Events

County Supervisor Candidates Forum to be held in Aptos

January 8, 2020 by Seb Frey

Come out and join your community at Cabrillo College on Wednesday, January 29th from 6:30-8:30pm to hear from candidates running for Santa Cruz County Supervisor. This will be your chance to ask and hear from them directly about the issues that matter most to our community.

All candidates running for County Supervisor in the 1st, 2nd, and 5th Districts are invited to attend and offer their perspective about how we can make Santa Cruz County a better place to live and work.

The forum will be moderated by Aptos resident and man-about-town Steve Bennet, the Santa Cruz Sentinel Advertising Director. Each candidate will be given the opportunity to make a brief opening statement before being asked about the most important issues facing our community. These include homelessness and housing, transportation and traffic, environmental protection, and the County’s budget. Members of the audience will also be given the chance to submit questions via 3×5 cards, which will be curated by the moderator.

This event is free and open for all to attend, and parking will be available on site at Cabrillo College. You do not need to RSVP to attend, but you are invited to register so they organizers can plan for seating. Use this link to register.

This is a great opportunity to hear from candidates who, if elected, will be able to positively impact the direction of our county. There is little disagreement in the community that we face many and growing challenges, very few of which are being successfully managed by the current Board of Supervisors. Your vote counts, and participating in our democracy by attending this event is something you can do to lend your will toward making a positive change.

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Hosted Taco Bar Sunday 10/6 in Aptos

October 3, 2019 by Seb Frey

Taco Bar and Open House 10/6/19 in Aptos

I’ve hosted a number of taco bars over the years – often for housewarming parties and the like. But this is my first public taco bar open house. I wanted to open it up to anyone and everyone, to show my appreciation for my community (while also, hopefully, getting some good exposure for my listing).

Do you love tacos? Who doesn’t? That’s why I’m hosting a free taco bar this coming Sunday, October 6th @ 4 PM at my new listing in Rio del Mar, at 175 Tamarack Drive (just a few blocks from Rio del Mar Elementary). This is the first open house I’m holding for the property – it’s a beautiful home, right along the 14th fairway of the Seascape Golf Course. I figured a beautiful home like this really deserves a fun and festive first open house – so what could be better than a taco bar?

As I often do at open houses, I’m encouraging people to register to win a $100 Amazon gift card. To register, you need to tell me how much you think the final sale price of the home will be – and whoever guesses closest wins a $100 Amazon gift card at close of escrow. After all, everyone who loves tacos also loves Amazon.com, right? Chocolate and peanut butter!

Please come to 175 Tamarack Drive on Sunday, October 6th at 4 PM. The tacos are free, and all-you-can-eat while the tacos last! It would be lovely to meet more members of our Aptos Community. I hope to see you there!

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World’s Shortest Parade in 47 Seconds

July 4, 2019 by Seb Frey

Mar Vista Students Raise Funds for Paradise Elementary

February 22, 2019 by Seb Frey

The students at Mar Vista Elementary School recently held a special Winter Benefit Concert to raise funds to help the children and families of Paradise Elementary School, which burned to the ground in 2018 during the devastating Camp fire.

Students in grades TK (Transitional Kindergarten) through 4th performed a wide range of songs, starting with It’s a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong and finishing up with I’ll be There by Bruno Mars. The first of two performances was held on a Thursday morning at 8:30 AM, but the hall was packed with parents excited to see their kids perform.

Students from the 5th and 6th grades ran the coffee and bake sale, which was the fundraising portion of the event. They had an ambitious goal of raising $4,000-$5,000 for the victims of the fire. The students of Mar Vista Elementary School ask you to please donate to the Camp Fire Relief Fund!

Schools is all about learning, and by putting on this benefit concert, the students have learned a very important lesson. They’ve learned that we’re all in this together, and that when people need help it’s important to step up and lend a hand to those in need.

Mar Vista Elementary Winter Benefit Concert Video

Mar Vista Elementary Winter Benefit Concert Photo Gallery

The school also put together a video showing how the idea of this special benefit concert came about, and can be seen below:

Our Community Reads in 2019

January 19, 2019 by Seb Frey

Friends of the Aptos Library / Our Community Reads

Friends of the Aptos Library is again sponsoring “Our Community Reads” in 2019. In its second year, the goal is to bring the community together around issues concerning our residents and to foster ways to engage people in a thought-provoking manner.

A book is chosen by a committee and recommended as a community read. Last year’s themes were based around the book “Born a Crime”, by Trevor Noah which highlighted the issues of racism and “otherness” as they affect members of society. This year’s book choice, “The Death & Life of Monterey Bay: A Story of Revival” focuses on the tumultuous story from the bay’s disastrous past of over-fishing and pollution to becoming the most prized natural resource it is today.

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The Friends of the Aptos Library offers a vast array of events to the public to bring these themes to light and allows people to gather together for discussion and community engagement. This year’s offerings consist of 3 films (each presented by an expert in a field relating to the film’s topic) several speakers, a panel discussion, a conversation with the book’s two authors, a poetry slam/art event hosted by Aptos High & Delta School, and some outings to explore the Elkhorn Slough. All but two of these events are free, and all are open to the public.

Not only do we project that readers will learn a great deal about the Monterey Bay through this extensive program and gain an appreciation for the bay’s turbulent past, but participants will gain access to what they can do to secure the healthy future of our most precious natural resource.

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A major goal of Our Community Reads is to foster awareness, highlight literacy, and create a passion for engagement and activism. We believe that a well-informed and involved community is a healthy one!

To reach underserved communities, the Friends of the Aptos Library, through a California Humanities grant, will be purchasing Spanish-language educational materials relating to the ocean and conservation and environmental issues. They will be donated to the county library Book Mobile and taken along with volunteers who can facilitate learning to these grade school aged children.

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Candy Cane Lane in Pacific Grove

December 17, 2018 by Seb Frey

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Each year in the month of December, a neighborhood in Pacific Grove transforms itself into Candy Cane Lane. Dozens of homes around Platt Park (on Morse Drive) transform into an incredible show of the Yuletide spirit, with all manner of lights and decorations. Don’t miss our exclusive video below, provided for your viewing pleasure.

This annual holiday tradition has been going on since the 1950s, and it’s a completely volunteer effort. The city of Pacific Grove pays for the electricity for the lights in Platt Park, but all other expenses are born by the neighbors. There’s no fee to park or walk through the neighborhood to take in the spectacle. It is truly a gift of love for the holidays from the neighbors to the community.

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A few days ago, we drove around Aptos (and Capitola/Soquel) looking at Christmas lights, and we saw some magnificent displays. But nothing we have in Santa Cruz county can compare with the mind-boggling display you’ll find just an hour or so south in Pacific Grove on Candy Cane Lane.

If you go, I recommend that you bring warm clothes and maybe some hot cocoa to share. Walking slowly through the neighborhood should take about an hour. There are plenty of restaurants and cafes nearby to grab dinner at before or after visiting Candy Cane Lane. It’s a great holiday tradition to share with the kids, so be sure not to miss it while they still believe in the magic of Santa.

Candy Cane Lane Video

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Halloween at the Santa Cruz KOA

September 30, 2018 by Seb Frey

If you know anything about Santa Cruz County’s reputation, you wouldn’t be surprised to hear that Halloween is a big deal here. Every Halloween evening in downtown Santa Cruz, there’s a massive street party attended by many thousands of people in costume. The police are out in force to make sure everyone stays safe amid the chaos. While some children do go downtown for the festivities, many parents are wary of bringing their kids, especially those of single-digit ages, into that madhouse.

So what is a fun-loving family to do in Santa Cruz county for Halloween? It turns out, there’s a raging party down by the southern end of the county at the Santa Cruz Monterey KOA.

KOAs are known as squeaky-clean family campgrounds, a Disney-fied camping experience that’s cleaner, better-run and with much superior amenities compared to anything you’d find in a public campground. So imagine my surprise when I learned that at our amazing KOA they host a Halloween party that is absolutely off the hook.

Each year, for the last three weekends of October, the Santa Cruz Monterey KOA hosts what they call the “Halloween Spooktacular.” For 2018, the weekends are October 12-14, October 19-21, and October 26-28. Of course, you’re probably already too late to get a spot for any of these weekends; I understand that they are generally booked up a year in advance – but they could have a cancelation, so it’s worth your time to inquire.

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So what’s this “Spooktacular” all about? They have a bunch of activities during the day, like a pumpkin carving contest, the spooky train, site decorating contest, Halloween ceramic painting, the KOA Ice Cream Bike, and new this year, the “Haunted Trail” in the evening. So there’s plenty of activities to keep everyone occupied until the witching hour, which starts at 6:30 PM.

That’s when the real fun begins. The whole campground turns into a massive trick-or-treat extravaganza, with most cabin and RV sites hosting visitors, sharing candy for the kids and cocktails for the adults. Many of the sites are decorated very creatively in splendid Halloween adornments, which make great conversation starters with the site tenants and fellow revelers.

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Later in the night, a roving dance party makes its way through the campground, with sound, lights, and dozens (hundreds?) of people bouncing around, with every color and configuration of lights flashing and swaying to the beat.

It’s an amazing thing to experience – a great time for children of all ages (even those who’ve been in their double digits for decades). If you’re able to grab a spot and you’re looking to have fun this Halloween, you need to look into spending one of the last three weekends in October at the Santa Cruz / Monterey KOA.

Video from Santa Cruz / Monterey KOA Halloween Spooktacular

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46ZuOYB-I7c&feature=youtu.be

Photo Gallery for Halloween at the Santa Cruz KOA

Thanksgiving Day Turkey Burner

November 23, 2016 by Seb Frey

Worried about busting your waistline this Thanksgiving Day? If you’re concerned about what indulging in a 3,000 calorie meal could mean for your health, you’re not alone. The good news is that while we celebrate all we are thankful for by overindulging in a way that might make Boss Hogg blush, you do have a great opportunity on Thursday to make a positive difference for your body and your health.

Rocky’s Fitness Center in Pleasure Point is once again having its traditional Thanksgiving Day Turkey Burner. Rocky’s is run by Aptos resident Rocky Snyder, and he’s been running a fitness center in Santa Cruz county for decades. It’s very well known by many athletes, surfers, and health care professionals in the area for its distinctive approach to physical fitness training.

Members of the community are invited to go down to Rocky’s Fitness on Thursday, November 24th at 9 AM for a FREE one hour fitness session. Check it out and see what you think – Rocky’s is also running a Winter Workout special, with a three-month membership on sale for $249 which is a heck of a deal and includes a free t-shirt! It’s suggested that you get there a bit earlier than 9:00 AM as parking may be a bit hard to find. Get on down to Rocky’s and get your metabolism geared up for the feast to come!

Aptos Holiday Tree Lighting is Back for 2016

November 16, 2016 by Seb Frey

Aptos Holiday Tree LIghting

T’is the season, once again! The Aptos Holiday Tree Lighting is Back for 2016, to be held on Saturday, December 3rd from 2PM to 5 PM at the entrance to Aptos Village Park. As in years past, there will be Christmas carols, free hot chocolate and cookies, and a visit from Santa Claus – and more! If December 3rd should prove too rainy, the event will be held instead on December 10th.

There will be some great entertainment on deck too, with performances by the Sam Nigh Band and Kristy’s School of Dance. And of course, there will also be a craft fair, with a number of local vendors participating including the Girl Scouts, 2nd Harvest Food Bank, Monterey Bay Gift Company, and many more.

Put it on your calendar and come on down – it’s a great time to mix and mingle, meet friends and neighbors, and get into the spirit of the season. Hope to see you there!

Marching in the 4th of July Parade

July 5, 2016 by Seb Frey

Marching in the World's Shortest Parade — Marching in the World’s Shortest Parade

The 4th of July has come and gone, and the 55th Anniversary Edition of the World’s Shortest parade is one for the history books. I’ve watched many of these parades roll by over the years, but I’d never actually been in the parade until this year – and many of you never have, either! So I’m sharing with you my experience of marching in the 4th of July parade.

I marched with the crew from Mar Vista Elementary School. We started the morning with the pancake breakfast – I’d never done that, either. It was about what you’d expect from a pancake breakfast, but with notably good orange juice, coffee, and lots of friendly smiling faces – some familiar, many not.

After breakfast, we headed up to the Wells Fargo bank parking lot to join up with the folks marching for Mar Vista. On the way up there, I ran into Steve Bennett who quickly gave me the low-down on the Mar Vista Cheer. One of our contingent – Gigi, who will be in 6th grade this year at Mar Vista, her last year – has quite a set of pipes on her, so she led us in the cheer, I recorded it with my iPhone, check it out:

Video of Mar Vista Marching in the 4th of July Parade

After we marched all the way down the parade route, we headed down to the Party at Aptos Village Park, and checked that out for a bit. Lots of great food, entertainment, and even a petting zoo for the kids.

It turns out that marching in the parade is a lot like watching the parade from the sidelines, except of course you don’t get to see much of the parade itself. But the experience is similar – it’s all about connecting with the community and being part of the whole. I expect I’ll be marching in the parade in the future, but next year, I think I’ll do something else I’ve never done before – set my chair out the day before in a prime spot to watch the Aptos world roll by, in all its kitschy glory. 🙂