🌱 Patch AM: When your favorite Santa Cruz pumpkin patches open for 2026

What's up Santa Cruz! Let's start this morning right by getting caught up on what's going on around town. Keep reading to stay in the loop. ☕️️

In today's newsletter:

• When your favorite Santa Cruz pumpkin patches open for 2026
• Why West Cliff's rocks are suddenly packed with brown pelicans

Also on today's calendar: Ocean Film Festival World Tour Santa Cruz and 4 more events.

Today's riddle: What do you call a belt made of watches? 🤔 (Answer below!)

From our Partner
Today's Santa Cruz Patch AM is brought to you in part by T-Mobile. After investing billions to light up their network from big cities to small towns, T-Mobile is America's Best Mobile Network in the US according to Ookla Speedtest®. Based on analysis by Ookla® of Speedtest Intelligence® data 1H 2026. We thank T-Mobile for their support in helping to keep communities like ours connected and for making today's Santa Cruz Patch AM possible.
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Weather forecast:

• Monday: Low clouds, then some sun, with a high of 72 and low of 55 degrees.
• Tuesday: Low clouds, then some sun, temps: high: 70, low: 55.
• Wednesday: Low clouds breaking, with a high of 73 and low of 53 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

• Monterey & Santa Cruz County Pumpkin Patches: 2026 Opening Dates (montereybayparent.com) — If you're planning fall outings, several Santa Cruz pumpkin spots like The Great Pumpkin Patch on Soquel Drive, Post Street Farm, and Rodoni Farms have shared their 2026 hours or typical opening windows. The guide also rounds up Watsonville, Soquel, and nearby Monterey County farms, with reminders to double-check websites as more exact dates and special events are finalized.
   

• Squadron on the rocks (santacruzsentinel.com subscription) — A crowded rock off West Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz is drawing flocks of California brown pelicans, cormorants, and gulls, offering locals a close-up look at a conservation success story. Scientists estimate about 196,000 California brown pelicans along the Pacific coast, with thousands seasonally visible on the U.S. West Coast after rebounding from pesticide-era declines.
   

📸 Around Santa Cruz

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🗓 Upcoming Events in Santa Cruz

Add your event to our calendar and newsletter!

Friday September 4
• Ocean Film Festival World Tour Santa Cruz →
  Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave, Santa Cruz
  7:00 pm
• Giacomo Puccini's Opera: The Girl of the Golden West →
  Colligan Theater at the Tannery Arts Center, 1010 River St, Santa Cruz
  7:00 pm
Sunday September 6
• Giacomo Puccini's Opera: The Girl of the Golden West →
  Colligan Theater at the Tannery Arts Center, 1010 River St, Santa Cruz
  2:00 pm
Thursday September 10
• Spanish Guitar Concert in Santa Cruz with Latin Grammy Winner Twanguero →
  Peace United Church of Christ, 900 High St, Santa Cruz
  7:30 pm
Friday September 11
• Giacomo Puccini's Opera: The Girl of the Golden West →
  Colligan Theater at the Tannery Arts Center, 1010 River St, Santa Cruz
  7:00 pm
Sunday September 13
• Giacomo Puccini's Opera: The Girl of the Golden West →
  Colligan Theater at the Tannery Arts Center, 1010 River St, Santa Cruz
  7:00 pm
Tuesday September 15
• Hive Live! Featuring Amber Coverdale Sumrall and Jen Siraganian →
  Bookshop Santa Cruz, 1520 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz
  7:00 pm

📣 Santa Cruz Shout Outs!

Want to say something great about someone in town? Click here to submit your Shout Out to Patch AM! It's free!

🗓 Events Nearby

Wednesday September 2
• LO:Fall Picture Day
  Ocean Alternative Education Center Santa Cruz, CA 95062
Thursday September 3
• LO:School Site Council Meeting
  Ocean Alternative Education Center Santa Cruz, CA 95062
  6:00 pm
Friday September 4
• Oaks/Suns Field Trip - Blacks Beach
  Tierra Pacifica Charter Santa Cruz, CA 95062
• OCEAN FILM FESTIVAL WORLD TOUR →
  Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave, Santa Cruz
  7:00 pm
• Club Meeting – What's On Your Workbench?
  San Lorenzo Valley Amateur Radio Club Zayante Fire Station, 7700 East Zayante Rd, Felton, CA, 95018, United States
  7:30 pm

Have we missed something on our calendar? Add an event yourself! As always, before attending confirm event details to ensure accuracy.

 

Thank you 👏👏👏 to these businesses for making Santa Cruz PatchAM possible:

• El Capulin Nursery — (831) 840-9195
• Illusive Comics & Games, LLC — (408) 985-7655

Click here to show your appreciation! 💚

Want to see your business here? Click here to connect with local customers.

💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

• I would like to take this moment to thank the couple who found my wallet at Safeway, read the address, came to the senior housing building complex and asked the first person if they knew me.
  They did and so I was immeasurable relieved to have it back in my hands once again. I had already realized it was gon, checked in with Safeway and… (Nextdoor Lighthouse Cowells)
• Please share & repost to help reunite this lost dog!
  Oreo was lost on August 29, 2026 in Santa Cruz, CA 95062 near Sunny cove Sharing for a neighbor. For the latest information or to contact the owner,… (Nextdoor Live Oak)

• Santa Cruz County Office Of Education posted a job opening for Outdoor Science Instructor, Naturalist - Outdoor Science School in Santa Cruz. Apply here.
• Jacksons Food Stores, Inc. posted a job opening for Retail Cashier/Customer Service in Santa Cruz. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Santa Cruz here.

🗞 Nearby News

Felton

• Pajaro Valley runs past Gunn as Ray Myers wins picks up win in head coaching debut (santacruzsentinel.com)
• North Santa Cruz County school board elections begin to take shape (santacruzsentinel.com)

Soquel

• Lake Tahoe's Matt Nolan beats Santa Cruz's Brent Thiebout in CCFC 8 main event (santacruzsentinel.com)

Ok Santa Cruz! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: A waist of time (Thank you Kourtney Z. for sending it in!)
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Submit it here!

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