Arts & Culture

WATSONVILLE—The 10th annual “Take Aways: Art to Go!” exhibition has opened at Pajaro Valley Arts in downtown Watsonville. More than 900 works, spanning a wide range of mediums, from sculpture and jewelry to ceramics, paintings, photography, assemblage and collage, fill out the entire Sudden...

WATSONVILLE—Work has resumed on Watsonville Brillante, a massive outdoor mural project on the exterior walls of the six-story Civic Plaza parking garage. The new installation features colorful panels depicting cultures from around the globe, plus panels for all 32 states of Mexico. The work is...

Writer, director and actor Steve “Spike” Wong remembers the moment he realized he wanted to tell stories. He was about 5 years old and was riding the Jungle Cruise attraction at Disneyland with his parents. He managed, he said, to convince them that the animatronic...

Do you have a recent photo you’d like to share? Send it to us for consideration by emailing it to [email protected] or mailing it to 21 Brennan St., Suite 14, Watsonville, CA 95076. Please include a brief description of the photo as well as...

Do you have a recent photo you’d like to share? Send it to us for consideration by emailing it to [email protected] or mailing it to 21 Brennan St., Suite 14, Watsonville, CA 95076. Please include a brief description of the photo as well as...

Artwork by more than 130 local artists has filled the walls of the Pajaro Valley Gallery in Watsonville with Pajaro Valley Arts’ first show of the year. “2024, Pajaro Valley Arts: 40 Years of Inspired Expression,” which runs Jan. 17–Feb. 25, spans a wealth of...

Review by Fleur C. Williams Music is a powerful means for transformation – a fact beautifully conveyed in the Santa Cruz Symphony’s (SCS) most recent production, “Catharsis,” which was presented at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium and the Henry J. Mello Center for the Performing...

Sam Ruiz (left) and Jose Ruelas team up with Emanuel Garcia (not shown) of Rinaldi Tile & Marble to install a mosaic tile sheet to the exterior wall of the parking structure at Rodriguez and Second streets Monday. Watsonville Brillante, a multiphase mosaic outdoor project...

Johanna Miller His Dark Materials (HBO/BBC) I was both excited and nervous when I heard that BBC and HBO would be releasing a miniseries adaptation of my favorite book series, “His Dark Materials” by Philip Pullman. As a longtime fan, I was hoping it would at...

This summer, the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (MAH) will celebrate its 25th Anniversary.  While the museum has been shuttered for most of the pandemic, staff has stayed connected to the community through outdoor exhibits, social media engagement and other projects. No one...