Gowing reindeer, a snowman tipping his hat, bicycles circling the sky, a towering Christmas tree and a lit up water tank house are just a fraction of this year’s HOLIDAY LIGHTS drive and walk-through display at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds. The family-oriented event started Nov. 29 and runs every Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening between Thanksgiving and Christmas eve. “Because many of our guests have a Christmas Eve tradition of coming to HOLIDAY LIGHTS on December 24th, we will have two Bonus Nights this year – December 23 and December 24,” said Ron Haedicke, marketing director for the Fairgrounds Foundation. Over the past year, volunteers have been working to…

You don’t have to tell Lindsey Chester that all the world’s a stage! Chester has devoted herself and two decades of artistic management helping young performers take their first steps with All About TheaterMany of her young students go on to larger regional stages, even Hollywood and Broadway! Now the founder of AAT is expanding her reach by leasing and opening up the Colligan Theater for a new season of performance. Taking over the former Tannery Arts Center home of the Jewel Theater with her new project Theater 831, Chester is already reaching out to local arts groups. Giving priority to performance groups at the Tannery World Dance and Cultural…

From the story that gave us the expression “Bah, humbug!” and the character Scrooge—A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, a new holiday tradition will debut next week. Santa Cruz Shakespeare Artistic Director Charles Pasternak has adapted Dickens’ beloved story and will direct the upcoming Santa Cruz Shakespeare production opening next week in the downtown Santa Cruz Veterans Hall. The story is well-known, well-loved, and will warm the hearts of audiences of every age. The ghost of Jacob Marley—greedy business partner of tight-fisted Ebenezer Scrooge—is condemned to an afterlife bound in chains. His midnight visit to Scrooge sets up a series of emotional episodes that will transform the cold-hearted Scrooge into…

Courtney Laschkewitsch, a Santa Cruz local, is an innovative, brilliant product licensing coach and tabletop gamemaker. Her ongoing career allows her to make people’s dreams come true, and now, she is bringing one of her own dreams to life. A beautiful mix of strong family values, imagination, and love for the holidays has inspired Courtney to create an accessible, fun Christmas themed “Print & Play” tabletop game. Where are you from? What was your childhood like? Courtney Laschkewitsch: I grew up in La Selva Beach with my brother and parents. We were homeschooled for most of my education . My parents would revolve our interests around education. We were encouraged…

As we embark on this year’s fundraiser for 63 local nonprofits, we can all be grateful that 2024 is the first year in quite a while without a community-wide crisis. While most years don’t have a pandemic, a flood, or a recession — for many of our neighbors, every year is a challenge. Some of the organizations who are participating in Santa Cruz Gives work to provide essentials such as food and shelter for the neediest. Others elevate the quality of life for all residents to provide what government and for-profit enterprises do not: programs that meet our aspirational hopes and dreams—for example, arts and education that are affordable. Other…