Arts & Culture

By Christina Waters Not since my last trip to Italy three years ago have I tasted such inspired pizza. It was from Mentone, the new Aptos restaurant created by David Kinch of the three-star Michelin Manresa. Mentone’s menu is Italian-French spun through Kinch’s own California...

WATSONVILLE—Meri Henriques Vahl vividly remembers her first major exposure to the world of art quilts.  Vahl was born in New York in 1945, and years later, during a visit to the Frick Museum in the Upper East Side of Manhattan with a friend, she viewed...

APTOS—Jon Scoville has always been eager to open his mind to new music. Growing up as a minister’s son in Connecticut, Scoville learned the craft by singing in church choirs and around his family’s home piano. But in secret he was also listening to genres...

WATSONVILLE—A new book has hit the shelves, “Fruit of the Devil,” by retired Pajaro Valley Unified School District teacher Mary Flodin.  The novel unfolds between the exclusive golf courses of Pebble Beach to the world-famous surf breaks of Santa Cruz and the fertile lands of...

Five-week event returns tonight to downtown Santa Cruz SANTA CRUZ—Santa Cruz County Actors’ Theatre is celebrating the 25th Anniversary of its acclaimed 8 Tens @ 8 Short Play Festival, which will be held Jan. 10-Feb. 9 at the Center Stage Theater in downtown Santa Cruz. The...

I nervously submit these recipes because so much of the Thanksgiving cooking tradition is passed on through families, as these ones are from mine. I’m just offering suggestions here and bear in mind, it is difficult to offer exact amounts or instructions because turkeys differ...

WATSONVILLE—As lunchtime drew to a close Wednesday, fourth- and fifth-grade students at Starlight Elementary School began to gradually filter into the classroom of art teacher Meredith Branan Freeman. They were there to learn about stop-motion animation and create their own movies. Some students worked individually,...

APTOS—Cabrillo College classes started Aug. 29, and with it came the first exhibition of the year at the school’s on-campus art gallery. Connections: Cabrillo Art, Photography & Art History Faculty & Staff Exhibition is now open and will run through Sept. 23. The annual show...

For decades, Watsonville-based Mexican folklórico group Esperanza del Valle (EDV) has been learning from master dance instructors from Mexico.  One of these teachers, Daniel del Valle Hernandez, will join Esperanza for its upcoming show, “Homenaje a Veracruz,” which is scheduled for Nov. 12 and 13...

CAPITOLA—Forty artists from across the county fanned out around Capitola last week with canvas, easels, chalk and tubes of color in tow, in hopes of distilling a handful of the coastal city’s choice land and seascapes on canvas and paper.  The efforts were part of...