A resource for families in Santa Cruz County

Your friends will thank you for sending this signup link! https://tinyurl.com/w9btgxd
Thank you Librarians!
Thank you to our librarians for all the free events, classes, discussions and entertainment you've made available to us this past year and for "Puppylocks" on Saturday!
There is a camp just right for your child. Explore, research, talk to camp directors or owners. Read here and here and here! One popular local camp has a tour day on the 24th!

A reader sent me a beautiful story. I hope you find inspiration in teacher Carol Swain’s journey and her perspective on racism.

Have a great spring weekend with your families, Parmalee
Download CAMPS 2021 pdf!
Puppylocks
A Magical Puppet Show
Santa Cruz Libraries Host Puppylocks,
a Magical Moonshine Theater Performance
The Santa Cruz Public Libraries will host Magical Moonshine Theater's bilingual performance of Puppylocks at 11 a.m. Saturday April 24th. This free puppet show will be held via Zoom, and registration is required.

Puppylocks asks WHAT IF? What if the Three Bears were really Teddy Bears! And What if Goldilocks was not a little girl at all, but a golden, mischievous little dog?

That is exactly the case is this very funny retelling of the traditional fairytale. Watch this impish little dog do everything wrong in the Bear's house while the bears are off to the Teddybear Circus! Puppylocks is presented with traditional Bohemian style marionettes on a tabletop stage. It runs about 40 minutes and includes live music and singing. The show is bilingual in English and Spanish.

What I Can Teach You About Racism
Let me tell you how my story ends: I become a tenured, award-winning professor of political science at an Ivy League university, and then at one of the leading universities in the South.
 
Now let me tell you how my story begins: I grow up in rural Virginia, literally dirt poor. I drop out of school in the eighth grade and have three children by the time I'm 20. I consider myself to be a reasonably modest person, but even I have to admit that's quite a journey. Continue > > >
We Need YOU: Fifth Grade’s Clean-up Challenge
Mount Madonna School fifth grade students have organized a CLEAN-UP CHALLENGE to inspire and help prevent waste from entering the oceans.

Students are reaching out to the school community, friends of Mount Madonna School and the public – locally, nationally and beyond, in hopes of eliciting a broad engagement.

The rules are simple: go outside and pick up trash, use a tally form to keep track of the types of trash collected, upload a selfie with the trash you’ve collected and you will be entered into a raffle to win some great eco-friendly prizes! GO TO forms.gle/bVb4ikEeG68uPwRe6 to enter Thanks for helping us protect the ocean!

“We hope you will participate in our clean-up challenge and share our PSA video and posters far and wide so that people all over the world will be inspired to go outside and help clean up trash. “Thank you for supporting the fifth grade and helping to make the oceans a bit safer for the 100,000 marine animals that die each year from plastic.”
Check the May Calendar for events with limited space
Mount Madonna SDG Speaker Series: FishWise: Sustaining Ocean Ecosystems and the People Who Depend on Them by Transforming Global Seafood Supply Chains, April 22, 7-8pm, Details

Fair Food Drive-Thru, The popular event returns! Friday, Saturday & Sunday 11am – 8pm - April 23-24-25 & April 30, May 1-2

Omega Nu’s 31st Annual Ducky Derby. April 24 - Participate virtually! Omega Nu's 31st Annual Ducky Derby Duck Adoptions, Sponsorships, and Donations awaits your entry! Details
Keep On Truckin’ - We are thrilled to invite you and your loved ones to the Keep on Truckin’ tour Saturdays! Keep on Truckin’, powered by Tandy Beal and Company and a lot of great friends, presents exceptional artists in free mini-shows on a flatbed truck, outside for small audiences. Details
Santa Cruz Dance Week, April 22-30 - We want to hear from YOU! This year the event will look different, but we will be highlighting the flexibility, passion and resilience that the dance community has demonstrated over the last year! Here are three ways in which YOU can participate: Details
“The Art of Nature”- Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History- Open to the public April - Experience science illustration though our annual exhibit, The Art of Nature. Local artists bring to life nature and science through a variety of mediums, highlighting species from the ocean to the sky, and everything in between. Details
Restoration Day at Watsonville Wetlands, April 24,9am - 1 pm- Come out with Mayor Jimmy Dutra and help steward the wetlands and climate while taking care of newly planted trees and removing invasive plant species from the Struve Slough wetland restoration site! Details
Pleasure Point Murder Club - April 16, 6-7pm - Hello! If you enjoy mysteries, join us! We are the Pleasure Point Murder Club, the mystery and thriller book club hosted by Two Birds Books. Check with us for our May/June/July picks. Details
Out and About: Birding at Neary Lagoon
April 24,10am - 12pm - Let’s get out and about! This month we’ll be looking for birds at Neary Lagoon Wildlife Refuge, a wonderful oasis for local wildlife in the heart of Santa Cruz. We’ll bring along binoculars for everyone to use and share tips for identifying birds during this one-mile walk. Details
NEW Farmer’s Market, El Mercado - Community Health Trust is launching, El Mercado, Watsonville’s newest farmers’ market! Tuesdays, 2 pm – 6 pm, Ramsay Park,Watsonville. Fresh produce, healthy prepared meals and a fun, safe environment for the whole family Details

Roaring Camp Movies - your favorite family friendly movies, surrounded by the beautiful redwood forest - April 24, 7-8pm, How to Train Your Dragon, Details
Introducing Book Bundles for Kids, NOW! - Missing the ability to browse our shelves? Let us select books for you! We are currently only offering book bundles at the Downtown Santa Cruz Branch. Details