A calendar of events that can take you places.

Sara Rubin here, considering what to do this weekend. I’ve long thought the range and quality of cultural offerings locally is disproportionately high for a community of our size. Whether music, literature, food festivals, theater or something else is your thing, there are regular opportunities to soak it up. 

The Weekly’s Hot Picks section presents just a small slice of the arts and culture events taking place in any given week. (For a much longer set of listings—or to invite the public to your own event—check out our free digital calendar any time.)

This section of the paper is, of course, designed as a useful tool to help you plan a possible itinerary of fun and interesting things to do. Today alone, you can find the details about how to celebrate Earth Day, tour Moss Landing Marine Labs to meet the scientists uncovering new information about our planet, attend the annual Salinas Asian Cultural Fair, hear the Monterey Symphony, and more. Just another Saturday. 

But there’s another way to think about the Hot Picks section. It’s a tool, yes—but it’s also just a fun read. Our hope in curating and writing this selection of events is that even if you’re stuck at home nursing the flu or out of town and you can’t show up at any of these engaging events, you still learn something about the creative and cultural community. 

(For example, did you know that Arabic music and poetry, ash-shi‘r al-‘arabīyy, can be divided into classical poetry, from before the Arabic Renaissance, and modern? I did not until I read it in Hot Picks this week, even though that International Poetry Gathering of Monterey event happened last night. Or that the moon is about to reach its closest point to the Earth on its orbit? Still interesting, even if I missed a stargazing party hosted by the Monterey Institute for Research in Astronomy.) 

Each week in this Saturday newsletter, we celebrate one of our staff highlights from the week’s paper. Hot Picks is a collaborative project that reflects a range of our curiosities and writing styles in bite-sized writeups, and I consistently find it fun to read and informative. 

Are you attending any events listed this week? I’d love to hear your feedback on how this calendar helps you participate in your community.