Uncategorized - Growing Up in Santa Cruz

3rd Annual VegFest Comes to the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds

growingupsc — Fri, 30 May 2025 20:44:08 +0000

Santa Cruz VegFest is a local event celebrating plant-based, cruelty-free, animal friendly, as well as, an environmentally sustainable lifestyle. Now in its third year, Santa Cruz VegFest outgrew the Cocoanut Grove in 2024, and is currently located inside the sprawling Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds. There will be a gleaming fleet of food trucks, more than a hundred food and craft vendors, bands, speakers and comedians. Also, Santa Cruz VegFest is family-friendly, and it’s 100% vegan. VegFest is run by Little Hill Sanctuary, a non-profit “that seeks to create a more kind world through rescuing and protecting animals from cruelty, providing them with sanctuary and compassionate care, and combating speciesism through promoting veganism,” according to their website. Co-director Helbard Alkhassadeh – when he’s not busy repairing the pens that Mabel, Petunia and Poppy, the Sanctuary’s all-star rescued (giant) pigs, destroy on the reg – is very upbeat about this year’s VegFest. “There’s the obligatory bounce house, face painting, and kids (under 12) get in for free,” Alkhassadeh says. One of the vegan comedians performing is Danielle Arch, whose experience being a vegan mom, is transformative. “Being vegan has absolutely helped me as a mother,” says Arch. “I had a very healthy pregnancy, and my bloodwork results always impressed my doctor. I gained healthy weight and was able to successfully breastfeed my child when he was a baby. I’ve had plenty of energy – minus the newborn days – and I love that I am able to raise my son this way. He is being raised vegan, and always impresses his pediatrician with his overall health with every check-up. We do get some folks who negatively judge or make incorrect assumptions, but he and I are proof that everyone – adults and children – can not only survive with a vegan lifestyle, but we can thrive with it.” VegFest really does offer something for everyone. For the adults there is vegan wine, beer and cider. One of Santa Cruz’ favorite bands, The Inciters, will be blowing minds with their throwback sound and mod attitude. And for the kids (you will love it as well), is a mariachi band of children musicians. “I’d tell you the name of the band, but the manager is seven, and he doesn’t have an email,” Alkhassadeh laughs.Speakers include Madeline Krasno, who spent years inside labs of pharmaceutical companies that tested products and vaccines on primates. Also speaking is Lauren Ornelas, whose organization Food Empowerment Project, and their fight for farm workers rights, getting healthy food into Black and brown communities, and alerting people to the use of slave child labor in chocolate factories, is heroic. Any family, or any car, with three or more riders can park for free. This is VegFest’s way of offsetting the carbon footprint of the parking lot. Because every aspect of Santa Cruz VegFest is geared to help the message be as loud, tasty, and clear as possible. “We want people to understand that once you start treating animals and all species equally, it’s difficult to hate one another as humans, because you start bringing a larger perspective to the table,” says Alkhassadeh. Santa Cruz Vegfest takes place on Saturday, May 31 from 11am – 6pm at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, 2601 E Lake Ave, Watsonville. Tickets are $5 in advance and $10 at the door. Children under 12 are free. Parking is $10 unless you have three or more people in your car, then it’s free. Tix at vegfestsantacruz.org

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Holiday Lights Guide

growingupsc — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 20:54:18 +0000

Santa Cruz Parks & Recreation introduces the Inaugural Holiday Glow Guide—a community-driven showcase of our area’s most festive and dazzling holiday displays. The Glow Guide features local homes with twinkling lights, creative decorations, and festive charm. How to Join: Register your home as a festive stop by submitting your address and a photo at 2024 Holiday Glow Guide and Contest. Once registered, your home will be added to the online Glow Guide map for the community to explore. Every entry receives a $5 promo code for Winter-Spring activity registration. The winner will receive a $50 Parks & Recreation gift card.

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Local Businesses Need Your Help

growingupsc — Wed, 04 Dec 2024 01:00:00 +0000

We got some disturbing news recently from two local businesses we love. They are struggling badly and need us to shop in their stores. The good news is that we can help them, just by shopping in real life, not online.The bad news is that we may be watching the end of retail as we know it. Amazon and the billionaires boys club are killing local businesses. Wonderland Toys, a great shop in Aptos, is one of those businesses that recently sent out an appeal for help. “There’s nothing easy about this announcement, so we’re just going to come out & say it…our little shop is in trouble. This past year has been a real struggle. Despite hearing daily how much our shop is valued for the service & experience we provide, retail habits have changed.Many of our expenses have gone up, including rent. Our landlords, who do not live in the area, have thus far been unwilling to offer any relief, but we remain hopeful they will see the importance of working with a beloved locally owned business like ours.We have been doing our best to ride this current wave, continually thinking the upswing is right around the corner and making adjustments where we can, but over the past several days we have had to come to realize that we aren’t just struggling, but are indeed in trouble.We are optimistic about having a great holiday season, but are honestly not sure how long Wonderland can survive. We have been honored & proud to serve our community for the last nine years & would love to continue to do so.We are humbly asking you, our WONDERful, family, friends & supporters for financial help. Here are options of support: 1) Donate to our Wonder Wishlist Go Fund Me, which will help us give new toys & games to local children in-need AND support Wonderland at the same time. To learn more about Wonder Wishlist, and to donate, visit gofund.me/4e72296e 2) Shop with us. In store and/or online. 3) Donate directly to Wonderland, via Venmo venmo.com/u/wonderlandtoys, to help with rent and other operating costs.4) Share this message! 5) Use our plea as a reminder to visit, shop and support ALL your favorite local businesses as well.We don’t know what’s to come in the next months or year(s). We know we aren’t the only retailer in this situation. We desperately want to believe that brick & mortar retail business is still wanted and needed within local communities, & we think & hope you do too. Shopping local is more than a catchphrase; it’s essential for thriving communities.” We got a similar plea from Comicopolis, the comics and bookstore in Downtown Santa Cruz.We patronize both regularly. The thing we love about both places is that they carefully and artfully present products kids love. You can touch them and really know what you are buying. They both understand their markets and choose things kids and parents will enjoy.Please, do what you can do to help save both. Thanks for reading and have great holidaysBrad Kava,Editor and Publisher

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Strategies to Build Resilience and Emotional Strength

Lori Butterworth — Thu, 07 Nov 2024 05:24:54 +0000

According to Webster’s, resilience is the capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness. Here are strategies parents can use that are based on three well-researched, go-to resources for parents: SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions) developed by Eli Leibowitz from Yale; Triple P (Positive Parenting Program) developed by Matt Sanders at the University of Queensland in Australia; and The Anxious Generation, NYU professor Jonathan Haight’s last, well-researched bestseller. Resist the Urge to Fix Validate your child’s emotions but resist the urge to solve every problem for them. Our parental instincts are to protect our kids and keep them from harm. But often trying to fix our child’s problems for them sends the message that they’re not capable of fixing things themselves. Try saying things like, “I can see you’re upset, and that’s okay,” to show you understand their distress. Then, offer support without taking over, saying, “I’m here if you need help, but I know you can handle this.” The SPACE program helps parents of anxious children learn to avoid doing things to accommodate kids’ fears while unintentionally fueling their anxiety. For example, parents of kids who are afraid to sleep alone will try to avoid their child’s discomfort by sleeping with them well into adolescence. Every night the message “you’re too weak and afraid to sleep on your own” gets reinforced. In short, jumping in to keep our kids from experiencing pain can undermine their ability to build self-confidence and resilience. Model Values-Driven Choices I use a fun game in therapy to help kids identify what is important to them and what is not. We take about 50 cards with values-based words: Independence, Honesty, Patience, Courage, etc. We sort the cards by “Most Important,” “Somewhat Important,” and “Not Important.” Then, we talk about each selection in the “Most Important” pile and sort the cards again. By the end of the game, the child has narrowed it down to the top five things that matter most to them. This sparks conversations about why knowing what is most important helps us set goals aligned with who we are.I encourage parents to do this with their kids and talk about the values they share and each family member’s unique values. As parents, knowing our values allows us to demonstrate how to act in alignment with those values, even when facing difficult challenges. For example, if your family values “Kindness,” you can show your child how to remain kind and compassionate, even in stressful situations. If you, as a parent, value “Respect,” you can demonstrate self-respect and show respect to others even amid conflict. This helps children understand that living according to our values is more important than trying to avoid discomfort. It teaches resilience by showing that they can continue to pursue meaningful actions despite difficult emotions. Turn Challenges into Learning Opportunities When your child encounters a manageable challenge, welcome it. Without taking over, allow your child to face age-appropriate challenges that might involve failure. Gradual exposure to difficult situations helps kids build confidence and learn to manage adversity. Find opportunities for your child to learn from setbacks. Again, validate your child’s feelings and then encourage them to think about what they can learn from a situation. Ask questions like, “What can you do differently next time?” to help them develop problem-solving skills and resilience. Share your own experiences with failure and how you overcame it. Help your child see setbacks as temporary and part of growth. Be a Helicopter-Parent Yes, you heard that correctly. It’s time for parents to become more helicopter and hover more when it comes to screen time and social media. And, it’s time to back off and stop hovering in the real world. Jonathan Haight describes the disastrous cultural shift from play-based childhood to phone-based childhood and how as parents, we’ve become irrationally fearful of stranger danger in the real world while handing our kids a device that opens them up to predators worldwide. I’ve heard people say that the genie is out of the bottle and there’s nothing parents can do about kids and social media. I disagree. There’s a lot we can do. Let’s start by considering the primary function of social media. For most kids, social media is a way to connect with friends, and social connection is a healthy, necessary developmental activity. Taking away your child’s phone while “everyone else” has one, isn’t the answer. According to Haight, we must replace phone time with playtime. Haight suggests four new norms for groups of parents to agree to: 1) No smartphones before high school; 2) No social media before age 16; 3) No phones in schools; and 4) More independent play. Let the Children Play Back in the 1970s, I was a kid running around with my friends until dark without a parent or phone in sight. The crime rate was higher than it is today. But today, parents are irrationally hovering over their kids in the real world and throwing up their hands when it comes to the digital world. We need to switch on the parental hover button when it comes to social media and switch it off in the real world. I tell parents, that instead of “play dates” and scheduled activities every day after school, give kids time to run around the neighborhood playing freely. It is time for us to let go and let grow. To build resilience in children, parents should validate emotions without fixing problems, allowing kids to face challenges and build confidence. Modeling values-driven choices and encouraging learning from setbacks helps children align actions with what matters most to them. Parents should actively monitor and limit screen time and replace it with independent, unstructured play. This balanced approach, based on SPACE, Triple P, and “The Anxious Generation,” builds resilience by teaching kids to manage difficulties and pursue meaningful goals despite challenges.

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Securing Our Health, Keeping Our Commitment

growingupsc — Fri, 02 Feb 2024 18:48:41 +0000

Our community stands at a pivotal juncture. Access to life-saving, local healthcare for tens of thousands of residents throughout the Pajaro Valley, Santa Cruz County, and North Monterey County is on the March 5, 2024 ballot Measure N is not just a bond; it is a lifeline for our community’s health and an investment in future generations. As we approach the March 5, 2024 election, we are faced with the opportunity to fortify and expand the capabilities of Watsonville Community Hospital, solidifying our dedication to a future where quality healthcare is a cornerstone of our local community and ensuring that our friends, families, and neighbors have access to the care they deserve for decades to come. Watsonville Community Hospital is a 128-year-old medical institution that has saved countless lives and safely welcomed numerous members of our community into the world. Now, back under local, nonprofit ownership and directed by our trusted friends and neighbors in the Pajaro Valley Health Care District, Watsonville Community Hospital is on the path toward sustainability. Measure N is a proactive step toward fortifying Watsonville Community Hospital that supports the community’s long-held vision of building a thriving local healthcare provider whose influence on our community’s wellness extends far beyond the walls of the facility. Measure N would equip the hospital to meet the evolving needs of our growing and aging population. By voting yes on Measure N, we are safeguarding the very essence of our community, and committing to the health and well-being of every resident Consider the lives touched by the healing hands of our talented, passionate, and committed local healthcare providers. Imagine a future where those hands have the necessary resources to reach even further, serving more individuals, providing better outcomes, and fostering a healthier community. This is the promise of Measure N—a promise to elevate our healthcare standards, invest in the well-being of our community, and honor our commitment to ensuring a thriving future. The $116 million raised from a Yes vote on Measure N would allow Watsonville Community Hospital to nearly double its emergency room capacity, jumping from 12 rooms to 22, and reduce wait times. It would also help upgrade outdated imaging systems including X-rays, MRI, and CT scanners, and add new services so patients don’t have to travel to other hospitals to get the care they need. The time and money saved from no longer having to travel outside of our community to receive care will easily match the annual investment of $24 per $100,000 of assessed property value that Measure N proposes. Measure N would also fund the purchase of the Watsonville Community Hospital buildings and grounds, which would save $3 million per year in rent payments. Every penny of this bond—and the new revenues as a result of the upgrades and expansions—will be spent locally, ensuring that the funds directly benefit Watsonville Community Hospital and the children, parents, families, and seniors it serves throughout Watsonville, Aptos, La Selva Beach, Corralitos, Pajaro, Las Lomas, Aromas, and beyond. The alternative, a ‘No’ vote, could move us toward a bleak future that has become a reality in communities throughout California. This includes Madera County, where residents are now facing the consequences that can unfold when a community loses its local healthcare lifeline. More than 32,000 people visit Watsonville Community Hospital’s emergency room each year. Where would those people go if Watsonville Community Hospital closed? A ‘No’ vote on Measure N could set in motion a chain of events leading to the erosion of our healthcare infrastructure throughout Santa Cruz County. By voting ‘Yes’ on Measure N, we affirm that the health of our community is a shared responsibility. It is a commitment we make not just to ourselves but to the collective well-being that defines us as a united front. In choosing unity over uncertainty, we declare that our community refuses to be a statistic in the nationwide trend of rural hospital closures. Zach Friend is the 2nd District Supervisor for Santa Cruz County; Felipe Hernandez is the 4th District Supervisor for Santa Cruz County; Luis Alejo, is the 1st District Supervisor for Monterey County; Glenn Church is the 2nd District Supervisor and Chair of the Board for Monterey County; and Vanessa Quiroz-Carter, is the Mayor of Watsonville.

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Craft Corner Games

growingupsc — Wed, 31 Aug 2022 15:07:16 +0000

Bored With Your Board Games? Make Your Own! By Crooked Beauty If you are interested in creating a game from scratch, there are templates you can download here: printabletemplates.com/graphics/board-game/Crooked Beauty will be hosting a board game-making class Sunday, November 6th. Go to crookedbeautyart.com for more details. One thing I’ve realized is that between school and home, kids have a lot of rules they have to follow…so when they get the chance to be in charge, wow do they love it!Maybe you don’t have time to make a board game from scratch, but you can use parts and pieces of the games you do have to make a new one. You may find mixing up games is more fun than playing them straightforwardly!Think about your favorite games and look at the components that make them your favorite, is it quest-based like Life? Do you have to think fast, like the card game Speed? Is it action-based like Pictionary or Charades? Do you like word-based games, like Boggle, or with numbers like Uno, Rummy, or poker? Do you like games with action cards, like the community chest cards in Monopoly, or maybe you want there to be a learning component to it – land on the blue squares and you have to answer a math problem or spell a word. Pick a board to use – Candyland, Chutes & Ladders, Sorry, Life? Now you need the pieces…Monopoly pieces, Chess pieces, Clue pieces? Establish the goal. Is it getting to the finish first? Is it collecting things along the way? Is it having the most money at the end? Maybe you have a point system. Next, you need to know how you will advance on the board; Dice, spinner, direction cards? Okay, now for the fun part, making up the rules.I’ll let you in on a secret, kids love rules that change in their favor. If you let them make up all the rules, and you don’t write them down, I assure you those rules become very fluid. I suggest you let your child(ren) make up 2-3 rules, you write them down, then you make up a couple to help the game move along. Are there pitfalls that send you to the beginning? Or are there ways to advance quicker? Are there questions you have to answer? Or instances where you have to give something to another player? Or is there a pot in the middle that is won by landing on a certain square? This is a good way to start if you’re feeling stumped: Pick 2 or 3 games you are going to mix up Game board is ____ Game pieces are ____ The Goal of the game is ____ (to finish first, to win the most money/coins/etc, to answer the most questions correctly) Use to move on the board (dice, spinner, direction cards) Rules: If, then ____ (blue=stuck for three turns, roll a 6=move double amount of spaces, land on red, must answer trivia question) Read More Articles

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Recycling Center Tours

growingupsc — Fri, 22 Jul 2022 14:21:21 +0000

Free Summer Tours City of Santa Cruz SANTA CRUZ, Calif. —The City of Santa Cruz offers free summer tours of its recycling center, the Resource Recovery Facility, 605 Dimeo Lane, every Friday from July 29 through Aug. 26 at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. The 90-minute tours provide opportunity to learn about the multifaceted recycling process as well as our new food scraps processing and Household Hazardous Waste Program. Visitors will see what happens to the 30 to 50 tons of material that Santa Cruzans place into their blue recycle bins every single day. They will learn why it is important to “recycle right” and avoid “wish-cycling.” Visitors will see a mountain of scrap metal and learn about how the new food scraps processing operation will reduce methane emissions from the landfill. Pre-registration is required. Tours are limited to 20 people. Children must be at least 8 years old. Youth ages 8 to 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Carpooling is encouraged as parking is limited. Reserve your spot at www.cityofsantacruz.com/tours. Questions may be addressed tocsoon@cityofsantacruz.com. More recycling information including a What Goes Where Guide and Recycle Right videos are available at www.cityofsantacruz.com/recycleright. Details of the Food Scrap Curbside Collection Program are detailed at www.cityofsantacruz.com/foodwaste. Free tours of the City of Santa Cruz Recycling Center are offered on Fridays from July 29 through Aug. 26. Visitors touring the City of Santa Cruz Recycling Center will see how paper and aluminum and metal cans are formed into bales. Materials at the City of Santa Cruz Recycling Center are initially sorted by machine and human hands. Read More Articles

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Wonderful Wednesdays

growingupsc — Thu, 07 Jul 2022 22:20:39 +0000

(Photo by Kelly Berreto) We don’t have to tell the locals about Wednesday’s free twilight concerts at the Capitola bandstand, but sure, there are plenty of new people moving in all the time, not to mention tourists. One of the coolest, free-est things you can do is bring a chair or a beach towel and stake out a spot on the lawn or on the beach on Wednesday nights, from 6-8 p.m. Some of the bands coming up for the rest of the summer include the ever popular Joint Chiefs, Live Again, the Santa Cruz Latin Collective, Billy Martini, Jive Machine and Dirty Cello. We’ve never seen a bad show there. Catch the whole schedule at cityofcapitola.org

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El Vaquero

growingupsc — Fri, 01 Jul 2022 16:58:27 +0000

Trivia Night by brad kava Here’s something for families to do that’s free or low cost. El Vaquero Winery in Corralitos has trivia night at 7 p.m. on Thursdays and unlike some alcohol serving places, it’s kid and dog friendly. Sometimes there are more kids than others. Host Michael Gaither often throws in questions that the tykes can answer. (How did we miss the name of Sponge Bob’s home town, Bikini Bottom, even aided by a 6-year-old?)It’s outdoors, there’s food catered from the pizza joint across the street (or bring your own), excellent reasonably priced wines and apple juice and a fun couple of hours for all. El Vaquero is at 2901 Freedom Blvd, Corralitos. Phone (831) 607 8118. Website:elvaquerowinery.comTrivia: What does the name mean in Spanish? Read More Parenting Articles

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Swanton Berry Farm

growingupsc — Wed, 15 Jun 2022 16:26:52 +0000

Delicious Berries by brad kava If you are heading north on Highway 1, you have to stop at Swanton’s Berry Farm for a real make America great experience. First time visitors usually end up standing at the cash register waiting for someone to collect their money for the great berry pies, coffee, jam, short bread, berry baskets and more. They wait, and wait and wait…until someone tells them, “It’s donation only.” Ooops. Happened to me. You pay what you want. And as the manager there told me, they end up making more money by asking for it than they would with a cashier. It’s like stepping back to a country when people cared about and trusted each other. This is the first unionized organic berry farm in the country and they also have a field where you can pick your own. Before covid, they had a great game room where kids could play with toys and games from back in the last century. We really miss that and hope they will bring it back. The address is 25 Swanton Road, Davenport.It’s open 8 a.m.-7p.m. And current farm stand products include: Blackberry Pie, Blackberry/Rasberry pie, Raspberry Cream Pie, Blackberry Cobbler, Strawberry Cheesecake, Strawberry Shortcake, Chocolate Dipped Strawberries (Dark & Milk), Strawberry Truffle, Blackberry Truffle, Strawberry Pecan Scone. Read More Parenting Articles

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