Join the Pismo Beach CVB Stewardship & Educational Outreach Program for an evening of wine, education, and advocacy in support of Western monarch conservation on Feb. 28 from 6 to 9 p.m. at The Cliffs Hotel and Spa, Pismo Beach. Wine and Wings: An Evening for Monarch Conservation will bring together education, wine, and community action to celebrate and protect one of nature’s most remarkable migration stories.
• Welcome Reception: Sip tastings from five SLO Coast wineries, enjoy light bites, and connect with stewardship partners from across the Central Coast.
•Panel Discussion: Hear from local researchers, conservation advocates, and industry leaders on the current state of Western monarch populations and habitat protection along our coastline.
• Keynote Speaker: Science writer and environmentalist Mary Ellen Hannibal will share a compelling narrative on the monarch butterfly — exploring migration patterns, the challenges facing Western populations, and meaningful ways individuals and communities can make a difference.
This event is sponsored by the Pismo Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau, with a portion of every ticket benefiting Western monarch conservation efforts, including the California Central Coast Stewardship Partners Association and the Atascadero City Monarch and Pollinator Native Garden Corridor Project.
Tickets are $20 and available on Eventbrite.
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Upcoming free youth programs in March at the Morro Bay Library – 625 Harbor St, (805) 772-6394.
• Beaded Art Party – Wednesday, March 4, 3 – 5 p.m. Use your imagination to make unique art pieces using beads, paper, pens, pencils, scissors, glue and more. Creative options available for ages 3-12.
• Engineer a Fairytale – Wednesday, March 11, 3 – 5 p.m. Engineer a happy ending to your favorite fairy tales! Build a chair even Goldilocks can’t break or a bridge for the three billy goats gruff or a house strong enough no wolf can blow it down! STEM fun for ages 3+.
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The Cal Poly Jazz Combos Winter Showcase is set for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 5, in the Pavilion of the Performing Arts Center. There are four jazz combos which explore a wide spectrum of jazz performance, from modern and traditional styles to original compositions and arrangements, Afro-Cuban and Brazilian–influenced repertory, and classic standards. Tickets are $22 and available from the Cal Poly Ticket Office.
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Don’t miss the Punk Rock Drag Show fundraiser for Colectivo Mariposa on Sunday March 8 at 6 p.m. at Humdinger Brewery, SLO. This is and 18 and over show. Tickets are $15 advance, $20 at the door and are available at my805tix.com. The night features band performances by Martirio, Lot in Life, and Bone Maggot. Drag performances by The Shimmer, Marceline Powerchord, Vicky Jean, Carbon Bard, and Estrella Electrica.
Colectivo Mariposa is a local mutual aid group based in Santa Maria that provides food, diapers, and miscellaneous small items to families who have had a family member arrested by ICE. The number of families that they service have drastically increased in recent months to roughly 200 families. As a result, Colectivo Mariposa is in need of funds to purchase food and other items for the families, and they are organizing benefit shows to fundraise.
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The Cal Poly Choirs’ “Cantus Novus” Concert at 8 p.m. Friday March 6, in Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, will feature Renaissance and Renaissance-inspired works by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Claudin de Sermisy and Cristóbal de Morales among others. PolyPhonics and the Chamber Choir will join to perform the featured piece of the program, “Mass in G Minor” by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
University Singers will open the concert with one of the most iconic choral works of all time, “Sicut cervus” by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina who was born in 1525. Last year marked the 500th anniversary of the composer’s birth. The choir will also perform works by 15th-century composer Claude de Sermissy, as well as modern works in Latin by Joseph Martin and Kyle Pederson.
The Chamber Choir will present a very special requiem mass by Spanish Renaissance composer Cristóbal de Morales. “Missa pro defunctis” was composed around 1554
PolyPhonics and the Chamber Choir will join to perform the featured piece of the program, “Mass in G Minor” by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
Tickets are $22 general, $12 students and are available at pacslo.org.
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The San Luis Obispo Symphony invites the community to experience the brilliance of history’s greatest composers including Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven at Classical Hits at Performing Arts Center San Luis Obispo. As part of its ongoing community access initiative, the Symphony is continuing its limited $20 ticket program to make live orchestral music more accessible. These tickets require no promo codes or special qualifications and are available on a first-come, first-served basis while supplies last.
Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 highlights the lively interplay between multiple soloists and the full orchestra, offering several SLO Symphony musicians the opportunity to shine. Mozart’s luminous Clarinet Concerto in A Major brings elegance and warmth, spotlighting one of the most beloved concertos in the classical canon.The evening concludes with Beethoven’s groundbreaking Symphony No. 3 “Eroica,” a bold and heroic work that redefined the scale and emotional depth of symphonic music and continues toinspire audiences more than two centuries later.
Standard tickets, starting at $32, and the limited $20 community tickets are available through the SLOSymphony box office. For tickets and information, go to slosymphony.org.
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Canzona Women’s Ensemble’s upcoming concert, Renaissance, Baroque, and Beyond: Sacred and Profane, takes place on Sunday, March 1, at 3:00 p.m. at the San Luis Obispo United Methodist Church.
This concert takes audiences on a journey through centuries of music, blending sacred and secular works for women’s voices. Highlights include a Renaissance “Magnificat” by Isabella Leonarda, 16th-century Renaissance Marian motets composed by an Italian nun, Medieval and Renaissance antiphons and madrigals in English, French, and Italian, early Baroque duets and trios, and the 20th-century “Litanies à la Vierge Noire” by Francis Poulenc, featuring organist Janis Johnson.
Special guests Grace Seng and Amethyst Shanks will join on violin to enhance the Baroque Magnificat. The concert is generously sponsored by Cricket Handler and Jerry Boots in honor of Jill Anderson, Canzona’s co-artistic director.
Tickets are available at the door or through Canzona’s website. For more information about the concert, visit www.canzonawomen.org.
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Costa Gallery will feature acclaimed painter Flo Bartell with her vibrant exhibition “Color Play” in tribute to her milestone 85th birthday. This striking contemporary collection will be on view through March 29.
Flo’s new painting series focuses on deep, saturated colors using the ancient art form of encaustic’s materials and techniques. She uses beeswax, pigment and resin, with applied heat to create her fascinating treasures. The result is a supple & durable surface, best enjoyed in person.
The San Luis Obispo artist was originally attracted to the depth of color she could achieve with the waxy medium. Flo’s early encaustic work was bright and colorful, then evolved to a more neutral palette in her narrative designs and compelling 2D and 3D art creations.
“Now, after more than a decade of working primarily in cream, gray, and black, I feel an urgent need to return to strong, rich colors,” Flo said. “I want to see my favorites–red, coral, teal, and citrus green–melt in my pans and ooze from my brushes. I’m also ready to take a break from heavily content-focused work to enjoy a period of play in my studio.”
“Color Play” will be shown in conjunction with Costa Gallery owner Michael J Costa’s new photography exhibit of his recent Nepal trek, “Learning to Breathe: The Upper Mustang Valley.” Explore these two inspiring exhibits for a visual treat.
Enjoy a neighborly vibe at 2087 10th Street, Los Osos. For more information, call 559.799.9632 and check out flobartell.com. Costa Gallery is open Thursday-Saturday, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m., and Sunday, 12-4 p.m.
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Building A Better SLO presents Community Land Trust: Placekeeping for the local Placekeepers at the Penny,
664 Marsh Street, San Luis Obispo, on March 5, from 6-7:30 p.m. welcoming Ofelia Bello to San Luis Obispo to talk Community Land Trusts and their growth throughout the US.
Ofelia is the program director of Community Owned Real Estate at Epcando and Pahali Community Land Trust in her hometown of East Palo Alto. Prior to her staff role, she served on the Pahali Board of Directors for six years. She has a passion for housing justice, civic engagement, youth development, social movement work, and brings eight years of experience in tenant rights’ organizing, and public policy, with an emphasis on housing policy. She will cover the following topics:
• Intro to history of Community Land Trust movement in the U.S. and CLTs
• Intro to PAHALI Community Land Trist and EPACANDO partnership
• Resources to continue learning and connecting to the California Community Land Trust movement
Tickets are $17.91 and are available at my805tix.com.
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The Cal Poly Mustang Marching Band has been invited for the 11th time to participate in the Alaska Airlines Chinese New Year Parade — named by the International Festivals and Events Association as one of the top 10 parades in the world — on Saturday, March 7, in San Francisco. The parade celebrating the Year of the Fire Horse will be broadcast live on ABC 7 and streamed on Hulu.
The band’s more than 220 members, from academic disciplines across the campus and nearly all of Cal Poly’s six colleges, perform at nearly 50 campus events each year, including athletic games and university functions.
Before the parade, starting at 3 p.m., Mustang Band will continue the tradition of performing some of its favorite pep and postgame tunes in front of the landmark Ferry Building, the gateway to San Francisco, which is visited annually by millions of visitors, on The City’s Embarcadero.
The parade began in the 1860s as a means for the Chinese community to educate and share its culture with the greater community. Nothing like it had ever been done in their native China. The parade and festival have grown to be the largest celebration of Asian culture outside of Asia.
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