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The Labor Day crowd has left, and our Indian summer is here with the heat this week. Enjoy the warm nights, this is the week for dinner out on the deck. Apple u-pick opened this weekend, Capitola Art & Wine takes over the Village Saturday and Sunday, and the Ironman closes West Cliff on Sunday morning.
Here's more of what's happening this week:
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Interest Poll: Low Tide Dinner Club
Through our welcome surveys, we know that for many readers of Low Tide Local, meeting new people is hard! We want to try and fix that with a local dinner club.
How it would work. To attend, sign up and take a short personality quiz. Then we match 6-8 people to send to dinner at a local restaurant on a weeknight. We book the restaurant and reveal the location the morning of!
We think this sounds fun, but before we try this out, we need to see if there's interest. Please let us know below 👇
Would you attend a Low Tide Dinner Club?
Want your business in this spot next week?
CONDITIONS · TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8
SUNRISE 6:44 AM
SUNSET 7:28 PM
WATER 61°F · full 3/2
SURF 4 to 5 ft · fair-good
LOW TIDE 2.2 ft · 2:42 PM
FOG none, hazy sun
AQI 50 · good
UV 8 · very high, midday
Mostly sunny and 82 today, with some hazy high clouds drifting up from Tropical Storm Marie. Then it gets hot. A heat advisory runs from 10 AM Wednesday through 10 PM Thursday, 90 in town on Wednesday and 85 Thursday, with no marine layer to bail us out. Friday cools to 78 and the weekend settles at 76. Water is 61. Full 3/2.
The Lane is Fair to Good this morning, 4 to 5 and chest to head on Marie's south swell, with a light cross-shore breeze and the cleanest window before 10. 26th Ave is the same size. Pleasure Point and the Hook are 2 to 3, Capitola 1 to 2, Cowells flat. Surfline has it easing today and building again Thursday and Friday.
The daytime low is 2.2 at 2:42 this afternoon.
Saturday morning off Moss Landing, the Sanctuary Cruises boat counted about 30 humpbacks feeding a few miles out, and a few of them came in close while the boat sat idling. Closer to shore, a pod of bottlenose dolphins was sharing waves with the surfers at Moss Landing Beach. The captain's log has the photos. The Santa Cruz boats have had humpbacks all week too.
Photo: Wren Robinson, Sanctuary Cruises
Apples are on. Luz del Valle opened this past weekend and Gizdich opens Saturday.
Luz del Valle Farm · 1875 Hames Rd, Corralitos · Open now · $15 adults, $10 kids, a pound included
Galas first, Fujis in early October. Timed slots on Eventbrite, 15 people in the orchard at a time.
Gizdich Ranch · 55 Peckham Rd, Watsonville · Opens Saturday, September 12 · Weekends 9 to 5
Card only at the orchard. Pie shop open daily.
Live Earth Farm · 1275 Green Valley Rd, Watsonville · Saturdays and Sundays 10 to 3 · $3 a pound
Dry-farmed Early Girls are still going. Their apples wait until late September.
Beeline Blooms · 220 Stephens Ln, Ben Lomond · Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays 10 to noon · $30 to cut your own
Dahlias, through about October 15.
We post between Tuesdays now :) Extra events and conditions, plus whatever we spot around the county. Come say hi.
Joel Wilson, 77, set a world record in the pool
The longtime Santa Cruz swim coach won the 400 IM in the 75-to-79 group at Masters Nationals in Sacramento in 6:13.97, a world record. He swam six events at the meet and says he cares more about his swimmers hitting their times than his own.
All-Star Fest sold out its vendors, twice
Saturday's first All Star Food Fest at Hwy 17 Studios, our pick last week, packed 40-plus vendors into the Westside studio. Organizers Daniel Jahangard of Double Meat Please and Collective Santa Cruz called it record-breaking. Bubb's Burgers sold out, restocked, and sold out again, and Sleight of Hand brought its world-ranked Killer Bees pie. They plan to do it again next year.
The county wants you on its El Niño page BEFORE the rain
Forecasters are calling for a strong El Niño this winter, so the county relaunched its El Niño resource page with sandbag locations, evacuation zones, CruzAware alert signup, and a drainage guide for private roads. Dave Reid at the county's resilience office says they'll play it in two-week increments. Ten minutes on the page now beats a 2 AM scramble in January.
View Mo’s Map to see what's happening near you, plus the markets and the weekend's sales.
Garage sales get refreshed every Friday.
★ = family-friendly
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8
★ Tuesday Night Live season closer with Extra Large · 6 to 8 PM · Wharf Commons stage, the Wharf · Free
Last one of the summer. Get a stamp from any Wharf business and parking is free for two hours, or just bike out. Bring a low chair.
★ Apple-A-Day Festival at the Felton Farmers Market · 1:30 to 5:30 PM · 120 Russell Ave, Felton · Free
Cider pressing, tasting, a free workshop at 3, and the regular market around it. Details in IN SEASON.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9
Western Wednesday: The Soda Crackers with Jackson Emmer · Doors 7, lesson 7:30, show 8 PM · Moe's Alley, 1535 Commercial Way · $15 to $20, 21+
Honky-tonk on a 90-degree night, and there's a two-step lesson before the band.
PawPaw Rod, Picture Day Tour · Doors 7, show 8 PM · The Catalyst Atrium, 1011 Pacific Ave, Downtown · $25, ages 16+
Nashville soul in the small room, Jean Carter opens.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10
Twanguero, solo Spanish guitar · 7:30 PM · Peace United Church, 900 High St, Westside · $35 to $89
Latin Grammy winner Diego García, one guitar, in a room built for it.
Sushi Thursdays at Madson Wines · 6 to 9 PM · 328 Ingalls St, Suite G, Westside · À la carte
Sidepiece's hand roll bar in the tasting room. Walk up, no reservation. The list changes every week.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11
★ Soquel PENS Ice Cream Social · 4 to 6 PM · Soquel PENS Preschool, 397 Old San Jose Rd, Soquel · Kids free, $5 adults
Marianne's ice cream, face painting, a bounce house, and a raffle. The $5 gets adults a scoop and a raffle ticket.
★ Sequoias at Night at Roaring Camp · 8 to 9:30 PM · 5401 Graham Hill Rd, Felton · $26.50 adults, $15.90 kids 2 to 12
A lantern walk through the redwoods on a 0.8-mile loop, Fridays and Saturdays through October. Most nights sell out, so book.
Dahlia Dine & Dance at Beeline Blooms · 6 to 8 PM · 220 Stephens Ln, Ben Lomond · $0 to $50
Dinner from Rose Acres Kitchen in the dahlia field, Banjo & Blossom playing. Ticketed, a few tiers.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12
★ Capitola Art & Wine Festival · 10 AM to 6 PM Saturday, 10 AM to 5 PM Sunday · Capitola Village · Free entry, $20 glass plus tokens to taste
Our Weekend Pick. Full plan below.
★ San Lorenzo River Walk: California Biodiversity Week · 9 AM to noon · Tannery Arts Center, 1010 River St · Free, sign up
Coastal Watershed Council's fall river walk, a one-to-two-mile birding loop with guide Jane Orbuch. Good for school-age kids.
★ Nature Fiesta at Elkhorn Slough · 11 AM to 3 PM · 1700 Elkhorn Rd, near Moss Landing · Free
Binocular loans, a climbing wall, short films, a 30-species iNaturalist challenge, and three food trucks including Tacos Pacheco. No registration on the listing.
Black Uhuru with The Jethro Jeremiah Band · Doors 8, show 9 PM · Moe's Alley, 1535 Commercial Way · $45.76, 21+
Grammy-winning Jamaican reggae, the biggest name on a stage this week.
Rumbo Tumba at the Rio · Doors 7, show 8 PM · Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave, Midtown · $42.70
One Argentine musician, a pile of handmade South American instruments, and a loop pedal. Combo Tezeta opens.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13
Ironman 70.3 Santa Cruz · Rolling start 7 AM · Main Beach swim, Highway 1 bike, West Cliff run · Free to watch
Swim at Main Beach, bike up Highway 1 to Pigeon Point and back, run the ocean lane of West Cliff, finish by the Boardwalk. West Cliff is closed from Beach Hill to Swanton into the early afternoon, northbound Mission at Swift is shut 7 to 10 AM, and Highway 1 north of town crawls until midday. Lighthouse Field is the spot to watch runners.
★ Capitola Art & Wine Festival, day two · 10 AM to 5 PM · Capitola Village · Free entry
See Weekend Pick.
★ Downtown Antique Faire · 9 AM to 5 PM · Lincoln St between Pacific and Cedar, Downtown · Free
Second Sunday of the month. Coffee at Verve, then walk the tables.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14
★ Surf City All-Stars at the Grove · 7 to 9 PM · Audrey Stanley Grove, 501 Upper Park Rd, DeLaveaga · $40
Santa Cruz Shakespeare's Monday Revels. Every member has played in the Beach Boys' touring band, so expect the whole catalog under the redwoods.
Literary Saloon: Joshua Turek, Notes of a New Dad · 5:30 to 7:30 PM · Davenport Roadhouse, 1 Davenport Ave, Davenport · Free
Book release for the Santa Cruz poet and comedian, a reading and a conversation with Kate Ellis. Grab a table and eat while you listen.
Hosted Board Game Night at the Cruz Room · 5 to 10 PM · 1520 Mission St, Westside · Free
Thirty-plus games, hosted play until 8, trivia after. Solo is fine.
Luz del Valle Farm · 1875 Hames Rd, Corralitos
Karell and Phil Reader took over the old Silva Ranch in 2013, an orchard in the Pleasant Valley hills that has grown apples since the 1880s. They replanted it no-till and now grow more than 20 varieties, with a large share going to Martinelli's. U-pick opened this weekend with Galas. Book a timed slot on Eventbrite, $15 for adults and $10 for kids with a pound included.
Capitola Art & Wine Festival · Saturday, September 12, 10 AM to 6 PM and Sunday, September 13, 10 AM to 5 PM · Capitola Village · Free entry, $20 for the festival glass plus tasting tokens, 21+ to taste
More than 150 artists fill the Esplanade and the Village streets, Santa Cruz Mountains wineries pour at the token booths, and there's music both days. Don't drive in. The southbound Bay Ave off-ramp is closed, so take the free shuttle from Capitola Mall or ride in and use the bike valet. Go at 10 Saturday to walk the grid before it gets loud.
The markets and standing plans that run every week. Hours and addresses for the county markets are at santacruzfarmersmarket.org.
Tuesday · Felton Farmers Market · 1:30 to 5:30 PM · 120 Russell Ave, Felton
Wednesday · Downtown Santa Cruz Farmers Market · 12:30 to 5 PM · Cedar and Church
Thursday · Boulder Creek Farmers Market · 1:30 to 5:30 PM · Junction Park
Friday · Watsonville Farmers Market · 2 to 9 PM · Peck and Union, Downtown Watsonville
Friday · Mountain Farmers Market · 2:30 to 6:30 PM · 23845 Summit Rd, under the redwoods, through October
Saturday · Westside Farmers Market · 9 AM to 1 PM · Mission St Ext and Western Dr
Saturday · Aptos Farmers Market · 8 AM to noon · Cabrillo College, 6500 Soquel Dr
Saturday · Scotts Valley Farmers Market · 8 AM to noon · Graham Plaza, 219 Mount Hermon Rd
Sunday · Live Oak Farmers Market · 9 AM to 1 PM · 15th and East Cliff Dr
Sunday · Humble Sea Brewing · 11 AM to 9 PM · 820 Swift St, Westside · Fog beer and fish and chips, dogs and kids fine, Saturdays too
LOOKING AHEAD
Worth booking now. These need registration or tickets ahead, and they can fill up.
The 42nd Santa Cruz Bodysurfing Championships · Saturday, September 19, 7 AM · Twin Lakes Beach (Blacks) · $75 adult divisions, $40 U18, free to watch
Forty-two years of getting barreled. Register before contest day.
Coastal Cleanup Day with Save Our Shores · Saturday, September 19, 9 AM to noon · 50-plus sites around the bay · Free, registration required
Pick your beach on the site and sign up.
Refer 7 friends and we will buy you a coffee at Verve. A referral counts once your friend confirms their spot from the email we send them, so tell them to watch for it.
Stay cool out there. See you next Tuesday. 🌊
Low Tide Local