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By Sharan Street
Published Jun 20, 2022

Humpback whales, one of the region’s most theatrical summer visitors. Humpback whales, one of the region’s most theatrical summer visitors. Image credit: Chase Dekker   Shutterstock

6-20-22: The Longest Day

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.


We Lost It at the Movie Theaters

Anticipating the solstice also gets folks of a certain age waxing nostalgic about the days when summer vacation came around and it was time to spend hot days catching a matinee, or to take advantage of warm nights at the drive-in. Film critic Richard von Busack pays tribute to those days. For anyone who remembers when the Rio had movies instead of live music and the Del Mar had not yet been plexed, this article is for you. And if you’re too young to remember those things, let Richard take you on a virtual tour of California’s most opulent movie palaces—including San Francisco’s Castro Theatre, which marks its 100th anniversary on June 22.


Summer Sensations

Breeding wood ducks, blooming coastal bush lupines, and farewell-to-spring blossom are among the summer delights in Santa Cruz County.
We asked the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History to highlight the area’s most thrilling warm-weather attractions.

Movie Theater Magic

Oakland’s Grand Lake Theatre, built in 1926.
Benign weather has kept some of California’s historic cinema palaces alive past the century mark. We pay homage to ten of the best.


Impact Report Image for decorative use