I have always and will always love downtown Santa Cruz, regardless of season. It has plenty of…read moreeateries and interesting shopping, both one and around Pacific. Well worth proposing about the edges. Cedar has a great comic shop, Atlantis Fantasyworld, restaurants, and other shops. Do wander off Pacific. Parking is reasonable, with lots around Pacific, street parking, and one can always get a ride share into downtown. Double bonus if there is a street fair. Do visit! We define will return.

Downtown Santa Cruz has an easy-going vibe for strolling the pedestrian-friendly walkable area…read more Public artworks dot the area with eye appeal. Street performers seem to enjoy themselves and appreciate a helping hand. There are many unique storefronts for browsing/shopping from crystals to hip shops, from antiques to a clothier with that elegant, must-have wardrobe piece. Parking can be rather limited, however there are surface lots and parking garages just a block off Pacific Avenue. If you are feeling hunger or thirst, there are plentiful of options from everyday pizza/burgers, Italian, Japanese, Thai, Korean, vegan and mediterranean restaurants to fine dining options. There are many bars to enjoy an adult libation, from the common to sophisticated. For the coffee aficionados, there are many brew houses. The downtown area is clean and is well maintained.

Collective Santa Cruz hosts unique events celebrating the arts and bringing the community together…read more This past weekend, I attended the Spring Fling Mega Market at the former Logos building downtown. The place was filled with artist and vendor booths on two levels, with a DJ playing upbeat tunes throughout the event, beats that could be heard from the street, courtesy of Redwood Records. Activities and services on site included facepainting for both kids and adults, caricature artists, and even a massage station charging $3 per minute (love the massage offerings, but yikes those prices!). Pet Shop Santa Cruz had a reptile display set up, along with photo ops and the option for visitors to hold snakes and other creatures for a fee. Circus of the Moon provided a touch of live entertainment... not like a formal show, just performers in fairy-like costumes taking turns spinning on an aerial hoop (LyraPole) throughout the day and dancing with ribbon wands. Not a lot of food options on site, but I was able to grab some sweet treats from Cracked Cookies and an iced andes mint mocha from Foolhardy Coffee while there. These were delish! No seating available on either level, so it makes sense that they only provided handheld snacks. They also offered beer and mimosas from Humble Sea Brewing Co. All in all, I had an enjoyable time at this event and appreciated that admission was free and there were barely any lines for anything inside.

I took my first stained glass class with Jackie and recently did her two day stained glass…read morebootcamp! Jackie has been an excellent teacher and is fun to chat with. I enjoyed learning from her and visiting KMG. What's even better than Jackie's classes is knowing how helpful she and her staff are--I go to the store at a decent rate (I'm addicted to stained glass now) and I've asked employees questions and talked to them about where I was hitting roadblocks. They've graciously shown me techniques and helped me learn more. I'm very lucky to have a glass store near me with such kind people!

Knew we wanted an hexagonal stained glass window featuring an otter but not much more than that…read more Emailed Jackie to see if she could design and create something for us. After asking lots of questions over email (Jackie was very patient), we agreed on a rough design, a timeline, and a fair price. A few weeks later we went into the shop to finalize the pieces of glass and to see the design she sketched. Jackie showed us a few options on colors and we decided on a border. When we were done, we explored the shop -- lots of wonderful items. A few more weeks later, Jackie completed the project and we returned to the shop to see her masterpiece. She recommended an installer (Dane) who we booked for the following week. Dane's pricing was fair and he stopped by in advance of the installation day to make sure he understood the project. We are delighted with the otter stained glass. Jackie is a true artist and a pleasure to work with.

With over 30 artists exhibiting their work during the annual Cultural Council Open Studios, this is…read morethe place to be and see art galore.

I love my studio at 17th Ave Studios. Everyone in our building is so friendly and its a great way…read morefor me to work out side of the house. The place has real history too...its an old converted granery silo and train yard...very industrial. We also are open every first friday of the month and have big shows 4x a year. Looking forward to the next one.

Visiting David Salazar's glass workshop and store is one of the more unique, fun things you can do…read morein Santa Cruz. It's definitely an off the beaten path, hidden gem. David's been working with glass for decades and is an exceptional artist. He's also a really nice, fun guy! I highly recommend paying the workshop a visit + it's a great place to buy art glass.

Great art, music, theater and events. Been going to First Fridays each month for years. Love…read morewandering the studios and talking w/the artists. So many great things to explore (and purchase.) First Fridays and the Art Market days there is food, music, and fun. Also, the Radius Gallery is open W-Sun 12-5pm throughout the month w/amazing rotating exhibits. WOW! Went to see a play again at the Jewel Theater Co last night at the on campus theater at Colligan. What a true gem! So funny and charming shows Recently the Cafe reopened (closed during covid.) So excited to have an easy place to pop in for @sporhaus coffee and @kintsugisc food options. W-Sun 9am-2pm. Convenient to swing by if going to Harvey West or Costco.

We went to Tannery Art Center in Santa Cruz. There are numerous outdoor art exhibits to see…read more There are also studios. There is also a café. This used to be a place where they made leather. Thus the name Tannery Arts. There are some historic leather making equipment on site to also see. There are signs to describe it. There is an exercise facility with a full range of classes to take. Artists and probably others can also live there at the condos. There is also a theater which has live theater shows on Thursday - Sunday nights. There is a calendar of the shows for the season.

2 weeks ago my boyfriend, daughter and I spotted this little museum in Capitola Village. Admission…read moreis free, but they accept donations to support the museum which we donated to. The sweet museum staff member kindly gave my daughter and I a guided tour of the "Capitola Then and Now" exhibit! From the clothing style then and now to the village, there's a lot to learn, my daughter enjoyed it, come check it out! I would recommend this historic museum and would return to learn more, if you're visiting than you might as well learn the history right?!

Small museum near downtown. It's worth stopping by for a few minutes. Nice pictures and history…read moreof Capitola. It's free so no worries about cost.

This is a tiny 1 room museum packed with surf history. For the general public it's a quick 5 min…read morestop. Outside the museum the views on W Cliff Dr are more readily appreciated. If you are lucky there will be surfers to watch. We spent about 45 minutes walking around, and another 20 minutes eating our picnic lunch. The weather was chilly when the fog rolled in midday in late June, so make sure you bring a jacket. Parking is a bit tricky. There are multiple public parking along that area that is within walking distance. Right before the museum opened was quite difficult to find spots but we found one at the 3rd lot. As we walked we saw spots available and filling constantly. I think it's a popular spot but most tourists don't stay long.

We enjoyed checking out the Santa Cruz Surf Museum. (why are so many surf museums small? They…read moredeserve a lot of space!) After finding a parking spot, whew, we enjoyed the museum and learned something along the way. The location is beautiful.