Event highlights for November 2—8, 2016
Green Fix
Food as Medicine Tasting Party Fundraiser
In 1986, in the midst of a health crisis, Beth Freewomon gave up hamburgers and sodas overnight to begin eating a macrobiotic diet. She embraced the guiding principle of The Open Hearth (TOH)—her delivery service that provides healthy prepared foods—which is that food can be more than just calories, it can be medicine. Ten years after opening TOH, Freewomon has invited five other local chefs and food entrepreneurs to provide an evening of free bites and sips. Kitchen Witch Bone Broth, Roots Kava Bar, Creative Cultures, Burn Hot Sauces, and Tastes Like Love will offer their wares in addition to Open Hearth mixers, cocktails, live music, and a raffle benefitting Second Harvest Food Bank.
Info: 5-9 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 3. Food Lounge, 1001 Center St., Suite #1, Santa Cruz. scfoodlounge.com. Free.
Art Seen
‘Seeing Purple: An artist reports back from the Conventions’
Andrew Purchin went to both the Republican and Democratic conventions—and made it back alive to tell the tale. An artist and psychotherapist, Purchin and his team asked people to paint on a 180-foot scroll while guiding them to find inner calm and compassion toward the people they judge. Purchin will present his findings in a video of interviews with delegates, activists, evangelists, artists, business people, locals, and the co-founder of Latinos for Trump—the “If you don’t do something about it [immigration], you’re going to have taco trucks on every corner” guy. Be prepared to get your hands dirty and to find compassion despite disagreement in the midst of a contentious election season.
Info: 7:30-9 p.m. Sat., Nov. 5. The 418 Project, 418 Front St., Santa Cruz. $5-$50 donation.
Wednesday 11/2
‘Simple Life Instructions: d@D@atTheR@dius’
Nine artists offer simple instructions to save us from an increasingly absurd world. In the spirit of the Dada art movement born in Zurich a century ago, d@D@atR@dius features the work of Bay Area artists using old and new technologies. There’s video surveillance, wall construction, reimagination, neon commentary, witful recrafting, sculpture, and objects of impossible utility.
Info: Noon-5 p.m., Radius Gallery, 1050 River St., Unit 127. 706-1620. radius.gallery. Free.
Thursday 11/3
Do you love dogs? Like, really, love dogs, so much that you’ve been searching for a film festival about them? Well, you’re in luck. This Thursday, Nov. 3, the Bow Wow Film Fest comes to the Del Mar Theatre with all things doggie. The festival celebrates and educates on everything from animal welfare groups to humane treatment of dogs. The Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter and Duo Duo Animal Welfare Project co-host this event featuring stories of love, companionship, connection, and hope.
Info: 7 p.m. Del Mar Theatre, 1124 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. landmarktheatres.com/santa-cruz/del-mar-theatre.$10.
Friday 11/4
‘As We See It: East and West Coast Women Artists’
The five artists in this show have nurtured each other’s creativity with conversations, shared knowledge and encouragement. They will present their works, ranging from embroidered sanitary napkins to oil paintings, at the Blitzer Gallery, with an opening reception this Friday, Nov. 4 and artist talk Nov. 5.
Info: 2-4 p.m. R. Blitzer Gallery, 2801 Mission St., Santa Cruz. 458-1217. Free.
Sunday 11/6
‘Blythe’ at Resource Center for Nonviolence
Twenty-five years ago, Dan McMullan sat in Chuckawalla Valley State Prison and wrote a comedy set in a prison town. The play placed first in the Arts in Corrections statewide prison playwriting contest, and was scheduled for a staged reading in the 1992 Ivar Theater benefit sponsored by Ed Asner and Edward James Olmos. Two days before the show, the warden pulled the plug. This Sunday, Nov. 6, Poetic Justice Project’s company of formerly incarcerated actors will breathe new life into Blythe, directed by Leah Joki, McMullan’s teacher and author of Juilliard to Jail. McMullan was paroled in 1991 and has worked with disabled homeless people for 20 years.
Info: 2 p.m. Resource Center for Nonviolence, 612 Ocean St., Santa Cruz. rcnv.org. $15.
Tuesday 11/8
From Selma to Montgomery
Matt Herron’s work has appeared in virtually every major picture magazine in the world. A photojournalist since 1962, Herron was based in Mississippi in the early ’60s and covered the civil rights struggle for Life, Time, Newsweek, and others. In 1964, he founded and directed the Southern Documentary Project with five photographers to capture social change in the South. Through Nov. 23, the Porter College Faculty Gallery will exhibit photographs by Herron that depict the pivotal march from Selma to Montgomery.
Info: Noon-5 p.m. Porter College Faculty Gallery at Porter College, UCSC, 1156 High St., Santa Cruz. 459-3606. arts.ucsc.edu/sesnon. Free.
