Pajaro Valley Magazine | November 20, 2020

THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE OF THE PAJARO VALLEY

NOVEMBER 20, 2020

Holiday Favorites

A supplement to The Pajaronian

Local traditions remade into virtual, drive-thru celebrations P4

MIXING BOWL P6 | HOME OF THE WEEK P7 | GARDENING P10

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21 Brennan St, Suite 18, Watsonville, CA 95076 Phone: 831.761.7301

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CEO & Executive Editor

Dan Pulcrano

1051 Freedom Blvd., Watsonville

NOVEMBER 20 - 26, 2020 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE

Publisher

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THE RIGHT CHOICE.

Jeanie Johnson

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Editor

Erik Chalhoub Contributing Writers

Erik Chalhoub Johanna Miller Tarmo Hannula Kate Russell

Over 40 years of combined real estate experience. Specializing in Home Listings, Home Sales and Property Management.

Call us for all your Real Estate needs.

Ed Gagne

Kathy Oliver

REALTOR® 831.254.1432 egagne@baileyproperties.com Cal DRE #01450406

Broker Associate/REALTOR® 831.206.2249 Kathy@OliverPM.com Cal DRE #01116175 Owner of Oliver Property Management

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Tiffani Petrov Lupita Ortiz Design Director

Kara Brown

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Design Layout

Hon Truong

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Cover story

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Mixing Bowl

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Home of the week

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Photo Gallery

Published by WatsNews, LLC, Watsonville, CA. Entire contents © 2020. All rights reserved.

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Est. 1911

PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER 20 - 26, 2020

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BALLET THEATER FILMING ANNUAL ‘NUTCRACKER’ PERFORMANCE

BY TARMO HANNULA

NOVEMBER 20 - 26, 2020 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE

SHINE ON Large

agricultural metal hoops, typically used for berry fields, will be used to create a tunnel of lights at the fairgrounds’ Holiday Lights.

Tarmo Hannula

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F

or years, the annual “Nutcracker, Clara's Dream” was a winter holiday staple put on by the Santa Cruz Ballet Theater. With their own take of Tchaivovsky’s ballet, that was typically staged at the Santa Cruz Civic, Cabrillo College’s Crocker Theater and the Mello Center in Watsonville, something new is in the air.

The ongoing pandemic has shaken things up this season, but the show is still in the works, according to Artistic Director Diane Cypher. She said an alumni-driven film is being brewed up to replace the stage version and will be aired on the TV screen and possibly at an area theater.

“Covid has been difficult, as we all know,” Cypher said. “We thought that the film would

be a way of giving back to local sponsors and as a good project to keep our dancers motivated.”

Featuring 44 dancers and four “character artists,” the choreography by alumna Flora Chatwin tells the story of Clara’s Dream. This year various scenes have been filmed on locations around Santa Cruz featuring SCBT, including longtime sponsors of SCBT and local landmarks such as

Photo courtesy Action Studios

JOYFUL ENTERTAINMENT

ORCHESTRA Bassoonists Amy Duxbury and Gail Selburn are part of the orchestra during the Battle Scene of Santa Cruz Ballet Theater’s “Nutcracker, Clara’s Dream.”

BRIGHT HOLIDAY Early

MORE HOLIDAY CHEER Virtual Tree Lighting

Pie Drive-Thru Celebration The Watsonville Senior Center will be hosting a Thanksgiving Pie Drive-Thru on Saturday from noon-3pm at 114 East 5th St. Sponsored by

Contributed

CLASSIC RIDE Lucy Rudnick, who plays the role of Clara, takes a ride on the Looff Carousel at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk as part of Santa Cruz Ballet Theater’s filmed “Nutcracker” performance.

Holiday Lights Drive-Thru The Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, 2601 East Lake Ave., and the Agricultural History Project will be hosting its first-ever Holiday Lights Drive-Thru event Nov. 27-Dec. 27. The half-mile drive-thru will feature 84 large lighted holiday displays, lights, Christmas trees and more, as well as decorated tractors from the AHP. For information, visit fairgrounds-foundation.org.

the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and the Mark Abbott Memorial Lighthouse. The film will be directed by alumna Georgina Wilson.

The third alumna, Alicia Houser, rounds out the creative team with directing rehearsals, filming rehearsals, helping direct the dancers on set, scouting locations, photography and more.

“SCBT is lucky to have such a Dream Team working on our holiday offering this season,” SCBT organizers said. “ Wilson, a graduate from the University of Texas at Austin with a BFA in dance, embarked on a freelance career which took her to the U.K. After relocating to California, Wilson contacted SCBT after Covid hit

Holiday Craft Sale The Corralitos Woman’s Club will be holding its annual Holiday Craft Sale Nov. 28 from 11am-4pm. Shop for decor, baked goods, jewelry, cookbooks, soaps, face masks and chains, comfort straps and more. For information and updates, visit corralitoswomansclub.com or visit the organization’s Facebook page.

Santa Tour Santa Claus will be visiting each City of Watsonville district to spread some holiday cheer to families Dec. 9-11 and Dec. 16-18 from 5-7pm. A schedule with order of districts will be released in the next coming weeks on the Parks and Community Services Facebook and Instagram pages.

and mentioned she was interested in filmmaking; her interest sparked the idea for the “Nutcracker” film.

Jace Hardwick started his own production company in the LA area and his Action Studios crew will provide the cinematography. Filmography will include drone footage at West Cliff Drive and a local Christmas tree farm.

Chatwin, a recent graduate, plans to pursue a dance degree at the UC Irvine.

Music Director Pamela Martin conducts the score, which was recorded at last year’s performance at the Civic Auditorium by Devi Pride. Composer and audio expert Jerome Begin arranged and “cleaned up”

the recording from last year at the Civic and made the sound track suitable for the movie.

“Our 2019 orchestra was phenomenal and we are thrilled that the score of our film is played by these wonderful musicians,” Cypher said. “Many of them have also volunteered to be featured visually in the movie, adding an extra layer of artistry to the product. Be ready for something different than our normal production, in almost every way.”

SCBT was founded in 1982.

“We all need something fun right now, and we thought that a family could stream this into their living room and be entertained with something joyful for 40 minutes,” Cypher said.

PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER 20 - 26, 2020

A 30-foot Aptos Blue pine tree that recently landed in Watsonville Plaza will be the centerpiece of the City of Watsonville’s holiday festivities.

A virtual tree lighting will be filmed and then released to the public on Sunday via the City’s social media pages. The tree and the Plaza will be lit up each night through the New Year.

Kaiser Permanente, Watsonville’s older adults are welcome to come by and pick up a slice of pie— first come, first served.

Contributed

Ballet Theater dance for a movie segment of “Nutcracker, Clara’s Dream” on Pacific Avenue in Santa Cruz.

day farm equipment is highlighted with lights at the fairgrounds this season.

Tarmo Hannula

OUTDOOR PERFORMANCE Members of the Santa Cruz

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THE MIXING BOWL a common part of the indigenous diet in those areas and the name roughly translates from the Algonquian word for nut. It is the state tree of Texas and the large wild trees can be seen growing alongside the road in the eastern part of the state with nuts for the taking falling alongside the trees in the fall.

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Tarmo Hannula

NOVEMBER 20 - 26, 2020 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE

GERMAN CHOCOLATE COOKIES

SWEET CHOCOLATE A cake turned into

cookies is almost as good.

Chocolate Cake Cookies

By SARAH RINGLER

I

love the idea of taking all the ingredients in a German Chocolate Cake and combining them into one bowl to make cookies. As you can imagine, it isn’t a perfect equivalent, but it’s not a bad cookie.

The recipe is from Samantha Seneviratne in the Aug. 28 New York Times. They are very chocolatey, but lack some of the gooey texture of the cake.

In case you thought that this cake originated in Germany, like most of us would, you are wrong.

The name came from a new kind of baking chocolate developed in 1852 for the Baker’s Chocolate Company by English American chocolate maker, Sam German. It had more sugar than previous varieties and earned the name of its creator, “Baker’s German’s Sweet Chocolate.” The Baker’s Chocolate Company began in 1764 in Dorchester, Mass.

The cake itself, made with German’s chocolate, turned up as the “Recipe of the Day” in a Dallas newspaper in June 1957. A woman, identified as a Texas homemaker, Mrs. George Clay, is credited as the creator. General Foods, which owned the Baker’s brand at the time, widely promoted the recipe, drastically increasing sales of its chocolate at the time.

Pecans, a central ingredient, are native to northern Mexico and the southern United States. They were

1 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup natural cocoa powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 8 tablespoons room temperature unsalted butter, 1 stick 1/2 cup white sugar 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 1 large egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 1/2 cup lightly toasted, sweetened, shredded coconut 1 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate bits 1 cup chopped pecans Heat oven to 300 degrees. Toast shredded coconut for 15 minutes.

Watch carefully. When done, set aside to cool. Turn oven up to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.

In a large bowl, beat softened butter and the two sugars with an electric beater for 2 minutes on medium speed until fluffy. Then, beat in the egg and vanilla and continue to beat until the mixture is smooth.

Add the dry flour mixture and mix over low speed. When flour mixture is well mixed, add pecans, chocolate bits and toasted coconut.

Spoon out 2 tablespoons of dough and form into balls. Set out on cookie tin 2 inches apart. Bake cookies until dry on the top but soft in the center for about 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and tap on the counter to slightly flatten cookies. Let them sit on the pan for 3 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Makes about 2 dozen.

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Located at 100 Emerald City Way, just off of Yellowbrick Road, the 2,206-square-foot home includes three bedrooms and three bathrooms. This Meditteranean estate is located in a private community of upscale homes amid oak trees.

Hardwood floors and Spanish tile are throughout the home, with three fireplaces, skylights and a master suite complete with his and her walk-in closets. It sits on nearly three acres, with an expansive 1,110-square-foot outdoor deck that has been used to host gatherings.

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PHOTO GALLERY

Tarmo Hannula

ROLLING FIELDS

A tractor operator tends to a field of raised strawberry rows along San Andreas Road.

NEW DAY Sunrise

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over Palm Beach. .

Dan Williams

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CHANGING WEATHER

Winter clouds are reflected on the San Lorenzo River in Santa Cruz as a man strolls along the shoreline.

Tarmo Hannula

NOVEMBER 20 - 26, 2020 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE

Have a recent photo you’d like to share? Send it to us for consideration by emailing it to echalhoub@weeklys.com or mailing it to 21 Brennan St., Suite 18, Watsonville, CA 95076. Please include a brief description of the photo as well as the name of the photographer.

Tom Brezsny’s

REAL ESTATE OF MIND

Provoking thought since 1990

Tarmo Hannula

WEINERMOBILE IN TOWN Becky Ramirez of Watsonville poses with her grandson, Aiden Orta, 3, recently in front of

the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile on Freedom Boulevard. Six of the Weinermobiles tour the country promoting the brand of hotdogs in conjunction with various fundraisers. They were in Watsonville helping out the Santa Cruz Co. Tritons Cheer Team. Oscar Meyer has been utilizing the original hot dog vehicle since 1936.

can be spotted through a freight car at Watsonville Junction in Pajaro.

is shown on Highway 1 near Castroville.

Tom Brezsny

Realtor® DRE#01063297

831-818-1431 getreal@serenogroup.com PA I D A D V E R T O R I A L

PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER 20 - 26, 2020

Arnulfo Monroy

Terry Moore

FIELD VISION Agricultural fields

MORNING GLOW A sunrise

Continuing the conversation…about our evolving experience of the coronavirus and the shockingly busy real estate market that has risen in its wake.

Could anyone have predicted this market five months ago? Buyers donning face masks to escape the virus (and then the smoke), then lining up in droves to write offers on listings as fast as they come on? It’s a strange time.

And at first glance, there’s a huge disconnect between real estate and the real world. Who would want to buy a home during a pandemic? Or a fire? After so much social unrest? When so many people have lost their jobs and the country is in a recession?

And yet, people are scrambling to buy homes and pay record prices. Is all this market activity happening despite Covid or because of it? My own conclusion is that this crazy market is a symptom of the ways the coronavirus is already changing the world. Call it the paradox of the pandemic.

Let’s retrace our steps… In mid-March, things came to a halt. The virus was raging. Sensible people began sheltering in place. All but a few businesses closed, and it wasn’t clear how long it might last.

All our daily patterns were disrupted: jobs, schools, families, shopping, exercise, commute, travel, health, connection with others. Everything was up in the air.

While supplies of toilet paper and Covid tests were running dangerously low, there was one thing we suddenly had an abundance of: free time. Whether we wanted it or not. As Covid cases grew and the pace of life slowed, more existential moments found their way into the gaps. Moments to consider the future, reflect on the past and reevaluate what’s really important in life.

Many people emerged from shelter-inplace with a newfound appreciation for home and a firm desire to re-envision the future. One of the oft-echoed lessons of Covid has been: What are we waiting for? There are no guarantees. Let’s live in the moment. What makes us happy?

It has been a personal call to action.

And so the great reshuffling process has begun, as virtually everyone in the country has started taking inventory of their own internal landscape and making a commitment to some kind of meaningful change, sooner rather than later.

Because…why wait? When people make big changes in their lives, that often includes finding a new home in the process. And that’s what’s driving the paradox of this pandemic.

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GARDENING

NOVEMBER 20 - 26, 2020 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE

Getting help in the garden

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HELPING HAND Gardening can be hard work. Reach out to the various resources if you need help.

Tracking down local resources

By KATE RUSSELL

G

one are the days of barn raisings and community grain harvests, but that doesn’t mean you have to do all your garden work by yourself.

Let’s face it—gardening is work.

It’s work that we enjoy, certainly, but sometimes we need a helping hand. Knowing where to look and how to ask for help doesn’t come naturally to everyone.

For big jobs, like irrigation systems and tree work, call in the professionals. Tree work can be

very dangerous. It requires special training and equipment. As a bonus, after the arborist finishes with your trees, be sure to ask them about a free load of wood chips. Arborist chips make an excellent mulch that retains moisture, reduces weeds, stabilizes soil temperatures, and ultimately feeds the soil and improves soil structure. Installing irrigation systems, ponds, and similar big projects require skills that many of us do not have. Ask friends and neighbors for local referrals.

If all you need is information,

the Internet and your local library can be very helpful. Librarians are trained professionals who are very good at finding information and they can help you track down the books you need to become a better gardener.

When conducting an online search for gardening assistance, be as specific as possible. “What’s wrong with my tomatoes?” is too generic. Instead, try “tomato leaf black spots Gilroy” and you are sure to get helpful information about the fungal disease, Septoria leaf spot, and its prevention: remove infected leaves, provide good air flow, and avoid overhead watering. Just be sure to avoid the sensationalists and track down science-based information.

When you need more than information and less than a project manager, don’t be afraid to reach out to family, friends and neighbors for help. All too often, we convince ourselves that no one wants to help us when, in fact, no one knows we need help. Simply by asking for a hand moving a heavy stone, digging a hole for a bare root tree, or figuring out a better way to trellis a grape vine, you just might discover that that casual [masked] neighbor has shared interests and provides good conversation, along with help in the garden. Scouts, 4H and other organizations may be able to help, as well. It doesn’t hurt to ask.

Finally, there are billions of helpers just waiting for your invitation.

They are ready, willing, and able to eat aphids, parasitize hornworms, and pollinate your crops. They are the insects. Just plant flowers and avoid chemicals. If your landscape provides pollen, nectar, prey, water, and shelter, beneficial insects will find your yard and get right to work, without any future effort on your part.

Of course, Master Gardeners are another excellent resource. We know what’s going on in local gardens. You can call or email today for help.

HOMEOWNER’S SERVICE GUIDE Keep your home in top shape with the help of these local professionals.

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