Humpback whales, one of the region’s most theatrical summer visitors.
Traffic crawling along Ocean Street, tourists clogging up your favorite restaurants, screams emanating from kids enjoying a cheap thrill on the Giant Dipper Roller Coaster—it must be summer in Santa Cruz. Actually, not until tomorrow: The 2022 summer solstice officially takes place at 2:13 a.m. on June 21.
Along with all of the inconveniences of tourist season come many pleasures: Santa Cruz Shakespeare productions, the Cabrillo Festival of Music, the Watsonville Strawberry Festival and many more. All of these happenings are covered well by our media allies. For instance, Johanna Miller writes about longtime costume designer B. Modern and her work with Santa Cruz Shakespeare for Good Times and Michele Murphy chronicles the history of the Redwood Mountains Fine Arts & Crafts Faire and Music Festival for the San Lorenzo Valley Post.
But Santa Cruz County offers more than culture to delight and entertain. There’s also the natural world surrounding our cities. To get the lowdown on the summer spectacles endemic to our beaches, mountains and parklands, writer Kimberly Hickok reached out to the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History, one of the oldest museums in the state of California. Its roots go back to 1905 and a collection of seashells, minerals, fossils, and other artifacts assembled by naturalist Laura Hecox. Located above Seabright Beach, the museum showcases the region’s diverse plant, animal, and human communities—and it’s marking the season with its Summer Kick-off Festival. On June 25 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., visitors can get in free to the museum and also enjoy outdoor festivities, including live music, food trucks, nature crafts, and science activities.
