If you're in Santa Cruz this Día de los Muertos weekend, the Museum of Art & History (MAH) downtown is a good stop for both the holiday and an afternoon out.
On view now
- Día de los Muertos Community Altar: The museum's seasonal community altar.
- High Score: Vintage Arcade and Midway Games: An exhibition of old arcade and midway games.
- Silica / SiO2: Northern California Ceramics: The museum says this show honors "the deep legacy of ceramic art in Santa Cruz County and the broader Northern California" along with newer local ceramists.
This weekend and next
- Sunday, Nov. 1, 6 to 7:30 p.m.: A Día de los Muertos altar event, according to the museum's events calendar.
- Mondays: An Afro-Brazilian dance class with live music. The next one is Monday, Nov. 2, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
- Self-guided Queerstory walking tour: Pick up a brochure in the MAH atrium. Stops include the former site of Herland, a lesbian bookstore; Commerce Lane, home of the first Santa Cruz Lesbian and Gay Community Center; and the Blue Lagoon.
Calling local filmmakers
The MAH 5 Minute Film Fest is taking submissions under five minutes long through Dec. 1, 2026, from artists in Santa Cruz, San Benito or Monterey County. The top 15 will screen at the museum on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2027, at 6 p.m. Tickets are $5. First place gets $500, second $250 and third $100. Student memberships are on sale for $40 through Nov. 10.
About the MAH
The museum was founded in 1996 in the downtown McPherson Center. It combines the collections of the Santa Cruz County Museum of Art, founded in 1982, and the Santa Cruz Historical Society, founded in 1954. Its history collection has more than 7,000 items. The MAH also runs Abbott Square, a community plaza, plus three historic sites: Evergreen Cemetery, the Davenport Jail and the Octagon Building. Ginger Shulick Porcella became executive director in 2025, according to Wikipedia.
The museum's website showed it open from noon to 8 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30. Check the site for hours on other days.