-level rise and coastal erosion become urgent facts of life. She’ll talk about it Tuesday at Bookshop Santa Cruz.
Posted inArts & Entertainment, Events
Weekender: Capitola Village horror, strolling Pleasure Point, Westside poetry, local Ben Affleck connection
Hi friends, Dear Trader Joe’s, In regard to the sign at the Front Street entrance of your fine store in downtown Santa Cruz, closed since the pandemic — I don’t think you know what the word “temporary” means. Happy to lend you my dictionary. Just trying to be helpful, Sincerely, Just Some Guy. Now, on […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
‘A Dark and Rising Tide’: Novelist’s supernatural twist on Capitola Village’s devastating winter storm
The latest novel from former KION-TV news director Debra Castaneda is directly inspired by Capitola’s experience with the Storm of ’23. “A Dark and Rising Tide” imagines a scary winter storm that actually brings forth some enormous and mysterious sea creature, and a couple trying to survive both the ocean’s fury and the monster it washed to shore.
Posted inCity Life
What’s happening where this Halloween season in Santa Cruz County
Santa Cruz is a terrific place to be in the black-and-orange season, from the beautiful and family-oriented cultural richness of Dia de Los Muertos in downtown Watsonville to the whack-a doodle spectacle and abandon of Halloween night in downtown Santa Cruz. Wallace Baine brings you a selection of the best ways to have some spooky fun.
Posted inCity Life
What would a new downtown arena mean for Santa Cruz audiences?
With Kaiser Permanente Arena extended beyond its intended lifespan, the Santa Cruz Warriors want a multipurpose downtown venue that could host events beyond basketball year-round, with a capacity of 3,000-4,000. That would be an alluring upgrade from the Civic Auditorium in terms of attracting big-name musical acts and speakers, but whether a new venue would suit mainstay Civic tenants like the Santa Cruz Symphony is a concern — and in any case, it’s no slam dunk that a bigger new venue would be filled regularly, either.