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
THE RIVER COMPOSES US IN CONCERT TOGETHER Join a socially distanced, outdoor performative public “hearing” hosted by Laurie Palmer and the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History. In this event, Laurie, an exhibiting artist at the MAH and professor in the UCSC Art Department, will share and recognize the harm enacted against your well-being and connection to the environment due to the privatization of property. The goal of these “hearings” is to develop a more comprehensive understanding of what is common among us, who constitutes that “us,” and to promote values that recognize and amplify what is shared rather than what is privately owned and controlled. Meet at the Riverside Avenue Bridge in downtown Santa Cruz. We recommend wearing comfortable clothes and shoes as most of the event will be mobile and outside. Saturday, Oct. 3, 11am. Learn more at: santacruzmah.org/events/multispecies-tribunals.
BANFF CENTRE MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL WORLD TOUR Get off the beaten path and explore the edge of believable with exhilarating stories from the 44th Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival. The Rio Theatre will be hosting this Virtual Screening through Oct. 24. Stand on the highest peaks, paddle through the coldest waters, and be a part of the gripping adventures waiting for you in this year’s Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour. From exploring remote landscapes to adrenaline-fueled action sports, films selected for the 2019-2020 World Tour are sure to captivate and amaze you, as it travels virtually and in person to more than 40 countries worldwide. There will be three programs available to choose from, or the purchase of a bundle, including all three. Hosted by and supporting the Rio Theatre. For more information, visit riotheatre.com/events-2/2020/9/18/banff-centre-mountain-film-festival-world-tour.
CLASSES
GROW YOUR SELF-LEADERSHIP FOR OPTIMAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING Join us for a value-packed one-hour event to learn five effective upgrades you can use any day to help yourself feel great, manage your stress response and continue to lead yourself in a positive direction even in this unusual time. Online. Learn more at gatherinsantacruz.com. Wednesday, Sept. 30, 1pm.
SUICIDE CRISIS LINE VOLUNTEER TRAINING Suicide Prevention Service of the Central Coast is looking for volunteers for the position of Volunteer Responder on the Suicide Crisis Hotline. Training is remote and includes learning active listening skills, self-care, suicide, and crisis intervention techniques and registration is required. There is no cost to attend, and no experience is necessary. We only ask that you have a willing and open heart. Ages 18+. For information please email us at sp*****@fs****.org or visit our website at fsa-cc.org. Tuesdays and Thursday at 4pm.
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
MY FIRST BOOK CLUB Reading is thinking. Know a virtual learner who would benefit from participating in an engaging book club? Watsonville Public Library’s “My First Bookclub” program will meet online twice a month to read a picture book, have a discussion, and enjoy a fun activity. School-aged children in grades 1st-3rd and 4th-5th are encouraged to participate. To register visit bit.ly/wplfirstclub. Mondays at 3pm.
YOUTH VIOLENCE PREVENTION NETWORK 2020 SUMMIT You are invited to join the youth-led, virtual, Youth Violence Prevention Network 2020 Summit: Equity and Youth Leadership Summit: Re-imagining a Resilient Santa Cruz County on Sept. 30, 2020, from 10am-2:15 pm on YouTube Live. As we look into the next phase of our work, we are excited to continue our systems-level and racial equity work with youth at our table! We plan to unveil our next phase of our work, where we will have a new name, a youth focused network, and how we plan on co-creating this new countywide network with youth voice and leadership at the center, as we believe this will create a brighter, safer, and more equitable community for all. Interested in learning more about our work? Check out our website at sccyvpt.org. Eventbrite link: yvpn2020relaunch.eventbrite.com
COMMUNITY PERMACULTURE CALLS Practice permaculture each week at our ‘village campfire’ of ongoing interactive group calls. Hosted by experienced permaculture mentors including Santa Cruz Permaculture founder David Shaw.The goal of this program is to create thriving and resilient individuals and communities. We do this through supporting people to connect with nature, community, and themselves more deeply, and use permaculture as the vehicle for doing so. 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. The next call begins with a check in about how it went applying what you learned. Learn more and register: santacruzpermaculture.com/communitypermaculture. General admission: $25 per call, $250 for the series. Sign up by Oct. 6.
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.
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
TOWARD A TRANSFORMATIONAL LAND ETHIC: THE ROLE OF INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY The master narrative of the U.S. settler state has depicted Indigenous peoples as ignorant savages, incapable of wise land (and ocean) use, helping to legitimize and justify violent conquest. Yet the truth is that the Indigenous nations that have lived on the North American continent for at least 15,000 years were inherently sustainable while the modern dominant society has brought us all to the brink of existence in 500 short centuries. In this talk, Professor Dina Gilio-Whitaker, (Colville Confederated Tribes) Lecturer, American Indian Studies at California State University San Marcos, will draw upon the topic of her forthcoming book which argues that a sustainable future on this continent must simultaneously incorporate Indigenous knowledge and a decolonial ethic of political accountability to Indigenous nations for its ongoing genocidal settler structure. Center for the Blue Economy Speaker Series, Middlebury Institute of International Studies. Free, open to public, no registration required. Online via Zoom. All details on the web at: go.miis.edu/sustainability. For questions, contact Rachel C., Center for the Blue Economy, cb*@mi**.edu, 831-647-4183 (leave message to receive call back). Tuesday, Oct. 6, 6pm.
