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Celebrate QingMing Festival March 28, 2026: Honoring Our Ancestors and History Did you know that Santa Cruz had five Chinatowns? Did you know that in 1850, Santa Cruz had only one Chinese resident? And do you know what the QingMing Festival is? Literally translated, QingMing means “Pure Brightness Festival,” but today it is more commonly…

Celebrating the Year of the Horse 2026: A Chinese New Year Gathering in Santa Cruz As winter turns toward spring, communities around the world prepare to welcome the Lunar New Year—a time of renewal, reunion, and hope. On Sunday, February 22, 2026, the Santa Cruz community is warmly invited to come together for a vibrant…

Under the Early Mid-Autumn Moon, A Golden Story Begins Before the moon is full, the journey starts— Join us for Chinese Gold: The Movie, an exclusive early celebration of Mid-Autumn and the unveiling of a new cinematic treasure. Event Details: Join us for the Press Conference of Chinese Gold: The Movie, an early Mid-Autumn celebration…

Local History Champions Team Up for Qingming Festival at Capitola Library A Conversation and Craft in Celebration of this Important Lunar New Year Festival CAPITOLA, California — Santa Cruz Public Libraries is delighted to host renowned author Sandy Lydon and community hero George Ow on Friday, March 22nd at 10:00 AM at our Capitola Branch…

AAPl Heritage Month The 92-year-old previous nightclub dancer Coby Yes decides to get back on stage again after joining the senior dance troupe Grant Avenue Follies. Together they go on a tour for the last time, bridging once isolated Chinese communities in the US, Cuba and China. Event Details: Flex Kids Culture is a registered…

Agriculture 农业 Agriculture 农业 Chinese laborers first came to the Monterey Bay Peninsula to work as laborers in the fields. Land owners, looking for cheaper labor, brought in Chinese workers from San Francisco to help with the harvest. When local indigenous labor became scarce, Chinese immigrants raised their daily rate to two dollars a day…

Anti-Chinese Movements Heightened in the late 19th century these movements reflected national trends. They were part of a broader anti-Chinese sentiment across the Western United States. The Chinese Exclusion Act was passed in 1882 and prohibited all immigration of Chinese laborers. Local non-Chinese laborers and businesses often boycotted Chinese establishments and episodes of violence and…

About Qingming Festival What is the Qingming Festival? The Qingming Festival (清明节 or Qīngmíngjié in pīnyīn), also called Tomb Sweeping Day or Pure Brightness Festival, is an important traditional Chinese holiday. The festival is celebrated both in China and among members of Chinese communities around the world. The main activity that people engage in on…

ocean gold Abalone Rush 鲍鱼产业 Fishermen coming from China in the early 1850s must have been pleasantly surprised to find Monterey’s coastal waters brimming with abalone. While dried abalone is a delicacy in China, it was abundant in California. The Chinese gold miners who were having no luck finding gold in the mountains, moved to…

Five Chinatowns | 5 个中国城 Five Chinatowns Historically, five different “Chinatowns” developed within Santa Cruz County: Pacific Avenue Chinatown was the original Chinatown in Santa Cruz. It was located on Willow Street, now Pacific Avenue,  for about 12 years.  Front Street Chinatown was the second Chinatown in the City of Santa Cruz. After it burned…