Saturday, April 27 (10:00 AM - 12:00 PM)
Location: Boulder Creek
Room: Boulder Creek Community Room

 Come join amazing teachers from the community to learn a new craft or art process, and have a space dedicated to work on projects with others every week. We plan to learn a new craft or art process once a month with the weeks in between being open "studio" time. Come be part of this new community at the Boulder Creek  library! Materials will be provided for craft being taught, or bring what you want to work on! 

Saturday, April 27 (10:00 AM - 3:00 PM)
Location: Downtown

Project SCOUT offers Volunteer income tax assistance and tax counseling for local residents during tax season at sites throughout Santa Cruz County. Volunteers are trained by Internal Revenue Service and Franchise Tax Board personnel. For disabled individuals unable to get to the tax sites, they have trained volunteers who can do in-home tax preparation. Seniors get priority at all library sessions.

For more information, call the Watsonville Office at 1-831-724-2606 or toll-free at 1-877-373-8297. Or visit the Project Scout Website: Project Scout

INCOME OF $64,000 and below, simple returns only.

El proyecto SCOUT y sus voluntarios ofrecen asistencia con preparación de impuestos y asesoría fiscal para residentes locales durante la temporada de impuestos del gobierno en sitios ubicados por todo el condado de Santa Cruz. Voluntarios están capacitados por el personal del IRS y el Franchise Tax Board (impuestos de ingresos estatales) de California. Para los individuos discapacitados incapaz de llegar a los sitios de asistencia, tendrán voluntarios preparados para ayudar con preparación de impuestos en su domicilio.

Para más información, llama a la oficina de Watsonville al 1-831-724-2606 o con llamada gratuita al 1-877-373-8297. También puede visitar el sitio web (solo en inglés): El Proyecto Scout

Saturday, April 27 (10:00 AM - 12:00 PM)
Location: Capitola
Room: Brad Mcdonald Conference Room

Please join us at the Capitola Branch Library on Saturdays, 10am-12pm for a chance to practice your English language skills with new friends and a group leader from the Volunteer Center of Santa Cruz County Literacy Program.

For more information about the Literacy Program visit https://scvolunteercenter.org/programs/literacy-program/ or call  831-427-5077.

Saturday, April 27 (10:00 AM - 12:00 PM)
Location: Aptos
Room: The Betty Leonard Community Room
We are pleased to announce that we will celebrate in-person meetings by studying Hamlet, the greatest of Shakespeare's plays, with a stellar list of speakers:  April 27. Paul Whitworth, distinguished Shakespearean actor and director.  His professional acting career began at the
Royal Shakespeare Company (1976-1982). In 1984, he joined Shakespeare Santa Cruz where he played many major roles including Hamlet, Benedict in Much Ado About Nothing, Iago, Richard III and last year, at Santa Cruz Shakespeare, King Lear. He was Artistic Director of Shakespeare Santa Cruz from 1996 to 2007. We are delighted that he will be talking to us for the first time. May 4.  Charles Pasternak. Charles is the current Artistic Director of Santa Cruz Shakespeare. He will tell us about the ambitious program he has arranged for this summer, which includes Hamlet. Additionally, since he will also play the title role in Hamlet, we expect he will give us some thoughts on the play and the Hamlet's character. May 11. Sean Keilen, Professor of Literature, University of California, Santa Cruz. Sean is a regular speaker to our group, and always presents original and stimulating ideas. He is also the founding Director of Shakespeare Workshop, a research center of The Humanities Institute.  May 18, Michael Warren. Michael is Emeritus Professor of Literature at UCSC, and has been dramaturg for many productions of Santa Cruz Shakespeare and its predecessor, Shakespeare Santa Cruz. We are very grateful to him for sharing his knowledge of, and enthusiasm for, each of the plays that we study. May 25, DVD showing. There are many productions to choose from. A decision will be made later on which one to show. 

Saturday, April 27 (10:30 AM - 11:00 AM)
Location: Branciforte
Room: Branciforte Branch Library, 230 Gault St, Santa Cruz, CA 95062

Bilingual stories and songs, in Spanish and English, for young children and their families.

Cuentos y canciones bilingües, en español e inglés, para niños pequeños y sus familias.

Saturday, April 27 (10:30 AM - 12:00 PM)
Location: Felton
Room: Felton Community Room

Join seed and garden expert, Renee Shepherd, for this great how-to talk on plants that you can grow from seed in your garden or containers without starting them early indoors. Don't feel bad if you haven't planted your garden yet, because it’s not too late to grow a bountiful garden from seed!

Community-led Learning Instructor Bio: Renee Shepherd is the founder of Renee’s Garden Seeds. She writes all of the information on the back of her seed packets and lives in Felton, where she maintains a trial garden.

Saturday, April 27 (12:00 PM - 5:00 PM)
Location: Felton
Room: Patio

Adults need playtime, too! Come play some new or old favorite tabletop games. Bring your favorite board game or play some of the library's games. No prior gaming experience is necessary. This program is for adults 18+. 

We will meet every second and fourth Saturdays of the month in the Community Room at Felton Branch Library. 

Saturday, April 27 (12:00 PM - 1:00 PM)
Location: Branciforte
Room: Community Room

Branciforte's Conversation Club is a welcoming place for language learners of English to practice their conversation skills in English with a group leader.

Saturday, April 27 (2:00 PM - 3:30 PM)
Location: Downtown
Room: Downtown Community Room

Professional chess instruction with Chess Master Gjon Feinstein.  All levels welcome. For ages 6 - 18. If you have never played chess before, please contact Gjon before your first session: coach@santacruzchess.com     831-425-7835

Saturday, April 27 (2:00 PM - 4:00 PM)
Location: Branciforte

Are you stuck with a technology question?

Our tech savvy staff at the Branciforte Library would like to help you troubleshoot your issue with a 30 minute (or less) appointment. Fixing broken hardware or software is not within our scope. Possible topics may include: creating an email account, creating documents, attaching files, using premium subscription library resources, downloading and streaming content like movies, books, and audiobooks, and more. Please bring any devices you use, and have your necessary passwords and library card with you. 

Make an appointment: https://santacruzpl.libcal.com/appointments/branciforte

Advance appointments are prioritized. Visit the library's information desk or call telephone information (831-427-7713) for help making an appointment. Arriving later than 5 minutes after scheduled time may result in appointment cancellation. Walk-ins are welcome, when openings are available.

Visit the library's Digital Learning webpage for more opportunites: https://www.santacruzpl.org/digitallearning

We look forward to helping you!

Saturday, April 27 (2:00 PM - 4:00 PM)
Location: Capitola
Room: Ow Family Community Room

The topic of self-empowerment is the nucleus of this poetry collection by author Zainab Hussain. The title, “Boundless”, represents the boundlessness of one’s personal power. Join Zainab in reclaiming your power by centering your narrative around yourself rather than others in this reading and workshop.

The performance begins with a brief introduction and a summary of the content of the book’s preface, followed by poetry readings. Zainab will begin with two poems from chapter 1, and then another one or two poems from chapter 2. Background music sets the mood for the audience to captivate themselves in the performance.

Poetry Workshop

After the reading performance, the audience is invited to participate in a guided poetry writing workshop on the theme of “taking back your power”. Supplies, including paper and writing utensils, will be provided. Zainab will answer questions/provide feedback. Depending on the size of the group either some or all the attendees can share their poem with the group. We can either write freestyle poems or poems following a specific convention (e.g. ekphrastic, limerick, haiku).

Registration is recommended. Register below.

About Zainab Hussain

Zainab has been writing poetry for over a decade. Following the launch of her multimedia poetry platform: “Stories Untold: Poetry for The Soul”, Zainab’s book, “Boundless” was published in 2023. Zainab’s poetry centers around embracing vulnerability, practicing self-love, navigating social issues and most importantly, healing trauma through self-expression. Zainab's poetry has been published or is forthcoming in La Raiz Magazine, Beneath the Mask Magazine, Rising Phoenix Review and Written Tales Magazine. Zainab is a proud Muslim Woman, a Multilingual, Multi-ethnic Immigrant, a Person with Disabilities and Conqueror of mental illness, all of which contribute significantly to her work.

Sunday, April 28 (1:00 PM - 3:00 PM)
Location: Virtual Library

Join the Santa Cruz Pickwick Club and Dickens enthusiasts for a year-long deep dive into Charles Dickens' novel, Great Expectations.

Charles Dickens depicts how a gentleman is made, not born, in this novel. Presented as Pip's confessional autobiography, Great Expectations describes his childhood at the forge, his infatuation with the beautiful Estella, his shame at his working-class origin and his eagerness to be a gentleman, and eventually his life as a young man-about-town with "great expectations" of inheriting a fortune. Recalling these events as an adult, Mr. Pirrip is frank about his mistakes and shortcomings.

This discussion series is hosted online on the Dickens Project Zoom platform.

Register at https://dickens.ucsc.edu/resources/pickwick-club/2023-09-great-expectations.html

Great Expectations reading schedule

Sep 24   Beginning to Book 1, Chapter 9  

Oct 22   To Book 1, Chapter 17   

Nov 26  To Book 2, Chapter 4      

Dec 24   No Meeting

Jan 28    To Book 2, Chapter 11   

Feb 25   To Book 2, Chapter 19   

Mar 24  To Book 3, Chapter 5      

Apr 28   To Book 3, Chapter 14   

May 26 To End

Sunday, April 28 (1:00 PM - 5:00 PM)
Location: Downtown
Room: Downtown Community Room

Queer Gaming is a safe place for LGBTQ+ folks and allies to gather, play games and build community.

Sunday, April 28 (1:00 PM - 3:00 PM)
Location: Downtown

Are you stuck with a technology question?

Our tech savvy staff at the Downtown Library would like to help you troubleshoot your issue with a 30 minute (or less) appointment. Fixing broken hardware or software is not within our scope. Possible topics may include: creating an email account, creating documents, attaching files, using premium subscription library resources, downloading and streaming content like movies, books, and audiobooks, and more. Please bring any devices you use, and have your necessary passwords and library card with you. 

Make an appointment: https://santacruzpl.libcal.com/appointments/downtown

Advance appointments are prioritized. Visit the library's information desk or call telephone information (831-427-7713) for help making an appointment. Arriving later than 5 minutes after scheduled time may result in appointment cancellation. Walk-ins are welcome, when openings are available.

Visit the library's Digital Learning webpage for more opportunites: https://www.santacruzpl.org/digitallearning

We look forward to helping you!

Sunday, April 28 (2:30 PM - 4:00 PM)
Location: Capitola
Room: Ow Family Community Room

Join us in celebration of Arab American Heritage Month with a screening of the film Stranger at the Gate, followed by a virtual appearance and discussion with the subjects of the film, Bibi Bahrami and Richard "Mac" McKinney.

In the film, an Afghan refugee named Bibi Bahrami and the members of her little Indiana mosque  come face to face with a U.S. Marine who has secret plans to bomb their community center. But Mac McKinney's plan takes an unexpected turn. "Stranger at the Gate" is a story of grace, transformation, and hope. Registration is recommended. Register below.

Monday, April 29 (9:00 AM - 10:15 AM)
Location: Aptos

Triple P—the world’s leading positive parenting program— strengthens families by promoting positive relationships. Attend this FREE parenting workshop to learn:

• Why mealtimes can be challenging for both parents and children

• Effective strategies for handling challenging behaviors during mealtimes

• How to encourage children to eat a wider variety of healthy foods

• Tips for establishing positive mealtime routines in your family

Aptos Public Library

Presented IN ENGLISH by Cori Burt, Triple P Practitioner

Although the library is closed to the public at 9 am, entry to the workshop will be permitted. Children on laps or near parents are welcome. Light snacks will be provided.

Monday, April 29 (10:00 AM - 12:00 PM)
Location: Scotts Valley
Room: Study Room B

Are you stuck with a technology question?

Our tech savvy staff at the Scotts Valley Library would like to help you troubleshoot your issue with a 30 minute (or less) appointment. Fixing broken hardware or software is not within our scope. Possible topics may include: creating an email account, creating documents, attaching files, using premium subscription library resources, downloading and streaming content like movies, books, and audiobooks, and more. Please bring any devices you use, and have your necessary passwords and library card with you. 

Make an appointment: https://santacruzpl.libcal.com/appointments/scottsvalley

Advance appointments are prioritized. Visit the library's information desk or call telephone information (831-427-7713) for help making an appointment. Arriving later than 5 minutes after scheduled time may result in appointment cancellation. Walk-ins are welcome, when openings are available.

Visit the library's Digital Learning webpage for more opportunites: https://www.santacruzpl.org/digitallearning

We look forward to helping you!

Monday, April 29 (10:30 AM - 12:00 PM)
Location: Aptos
Room: The Betty Leonard Community Room

Join us at the Bridge Club, every Monday from 10:30am to 12:00pm. Everyone is welcomed from beginners to social players. Make new friends and sharpen your mind. If you’re interested in playing Bridge, a table is waiting for you.

Bridge club is a partnership between Santa Cruz County Parks and Santa Cruz Public Libraries. 

Please click HERE TO REGISTER for the event on Santa Cruz County Parks website or in person one the day of the event at the Capitola Library.

Enjoy playing bridge for recreation, mental stimulation, and companionship at the library!

Monday, April 29 (12:30 PM - 2:00 PM)
Location: Felton
Room: Felton Community Room
Join us every Monday at the Felton Branch for a knitting party. All you need to do is bring some yarn and knitting needles. All ages are welcome.

Monday, April 29 (1:00 PM - 3:00 PM)
Location: Downtown
Room: Life Literacies Center

An Encompass Outreach worker will be available on a drop-in basis, 1:00 - 3:00 PM, in the Life Literacies Center at the Downtown Library for anyone with questions regarding connecting to social services, county mental health, addiction recovery options, housing applications, the Homeward Bound bus ticket program, obtaining a PO Box, clearing camping tickets, obtaining a fee-free DMV CA Identification application and more.