41st annual open studios comes to Santa Cruz County this weekend
Nearly 350 artists will open their studios to the general public the first three weekends of October. Participants will sell their artwork and do demonstrations.
Program manager Bree Karpavage says the event is a great opportunity to explore the county.
"You walk into a home or drive up to a property that you may never see otherwise because you have this special invitation," said Karpavage.
She says while Santa Cruz has a vibrant arts community, the affordability crisis is affecting artists.
"I think that's why it's even more important for all of us to get out and support local art to keep Santa Cruz creative," she said.
This weekend is dedicated to South County artists, next weekend will showcase North County, and the final weekend will include artists from both.
Karpavage says the best way to find participating studios is through the printed guide produced by Good Times, or the newly developed app.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signs bipartisan bill aiming to support local farms
The program will set up an approved vendor list of climate-smart farms that publicly-funded institutions like schools and hospitals can choose from.
California Certified Organic Farmers policy manager Laetitia Benador says schools are phasing out ultra-processed foods which gives smaller farms more opportunity.
" That is requiring a massive supply chain transition," said Benador. "We wanna make sure that California farmers are the ones that are gonna be supplying that low or minimally processed food."
The last agricultural census shows a loss of 7,000 farms in California. Benador says many were small operations that couldn’t compete with international suppliers.
" I heard from farmers telling me that they can see the Sysco truck pulling up to the school that their fields back up to, and they have an easier time selling to somebody out of state than to selling into their local schools," said Benador.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture will vet the list of farms, making it easier for institutions to source local, safe food.
