• Went to the Alisal Center for the Fine Arts’ performance and recreation space The Breadboxon Saturday, June 9, to see excerpts from Luis “Xago” Juarez and Baktun 12’s three documentary plays set in East Salinas, the Re: Alisal series. It’s got depth, breadth, voice, humor and history all wrapped up in it – and it’s all real. And the Bread Box has gotten some major renovations, including comfy carpeting, brighter walls, and Jay Dunn’s photographs of people and nonprofits that reside in Salinas, part of the Stories from Salinas photo exhibit that was just at the CSUMB Salinas Center for Arts and Culture. alisalfinearts.org.
  • Susan Shillinglaw has resigned as director of the National Steinbeck Center after three “rewarding and challenging” years, she writes in a farewell letter. “I’m sure that the Steinbeck Center will remain in good hands and will be an integral part of this community and of the larger national and international community of Steinbeck fans.”
  • Remember ArtWorks@Pacific Grove? They’re the collective of artists who have rented out previously vacant retail space in the echo-y American Tin Cannery, brokered by the Arts Council for Monterey County. They’re having a group show, Identity, at Marjorie Evans Gallery at Sunset Center, with an opening reception 5-7pm Thursday, June 14. It’s free to attend, and the show will be up through June 29. 620-2042, sunsetcenter.org.
  • The Forest Theater Guild, starting this week (7:15pm Thu-Sat, 5pm Sun, June 14-24), is putting on the kids musical Into the Woods, which flips the script on fairytale tropes, and will have your kids bellowing “There are giants in the skyyyyy! There are big tall terrible giants in the skyyyyy!” foresttheaterguild.org.
  • The Elkhorn Slough Foundation invites citizens to participate in a statewide community science effort to document California’s coastal biodiversity. You can do so by taking pictures of as many species of plants and animals as possible and uploading them to the iNaturalist app and website (inaturalist.org) now through June 20. On Saturday, June 16, the foundation has got a whole lineup of related activities going at the Reserve, Porter Ranch and Moss Landing Harbor, from morning to late afternoon. 728-2822, elkhornslough.org.
  • Preeminent modern philosopher Alan Watts, an erudite speaker and humanistic thinker, is seeing a resurgence. His daughter Ann talks about him and the book she co-edited with her sister Joan, The Collected Letters of Alan Watts, at Henry Miller Library 2-5pm Sunday, June 17. henrymiller.org.
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