SANTA CRUZ

Local shops to celebrate Independent Bookstore Day

Even in the days of e-books and audiobooks, bibliophiles still love the feeling of purchasing and perusing physical books. Given the ethical concerns of buying books from major e-commerce corporations, there are thankfully many independent bookstores throughout the world where readers can support their local businesses and favorite authors.

More than 1,000 bookshops throughout America will be highlighting the importance of local bookstores this Saturday with Independent Bookstore Day, hosted by the American Booksellers Association to highlight indie book sellers with different in-store activities, all chosen by the stores themselves. This includes two of Santa Cruz County’s biggest indie bookstores: Bookshop Santa Cruz and Two Birds Books

Bookshop Santa Cruz will have a bevy of exclusive items for sale, including a commemorative tote bag and pencils, Late Night Book Club hats, “Frog and Toad” coloring books, copies of the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” book “Hot Mess” signed by author Jeff Kinney featuring a fake slice of moldy cheese, exclusive editions of Paul Tremblay’s “Horror Movie” and Michiko Aoyama’s “What You Are Looking For Is in the Library” and more. There will also be free coffee and tea from Game Santa Cruz, a bookmark art station, tarot book recommendations, blackout poetry, an interactive game with Game Santa Cruz and a prize wheel from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., where Readers’ Club members who spend more than $25 or buy an exclusive item can spin the wheel for a chance to win books, coupons, gift cards and more. Those who spend $50 Saturday and spin the prize wheel can be eligible for $15 off a lunch or dinner at Chocolate Restaurant, 15% off one retail item at Game Santa Cruz and 15% off one item purchased on the Bookshop Santa Cruz website at a later date. Independent Bookstore Day is 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday at Bookshop Santa Cruz, 1520 Pacific Ave.; For more information, go to BookshopSantaCruz.com.

Two Birds, located in Santa Cruz’s Pleasure Point neighborhood, will also be going all out. The store will have freebies, a sidewalk sale with $3 used books, a raffle to win $50 Two Birds gift cards and limited edition Independent Bookstore Day merchandise, including the aforementioned tote bag and signed copy of “Hot Mess.” All the fun is 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday at Two Birds, 881 41st Ave.

Kuumbwa Jazz Honor Band highlights teen musicians

In honor of International Jazz Day April 30, observed annually by the United Nations since 2012 to highlight the significance of jazz music particularly as a peacemaking tool, Kuumbwa Jazz will be assembling a group of some of the most talented high school jazz musicians throughout Santa Cruz County and the Central Coast. The Kuumbwa Jazz Honor Band will perform Wednesday.

The Kuumbwa Jazz Honor Band was founded in 1993 and is directed by David McGillicuddy. It features a rigorous audition test plus weekly rehearsals and lessons in advanced jazz theory, arrangements, improvisation and more. This year’s band consists of Adler Blackmun, Reuben Cave, Raymond Cavlan, Ryu Cirillo, Nolan Frink, Kyle McMillan, Samuel Nicely and Kai Thomas-Nasef. The show will also feature performances by alumni who have gone through the program. The musical talents of Honor Band performers past and present will be on full display at this show.The concert is 7 p.m. Wednesday at Kuumbwa Jazz, 320 Cedar St. Doors open at 6. Tickets are $23.31 for advance general admission, $21 for members in advance, $26.25 at the door and $13 for students. For information, go to KuumbwaJazz.org.

Reel Work Film Festival to screen ‘Watsonville on Strike’

The Reel Work May Day Labor Film Festival is hosting a series of screenings of films that highlight the labor movement at various venues throughout the Central Coast. On Wednesday, the festival will be hosting a pair of screenings at the Del Mar Theatre that highlight one of the most transformative movements in Santa Cruz County history: the Watsonville Cannery Strike, depicted in Jon Silver’s documentaries “Watsonville on Strike” and “Daughters of the Strike.” Both will be screened at the Del Mar Theatre.

“Watsonville on Strike,” first released in 1989, provides a firsthand account of the labor strikes at local canneries Watsonville Canning Co. and Richard A. Shaw Inc. following reduced wages. From 1985 to 1987, more than 1,000 mostly Latino employees formed a picket line and refused to work, resulting in tensions with city leaders and police but also support from national civil rights leaders like Cesar Chavez and Jesse Jackson, and ended up shaking up the balance of power in Watsonville, which saw a switch from at-large City Council system to a district-based system and resulted in a predominantly Latino council. Silver captured the strike as it unfolded and edited into a two-hour documentary, which aired on PBS and had local screenings over the years, including ones at the Watsonville Film Festival and Watsonville Public Library this year to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the start of the strike.

The other film, “Daughters of the Strike,” is a short film about one of the strikers, Sylvia Baltazar, who instilled a sense of community spirit in her daughters, Wendy Baltazar and Blanca Baltazar-Sabbah, both of whom went on to have careers as administrators in public education. Wendy Baltazar is assistant principal at Alianza Charter School, and Baltazar-Sabbah is the vice president of student services at Cabrillo College, the first Latina to hold the position.

Consuelo Alba, director of the Watsonville Film Festival, will moderate a forum with Silver, cannery strikers Esperanza and Enrique Torres and Guillermina Ramirez, as well as Sylvia Baltazar, Blanca Baltazar-Sabbah and Wendy Baltazar.

The screening is 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Del Mar Theatre, 1124 Pacific Ave. Admission is free.

FELTON

Tsunami Band, Locomotive Breath play evening of familiar tunes

If you have a desire to hear favorite songs of yesteryear played live, Felton Music Hall will be providing exactly that on Thursday, with two cover bands: Tsunami Band and Locomotive Breath.

Tsunami Band are a group of five veteran musicians who have played with the likes of the White Album Ensemble and Bananarama, and perform a blend of high-energy music in venues throughout Santa Cruz County and beyond. Their high-octane takes on songs from the likes of Fleetwood Mac, Queen, Jefferson Airplane and Blondie are sure to get the crowds moving.

Locomotive Breath pay tribute to a specific era of rock music: 1967-1977. Their classic rock repertoire consists of songs by seven bands who laid the groundwork for hard rock: Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Doors, Cream and Jethro Tull, the latter of whom had a song Locomotive Breath named themselves after. Combined, the two bands should provide an evening of dancing and rocking to nostalgic favorites.

The concert is 8 p.m. Thursday at Felton Music Hall, 6275 Highway 9. Doors open at 7. Tickets are $23.14 for advance general admission and $20.06 for a general admission four-pack. For more information, go to FeltonMusicHall.com.

This week’s calendar was compiled by Nick Sestanovich.