You say you want a revolution: Dr. Marshall Rosenberg, the originator of Nonviolent Communication, is making a long-awaited trek to Santa Cruz this weekend for three days of seminars and workshops. A veritable guru for the self-help set who counts the likes of Deepak Chopra and Jack Canfield as acolytes, Rosenberg has been spreading his message and techniques for nonviolent resolutions to conflict that arose from his work with '60s civil rights groups for four decades. In recent years, Rosenberg has been particularly active visiting both Israeli and Palestinian communities in an attempt to offer his conflict resolution insights to what often seems to be an intractable situation. Rosenberg will present all-day workshops at the First Congregational Church and Inner Light Ministries, in addition to a speaking engagement at the Rio Theatre on Friday night. Tickets for the latter are $12 general or $10 for students and seniors. For more information, call the NVC Santa Cruz Center for Compassion at 831.459.6919 or visit nvcsantacruz.org.

Marley's revenge: There are few band names as effectively allusive as Marley's Ghost, which brings to mind both the Dickens character and Rasta revolutionary Bob. Drawing from Irish and English folk, country, gospel and reggae, the name serves as a particularly appropriate bridge between the wide-ranging traditions the band draws from. Marley's Ghost comes to the Kuumbwa Jazz Center on Saturday, April 7, in support of their latest album, Spooked, for which they tapped the production skills of Brian Wilson collaborator Van Dyke Parks. Tickets are $15 advance or $18 at the door. For more information, check out www.snazzyproductions.com.

Are you crafty: What with the success of crafts site Etsy.com and the ubiquity of subversive arts and crafts fairs across the country, it's a bit surprising the DIY crafts movement hasn't grown bigger in town, though the Hide Gallery downtown is doing its best to change that. The gallery has become a veritable merchandise mart for homemade goods for the hipster set, with plenty of one-of-a-kind screenprinted shirts and other crafty artifacts by local underground artists. The Hide is doing an admirable job advocating for local artists whose work is unpalatable to the art-and-wine fair crowd, and has filled a long-ignored vacuum in the downtown arts community. The art itself is pretty damned good, too--check out the Renaissance-cum-stigmata art of Bruce Telopa Bigelow, whose provocative exhibition opens at the gallery on April 6.

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