A Candle in the Darkness

COMMUNITY NEWS

A Candle in the Darkness

Twin Lakes Church in Aptos will host Christmas Eve candlelight services at 4:30 and 6 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 23, and 3, 4:30 and 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 24.

A remembering service is planned at 7:15 p.m., Dec. 23, and a service in Spanish will be at 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 24.

The Christmas Day service will be at 10 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 25, including fun for kids and Christmas brunch. n

Photos Credit: David Schlaepfer

“Mary Coin” from page 5

Join local singers Aileen Vance, Bob Reid & Judi Jaeger, Jack Bowers & Vicki Coffis at Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church, 2402 Cabrillo College Drive, Soquel, for a live concert of songs that deepen our understanding of the world of Mary Coin and millions of other Dust Bowl migrants.

Host Julie Olsen Edwards Tuesday, Feb. 7 at 5:30 p.m

Workshop: “Our Community Writes” (H)

Here’s your chance to create flash fiction, mini-essays, or poetry based on the world of Mary Coin.

Using evocative prompts and plenty of encouragement, writer June Langhoff and members of the Monterey/Santa Cruz chapter of Shut Up & Write will focus on the joy of the creative process at Fireside Room, Scotts Valley Library, 251 Kings Village Road, Scotts Valley. Writer fuel will be provided.

Sponsored by the Friends of the Scotts Valley Library. Thursday, Feb. 9 at 6:30 p.m.

Panel: “The Photographer’s Eye” (H)

Fireside Room, Scotts Valley Library, 251 Kings Village Road, Scotts Valley.

Local photographers Shmuel Thaler, Kevin Painchaud, and Mary Altier will talk about their work, show examples, and contrast their experience with that of earlier photographers like Dorothea Lange.

Moderated by Jim Bourne, whose photographs are on exhibit in the library through March 2023. Refreshments served.

Sponsored by the Friends of the Scotts Valley Library. Saturday, Feb. 11 at 1 p.m.

Hands-on Art Event

In-person only at Live Oak Grange, 1900 17th Ave, Santa Cruz

Using the medium of collage, participants will create an “extended” pencil drawing using a photo of the Dust Bowl era to which a six-word memoir is added for deeper meaning. Presenters Jo-Neal Graves and Sharon Ferguson, Open Studios artists and art educators, will provide background information, drawing pointers, memoir development, and lots of encouragement.

No prior skills necessary to be successful. Thursday, Feb. 16 at 6:30 p.m.

Panel: “Farm to Table: Smooth Road or Bumps Along the Way?” (H) Temple Beth El Social Hall, 3055 Porter Gulch Road, Aptos

Panelists will compare the working conditions of today’s farmworkers to the conditions of the Depression era, look at labor issues from a historical perspective, and show how best practices are being applied in today’s farming.

Dr. Ann López, Executive Director of the Center for Farmworker Families, Dick Peixoto, owner of Lakeside Organic Gardens, Peter Shapiro, author of Song of the Stubborn One Thousand: The Watsonville Canning Strike, 1985-87 .Alicia Bencomo Garcia (Professor of Ethnic Studies, Cabrillo College), moderator.

Sponsored by Friends of the Aptos Library.

Sunday, Feb. 19 at 1 p.m. Film: “The Grapes of Wrath”

In-person only at La Selva Beach Library, 316 Estrella Ave., La Selva Beach.

Topsy Smalley, Librarian with a special interest in Steinbeck, introduces John Ford’s classic adaptation of the immortal Steinbeck novel.

Sponsored by Friends of La Selva Beach Library. Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 6 p.m.

Film: “Dolores”

In-person only at Garden Room, Museum of

Art and History, 705 Front St., Santa Cruz.

A documentary about Dolores Huerta, co-founder—with César Chávez—of the precursor to the United Farmworkers Union. Introduction by Jerry Kay, longtime friend of Ms. Huerta.

Come a few minutes early to view a video display of the work of Aptos High School students, whose class assignment was to redesign the book cover for Mary Coin or use art to tell the story behind the photo. Student work will be judged by members of the Bookshop Santa Cruz staff and awards given to the top work.

Sponsored by the Friends of the Aptos Library.

Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 6 p.m. Reading in the Redwoods In-person only at Felton Library Community Room, 6121 Gushee St., Felton.

Book group discussion of Mary Coin led by April Zilber.

Sponsored by Felton Library Friends. Saturday, Feb. 25 at 2:30 p.m.

Music & Film: The Depression, the Dust Bowl, and Dorothea In-person only at Felton Library Community Room, 6121 Gushee St., Felton

During the 1930s, music painted a vivid picture of a nation in crisis. Felton’s own Patti Maxine, along with Alison Steele of Sugar by the Pound, will play songs of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression.

The music will be followed by the short documentary “Dorothea Lange, An American Odyssey,” a portrait of the photographer portrayed as Vera Dare in Mary Coin, best known for her work documenting and humanizing the plight of migrants and farm workers in the 1930s. Refreshments served.

Sponsored by Felton Library Friends. Tuesday, Feb. 28 at 6:30 p.m.

Reminiscence: A Universal Language (H)

Rio Sands Hotel, 116 Aptos Beach Drive, Aptos.

A personal glimpse into the life of Dorothea Lange—portrait photographer, witness to the Great Depression and the Japanese Internment, visual chronicler of the Irish Country people—as told by her son Daniel Dixon.

Presented by Dixie Dixon, widow of Daniel and herself a photographer.

Sponsored by the Friends of the Aptos Library. Thursday, March 2 at 6:30 p.m.

Trivia Night

In-person only at Steel Bonnet Brewing

Company, 20 Victor Square, Scotts Valley.

The ever-popular Trivia on Tap, hosted by the Santa Cruz Public Library’s Victor Willis, poses challenging questions from Mary Coin. Book groups may participate, or fly solo. Beer available for sale, a food truck out front or eat elsewhere in Victor Square. n

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NOTES: This calendar is as accurate as was possible at the time of printing. For the most up-to-date Our Community Reads information, go to www.FriendsofAptosLibrary.org

There might be a photographer present at in-person events. If you do not wish to be photographed, please inform the photographer or a member of the Friends.

Expand your mind, engage your senses, challenge your creativity, and be a part of the Our Community Reads community! The more events you attend, the more enriching the experience will be, which explains the Passport: To encourage participants to attend as many events as possible. • Those who attend 12 events will win a

“Grand Prize.” • There will be “runner-up” prizes for those who attend 10 or 11 events. • At each in-person event you will receive a stamp in your passport. • For virtual events, you will get a write-in code.

Pick up your Passport at library branches or when you check in at the first event. The Friends’ website (www.FriendsofAptosLibrary. org) will tell you how to turn in your Passport at the end of the season.