Events

Dig deeply into this season's Shakespeare productions with a special weekend of lectures, discussions and hands-on activities. In partnership with UCSC's Shakespeare Workshop and The Humanities Institute, this is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about each play during the day and then enjoy the production that same evening. This year, Weekend with Shakespeare will […]

The Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music presents the full spectrum of orchestral possibility, illuminating vibrant hues of music today. This transformative season features over 20 composers, nine in residence, seven guest artists, and the Festival Orchestra, four Festival commissions and bringing three world premieres to life. In celebration of the 50th Anniversary of LGBTQIA Pride […]

Join The Dickens Project for The Curiosity Gala on July 25, 2025, as we celebrate the 45th annual Dickens Universe Conference! Now open to the public, this enchanting evening invites community members to don their finest Victorian attire and enjoy a night of lively entertainment—including Victorian dance lessons, casino tables, a raffle, postprandial potations, and […]

The Dickens Universe is a unique cultural event that brings together scholars, teachers, students, and members of the general public for a week of stimulating discussion and festive social activity on the beautiful Santa Cruz campus of the University of California—all focused on one or two Victorian novels, usually (but not always) one by Charles […]

Tickets are now on sale for Santa Cruz Shakespeare's 2025 Season, "No One is Alone" featuring A Midsummer Night's Dream, Into the Woods, Pericles, and "Master Harold"...and the Boys. Co-sponsored by the Humanities Institute. The 2025 season runs from July 18 - September 20.   A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare | July 13 […]

The Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History (MAH) is proud to present Princes of Surf 2025: Heʻe nalu Santa Cruz, an exhibition that spotlights how three Hawaiian princes—David Kawananakoa, Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana’ole, and Edward Keliiahonui— introduced surfing to the U.S. mainland via Santa Cruz in 1885 and rode the wave of legacy and relevance […]

You can imagine flying on the back of a dragon. You can picture a talking rabbit solving crimes, or a world where time runs backward. So why is it so hard to imagine that slavery is morally good, or that killing your baby girl is the right thing to do? This talk explores a weird […]