This Week on the Central Coast…
Local festivals, a new dog park, comic con, and the tallest building in Santa Cruz
Monterey
Celebrate the 14th Annual Whalefest
Next week, Monterey will celebrate its 14th annual Whalefest. Festivities will take place at Old Fisherman’s Wharf and Custom House Plaza. Whalefest is a free event and will include family-friendly activities and educational symposiums all designed to share the importance of preserving our local ecosystem.
“Guests can engage in dozens of interactive displays from local and regional nonprofit organizations” including MBARI, Monterey Museum of Art, Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, Save the Whales, and more.” Several historical and important local vehicles will be on display, including the Western Flyer, NOAA’s Fulmar, and “The Pearl, Monterey Fire’s 34-foot aluminum fire boat.
Whalefest Monterey will be held on April 13 and 14.
MPC’s Morgan Stock stage comes back with a bang
Monterey Peninsula College’s performing arts theater, Morgan Stock Stage, finally reopened this week. The school hired the experienced Todd Siff as their theater educator, their first since 2019.
To kick off his tenure, Siff is directing Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka. “It has this theater magic,” Siff says. “There’s flying, tricks, amazing costumes. We even have a live camera and some pre-filmed elements to involve technology, which is part of children’s life today.”
Willy Wonka is performed at 7pm every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and at 2pm every Sunday. The production will go on throughout the month, until April 21. Tickets are $7 for children and $20 for adults.
Quail Meadows Dog Park Opens at Toro Park
A new dog park just opened at Toro Park. “It was ready in time for Easter, a day that drew an estimated 6,000 people and hundreds of dogs.“
Seaside local, Nathan Poggemeyer, was the brain behind the project. Throughout his schooling and life as a Boy Scout, Poggemeyer spent a lot of time around Toro Park. And throughout that time, he noticed that park staff always had to manage guests who let their dogs off leash.
Realizing there was an unmet need at the county park, Poggemeyer decided to fix the problem. Quail Meadows Dog Park was his Eagle Scout project, built with the funds of a GoFundMe campaign and a donation from a local sponsor, Advanced Restoration.
The park is now open to the public.
Santa Cruz
The Clocktower Center is an 18-story mixed-use building that was proposed to the city as a way of helping fight the housing problem of the area. The U-shaped building would be on Pacific Street, near the existing clock tower. Its proximity to downtown is exactly the kind of location the developers were looking for. Workbench aims to create low-income housing that is both sustainable and convenient.
“Our goal there is to create, not just a project that can house people, but also a place that’s walkable, sustainable and nature-infused, kind of urban living experience.” The ground floor would contain a parking garage for both residential and commercial use. Upper floors contain the residential units and include unique amenities such as bicycle storage. The developers also hope to make the rooftop available for public commercial use.
Surf City Comic Con will be on April 20, starting at 9am for early birds and 10am for general admission. Visit the Capitola Mall dressed as your favorite character and enter the cosplay contest for a chance to win prizes.The con will be filled with collectibles and over 70 vendors and artists tables.
Tickets are $10 for general admission and $15 for early birds.