Monterey County Art, Culture & Media Digest

The Makerspace is one of the most popular destinations for students to visit on the CSUMB campus, yet each year they face funding challenges.

Actor Pepe Serna is not a household name. Yet he’s appeared in more than 100 films and 300 TV shows—a career chronicled in “Life is Art,” a 2022 documentary featured during the opening event of the Watsonville Film Festival on March 3.

The radio station is operated by the nonprofit Natural Bridges Media but its original signal at 90.7 FM does not reach all of Santa Cruz County. Capital funding will now allow it to reach even further.

Theodore is smarter than the average bear. But even he has one hell of a time trying to navigate the health care system.

KSQD's current frequency contour stretches from Santa Cruz to Aptos. The expansion could reach audiences in Watsonville, Hollister, Prunedale, Monterey, Carmel, Salinas and beyond.

Gov. Gavin Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom recently joined the California Museum in announcing the 15th class of inductees into the California Hall of Fame. They join 138 Californians previously inducted for embodying the state’s innovative spirit.

One possible feature will be a “silent disco” where attendees will wear headphones and the music will be streamed to them so the sounds won’t impact the areas surrounding Laguna Seca.

Just about anyone who has seen Dennis Renault’s political cartoons might have considered him brash, bold, maybe even brave. But he was also charming, thoughtful, funny, and handsome, said Marty Renault, his Salinas High School sweetheart and wife who, on Oct. 19, lost her husband to what she considers a “freak accident.” He was 86.

Though their diminished numbers hamper local wildfire response, real-life incarcerated firefighters are still on the front lines in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties.

The 810 frequency on the AM radio dial, where, regional residents tuned in for the news of the day, has begun a new era: coverage of gambling on sports. Station owner Cumulus Media unveiled the new station on Oct. 10, with 810 AM now called “The Spread.”

Sacheen Littlefeather, the Native American actress who declined Marlon Brandon’s Oscar in 1973, has died. Littlefeather, who was Apache and Yaqui and born Nov. 14, 1946 in Salinas, died “peacefully at home” in Marin County.

This year marks the 95th anniversary of the Carmel Art Association—the second oldest continuously operating artist cooperative in the nation and the oldest west of the Mississippi.

The Pebble Beach Authors and Ideas Festival will return Sept. 23, bringing top authors and speakers to the peninsula. Jim McGillenco-founded the festival with his wife, Cynthia. “Initially we thought we were only going to do it one year ... now we’re going into 16,” he said.

Pacific Repertory Theatre founder Stephen Moorer began his love affair with the performing arts at Carmel’s Forest Theater. And the company he founded on a shoestring now owns the Golden Bough Playhouse and manages the Forest Theater complex.

Chelsie Hill, a former student at Pacific Grove High School, has signed a movie deal with Walt Disney Pictures for a movie loosely inspired by her life. The drama follows a 17-year-old, disabled dancer who gets a big break at a premier dance company.

The Jo Mora sculpture of St. Junipero Serra that was removed in June 2020 has been handed over to the Carmel Woods Neighborhood Association. However, it would be illegal for the group to return the statue to its former location, according to Monterey County counsel Leslie Girard.

If all goes according to plan, a boat immortalized in novels by John Steinbeck will make its return to Monterey Bay sometime in September—after a seven-year rehabilitation process. It will be repurposed as a floating classroom and research vessel.

At home in San Juan Bautista, where he’s lived for the better part of his life, playwright Luis Valdez is working on his autobiography just after publishing the first book he’s written to describe the philosophy behind El Teatro Campesino.

Lee Garland and Dr. Arnie Buss, two students of Selwa Said’s Monterey-based courses on “heart-aware communication” have published “Hear, Here,” a book that will help readers develop an understanding of effective communication techniques and how to apply them.

Helping other people’s kids awaken to a new passion is how Juan Sánchez, the married father of three creative kids, enriches his own life. He spends much of his time in a converted locker room at Seaside’s Martin Luther King Elementary School, now home to his nonprofit multicultural arts organization.

“My Life in Pacific Grove,” a May release that chronicles W.R. Holman’s life, has roots back to 1979, when the then 95-year-old businessman dictated his life story to his caretaker, Louise V. Jaques.

The variety of styles of art available in Carmel-by-the-Sea continues to broaden with the addition of two new art galleries. Greg Creason, owner of Creason’s Fine Art Gallery, says that “Carmel, up until recently, was not ready for my style of artwork.”

Carmel’s Concours on the Avenue, part of Classic Car Week, will not be returning this year. The cancellation is related to both continued COVID-19 disruptions and the passing of event founder Doug Freedman last October.

The second volume in a series about the experiences of immigrants, “Our American Stories: Volume 2” was published by North Salinas, Alisal and Everett Alvarez high school students. The book shares photos and stories of local families of all backgrounds.

Bob Gómez, who is serving as Watsonville’s first poet laureate for a two-year term, talks about his background and future plans for his tenure in the position.

California playwright Josefina López talks about being honored at the Watsonville Film Festival—a commemoration of the 20-year anniversary of her play “Real Women Have Curves.”

Salinas-based siblings Fernando and Karina Beltran have been running their own zine, Lowpass Magazine, since they were 20 and 15 years old, respectively. They created the zine with the idea of shedding light on local artists.

“Courage Within: Women Without Shelter,” on display at the Monterey Museum of Art, doesn’t just call attention to the problem of homelessness. It also explains the emotional cost that unhoused people experience.

Renée Patin Farrington, the daughter of an early Disney artist who gave life to Donald Duck, has published an autobiography about how she “almost” grew up in Hollywood.

The long-awaited Premiere Cinemas has opened in Salinas after nearly a decade of development. It is one of a very few movie theaters in the region to use laser projectors.

Seventeen years after they promised Soledad residents a movie theater, city leaders are close to delivering one. Premiere Cinemas could open as soon as Halloween, if not the following weekend.

Tag along as writer-photographer Larry Parsons rambles through the heart of Salinas and showcases the city’s downtown murals.