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 [email protected].
ARTS AND MUSIC
TOP DOG SCREENING We are excited to announce a Virtual Screening of Top Dog. The Top Dog Film Festival was launched in 2017 to showcase the incredible bond between dogs and their people through independent films. Touring annually, the Top Dog Film Festival screens over two hours of the most inspirational, heartwarming and entertaining films related to dogs and their human companions from independent filmmakers around the globe. Including a carefully curated selection of films of varying lengths and styles covering topics relevant to dogs and dog lovers. A portion of ticket sales benefits Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter. Sponsored by Pacific Paw, Santa Cruz Waves, Pet Pals and Community Mobile Vet, Dr. Hannah Good, D.V.M., and Santa Cruz Film Festival. Sept. 20-25. Learn more at riotheatre.com/events-2/2020/9/12/top-dog-film-festival.
WEST CLIFF OUTDOOR MARKET Enjoy a socially distanced outdoor market with unique artisans and food trucks while taking in the spectacular view of the ocean. This market will be held in two parking lots along West Cliff Drive. This is always a popular spot for locals and tourists, as it overlooks the famous Steamer Lane surf spot. The market will feature one-of-a-kind gifts and a chance to see many vendors for the first time this year. The market will follow all social distancing guidelines and all vendors and attendees will be wearing face masks. Please come and join us and enjoy this outdoor shopping experience! Saturday, Sept. 19, 10am-6pm.
CLASSES
HEALTHY HABITS FOR GROWING OLD GRACEFULLY Tired all the time? Don’t have the energy you used to? Come to this class to learn how to maintain your vitality and strength while growing older. Science is now proving that lifestyle choices can be as important as genetics when it comes to aging well. This class will focus on building healthy habits and a few key principles that can give you a boost as you age and improve quality of life. This class is part of the Personal Enrichment Program (PEP) of Dignity Health. Marianne Benforado is a licensed acupuncturist with a passion for supporting people on all levels—body, mind, and spirit. She loves to teach and share what she knows. Her intention is always to give people tools they can use at home. It’s the day-to-day choices that have the greatest impact on our health. Pre-registration required. Call the PEP office at 844-585-3377 or learn more online: dignityhealth.org/bayarea/locations/dominican. Thursday, Sept. 17, 10am.
TECH TALKS: ANDROID 101 Ready for a review of the basic features and settings of your Android? We will share our favorite features and tips. We hope you will join us and share with us, too. Thursday, Sept. 17, 11am. Register at: santacruzpl.libcal.com/event/7049326. If you are new to using Zoom, please check out our webpage about using Zoom here: santacruzpl.org/digitallearning/?display=using-zoom.
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 [email protected].
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: Sept. 26-27, Oct, 24-25, Nov. 14-15, Dec. 19-20.
COMMUNITY
SAN LORENZO RIVER LAGOON CULVERT PROJECT – VIRTUAL MEETING The city of Santa Cruz Transportation and Public Works Commission is requesting public feedback and questions regarding the San Lorenzo River Lagoon Culvert Project on Monday, Sept. 21, at 6pm. Interested persons are encouraged to attend this virtual meeting and comment on the issues being discussed at zoom.us/j/99054692912, using the meeting ID 990 5469 2912. Project details are posted in English and Spanish at cityofsantacruz.com/culvert. Details for participation are listed at cityofsantacruz.com/TPWC.
DESIGN FOR MITIGATING DISASTER: FREE COMMUNITY PERMACULTURE CALL Santa Cruz Permaculture is offering a free “Open House” call on “Design for Mitigating Disaster” on Tuesday, Sept. 22, from 7-8:30pm on Zoom. Join us for a lecture and discussion in the same format as our upcoming Community Permaculture Calls series. Each call includes a keynote talk on a relevant and seasonal topic. This is followed by a small group conversation for reflection, and a whole group conversation and Q&A. We close the calls with invitations for how you can apply what you’ve learned in your home and community. Join us for this free 1.5 hour call to learn more, engage in discussion, and begin to create a plan for your home, landscape, and neighborhood. If you’d like to participate in the small group conversations, please register on Zoom: us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcld-GvpzMjH9XR5aVd97ndJh34039zcnhM. This Open House call is also a great chance to learn more about the upcoming call series and get access to discounted pricing for the Oct. 6 – Dec. 8 cohort! Learn more about our Community Permaculture Calls series at santacruzpermaculture.com/communitypermaculture.
IMAGINE Join us for Imagine! our annual premier fundraising event. This year, Imagine! will be a virtual event with a silent live auction broadcast from the CASA house, online bidding, and stories from former foster youth and their CASAs. Sunday, Sept. 20, 2:30-3:30pm. Learn more at casaofsantacruz.org/imagine2020.
VIRTUAL WALK-A-MILE Our annual Walk-a-Mile fundraiser is going virtual this year! The walk will take place on Saturday, Oct. 3, to coincide with the first weekend of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Between now and event day, participants can sign up online individually or as a team, create a personalized web page and outreach to their networks to fund their walk. Through our event site, social media networks and teams, we will raise awareness and build support for the movement to end violence in our community. All funds raised through this year’s Walk-a-Mile event will go toward meeting the immediate needs of survivors (housing support, food, transportation, etc.), violence prevention programming for youth and teens, as well as outreach to those most at-risk of violence during this time. Learn more at monarchwam.funraise.org.
LUMA BOOK CLUB This is a time of seismic shift, and yet also one of opportunity. Luma Yoga is a community center operating on principles of inclusion, compassion, and, yes, reflection, but make no mistake—also of action. The first step in effective action is gaining knowledge. To this end, Luma is hosting a book club on the topic of racism and social justice issues. The reading groups will be held remotely (for now) over Zoom Thursday nights 7-8:15pm. The purpose of the groups is to learn the endless shapes oppression can take in the world, to recognize our own biases within ourselves, and to move from discomfort to action in support of Black and non-white POC. The groups will be facilitated by Steven Macramalla, a professor of psychology at SJSU. The Club will work on a 3- to 4-week cycle, reading one book per cycle, with several chapters covered each week. For more info visit lumayoga.com. Thursdays at 7pm.
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 [email protected].
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
SEA OTTER AWARENESS WEEK Virtual Sea Otter Awareness Week is Sept. 20-26. Discover the critical role sea otters play in the nearshore ecosystem during the Seymour Center’s virtual Sea Otter Awareness Week. Special at-home activities, lectures, interviews with scientists, and crafts will highlight sea otters’ natural history, reveal conservation issues facing these marine mammals, and so much more. For more details on Sea Otter Awareness Week events and activities, visit the Seymour Center’s website: seymourcenter.ucsc.edu/learn/family-activities/family-events/#sea-otter-week.
VIRTUAL SCIENCE SUNDAY – SHARING SPACE WITH SEA OTTERS Returning to the California coast from the brink of extinction, sea otters are coming home to a coastline fundamentally altered by the expansion of human activity. Research has largely been focused on the acute threats to sea otter population recovery—oil spills, sharks, and disease—but, recently, more insidious impacts have been studied. Namely, that some of humans’ favorite recreation places and the essential habitat of sea otters overlap in many “hot spots” of disturbance. Please join the Seymour Center and Gena Bentall, director and senior scientist at Sea Otter Savvy, for this special Sea Otter Awareness Week Science Sunday to learn why sea otters matter, why sea otters need protection, and how recreational activities such as kayaking, scuba diving, photography, or walking on the beach can impact them. To register in advance for the online Science Sunday webinar (required), visit: seymourcenter.ucsc.edu/learn/ongoing-education/science-sundays. Virtual Science Sundays are offered at no charge with preregistration. Please consider supporting the Seymour Center by becoming a member or making a donation today at seymourcenter.ucsc.edu/get-involved/join or seymourcenter.ucsc.edu/get-involved/donate/make-a-donation. Sunday, Sept. 20, 1:30-2:30pm.
EVERGREEN AT DUSK: CEMETERY HISTORY TOURS Discover the shadows and secrets found within Evergreen Cemetery, one of the oldest public cemeteries in California, on a self-guided tour of the grounds. Bring your curiosity (and maybe some flashlights) as you explore the final resting place of Santa Cruz’s early settlers. The 45-minute tour is a self-driven adventure uncovering the stories and tombstones of the people who made Santa Cruz what it is today. Designed for daring, curious, and history-loving households, this tour is great for all ages! Registration is limited to one household per tour to ensure plenty of spacing as groups individually explore the cemetery. Each tour should take 30-45 minutes to complete. The time you select is when your group/household tour start; we recommend arriving 5-10 minutes early to ensure you can begin right on time. Dates and times vary. You will be able to select the date and time of your tour when purchasing tickets. Learn more at santacruzmah.org/events.
ANNUAL COASTAL CLEANUP For over a decade, Save Our Shores has regionally hosted Annual Coastal Cleanup in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties. This year, to prevent the spread of Covid-19, Save Our Shores will not be hosting cleanups at organized sites on one particular day. Instead, you can conduct your own local cleanup with those you have been sheltering in place with on any Saturday during the month of September. These individual, close-to-home cleanups will protect our oceans beginning at our own front doors. Learn more and find out how to participate by visiting saveourshores.org/coastal-cleanup-2020.
