Events

UCSC MEIP XXIII, May 29, 30, and 31st, at 7:00 PM in the Stevenson Event Center-Performances in French, Japanese and Spanish. FREE-ALL WELCOME
2026-07-10 19:00 - 20:30, 2026-07-07 19:00 - 20:30, 2026-07-04 19:00 - 20:30, 2026-07-01 19:00 - 20:30, 2026-06-28 19:00 - 20:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Stevenson Event Center, Stevenson Service Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
UCSC Free Performance Miriam Ellis International Playhouse

UCSC – STEVENSON EVENT CENTER (Stevenson College)

MEIP XXII
May 29, 30, and 31st, at 7:00 PM
Stevenson Event Center at UCSC

FREE STAGE PERFORMANCES IN FRENCH, JAPANESE, AND SPANISH WITH ENGLISH TITLES
FROM STUDENTS OF UCSC!
For its 23rd season, the Miriam Ellis International Playhouse will present fully-staged performances in French, Japanese, and Spanish, with English super-titles projected above the stage. The program will be directed by Language lecturers and performed by Language students.
French: Dur dur la torture (Pure Torture), written by the students, directed by Renée Cailloux.
Japanese: “きぼうのうた” (Song of Hope), directed by Naoko Yamamoto.
Spanish: “Noble campaña” (A Lofty Cause), Based on a short story by Gregorio López y Fuentes directed by Carolina Castillo-Trelles and Sandra Malone.
Event Location: Stevenson Event Center, UCSC – FREE
For more information, contact Renée Cailloux at meip@ucsc.edu

Spring Exhibitions at the Institute of the Arts and Sciences
2026-07-10 12:00 - 17:00, 2026-07-09 12:00 - 17:00, 2026-07-08 12:00 - 17:00, 2026-07-05 12:00 - 17:00, 2026-07-04 12:00 - 17:00, 2026-07-03 12:00 - 17:00, 2026-07-02 12:00 - 17:00, 2026-07-01 12:00 - 17:00 and 2 more dates | Institute of the Arts and Sciences, 100 Panetta Ave, Santa Cruz, United States
Visit the IAS, UCSC’s premier art galleries, for our spring exhibitions. On view April 10–August 16, 2026 are three diverse and interdisciplinary shows: Libia Posada: Everything is Going Right, the first US solo exhibition by the Colombia-based artist and medical doctor; Gina Athena Ulysse: A Redwoods Rasanblaj, a site-specific and immersive exploration of the Haitian kreyol conception of rasanblaj; and Ronaldo V. Wilson: There Are No Words, But Melodies, a mixed-media exhibition emerging at the intersections of Black poetics, performance, and visual art.
The IAS Galleries are open Wednesday-Sunday, 12 pm – 5 pm. Admission is free to the public.
Libia Posada: Everything is Going Right
Libia Posada’s first solo exhibition in the United States features installations, sculptures, and drawings meticulously constructed from surgical instruments, gauze bandages, crutches, used books, and domestic picture frames. The new and existing works in the exhibition powerfully stitch together the personal, social, and political disorders and afflictions that currently trouble the world, from the wars that resonate across the globe to the violences of aging in US prisons.
Gina Athena Ulysse: A Redwoods Rasanblaj: Origins & Disentanglements
The internationally-lauded work of humanities professor Gina Athena Ulysse is on view as a premier Faculty Spotlight Exhibition. The site-specific installation, produced in community from things collected, found, purchased and donated, centers on the Haitian concept of rasanblaj, a form of assembly and collage that transcends the formal use of materials to draw together people, spirits, and ideas.
Ronaldo V. Wilson: There Are No Words, But Melodies
Collage is both a material practice and a structural interrogation in the Faculty Spotlight Exhibition artworks by literature professor Ronaldo V. Wilson. In video, painting, and installation, layers and folds conceal and reveal, delving into the experience, both bodily and emotive, of living in times of violence.

Visualizing Abolition Screening Series: Beyond Access
2026-07-09 12:00 - 17:00, 2026-07-08 12:00 - 17:00, 2026-07-05 12:00 - 17:00, 2026-07-04 12:00 - 17:00, 2026-07-02 12:00 - 17:00, 2026-07-01 12:00 - 17:00, 2026-06-28 12:00 - 17:00, 2026-06-27 12:00 - 17:00 | Institute of the Arts and Sciences, 100 Panetta Ave, Santa Cruz, United States
On view in the IAS Screening Room is a selection of short films curated by Visualizing Abolition Visiting Faculty Fellow Dr. Pooja Rangan.
Prisons deny and censor the access of those trapped inside them—to information, to intimacy, to community, to meaningful work, to nourishment of all kinds, and perhaps most cruelly, to care. This program assembles a series of films, including works by filmmakers incarcerated in California as well as others without that lived experience. Together, these works confront the debilitating impacts of these restrictions and reveal how the disabling logic of the prison is extended to other institutional spaces (the hospital, the university), turning access into a scarce commodity by enclosing what should be held in common. Questioning the carceral and state-sponsored productions of disability and accessibility, the short films together reveal the courage of people working despite limitations to produce collective access for one another, described simply and beautifully by disability justice activist Leah-Lakshmi Piepzna Samarasinha as “revolutionary love without charity.”
Thanh Tran
Dying in Prison, 2022
HD Video (color, sound), 3 minutes
Courtesy of the artist
Carolyn Lazard
Pre-Existing Condition, 2019
HD video (color, sound), 6 minutes
Courtesy of the artist and Trautwein Herleth3
Anthony Alejandrez
Another Rainy Day, 2023
Phone video (color, sound), 3 minutes
Courtesy of the artist
Jordan Lord
After…After… (Access), 2018
HD Video (color, sound), 16 minutes
Courtesy of the artist
Rahsaan “New York” Thomas
Friendly Signs, 2023
Video (color, sound) 21 minutes
Courtesy of Tommy Wickerd, Empowerment Ave & System Impact Media

Engineering Teaching Community (Faculty)
2026-07-08 12:00 - 13:00 | Jack Baskin Engineering, Baskin Engineering 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
During the chaos of a quarter, is it hard to find time to reflect and improve as an instructor? Would you like to be a part of an inclusive, supportive group of engineering instructors who do this in community? ETC is for sharing teaching experiences, classroom ideas, research on learning, and methods that support instructors and students. All are welcome, and lunch is provided. Please reach out to Jenny Quynn with questions.

UCSC Summer Academy on Artificial Intelligence for High School Students
2026-07-06 00:00 - 2026-07-30 23:59 | 3175 Bowers Avenue Santa Clara, CA 95054, 3175 Bowers Avenue, Santa Clara, CA, 95054, United States
UCSC’s Summer Academy on Artificial Intelligence is a four-week, in-person program for talented and motivated high school students who are interested in exploring artificial intelligence (AI) in a university setting. Hosted at the UCSC Silicon Valley Campus, the program offers an immersive learning experience that combines foundational AI concepts with hands-on, research-inspired work. Students learn from UCSC professors and active PhD researchers, gaining advanced problem-solving skills, research-oriented thinking, and a deeper understanding of how AI is applied in cutting-edge innovations.
Application Deadline: April 24, 2026

First Saturday Tour at the Arboretum
2026-07-04 11:00 - 12:00 | Arboretum, 122 Arboretum Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
First Saturday Tours are a wonderful way to introduce yourself to the Arboretum or to deepen your knowledge of the Arboretum’s plant collections. Each tour is a little different depending on the time of year, the interests of the tour guide, and the people who join in. For example, you might learn about the birds and mammals that make this land their home or about the amazing physical adaptations that plants have evolved to better deal with our extreme weather and climate conditions. Tours are free with paid admission.

From Diploma to Dollars: Money Matters for New Alumni
2026-06-30 12:00 - 13:00 | CA
Life After Graduation Series
Hosted by UC Davis, open to recent alumni and rising seniors of all UC campuses.
Join the Cal Aggie Alumni Association for another session in the Life After Graduation Series, “From Diploma to Dollars: Money Matters for New Alumni,” on Tuesday, June 30 at 12:00 p.m. (Pacific Time).
Graduation is behind you—now it’s time to take charge of your finances. From new careers and paychecks to bills and major financial decisions, this transition can feel overwhelming. This session will help you build confidence navigating budgeting, debt, benefits, and financial priorities. Walk away with practical tools and smart habits to support long-term stability and success.
LEARN MORE & REGISTER

Santa Cruz Pickwick Club presents: Bleak House
2026-06-28 13:00 - 15:00 | CA
Spontaneous human combustion! Evil lawyers! Detectives! Family intrigue! These all come together in Charles Dickens’s masterwork, Bleak House. This year, we will spend the year reading the 2026 Dickens Universe novel. Join Dickens enthusiasts and Pickwick Club members on Zoom for a series of discussions about this beloved book.
Register via Zoom
Reading Schedule:

OCT 26: Chapters 8-13
NOV 23: Chapters 14-19
DEC 28: No meeting
JAN 25: Chapters 20-25
FEB 22: Chpaters 26-32
MAR 22: Chapters 33-38
APR 26: Chapters 39-46
MAY 24: Chapters 47-53
JUN 28: Chapters 54-67 (End)

Recommended Edition: We recommend the Penguin Classics edition of the novel for its appendices and notes, but other versions are fine. First-time readers should avoid the Introduction if they don’t want spoilers. Download the novel to read at Gutenburg.org or listen to it at LibriVox.org.
The Santa Cruz Pickwick (Book) Club, a branch of the Dickens Fellowship, is a community of local bookworms, students, and teachers who meet monthly to discuss a nineteenth-century novel. The Santa Cruz Public Libraries provide support for the reading group.

Younger Lagoon Reserve Tours
2026-06-27 10:30 - 12:00 | Seymour Marine Discovery Center, 100 McAllister Way, Santa Cruz, CA, 95060
Younger Lagoon Reserve tours are free and open to the public. Space is limited to 18 participants. Call 831-459-3800 or sign-up online. Virtual tours are available online.

Berry U-Pick at the UCSC Farm
2026-06-27 09:00 - 12:00 | UCSC Farm, 152 Farm Rd, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Come enjoy picking your own organic strawberries and/or blueberries at the campus farm! Our delicious, organic berries will be plentiful this spring and we hope you can come enjoy the bounty.
When: U-picks will take place on Saturdays from 9am to 12pm while supplies last. Blueberries will be available approximately through June, and strawberries will be available into the summer season. PLEASE NOTE that u-picks will not occur on Saturday, June 13 due to campus commencement ceremonies that will impact traffic and parking.
Where: Free parking will be available in the Hay Barn lot or lot 115/116 during u-pick hours. Please do not park in the dirt lot at the farm’s back gate. Please walk to the pinned location at the farm to pre-pay and collect your u-pick container(s). We will have directional signage displayed. There is one ADA parking spot on the farm. The UCSC Farm has uneven, hilly terrain. If you require accommodations to fully participate, please email agroecology@ucsc.edu and we will do our best to accommodate.
Payment: Credit card payments only (you will need a smartphone to scan a QR code and enter your card info manually).
