This Week on the Central Coast…
Local art and artists are highlighted across Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties, Second Harvest supports small farms, and Sea Otters help fight erosion.
Monterey
New Monterey Podcast Highlights Local Musicians
The Monterey Music Scene is a new podcast hosted by Kito Rayburn A sound engineer and local musician himself, Rayburn created the podcast as a way of showcasing the diverse local talent on the central coast.
The podcast has a “live-on-the-air” feel to it as Rayburn leaves the interviews unedited and asks questions submitted from listeners ahead of time. Each episode ends with a live performance by the guest artist. Rayburn hopes the podcast inspires more locals to support and appreciate the local music scene by giving artists a broader platform to showcase their work
The Monterey Music Scene is available on Apple Music and Spotify. New episodes are uploaded monthly.
The First Theater is Open for Public Tours
After a year of renovations to make it compliant with ADA guidelines, The First Theater opened for public tours and rentals last week. The theater dates back to 1848 and is the oldest theater in California, but was closed in 2000 due to safety issues. It first opened in 2020 for the Christmas at the Adobes event, but this will be the first time the tour will be offered extensively since then.
The First Theater can be toured Thursday through Sunday Tours start at Custom House and are $10 per person. Private tours of the theater for groups of up to ten are available for $80, as well.
Sea Otters Fighting Erosion at Elkhorn Slough
Sea otters are already a key part of our bay’s ecosystem, helping control urchins populations so that kelp forests can grow. But now, their impact is helping curb erosion.
Striped shore crabs dig burrows and eat the roots of pickleweed, which weakens the integrity of the marsh banks. When big storms hit our coast, those banks crumble and wash away. Once sea otters returned to a tidal estuary near Monterey, researchers watched and took note. “Many past studies relied on observations, but the design of the latest research left no doubt as to the sea otters' impact”, said a marine biologist who reviewed the study.”
Salinas
Local Student and Teacher Win New York Times Competition
The New York Times gave special recognition to local student Danna Ramirez and teacher Veronica Dorantes-Pulido. Both were winners of the Learning Network's Multimedia Challenge titled "What High School is Like in 2023”.
Ramirez submitted a photo montage called “A Capture of Moments” which featured “images with illustrations depicting life as a high school student.”
Pulido was spotlighted for her work, titled “No Space For Commas”, which is focused on her experience as a high school teacher.
If you want to read Ramirez’ and Pulido’s comments about their entries, you can do so here.
Santa Cruz
New Art Exhibit Makes Students the Subject of the Show
The “Wildcatz Art Show” is a new exhibit put on by students of Watsonville High School at the Pajaro Valley Arts Porter Building. The show’s theme is “Who Are the Students of Watsonville High?” and features more than 100 works in various mediums and styles. The artwork shown is part of the students’ Careers in Art academy program and reflects their identity, culture, and stories.
The exhibit will be open until February 24 and was made possible thanks to increased funding for art education in California.
Second Harvest Food Bank Launches Farmer Equity Program
Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Cruz County launched the Farmer Equity Program. The FEP is a new initiative that sources produce from BIPOC-owned farms (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) and distributes it to people in need. The goal of the FEP is to create equity and social justice for BIPOC farmers, as well as highlight these small local businesses.
Last summer, the Food Bank decided to do more about building equity by prioritizing sourcing from BIPOC farmers and focusing on smaller farms that could meet demand. The three farms participating in the program are Oya Organics, Luna’s Farm, and Rancho Las Palmas. The program has already benefited these farms in big ways. “Because of the Farmer Equity Program, Oya was able to keep many staff members employed during the winter — which is normally a slow time.”
The program is part of a larger initiative called Land & Sea, which provides local seafood to the community.
“Build the Field” Program at Pajaro Middle School
Pajaro Middle School had a rough 2023, particularly when it flooded last March. But even before then, the school’s athletic field was in need of renovation with uneven playing surfaces and gopher holes making it difficult to use.
State and Federal Relief Funds are helping the school recover. However, none of those funds include the field. So now, the Pajaro Valley Unified School District has started a campaign to help raise the $1.5 million needed to install an artificial turf field. Interim Superintendent Murry Schekman assured his peers that he will make sure the field is built. “My time in the district is limited, but if the money is not there, I’m going to hang around until we raise that money.”
Donations can be sent to 294 Green Valley Road, Watsonville, CA, to the attention of the Office of the Superintendent. Checks should be made payable to the Pajaro Middle School Field Fund. PVUSD’s Federal Tax ID will be shared with donating parties.