It's Thursday. Readers recommend the best places to experience art in California. Plus, undocumented immigrants receive money from the state's Rapid Response Fund. |
 | | The Broad art museum in Los Angeles.Beth Coller for The New York Times |
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For several weeks you've been emailing me your choices for the best places to experience art in California. Today, in time for the end of summer and the start of the school year, I'm sharing another selection of your suggestions, sorted by region and edited for length and clarity. |
These recommendations are part of a continuing series, and you can see earlier installments here, here and here. |
Send your own suggestions to CAtoday@nytimes.com. Please include your name and the city where you live. |
"An underpublicized art event that I enjoy immensely happens on the first Friday of every month from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Santa Rosa. Along with the Santa Rosa Arts Center, which displays works of local artists, the many adjacent artists' studios in the South A Street Art District open to visitors. It's an invigorating event where you can visit with the artists in their studios as they display recent works. The nearby Cafe Frida is both a gallery and a place to enjoy live music and fresh local foods. The area is great to explore with fellow art lovers." — Lucy Kenyon, Santa Rosa |
"The Bedford Gallery, part of the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek, is a distinctive community resource whose mission is to provide exhibitions and educational programs that engage the diverse Contra Costa region. Four curated exhibitions are presented yearly, showcasing local and international artists working in a variety of media. Recent presentations have included three centuries of Afro-American art, comic-book superheroes, contemporary inflatable art and quilts depicting refugees escaping natural and man-made disasters. Programs include docent-led tours of the town's public art, as well as workshops, lectures and gallery tours." — Jo Elliff, Lafayette |
"The Museum of Art and History (MAH) is groundbreaking, having changed under the leadership of Nina Simon from a near-relic to an exceedingly vibrant, not-to-be-missed center of Santa Cruz County culture. It's an anchor of Free Friday, the monthly event where shops and galleries also display art. It also offers community-oriented happenings, innovative light and sound events, and talks and celebrations too numerous to list. The museum even has exhibits that any community member can enter. |
A near-impossible-to-envision transformation of the surrounding area has also occurred, so that Abbott Square is now the most popular place to hang out, eat and hear amazing bands on weekends for free. If you want to be part of the Santa Cruz dance-in-a-group-joy, here it is." — Elizabeth Good, Aptos |
"Reasonable entry fee and recently, beautifully remodeled. A good balance of many genres of art, both ancient and modern, and many community events." — Susan Shields, Santa Barbara |
"During the summer months, Laguna Beach is the place to be. With cool breezes off the nearby ocean, you can walk, shop and imbibe on Forest Avenue to your heart's content before your evening at the festival. Or you can take a picnic to the festival grounds. The festival is open every day, and music is performed nightly. And the festival has added a free trolley service from peripheral parking lots that will drop you off at the festival grounds and several other places in Laguna Beach, and take you back to your car. A great way to enjoy the summer!" — Sherri Martin, Laguna Beach |
"An oasis housing a public library dedicated to the arts and a well-curated gallery. Want the sheet music for 'Rent'? Recordings of early Delta blues? Biographies of every artist you can name? No problem. The building itself is a beautiful faux Arabic palace. You can sit in a comfy chair and enjoy the view or read a book." — Posy Gering, Sacramento |
"My niece and I recently took my elderly mother to the Broad museum in downtown Los Angeles. Admission is free, and the building alone is worth the visit. It's like entering into a strange, organic life-form — it feels alive with texture and light. Inside, the Broad family shares its collection of mostly contemporary and modern art: Basquiat, Lichtenstein, Kara Walker, Yayoi Kusama, Mark Bradford and dozens of others. I can't wait to take my teenagers to the Broad the next time we visit L.A. It's a gift to the City of Angels." — Dina Hexamer, Mill Valley |
 | | The theater, with its distinctive geodesic dome, was memorialized by Quentin Tarantino in the 2019 film "Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood."Alex Welsh for The New York Times |
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 | | Flooding in the Central Valley in March.Patrick T. Fallon/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images |
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- Undocumented Californians affected by flood and storm damage have begun to receive money from the state's Rapid Response Fund, CalMatters reports.
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- Residents in areas of Siskiyou County, near the Oregon border, were ordered to evacuate Wednesday in response to a fast-growing wildfire in Klamath National Forest, The Associated Press reports.
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 | | Crockett Hills in Contra Costa County.Liz Hafalia/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images |
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Today's tip comes from John Robinson, who lives in the East Bay. John recommends a drive on Highway 4 between Hercules and Martinez: |
There are many nice exits — I'll give you four: 1. Fernandez Ranch is a beautiful area with many hiking options (thanks, John Muir Land Trust). I recommend heading for the hills where you can connect with other trails, especially if you have the East Bay M.U.D. Trail Permit. 2. The Martinez waterfront is a hidden gem. Check out Waterfront Park and the pier. 3. Crockett is a small, funky town famous for its C&H factory. Check out Crockett Hills Regional Park for views of the Carquinez Strait. 4. Briones Regional Park has tons of hiking options. |
Tell us about your favorite places to visit in California. Email your suggestions to CAtoday@nytimes.com. We'll be sharing more in upcoming editions of the newsletter. |
A number of Los Angeles landmarks are turning 100 this year, including the Hollywood sign, the Memorial Coliseum and the Biltmore Hotel downtown. |
Do you have favorite memories of these L.A. institutions? Share them in a few sentences with CAtoday@nytimes.com, and please include your name and the city where you live. |
And before you go, some good news |
For more than a century, the Williams-Locke family has held family reunions. And not just once in a while, as might be the case for you and your relatives, but every year, consecutively, for the past 112 years. |
Their latest get-together took place in Los Angeles last month, when dozens of family members arrived in the Southland from across the country, ABC7 reports. This was the first reunion based in California for the family since one in Sacramento in the 1980s. |
"It has been truly an amazing time," Cheryl Winborne, a family member, told the news outlet. |
They are already planning their 113th reunion, set for next year in Baltimore. |
Thanks for reading. We'll be back tomorrow. — Soumya |
Maia Coleman and Bernard Mokam contributed to California Today. You can reach the team at CAtoday@nytimes.com. |
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