Northern Lights - An Aurora-themed Art Festival in the Historic Circle Church

January 14th was a monumental moment in Santa Cruz art history. In appreciation of the historic westside Circle Church at the center of the five Concentric Circles, we transformed the space into an Aurora-themed art festival of creativity, collaboration, music, learning, experiences, food and fun. Over 60 collaborators came together to create a night like no other, an ephemeral physical manifestation of Santa Cruz's vibrant art community.

(Photo © MultiRotorCam.com)

We all know the Circles neighborhood for its iconic geography of concentric circles and for its center, the heartbeat that is the Circle Church.

This neighborhood has carried a rich history since its foundation. The Circles Neighborhood on the Westside of Santa Cruz was founded in 1890 as Garfield Park State Christian-Disciples Campground. Its centerpiece was a park with a Tabernacle doubling as a community center, which burned in 1935, after which the site was leased in 1940 for a City Park. During WWII a nearby Artillery base was staffed by African American soldiers, when the military was racially segregated. Many of these soldiers’ families relocated to the Circles community after the war.

In 1959 the city park was replaced with the current courtyard church, which still stands today. The Disciples ran this as a popular non-denominational community center, serving a coalition of congregations, non-profits, open-air festivals, gym activities and a voting precinct.

In recent years, the city of Santa Cruz zoned the center circle as a residential zone. The Disciples sold the property to a tenancy-in-common co-op that plans to build a shared housing and public community center, continuing the tradition of a cultural hub being at the heart of the circles, while paving a path towards accessible cooperative home ownership.

We are honored to have brought community together over all forms of art in this beloved and sacred space.

Northern Lights was such an incredible experience for us all. The community that formed over the shared love of art, creativity, experimental music and immersive experiences is like no other. We've all been hungry for a moment like this where the humans of Santa Cruz nurture the seeds planted by the collective and grow them into a vibrant rainforest of art!

Thanks to all of the inspiration YOU brought to the table, the Circle Church co-op was equally inspired and invited us back to manage the space and hold more events in the coming weeks. Since we sold out our last event and many were stuck at home due to the storm, we are providing another night to experience the Liminal.

A couple collaborations in the works:

• Liminal Space Experience Matinee, featuring an expanded circus in the energy room, and a simultaneous songwriting workshop/jam in the fireside lounge, followed by live local Afrobeats bands and performances from Cement Ship and Ancestree, two uplifting and soothing staples of the Santa Cruz music scene. 

• Immersive experimental black history month community event in collaboration with Speak For Change Podcast and Santa Cruz Black

Be on the lookout for tickets when they drop and snag 'em before they sell out like they did last Saturday! Follow us and share with friends to stay in the loop! Contact us to get involved and join the community!