Events

In the community, for the community

Our events center on history and cultural exchange. Through conversations with community leaders and historians, and hands-on arts and crafts, we share Chinese and Chinese American history and celebrate cultural exchange in ways the whole family can enjoy.

September 2026

Saturday · The 418 Project, Santa Cruz

Upcoming event

Mid-Autumn Festival 2026

The 418 Project · 155 S. River St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Join us on September 26th at The 418 Project for our annual Mid-Autumn Festival, bringing families and community members together to celebrate Chinese culture through music, arts, traditional activities, and shared stories. The celebration will also highlight the history and cultural heritage of the Chinese community in Santa Cruz.

Time and program details will be announced here and in our newsletter.

Keep me posted →Get directions ↗

Recent & past events

What we've done together

From Qingming walks to Lunar New Year celebrations and film launches — a record of our work since 2023.

2026

22Feb 2026

Chinese New Year — Year of the Horse

The 418 Project, Santa Cruz

We hosted a Year of the Horse celebration at The 418 Project featuring traditional music, food, film and cultural presentations, and family activities.

A lion dancer greets guests at The 418 Project

21Feb 2026

Honoring Local Chinese American Legacies

With the Resource Center for Nonviolence and local institutions

A Chinese American history and Lunar New Year discussion featuring Stanford historian Gordon Chang, Rui Li, and George Ow Jr. The event focused on recovering Chinese American history in Santa Cruz, Monterey, and the Central Valley.

A full audience gathered for a community history event

8Feb 2026

Crafting the Lunar New Year: Chinese Papercutting and Calligraphy

The 418 Project, Santa Cruz

Student instructors from Flex Kids Culture led Chinese papercutting for adults and Chinese calligraphy for participants ages six and older.

2025

26Sep 2025

Mid-Autumn Festival & Chinese Gold: The Movie

The 418 Project, Santa Cruz

The event combined a Mid-Autumn Festival celebration with the launch of the Chinese Gold film project. Speakers included Sandy Lydon, George Ow Jr., Rui Li, and UCSC professor Yiman Wang, along with behind-the-scenes film material and a promotional trailer.

Musicians perform beneath footage from the Chinese Gold documentary

29Mar 2025

Qingming Festival

Santa Cruz MAH, the Chinatown Dragon Archway, and Evergreen Cemetery

We worked with the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History and the MAH History Forum on a larger community program beginning at the museum, continuing to the Chinatown Dragon Archway, and ending at Evergreen Cemetery. It included local-history remarks from George Ow and Sandy Lydon, Qingming-related activities, offerings, and gravesite cleaning.

The Chinatown Dragon Archway in Santa Cruz

2024

30Mar 2024

Qingming Community Walk

Chinatown Dragon Gate to Evergreen Cemetery, Santa Cruz

Flex Kids Culture organized a walk with local historians Sandy Lydon and George Ow from the Chinatown Dragon Gate to Evergreen Cemetery to honor Chinese pioneers by cleaning gravesites, leaving offerings, and sharing their history.

22Mar 2024

Qingming Festival: Craft and Learn

Capitola Branch Library

Sandy Lydon and George Ow led a discussion about Qingming history and the traditions of annual gravesite cleaning and leaving offerings for ancestors, followed by a Chinese mask-making activity.

15Feb 2024

History Talk with George Ow Jr.

Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History

Community leader George Ow spoke about growing up in Santa Cruz's Chinatown, his family's experience during the Chinese Exclusion era, and the friends who helped his family succeed. Presented in partnership with UCSC Special Collections & Archives, the UCSC AAPI Resource Center, and Flex Kids Culture.

2023

18Nov 2023

Chinese Gold: The Hidden History of Chinese in the Bay

Santa Clara · with ValleyRain

A multimedia presentation featuring historian Sandy Lydon, George Ow Jr., Rui Li, and UCSC linguist Haoze Li, exploring the history of Chinese Americans in Monterey Bay and Lydon's 1985 book.

7Oct 2023

Chinese Gold Multimedia Book Discussion

The 418 Project, Santa Cruz

A community book discussion of Chinese Gold: The Chinese in the Monterey Bay Region, with multimedia material on the history of the Chinese in Santa Cruz.

Photos