There are monsters coming.
No, not just the election or Halloween. Before that.
I’m not making this up, but this week, from Oct. 16-18 at the UC Santa Cruz Center for Monster Studies there is a Festival of Monsters, a three-day intellectual celebration of all things monstrous.
This is one of those things, like our Grateful Dead Museum or our Oaxacan celebration, that makes me so appreciate where we live. There is so much culture here of all kinds and all spectrums of imagination and thought. This is the place I once saw a talk by the man who invented LSD. Not at the monster fest, but at the UC.
“What I’ve discovered in my research is if you ask people what monster they’re scared of the most, that is really a reflection of what they might be,” says organizer Dr. Michael “Doc” Chemers in Mat Weir’s cover story.
The only program of its kind in the country, the center is a collection of artists and scholars who have dedicated themselves to the study of monsters and how they have been defined and reinterpreted throughout human history across all cultures. People will be visiting here from all over the world to attend lectures, movies and a ghastly costume ball.
Once again SC is on the international map of the weird.
Another thing that has put the Cruz on the map is PinUp Productions, which for 20 years has been booking shows—punk, hardcore, metal, hip hop and everything in between—in Santa Cruz and throughout the Bay Area and California.
To celebrate, they’re putting on an all-out, 18-band extravaganza in the main room at the downtown Santa Cruz Vets Hall on Oct. 19. But for anyone trying to buy a ticket, secondhand is the only option as the show sold out in less than a week.
While we’re gearing up for the one-time kid’s holiday that has been co-opted by grownups, you’ll want to check out a theatrical ghost story, Lucky Time, a two-act psychological puzzle produced by Actors Theatre.
Christina Waters gives us the lowdown in her arts piece in this issue.
I can promise you will get some laughs and worries from this week’s cannabis column, where writer Dan Mitchell recounts the Keystone Cops–like comedy of police busting supposed growers of cannabis. There’s some real irony to the idea that cops who once busted marijuana users and growers are now supporting legal growers.
When you get the munchies, check out our food columns for some hot ideas.
Thanks for reading.
Brad Kava | Editor
PHOTO CONTEST
SEEING DOUBLE This was taken from the lane. I call it “Symmetry.” Photograph by Pete Bartlett
GOOD IDEA
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is designating the Chumash
Heritage National Marine Sanctuary, stretching from Monterey Bay past Point Conception. The first Indigenous-nominated national marine sanctuary, led by the Northern Chumash Tribal Council, it is expected to be complete by December 2024.
It will be the third-largest national marine sanctuary in the United States, the first Indigenous-nominated sanctuary, and the first new ocean sanctuary in over 30 years. It will prohibit new oil drilling and support climate solutions by promoting the health of ocean habitats that serve a host of vital ecosystem functions.
GOOD WORK
Arte del Corazón, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting local artists, is excited to host its 2nd Annual Calavera Ball on Oct. 19 at Veterans of Foreign
Wars, 1960 Freedom Blvd, Freedom. This fundraising event will bring together art lovers, dancers and supporters of the arts for an evening of music, celebration and cultural pride. It runs 6-10pm and includes cumbia, salsa, and bachata as well as a silent art auction, costume contest, an arcade, a cash bar and hors d’oeuvres.
Tickets and info: artedelcorazon.com. $25-$50.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Never regret anything that made you smile.”
—Mark Twain.
