SANTA CRUZ

Qingming Festival celebration held at cemetery

A vibrant celebration of the traditional Qingming Chinese festival will be held at the Museum of Art and History, 705 Front St., and Evergreen Cemetery, 261 Evergreen St., on March 29. The event begins at 9 a.m. with refreshments at MAH and remarks by historian Traci Bliss, author of “Evergreen Cemetery of Santa Cruz.” Bliss will share why her ancestors gave the Evergreen land as a burial ground open to all and how they were able to support Chinese residents amidst vicious racism.

The group will then walk to Evergreen Cemetery as was typical of the Chinese funeral processions in the late 1800s. At Evergreen, George Ow and Sandy Lydon will discuss the importance of the Chinese community in Santa Cruz and Ow’s donation of the award-winning Chinese Gate at Evergreen. At 11:30 a.m. Evergreen volunteers will provide participants with supplies for helping with gravestone cleaning and cemetery maintenance. Please join in honoring the pioneer cemetery and all those buried there.

For questions please contact Sophie Cornish at sophieocornish@gmail.com or at 831-251-5119.

CAPITOLA

Store to host annual spring sale

The Family Service Agency of the Central Coast announced that The Daisy Store, located at 1601 41st Ave. in the King’s Plaza Shopping Center, will hold its annual sale to celebrate spring. Everything in the store is 50% off. The sale runs from March 24 through March 29. Store hours are Monday 1-4 p.m. and Tuesday to Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Closed Sundays)

Want to make a difference in your community? The nonprofit all-volunteer Daisy Auxiliary is seeking new members to join its group of wonderful and dedicated women who volunteer in the store. For information about volunteering, call The Daisy at 831-462-3686. For information about how the Daisy supports Family Service programs, visit fsa-cc.org/daisy.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY

Sign up for kid/teen summer music camps

Registration is now open for Community Music School’s Teen Camp at the Monte Toyon Conference Center, 220 Cloister Lane, Aptos, from June 16-21, for musicians ages 12-18. Additionally, Redwood Music Kid Camp, a two-week day camp for musicians ages 7-13 will take place July 21-Aug. 1 in St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, 5271 Scotts Valley Drive in Scotts Valley.

These music camps are open to players of fiddle, violin, viola, cello, bass, flute, pennywhistle, recorder, harp, guitar, mandolin, ukulele, accordion and keyboards. Participants learn and perform the folk music of Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, America and more. There are scholarships available. Details, photos, videos and registration is available online at CommunityMusicSchool.org, or call and leave a message at 831-471-5184.

SANTA CRUZ

Genealogy virtual lecture scheduled

Sign up to attend the online lecture “Genealogy Beyond BMD” hosted by the Genealogical Society of Santa Cruz and the Santa Cruz Public Libraries at 1 p.m. April 1.

The guest will be Martha Wallace, a retired middle school teacher. She always wanted to be a docent in a castle in England, but the commute was too long, so she now volunteers at Rengstorff House, the oldest house in Mountain View. Wallace also volunteers at the National Archives in San Bruno. She enjoys studying medieval and American history, connecting her ancestors to actual events, and exploring local history.

Do you wonder what the everyday life of an ancestor was like? As you research birth, marriage and death (BMD) information for your ancestors, look beyond the bounds of the family group sheet to learn about other facets of your ancestors’ lives.

To register via Zoom, visit santacruzpl.libcal.com/event/14056793. Online registration via the SCPL website is necessary for viewing this event from home. Join the live stream in person (no registration needed) in the upstairs meeting room of the downtown library at 224 Church St. For more information, visit scgensoc.org.

SANTA CRUZ

CODA exhibition opens April

The public is invited to visit the Member’s Exhibit of the Community of Digital Artists at the R. Blitzer Gallery, 2801 Mission St. from April 3 to 26. The opening reception, featuring live music, will be held on first Friday April 4, from 5 to 8 p.m. The closing reception on April 26 from 1-4 p.m. (presentation at 1:30) will feature an artist talk, book signing and pop up exhibit by award-winning photographer and author Oliver Klink. He will be talking about and sharing images from his new book, “Poetry in Motion,” which features photographs of horses he has shot all over the world.

The exhibit features the work of 40 CODA members. The images were juried by Ann Jastrab, executive director of the Center for Photographic Art in Carmel. Regular gallery hours are 1-4 p.m. Thursday through Sunday or by appointment by calling 831-458-1217.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY

Music scholarships now taking applicants

Opportunity Grant Scholarships are now open for highly motivated students whose families are financially unable to provide private music lessons. Students can study piano, voice, string (violin, viola) and wind instruments (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, saxophone and trumpet) with distinguished teachers. Lessons for other string and wind instruments are subject to qualified teachers’ availability, so students should apply if interested.

Students must be enrolled in a Santa Cruz County school or be home-schooled residents in grades 2 through 12 during the 2025-26 school year. Students should have access to a practice instrument and transportation to weekly lessons. The application includes a brief financial statement. Families are responsible for the costs of educational materials (about $25 per year).

Applications are due May 15 for the 2025-26 school year and are available on the Santa Cruz County Music Teachers’ Association website at sccmtac.org/scholarships/#grants.

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