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Arts & Entertainment

Grab and Go Kids Planner

Music, dance and an art museum: Make culture part of the experience for your children in and around Watsonville this week.

High school dance students will perform, and the art museum in Santa Cruz is open for free this Friday. You can also expose your child to a new way of learning about music, and try it out for free. All this and more are part of the agenda in this week's Watsonville Kids Planner.

Cultural Caliente Benefit Dance Perfomance

Where/When: , 215 E. Beach St., Watsonville, Friday, 7 p.m.

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Why Go:  These are students from the Watsonville High School Dance Club. They have practiced dance choreography all year. But they are not the only ones performing. There are kids from other dance schools and district afterschool programs. Performances include salsa, tango, hip hop, mambo, folklorico, tap and ballet.

Pricing:  Call for tickets at 831-728-6390, ext. 6593. Be as generous as you can. The money raised goes to student scholarships.

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Where/When: 225 Sudden St., Watsonville (Callaghan Park Cultural Center), Friday, 9:30 a.m. 

Why Go: Test out the waters to see if this type of musical instruction is for you and your child. Music Together believes all children have musical ability if their learning environment gives them a chance to become musical. Free demonstration classes are being offered Saturday at 9:30, 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. So check it out.

Pricing: Free (for demonstration class)

Where/When: Mission and Emmett streets, Santa Cruz (Mission State Historical Park), Saturday, 1 p.m.

Why Go: Spend some time in a historical park and learn how to prepare some food and eat historically, with a staple that we all know and love—tortillas. You and your child will learn how to make tortillas the old-school way, including hot rock cooking. Now that's a far cry from the microwave.

Pricing: Free

Where/When: The Hook, at the end of 41st Avenue, Santa Cruz, Saturday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Why Go: This is a fundraiser for the American Red Cross to help the victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and those who were impacted closer to home in and around Santa Cruz. It's an all-day event on The Hook, with raffles, games, food—a day for friends and family.

Pricing: Free (except what you donate)

Where/When: , 1156 High St., Santa Cruz, Tuesday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Why Go: OK, you can go this weekend and pay, if you like. But if you wait until Tuesday, it's Community Day at the arboretum, and it's free. And with some of you having the kids home from school, wandering around the grounds of the arboretum (and perhaps packing a picnic lunch) can be a fun, family thing to do.

Pricing: Free 

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