SANTA CRUZ

Make a dash to Rio for Trail Running Film Festival

With its myriad trails of different terrains, it is no surprise that Santa Cruz County has a thriving running community. Whether novices or marathon contenders, the county has something for everyone.

Thus, it is no surprise that the Trail Running Film Festival has designated Santa Cruz as a stop on its annual touring circuit. Six short films featuring inspirational stories of runners will be screened at the Rio Theatre Saturday.

The Trail Running Film Festival is an annual project by Washington state-based nonprofit, Outdoor Arts & Recreation. Since 2023, the festival has toured the world, presenting short films of varying lengths about the sport of running and those who sprint as a hobby or profession. This year’s lineup includes “Elite Heart,” “The Pointe Pessey,” “Our Terrain,” “Talk to Frank,” “We are Here. We Run Long.” and “Halfway to Crazy.”

The screening is 7 to 10 p.m., with an intermission in between, Saturday at the Rio, 1205 Soquel Ave. Doors open at 6:20. Tickets are $15. Local sponsors include Foot Doctors of Santa Cruz, Kennolyn Camps, Santa Cruz Tri Association, Santa Cruz Mountain Trail Stewardship, GOAT Santa Cruz, On the Move Physical Therapy & Performance, Mount Maddona Challenge and Inside Trail. For information, go to RioTheatre.com.

Santa Cruz Symphony presents Mozart’s swan song

In only 35 years of life, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote more than 800 musical works — including a dramatic piece the legendary Austrian composer was working on at the time of his death, only to be finished by Franz Xaver Süssmayr a year later. It is this piece, “Requiem in D Minor,” the Santa Cruz Symphony will be performing in concert at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium Saturday.

Mozart performed part of “Requiem” in late 1791 shortly before he fell ill and died, leaving the composition unfinished. Count Franz von Walsegg commissioned Süssmayr to expand upon the piece in 1792 to commemorate the first anniversary of his wife Anna’s death, eventually premiering at the Neukloster Abbey in Austria in 1793. It has been commonly performed at funerals, including those of Napoleon Bonaparte and Ludwig van Beethoven, and is one of the most easily recognized requiems in orchestral music.

The concert will also feature performances of the overture to Icelandic singer Björk’s film “Dancer in the Dark” and a new composition by the symphony’s music director Daniel Stewart titled “Lux Perpetua.”

The program is 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Civic, 307 Church St. A matinee performance will begin 2 p.m. Sunday at the Henry J.Mello Center for the Performing Arts, 250 E. Beach St., Watsonville. For tickets and information, go to SantaCruzTickets.com.

UCSC dives deep into discussion of book ‘James’

For almost as long as books have been around, book clubs have been a vehicle for bibliophiles to share their opinions on books they just read and discuss the themes. The Humanities Institute at UC Santa Cruz will take this concept to a new level by bringing its newest book discussion outdoors and taking part in conversation with the book’s very author. Through its Deep Read program, the university will be hosting a talk with “James” author Percival Everett at Quarry Amphitheater Sunday.The Deep Read is an annual program hosted by the Humanities Institute where participants read an assigned book for a spring quarter class at Porter College and dive into its themes. Past Deep Read books have included Hernan Diaz’s “Trust,” Elizabeth Kolbert’s “Under a White Sky” and Margaret Atwood’s “The Testaments.”

This year’s book is “James,” Everett’s retelling of Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” told from the perspective of escaped slave James (referred to as Jim in Twain’s novel) and his fight for freedom. Everett, who also wrote “Erasure” and “The Trees,” received a National Book Award for “James,” which also won the Kirkus Prize for Fiction. He will be in conversation with Vilashini Cooppan, UC Santa Cruz literature professor and Deep Read faculty co-lead.

The free event is 4-5:30 p.m. Sunday at UC Santa Cruz’s Quarry Amphitheater, 1156 High St. To RSVP, go to Thi.ucsc.edu/deepread/.

Jazz the Dog put new spins on old favorites

Jazz the Dog are not your average tribute band. Instead of playing old songs in their familiar styles, they perform them in completely different genres. Also, they are joined by a taxidermized dog/coyote hybrid who serves as the group’s namesake. They are no strangers to The Crepe Place, having played the restaurant in January, and they will be returning to the garden Tuesday for a free show to provide an eclectic soundtrack while patrons nosh on crepes.

Jazz the Dog consists of Rick Zeek on guitar and vocals, Patti Maxine on lap steel and vocals and Rhan Wilson on guitars, vocals and looping. They are rounded out by their namesake mascot, Jazz, a canine who was part German shepherd and part coyote and served as Zeek’s companion after picking her up from a litter left near the Venice Beach Boardwalk. Sadly, Jazz died of complications from degenerative myelopathy in 1998, but she was taxidermized and continues to have a presence at all of Jazz the Dog’s shows.

In keeping with Jazz’s identity as a hybrid of different species, Jazz the Dog’s repertoire is a hybrid of different genres. They have performed a bossa nova take on Hank Williams’ country classic “Hey Good Lookin’,” a funky version of John Prine’s “Angel from Montgomery,” a rendition of George Gershwin’s “Summertime” performed to the tune of “The Brady Bunch” theme and a soulful mashup of Old Crow Medicine Show’s “Wagon Wheel,” Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s “Helpless.” This is a tribute act like no one has seen before, and even if you have seen them before, they will be happy to welcome you back.

The show is 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at The Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave. For more information, go to TheCrepePlace.com.

This week’s calendar was compiled by Nick Sestanovich.