With a wide range of free events taking place year-around, there’s always something to celebrate in Santa Cruz County every weekend. See what’s happening in Santa Cruz County and check out events here!
Thursday Through Sunday at 8pm (plus 2pm on the Weekends) Until 2/15/26. Festival Winners Play 2/27 - 3/8! The annual 10-minute play festival is one of the most anticipated and popular events of the theatre season in Santa Cruz! There will be 16 winning plays and 16 directors. Presented on two separate evenings, there will […]
Enjoy this annual celebration of early music as it sounded in its own time! Learn a bit about the joy of Baroque music with a festival that is an expedition through musical time. 2026 Season: January 31 @4pm: Musical Stories of Brass and Organ (532 Center St) February 8 @4pm: Organ Virtuoso Performance (126 High […]
Head to Natural Bridges State Beach for the 40th Annual Migration Festival. Many organizations from the community will be there with family-friendly, hands-on activities and booths highlighting the migration of whales, butterflies, birds and the many creatures that travel to and through this fascinating area. There will be a passport with stamps at each table, […]
Get ready for the 4th annual Alfred Hitchcock Festival! There will be film screenings, food, drinks, and more! The Hitchcock Festival offers a rich tapestry of activities, blending screenings of classics with insightful analyses and discussions. These sessions, led by film scholars and experts, provide a deeper understanding of Hitchcock's work. The festival also features […]
Earth Day 2026 will be held at beautiful Downtown Santa Cruz on Cooper St, Pacific and Abbott Square. Local businesses and organizations will gather for a day of fun and environmentally focused activities and education. 🎶 Groove to live music by SambaDá 🎭 Be amazed by samba stilt walkers 👗 Get inspired by zero waste […]
It's Kids Day in Downtown Santa Cruz! Exhibitors will be lined up on Cooper Street and Pacific Ave (between Church St. & Locust St.), along with performances and demonstrations at Abbott Square. Plus, many Downtown businesses will be offering discounts and specials just for kids.
Dance the day away to live music with your friends and family while enjoying tasty locally made food, cold beer, cider and wine in an open field surrounded by redwoods in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
In late July and early August each year, audiences are joined by both preeminent and emerging composers, spectacular guest artists, and an orchestra of dedicated professional musicians from across the globe to give voice to works which are rarely more than a year or two old, and sometimes still wet on the page. The Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary […]
