Because many in-person events across Santa Cruz County have been canceled or postponed during the pandemic, Good Times is compiling a weekly list of virtual events hosted by local nonprofits, artists, fitness instructors and businesses. To submit your virtual event, send an email to ca******@go*******.sc.
ARTS AND MUSIC
OPEN SHOW SANTA CRUZ We have continued to present Open Show Santa Cruz via Zoom and have our final, regularly scheduled event featuring three local photographers on Wednesday, Oct. 14. We are also planning a special fundraiser event the following week on Wednesday, Oct. 21. Open Show Santa Cruz co-producer and Sentinel photographer Shmuel Thaler has offered to do a fundraiser event, titled “Photojournalism in the Fire Zone,” featuring his photos from the CZU fire, with him talking about his experience as a photojournalist on the front lines. We plan to donate all proceeds to the Community Foundation’s Fire Response Fund. For this special event, we will ask for a minimum donation of $10. Learn more at openshow.org/en/santacruz/694.
BENEFIT ART SHOW Benefit Art Show by local ocean artist F.J. Anderson on Saturday, Oct. 10, 11am-5pm. Masks and social distancing required. 20% of all proceeds donated to the Live Oak Education Foundation. Oil paintings, prints and cards. 212 16th Ave., Santa Cruz.
WILD AND SCENIC FILM FESTIVAL The Ventana Wilderness Alliance is presenting its eighth annual Wild and Scenic Film Festival on Thursday, Oct. 8. Attendees of this virtual event will enjoy online access to 14 beautiful films and guest speaker clips through Monday, Oct. 12. Since 2013, the Ventana Wilderness Alliance (VWA) has brought the Wild and Scenic Film Festival on tour to the Monterey Bay area. The local screening is a distillation of films from the iconic annual festival held each January in Nevada City. Wild and Scenic focuses on films which speak to the environmental concerns and celebrations of our planet. Virtual Live Event is Thursday, Oct. 8. ‘Doors’ open at 6pm and the show starts at 6:30pm. Attendees may return to the recorded program online through Monday, Oct. 12. Ticket prices: $12 general admission with special ticket packages offered. Tickets can be purchased at qudio.com/event/ventana/register. For more information, contact the Ventana Wilderness Alliance at vw*@ve*********.org or 831-423-3191.
OCEAN FILM FESTIVAL WORLD TOUR Designed to mesmerize and enthrall, the Ocean Film Festival World Tour showcases a cinematic celebration of our oceans, comprised of sublime footage taken above and below the water’s surface. Featuring all new films, this carefully curated selection of short films document the beauty and power of the ocean, and celebrate the divers, surfers, swimmers and oceanographers who live for the sea’s salt spray; who chase the crests of waves; and who marvel at the mysteries of the big blue. Inspiring and thought-provoking, the Ocean Film Festival World Tour is filled with moving footage, touching interviews and insightful narrations. Each of the festival’s films conveys a deep respect and appreciation for the world’s oceans and the creatures that call them home. View from Oct. 15-20 only. Once you start viewing the program, you have 48 hours to finish watching it or until midnight on Oct. 20—whichever comes first. For information visit riotheatre.com/events-2/2020/10/14/ocean-film-festival-2020-presented-by-the-rio-theatre.
CLASSES
65-HOUR TRAINING Community members may participate in a Monarch Services virtual training to become California state-certified peer counselors for survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and human trafficking. The training will be held through Oct. 14 during these times: Mondays 1pm-3:30pm, Wednesdays 1pm-3:30pm, Thursdays 1pm-3:30pm. Register by emailing al********@mo********.org.
NAMI FAMILY-TO-FAMILY CLASS NAMI’s Family-to-Family Class is an eight-week educational program for family and friends of adults with mental health challenges. Learn about how to support your loved one, gain valuable communication and coping skills, and become educated on the latest mental health research. Class is led by two trained volunteers with lived experience caring for someone with mental health conditions. Sign up online and learn more at namiscc.org/family-to-family.html. Mondays and Wednesdays at 6pm.
CHILDBIRTH EDUCATION WEEKEND EXPRESS CLASS This Saturday and Sunday virtual class from Dominican Hospital is intended for expectant mothers and their labor support team. Focus will be on the birth process, including the stages of labor and when to go to the hospital. Non-pharmaceutical coping techniques for pain, including breath work, mindfulness practices, supportive touch and positions for labor and birth, along with standard hospital procedures, pain medication options, medical interventions, cesarean birth, postpartum recovery, newborn procedures and breastfeeding basics. In this class, we will actively practice positions and coping techniques for pain, so please be dressed for movement. Please register for the PEP class session. Only after you have completed this process, the Zoom meeting information will be provided to you via email prior to your class. Classes run 1-5:30pm on these days: Oct, 24-25, Nov. 14-15, Dec. 19-20.
COMMUNITY
SANTA CRUZ BONSAI KAI FUNDRAISER The Santa Cruz Bonsai Kai is hosting an outdoor fundraising sale benefitting the Sempervirens Fund and the Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County, charities working to mitigate the impact of the CZU fire. Bonsai, pre-bonsai, pots, soil, wire and related items will be available for sale. 50% of the proceeds will be donated to charity. For the safety of everyone, masks must be worn and six feet of social distancing will be enforced. Sunday, Oct. 18, 10am-3pm, at Aptos Grange Hall, 2555 Mar Vista Drive, Aptos. For questions about this sale contact SCBK President Sarah Tiller at sa**********@gm***.com or visit santacruzbonsaikai.com
UCSC HARVEST FESTIVAL AND LIFE LAB FALL BENEFIT Celebrate community and the abundance of the fall harvest with UCSC’s annual Fall Harvest Festival, happening all week from October 5-10. A collaboration between the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, Life Lab, and students of UCSC’s Food Systems Working Group, this year’s festival will feature a series of free, interactive online events for all ages. Join us for Saturday, Oct. 10 at 10:30am for Life Lab Reimagined: Program Updates, Inspired Learning, and Community. The events of this unprecedented year have provided opportunities for Life Lab to support our local community and national networks in new ways, expand our reach through virtual connections, and dive more deeply into justice and equity in all of our work. Join us to learn more about our PVUSD Partner School updates, the launch of our Science in the Garden K-2 NGSS Curriculum, new online workshops, our new Life Lab Educator Certification, new Life Lab staff and garden additions, plus much more! Register at lifelab.org/fallbenefit. Sponsorship opportunities available.
TALES TO TAILS GOES VIRTUAL SCPL’s early childhood literacy program, Virtual Tales to Tails, has moved to a new time slot: Mondays, 3:30-4:30pm. At the end of your school day, hop online and have fun reading at your own pace to an audience of therapy dogs, cats and other guest animals. Have math homework? Good news! Your furry audience would also love to learn how to count, add and subtract. Register online. Registrants receive reminders, links to the live program, and fun (educational) activities to complete and have showcased on future sessions Learn more at santacruzpl.libcal.com/event/6764938.
GROUPS
VIRTUAL YOUNG ADULT (18-30) TRANSGENDER SUPPORT GROUP A weekly peer support group for young adults aged 18-25 who identify as transgender, non-binary, genderqueer, agender, or any other non-cisgender identity. This is a social group where we meet and chat among ourselves, sharing our experiences and thoughts in a warm, welcoming setting. Our meetings will be held on Discord during the shelter-in-place order. For more info, contact Ezra Bowen at tr***@di*************.org.
LGBTQNBI+ SUPPORT GROUP FOR CORONAVIRUS STRESS This weekly LGBTQNBI+ support group is being offered to help us all deal with stress during the shelter-in-place situation that we are experiencing from the coronavirus. Feel free to bring your lunch and chat together to get support. This group is offered at no cost and will be facilitated by licensed therapists Shane Hill, Ph.D., and Melissa Bernstein, LMFT #52524. Learn how to join the Zoom support group at diversitycenter.org/community-calendar.
OUTDOOR
FUNDING THE OCEAN: EXPLORING ENVIRONMENTAL PHILANTHROPY How do donors (ranging from traditional foundations to impact investors) craft strategies to maximize positive marine outcomes? Mariko Powers, program officer at Oceankind, will highlight case studies that show how investment in cell-based seafood, marine protected areas, and blue carbon catalyze solutions for ocean health. Part of the Center for the Blue Economy Speaker Series at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. Free, open to public, no registration required. Online via Zoom. Tuesday, Oct. 13, 6pm. Learn more at go.miis.edu/sustainability. For questions, contact Rachel C., Center for the Blue Economy, cb*@mi**.edu, 831-647-4183 (leave a message to receive a call back).
EVOLUTION OF AGROECOLOGY AS A PRACTICE, RESEARCH DISCIPLINE, AND SOCIAL MOVEMENT What does agroecology mean? How is it practiced? Who are the holders / creators of agroecological knowledge? What are the exciting questions or recent advances in agroecology research? A panel of experts will give five-minute “lightning talks” on their interpretation of the evolution of agroecology as a practice, research discipline, and social movement. Q and A session to follow. This is a virtual event. Wednesday, Oct. 7, 1:30pm. Learn more at casfs.ucsc.edu/news-events/events/quarterly-lecture-series.html.
