A weekly guide to what’s happening.
Green Fix
Photo Hike for Beginners
Anyone can take a selfie, but this guided photography class is more about capturing nature than double-chinned angles. The class is four hours long and focuses on capturing different lighting, camera skills and becoming more familiar with the park. Make sure to bring your camera, water and comfortable recreational shoes.
INFO: 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 22. Henry Cowell Redwood State Park, 101 N Big Trees Park Rd., Felton. 335-7077. Free.
Art Seen
Transport of Delight
There’s something about the holidays and trains. Maybe it’s Roaring Camp’s train rides, or the perennial demand for new train sets under the tree, but trains and Christmas go hand in hand. With this in mind, the folks at the San Lorenzo Valley Museum have put together an exhibit of transportation through the ages featuring 50 transportation models. From trains and cars to balloons and ships, anything and everything that goes from A to B will be there. Many of the models shown belong to local residents. There’s also an interactive play area for younger visitors.
INFO: Show runs through Sunday, Jan. 6. Museum open Wednesday-Sunday, noon-4 p.m. San Lorenzo Valley Museum, 12547 Hwy. 9, Boulder Creek. 338-8382, slvmuseum.com. Free, donations accepted.
Saturday 12/22
‘Oberufer Shepherds Play’
The shepherds from the nativity story never get any credit. No one ever asks what they thought about going to see the birth of Jesus, or of an angel sporadically appearing out of thin air. Plus, the trip to Bethlehem couldn’t have been easy without lights, cars or GPS. At least now we can all know and appreciate how they felt, thanks to the Oberufer Shepherds Play. The sweet, heartwarming play tells Christmas stories from the perspective of shepherds. The cast and crew are all local, with professional and amateur actors and musicians from the Santa Cruz Waldorf School, Anthroposophical Branch and Camphill Communities California.
INFO: 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 22. Louden Nelson Community Center, 301 Center St., Santa Cruz. 301-325-1566. Adults $15/Children $8.
Friday 12/21
An ABBA-Solutely Christmas Show
Even people who don’t think they know ABBA know ABBA. From “Dancing Queen,” “Waterloo,” “SOS” and “Take a Chance on Me” to “Voulez-Vous,” “Super Trouper” and “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight),” these songs are some of the most ubiquitous in pop music history. In an intermingling of ABBA’s greatest hits with some holiday music, the ABBA-Solutely Christmas Show guarantees some—probably many—smiles.
INFO: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 21. Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. 423-8209, riotheatre.com. $40-$60.
Wednesday 12/19- Sunday 12/23
Santa Cruz Holiday Lights Train
Can’t get a ride on Santa’s sleigh? Don’t worry, get a lift to the North Pole the next best way. And by “North Pole,” we mean the amazing Santa Cruz Mountains. It’s the Santa Cruz Holiday Lights Train, with spiced cider and holiday carols to spark up the cheer. Kids, neighbors, grandmas, friends, friends we haven’t met yet—all aboard!
INFO: 5 and 6:30 p.m. Roaring Camp. 5401 Graham Hill Rd., Felton. roaringcamp.com. Adults $33 general/Children $27.
