This Week on the Central Coast...
A new performing arts center in Salinas, students planted trees in Santa Cruz, and the Boardwalk reveals a full event scheu
Salinas
Monte Bella Performing Arts Center Planned
A new Center for Performing Arts started construction last week at Monte Bella Elementary School. “For too long, our award-winning performers…have practiced on basketball courts and performed in cafeterias or blacktops or on dirt. This 8,000-square-foot center is our way of saying, ‘we see you, we believe in you and you deserve a stage that matches your talent.’” Said the Alisal Union School District’s superintendent.
The center will fill 8,000 square feet with a performance stage, 200 seats for viewers, a lobby, a removable stage, dressing rooms, a 2,000 square foot storage area, and more. District administrators stressed the importance of having a dedicated building for the performing arts. “Every student has their own genius. Our task is to find that genius and to develop that genius.” The project is expected to be completed within a year.
Santa Cruz
Students Planted Trees for Arbor Day
University Terrace Park is a small park just outside of UC Santa Cruz where Leyland cypress trees used to grow. Over the years, high winds uprooted the aging trees, creating a danger of falling trees and limbs. To avoid this, the Parks and Recreation team removed them.
Now, over sixty new trees line the park in place of the cypresses, put in place by volunteers of students from Gault Elementary, Bay View Elementary, and Westlake Elementary Schools on Arbor Day. The planting event was an opportunity to provide a unique experience to kids that connects them to the trees and local park while also benefitting the city. “Planting a tree represents an act of hope. Hopefully, years from now … you’ll see the trees and tell your friends and family, ‘I helped plant that.’”
The new trees are a mix of deciduous species, such as maple, crape myrtle, and Chinese pistache, as well as redwoods. This will provide a mix of trees that will change with the seasons, providing shade in the summer and sunlight in the winter, to help regulate temperatures and make the area more recreationally comfortable. “Planting trees locally actually offsets loss of trees in nature. … We’re actually enhancing our urban environments and making it better for people to live.”
The Boardwalk’s Summer Entertainment Schedule
The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk released its full entertainment schedule for this summer, including movies on the beach, live music, DJ dance parties, a drone show, and World Cup watch parties.
Movies on the beach (schedule found here) will start on June 12 and continue through August 7.
The World Cup celebrations will be held at Coasters Bar & Grill, while live soccer exhibitions and the watch party will be held on the Main Beach. The Boardwalk’s Colonnade Stage will host a variety of entertainers between June 15 and August 6. Events include live music, magicians, acrobats, and a DJ dance party. Mornings at the Arcade will offer half-priced games at the Casino Arcade and Neptune’s Kingdom and breakfast at the Boardwalk Grille, both daily for the same time frame.
While this is already a full slate of events, there are plenty more (like luaus throughout July!) on the Boardwalk’s event page.
Thanks for reading!
Helpful links…
MTY Happy Hours - If you haven’t looked already, the Happy Hour list has updated to become the most complete one in existence! Give it a look!
SC Happy Hours - …And now there’s a Happy Hour list for Santa Cruz too!