SANTA CRUZ COUNTY

Nonprofit holds murder mystery play benefit

The Garfield Park Library Friends has produced murder mystery play “Final Checkout” to benefit its literacy programs. Come and see the traveling troupe of local actors, poets and musicians. You are invited to use your powers of deduction to guess; if correct, you may win a prize!

The performances will be held at 7 p.m. July 18 at the Downtown Library Community Room (224 Church St.), 7 p.m. July 19 at Satori Arts (815 Almar Ave.) and at 2 p.m. July 20 at Cabrillo College’s Aptos campus in Room 322 (right above Parking Lots A and B).

The suggested donation is $25. Tickets will be available at the door or can be purchased online by going to garfieldparklibraryfriends.com and using the QR code.

SANTA CRUZ

Walk to End Alzheimer’s holds kickoff event

The community is invited to attend the Santa Cruz kickoff for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s from 5:30 to 7 p.m. July 9 at Kianti’s Pizza & Pasta Bar, 1100 Pacific Ave.

Get inspired, meet other participants and have fun as the runup to the 2025 Santa Cruz Walk to End Alzheimer’s begins. To complete your registration for the kickoff event at Kianti’s Pizza & Pasta Bar go to TinyURL.com/WalkSCKickoff For information, email chferry@alz.org.

The official Walk to End Alzheimer’s event is on Sept. 28 at Seascape Beach Resort. Go to alz.org/santacruzwalk for registration.

CAPITOLA

Festival seeks float builders for nautical parade

The 7th annual Capitola Beach Festival celebrates Capitola Village on Sept. 27 and 28 with family friendly beach, creek and wharf activities. There will be a fun run, a sand sculpture contest, live music, rowboat races, fishing derby and more. Most events are free.

Float builders are needed for the Saturday Lighted Nautical Parade on Soquel Creek. The festival provides the barge and building site, you provide the lights and the fun. Decorations can be high tech or low tech. The top three finishers receive cash awards for their favorite nonprofit. For additional information, contact capitolabeachfestival@gmail.com.

SANTA CRUZ

36 North collective kicks off summer season

The Santa Cruz Playwrights’ Collective, 36 North, has opened its annual summer season of “New Works Mondays” each month at 7 p.m. at the Actors’ Theatre, 1001 Center St. There will be readings of new plays followed by a Q&A.

The remaining Mondays are July 14, Aug. 11 and Sept. 8. These are free events, with donations gratefully accepted. Everyone is welcome to attend.

BOULDER CREEK

Portrait art exhibit to debut

Now open at the San Lorenzo Valley’s Grace Episcopal Gallery, 12547 Highway 9, is the portrait exhibition “FaceTime,” which features artwork and photographs of local residents spanning 100 years from the 1870s through to the 1970s. Also, on display for the first time, is a painted portrait of William Waddell, who came to California in the early 1850s. Waddell was a lumberman and sawmill owner, going on to be the namesake of Waddell Beach and Waddell Creek in Rancho Del Oso, which is now part of Big Basin Redwoods State Park.

The exhibition additionally showcases portraits of the beloved Lily the Cat Lady with works by Barbara Winner, photographic portraits by Fredda C. Carr, drawings by Historical Society founder John Holm, bubble glass portraits, daguerreotypes, family albums and more. A reception and guided talk are set for July 19 from 2-4 p.m. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated. Visit slvmuseum.org for information.

NORTH COAST

Campsites available at Rancho del Oso

Looking for a quiet coastal camping experience this summer? The walk-in campground at Rancho del Oso — the coastal side of Big Basin Redwoods State Park — offers a unique way to enjoy nature just north of Davenport on Highway 1.

This temporary campground, located at the rehabilitated Horse Camp, is open to non-equestrian campers while coastal equestrian trails remain closed. There are five reservable walk-in sites and one shared, non-reserved bike-in site available. To check availability and make a reservation, visit www.thatsmypark.org/parks-and-beaches/rancho-del-oso-unit.

Rancho del Oso is also home to the open Marsh Trail, where visitors can spot rabbits, dragonflies and songbirds among the creekside willows. Note, the nearby Skyline to Sea Trail remains closed due to CZU fire damage. Across Highway 1, Waddell Beach is a top destination for windsurfing and kite surfing.

The campground will eventually return to equestrian use once trail restoration is complete, but in the meantime, it offers a rare opportunity to camp in this recovering part of Big Basin.

SANTA CRUZ

Tickets on sale for Santa Cruz Shakespeare

Tickets are now on sale for Santa Cruz Shakespeare’s 2025 Summer Festival which includes four plays: “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by William Shakespeare, the musical “Into the Woods” by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine, “Pericles” by Shakespeare and George Wilkins, and “‘Master Harold’ …and the Boys” by Athol Fugard. The 2025 season theme is “No One is Alone.” Performances will take place July 13 through Sept. 20 at the Audrey Stanley Grove in DeLaveaga Park, 501 Upper Park Road. Tickets are available at santacruzshakespeare.org/season-2025.

APTOS

Hot Rods on the Green car show returns

Come have fun checking out classic and custom cars from around Santa Cruz County and beyond at the 18th annual Hot Rods on the Green classic car show happening July 12, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Twin Lakes Church, 2701 Cabrillo College Drive. There will be vintage, customs, classics, muscle cars, Camaros, hot rods, street rods, modern muscle cars, trucks, VWs, dragsters, motorcycles and more. Registration is $35, open now until the day of the car show.

A fun event for the whole family, featuring a live DJ, kids activities, food vendors, a hula hoop contest, a Red Cross blood drive, awards and a raffle. Awards are scheduled for 2:45 p.m. and the raffle at 3:15 p.m. Proceeds support the Kingsmen Car Club’s Industrial Arts Scholarship Program. For registration information, visit tlc.org/kingsmen.