Community Calendar

The Friends of the Aptos Library is offering a series of workshops on Social Isolation: Strategies for Understanding, Coping, and Healing in a Disconnected World.

The next workshop will be on the Emotional Impacts of Social Isolation, presented by our @nd District Supervisor Kim DeSerpa, and former social worker, who has lots of experience with this topic. The goal is to provide participants with an understanding of the ways these issues manifest themselves in people of all ages and to provide some tools and resources to help them navigate these difficulties so as to lead a healthier life.

• The next Workshop will be held on February 7th from 3:00pm to 5:00pm at the Apros Branch of the Library, 7695 Soquel Dr, Aptos.
• The final Workshop, Foraging Friendships as Adults will be held on March 7th.

Registration is required. Please register at the SC Library Website.

Join us in conversation with bestselling Author and Humorist Michael Perry, whose collection of genre-spanning works encapsulates the experiences - and the magic - of rural town communities and the everyday people who reside in them.

In Michael Perry’s Memoir, “Population: 485,” the local vigilante is a farmer’s wife armed with a pistol and a Bible, the most senior member of the volunteer fire department is a cross-eyed butcher with one kidney and two ex-wives, and the back roads are haunted by the ghosts of children and farmers. Against a backdrop of fires and tangled wrecks, bar fights and smelt feeds, Perry tells a frequently comic tale leavened with moments of heartbreaking delicacy and searing tragedy.

“Jesus Cow,” Perry’s Fiction Debut, is a hilarious yet sincere exploration of faith and the foibles of modern life. Low-key Harley Jackson finds himself entangled in drama from all corners: A woman in a big red pickup has stolen his bachelor’s heart, a Hummer-driving predatory developer is threatening to pave the last vestiges of his family farm, and inside his barn is a calf bearing the image of Jesus Christ - a secret he wants to keep quiet, until the truth slips right through the barn door.

Michael Perry is a New York Times bestselling Author, Humorist, Corporate Speaker, Volunteer Firefighter / First Responder, and Amateur Snowplow Driver. A lifelong resident of the rural Midwest, his “reflective roughneck” takes on life in Middle America have left hundreds of thousands of readers and live audiences laughing, nodding, and sometimes misty.

Perry lives in Rural Wisconsin and can be found online at www.sneezingcow.com.

Register today to hear more about Perry’s expansive collection of Stories!

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DATE: Wednesday, March 4th
TIME: Beginning 11:00am
LOCATION: On-line Discussion by Registration
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: To register please visit https://libraryc.org/watsonvillelibrary/115411/register.

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WATSONVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY
275 Main Street, Suite 100
Watsonville, California 95076
(831) 768-3400

FREEDOM BRANCH LIBRARY
2021 Freedom Blvd.
Freedom, California 95019
(831) 768-3420

LITERACY PROGRAM
Opportunity to Read
275 Main Street, Suite 100
South Entrance
Watsonville, California 95076
(831) 768-3410

Alliance On Aging is pleased to announce free tax preparation for older adults (age 60+) and people with disabilities, starting February 2, 2026.

You can schedule your appointment at your convenience:

Online: www.allianceonaging.org
By phone: 831-655-1334 - Our team will be happy to assist you.
Additional Information:

Counseling is conducted individually and confidentially.
Services are provided in English and Spanish.
Appointments are available at multiple sites throughout the county.
Thank you for trusting Alliance On Aging with your tax preparation needs. We look forward to serving you this year!

The Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History announces the presentation of “Tethered Light,” a sculptural exhibition by California-based artist Raphaele Cohen-Bacry, on view January 21 through April 26. The exhibition features a collection of sculptural works created from driftwood gathered along California’s rugged coastline.

Rooted in the landscapes and histories of California’s shores, Tethered Light transforms weathered, fire-marked and ocean-worn wood into expressive sculptural forms that speak to environmental change, endurance and renewal. Many of the materials used in the exhibition were collected from beaches where wildfire-scarred trees met the sea, carrying visible traces of both destruction and survival.

Bright marine ropes bind the sculptural elements together, referencing the maritime traditions of the Pacific Coast — from fishing vessels and buoys to migration routes and navigation systems that have long shaped life along the water. These luminous cords contrast with the aged wood, symbolizing the human impulse to connect, secure and preserve in an ever-changing environment.

Several pieces in the exhibition are suspended, appearing to hover and sway in space. These floating forms suggest motion, balance and the shifting relationship between land and sea — a reminder that California’s coastline remains in constant dialogue with wind, water and time.

“Tethered Light is a meditation on resilience and regeneration — sculptures shaped by the sea and bound by memory, inviting us to reflect on our deep connection to California’s coast and the shifting balance between nature, culture and change,”
— Raphaele Cohen-Bacry

Presented at the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, the exhibition aligns closely with the museum’s mission to inspire discovery and stewardship of the natural world. Through sculptural storytelling, Tethered Light invites visitors to consider the fragile beauty of coastal ecosystems and the responsibility we share in protecting them.

Located on the edge of Monterey Bay, the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History serves as a gateway to understanding the rich biodiversity and cultural history of California’s Central Coast. Tethered Light offers a contemplative artistic extension of that mission, blending science, environment and art into a single immersive experience.

Special Event

Virtual Artist Meet & Greet
February 22 | 12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
Join artist Raphaele Cohen-Bacry for a live virtual conversation exploring the inspirations, materials and stories behind Tethered Light. Details and registration information will be available via the museum.

Exhibition Details

Exhibition: Tethered Light
Artist: Raphaele Cohen-Bacry
Dates: January 21 – April 26
Venue: Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History
Website / Artist Studio: Raphaele Cohen-Bacry Studio

For museum hours, admission and exhibition information, visit www.pgmuseum.org.

The Pajaro Valley Quilt Association is having its 48th Annual Quilt Show on February 21st and 22nd at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds in Watsonville. The show is a fun yearly event featuring over 300 quilts, from-king sized award winners to small creative landscape pieces and everything else in-between.

Saturday Afternoon’s featured Speaker is Greg Climer, Board Director, from the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles. Sunday includes our famous Live Quilt Auction beginning at 12:30pm.

There will be Bed-turning demonstrations, a Wearables Walkabout featuring many styles of Wearable Art, and many Demonstrations of Techniques. The Challenge Quilts Theme this year is Diversity. The Display Area in the Arts Building will highlight various Techniques of Art Quilts.

In addition to quilts, one Building will host the Bargain Garden plus a Quilter’s and Crafts Flea Market.

Be sure to purchase raffle tickets for a chance to win the Raffle Quilt. Vendors selling their wares, including fabric will be available throughout the buildings.

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DATES & TIMES:
• Saturday, February 21st from 10:00am to 5:00pm
• Sunday, February 22nd from 10:00am to 4:00pm
LOCATION: Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, 2601 E. Lake Avenue, Watsonville
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
• General Admission is $15.00
• Free Admission for Children under the Age of 12
• Purchased Wristband is valid for both days.
• Parking is free
• Lunch and Snacks are available for purchase

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For Additional Information including how to submit Entries and Volunteer Sign-up Instructions, please visit https://www.pvqa.org/quilt-show.

New Year Retreat 2026: Teachings on the Heart Sutra and Chenrezig Empowerment
with Venerable Khenpo Karten Rinpoche
Saturday through Monday, February 14-16, 2026
Wave Street Studios
774 Wave Street, Monterey, CA 93940
In-Person event
Registration required, donations requested, but no one turned away for lack of funds
Suggested donation: $180.00 for all three days, sliding scale

Register via EventBrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/new-year-retreat-2026-the-heart-sutra-chenrezig-empowerment-registration-1980408413877?aff=oddtdtcreator

Can't register online?  No problem!  Contact Rachel at rachelmdc2016@gmail.com or come on the first day.

Retreat Schedule
10:00am to 6:00pm Saturday
9:00am to 5:00pm Sunday
9:00am to 3:30pm Monday

About the Heart Sutra

The Heart Sutra is one of the most precious texts in all of Buddhism.   In the space of a single page, in words ascribed to the bodhisattva (“buddha-to-be”) of compassion, Avalokiteshvara (aka Chenrezig), the Heart Sutra discusses the doctrine of “emptiness” (shunyata), a profound Buddhist concept referring to the lack of inherent, independent existence in all phenomena. It signifies that things are "empty" of a permanent self or essence, existing instead in a state of interconnectedness and potential.

Realizing the true nature of reality and the true nature of one's own mind is the ultimate goal of all Buddhist practice. This realization frees one from all fear, all harmful inner states, and allows the flow of infinite love and compassion, innate within all of us, to emerge and shine.

About Chenrezig

Avalokiteshvara, or Chenrezig in Tibetan, is the Bodhisattva who embodies the love and compassion of all Buddhas. Chenrezig is considered the patron Bodhisattva of the Tibetan people. Chenrezig is also believed by Tibetans to be the actual progenitor of the Tibetan people.His Holiness the Dalai Lama is considered a living Buddhas, emanation of Chenrezig.

About Empowerment

An empowerment is a ceremony to formally introduce the transformative energy represented by the Buddha or Boddhisattva (in this case Chenrezig, Buddha of Compassion) to the student's mind, and can only be transmitted by a qualified lineage holder.  We are very fortunate that Khenpo Karten Rinpoche is a highly qualified and realized teacher, and is willing to impart this empowerment to us.  This is only the second empowerment he has offered to his western students.   Empowerment is an energy and oral tradition transfer which depends on the intentions of the teacher and students to awaken the qualities of the Buddha within us.   All the Buddhas represent energies that are innate to us, but that may be clouded by the delusions of anger, attachment, and ignorance.

About Khenpo Karten Rinpoche

Khenpo Karten Rinpoche, a Tibetan Buddhist monk and accomplished teacher and practitioner of the Karma Kagyu Lineage and Nyingma Lineage of Buddhism, arrived in the United States in 2008, and taught in the Monterey Bay area for the first time in September of that year. After meeting a group of prospective students and seeing the hills of Big Sur which remind him of Tibet, he returned in 2009 to make the Monterey Bay his home. Since then, Rinpoche has established the Manjushri Dharma Center (MDC) in Pacific Grove, California, which has become his main teaching location and his home residence.  With unflinching faith in the precious Buddha Dharma, Khenpo Karten Rinpoche, now a U.S. citizen, bestows sacred teachings to thousands of people all over the world, with weekly teachings and events.

Detailed Retreat Schedule

Saturday (Empowerment will take place on Saturday)
Venue opens at 9:30am
10:00am to 11:30am
11:40am to 1:00pm
3:00pm to 4:30pm
4:40pm to 6:00pm

Sunday
Venue opens at 8:30 am
9:00am to 10:30am
10:40am to 12:00pm
2:00pm to 3:30pm
3:40pm to 5:00pm

Monday
Venue opens at 8:30 am
9:00am to 10:30am
10:40am to 12:00pm
2:00pm to 3:30pm

More information (About Khenpo Karten Rinpoche, Retreat Considerations, Venue and parking information) is available on our website: https://manjushridharmacenter.org/event/heart-sutra-retreat-2/

Questions? Contact Rachel C. at rachelmdc2016@gmail.com

Looking for a special way to celebrate Valentine's Day, or just want to express your love of hot glass? Join us for a heart-centered workshop, where our skilled instructors will help you shape the molten glass to create a beautiful glass heart. Come as a couple and make two hearts to exchange with one another, or come by yourself to make a unique and special offering for your special someone. Whether you are looking to create a Valentine’s Day memory, celebrate a birthday or anniversary, or engage your team through creative fun, an afternoon in our glassblowing studio is guaranteed to spark your creative fire. 🔥

❤️We have openings in our glass hearts workshops every weekend through February, and weekdays by special arrangement.

❤️Other cool (hot!) workshops throughout the year, too.

Note that all glass workshop creations will need to anneal (cool) at least 24 hours. You can pick up your work the next day or afterward, or arrange for shipping.

Today, as technology increasingly shapes how we see, think, and act, it becomes urgent to ask: what is the role of technology in art? How does technological advancement—particularly artificial intelligence—reshape human society, ethics, and historical trajectories? How are visual perception and aesthetic judgment reshaped through technological mediation? What is the evolving role of human imagination within algorithmic systems? And what consequences does this acceleration carry for our environment?

After the Human. After Technology is a curated exhibition that examines how contemporary artists respond to a world increasingly shaped by technological acceleration. The exhibition brings together artists who approach these questions from different yet interconnected positions.

Highlighted artists include David Bowen, whose work operates at the intersection of art, technology, and climate, transforming real-time environmental data into generative systems that question how technology mediates our relationship with the natural world; David Aston, whose practice examines the ethical implications of artificial intelligence and predictive technologies and their influence on human society; and Alana Balagot, whose kinetic and interactive works explore shifts in visual aesthetics by merging classical illusion with contemporary electronic and machinic systems.

Exhibition from Feb 8th - March 8th, 2026 with opening reception on Feb 8th, 2026 14:00 - 17:00
RSVP to 650-796-2421 for private view appointment.

Join the Carmel Orchid Society at its monthly meeting to learn how to grow orchids in our local environment. First Saturday of every month 2 PM at the Community Church of Carmel Valley.
CarmelOrchidSociety.org

Meditation for Stress Relief and Increased Energy
Come join members of your community in taking a breath!

In these stressful time we hope that Group Meditation will promote harmony and self-care in an open and peaceful setting of your local library.