{"id":2187137,"date":"2025-12-04T19:20:05","date_gmt":"2025-12-04T19:20:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2187137"},"modified":"2025-12-04T19:20:05","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T19:20:05","slug":"best-9-top-events-for-the-week-ahead-in-santa-cruz-county-arts-entertainment-dec-4-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/best-9-top-events-for-the-week-ahead-in-santa-cruz-county-arts-entertainment-dec-4-11\/","title":{"rendered":"Best 9: Top events for the week ahead in Santa Cruz County arts & entertainment, Dec. 4-11"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Here they are, nine necessary know-abouts for the week ahead. It\u2019s the parade-weekend B9:<\/p>\n

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Credit:<\/span> The Expendables<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

\u27a4 There is probably no such thing as the quintessential Santa Cruz band. The town is too marbled with musical subcultures for any single one to exemplify the rest. But if you\u2019re looking for a band that embodies Santa Cruz\u2019s chill coastal NorCal vibe, the first name popping up in my head is The Expendables<\/strong>. For close to 30 years, the reggae-rock band has translated the local surf culture to the wider world. The band\u2019s most recent album, 2023\u2019s \u201cPleasure Point,\u201d finds them at the top of their game, mixing bounce, beat and mellowness that feels like a sunny afternoon on East Cliff. On Saturday<\/a> night, The Expendables play The Catalyst, a stage they know quite well. Seeing this band in this venue should be on everyone\u2019s checklist of quintessentially Santa Cruz things to do.<\/p>\n

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Santa Claus rolls through downtown Santa Cruz during the 2023 holiday parade. Credit:<\/span> Crystal Birns<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

\u27a4 Adorable alert! We can\u2019t guarantee snow, but otherwise downtown Santa Cruz is going to be bedecked in holiday lushness on Saturday morning. It\u2019s time for the annual Downtown Holiday Parade<\/strong>, with more than 1,200 participants, including many students from Santa Cruz County schools. It all begins on Pacific Avenue at Laurel Street on Saturday<\/a> at 10 a.m.<\/p>\n

\u27a4 The celebration of Christmas gets turbo-charged beginning Friday evening with the annual \u201cMusic for the Feast of Christmas,\u201d<\/strong> taking place this weekend<\/a> in the sacred surroundings of Holy Cross Church in Santa Cruz. The concert features holiday choral works and familiar carols of the season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u27a4 Thursday alert: Santa Cruz native, actor, playwright and restaurateur Ian McRae has composed a love letter to Santa Cruz\u2019s one-of-a-kind surf culture. That love letter takes the form of a play, \u201cThere Are No Kooks in Heaven: A Westside Story<\/strong>.\u201d<\/strong> The play, starring McRae, is centered on local surf history. It\u2019s free, and will be presented in three performances \u2014 that\u2019s tonight<\/a> at the Museum of Art & History.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Ebenezer Scrooge (Mike Ryan) is visited by the Ghost of Christmas Present (Julie James) in the Santa Cruz Shakespeare production of \u201cA Christmas Carol,\u201d playing through Dec. 24 at the Veterans Memorial Building in downtown Santa Cruz. Credit:<\/span> Kevin Painchaud \/ Lookout Santa Cruz<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

\u27a4 Ebenezer Scrooge-ism is an insidious character ailment, affecting many this time of year. The antidote? A reminder of Scrooge\u2019s moral journey, courtesy of Charles Dickens and, locally, the actors of Santa Cruz Shakespeare. The annual SCS production of \u201cA Christmas Carol\u201d<\/strong> is now playing<\/a> at the Vets Hall in downtown Santa Cruz.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u27a4 Looking for a particularly Santa Cruz-flavored holiday tradition? You don\u2019t want to forget the magnificent Lighted Boat Parade<\/strong> at the harbor, taking place Saturday around sunset<\/a>. The event\u2019s description is right there in its title as decorated sea vessels take to the water. For obvious reasons, there won\u2019t be any viewing from the Murray Street Bridge<\/a>, so get there early to secure parking and find that best vista spot.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Pianist Benny Green. Credit:<\/span> Don Dixon<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

\u27a4 Bay Area-born jazz pianist Benny Green<\/strong> is a familiar name and face in Santa Cruz<\/a>, having charmed audiences at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center for years. On Sunday<\/a>, Green makes another visit to town, this one up to campus, performing along with the UCSC Big Band in a concert showcasing tunes by the immortal Thelonious Monk, at the UCSC Music Center Recital Hall.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u27a4 There is no performer quite like Jonathan Richman<\/strong>. He began his musical career more than 50 years ago as a kind of proto-punk fronting his pioneering band the Modern Lovers. Rather than following the trend into the maw of punk, Richman instead broke off to follow his muse, crafting goofy, often childlike and at times comically innocent songs, a path that made him into a cult hero. He comes to Santa Cruz next Wednesday, Dec. 10<\/a>, to play live at The Crepe Place.<\/p>\n

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