Friday, Dec. 26 GUITAR MAN If you put strings on something and call it a guitar, Casey Wickstrom can play it. A lap slide guitar? Yep. A cigar box three-string? Of course. He can even pick up a ukulele and other instruments. The singer-songwriter is known for his often dark and introspective songs with elements of redemption that mirror his own life—rock drenched in blues, with impressions of folk and reggae. Wickstrom’s music is so engaging, while at the same time so little known, he has been tagged by Music Connection Magazine to the Top 100 Unsigned Artists list. [DF] 5pm Friday, Dec. 26. The Lodge at Pebble Beach, 1700 17-Mile Drive, Pebble Beach. Free. pebblebeach.com. SIT DOWN TO A FEAST We don’t quite know what a roast beast is, only that the Whos of Whoville eat it to celebrate Christmas. It also apparently has the power to grow a Grinch’s heart by three sizes. That doesn’t sound too healthy. A crepe and a hot or cold drink sounds much better instead. The Creperie Cafe hosts a dinner and screening of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the 2000 version starring Jim Carrey. Pick your crepe from the cafe’s variety of options and make sure you bring a pillow for comfort. [EC] 6pm Friday, Dec. 26. The Creperie Cafe, 1123 Fremont Blvd., Seaside. $25. RSVP at (831) 901-3900. Saturday, Dec. 27 SLOUGH SENSES Did you know? Elkhorn Slough is one of the largest tidal estuaries in the state, spanning seven miles inland from Monterey Bay. Every fourth Saturday, you can join Renata Funke, a docent at the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, for a two-hour walking tour to learn about this incredible tidal system—a marine nursery and home to a wide variety of flora and fauna. Funke has been learning about and exploring the slough for more than 30 years and invites participants to experience a habitat that is constantly changing with the tides while gaining insight into the many species that call it home. The tour covers two miles of easy-to-moderate trail. 22 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY DECEMBER 25-31, 2025 www.montereycountynow.com GINGER TOWER It’s been exactly a hundred years since America’s best nature poet, Robinson Jeffers, raised his famous Hawk Tower as part of Tor House, his home in Carmel. To celebrate this achievement, one of the docents at the Robinson Jeffers Tor House Foundation, Susie Joyce, built Hawk Tower out of gingerbread -- just in time for the holidays. This sweet piece of architecture is 28 inches tall. “I used seven pounds of powdered sugar and two dozen eggs for the royal icing stones,” she says of the effort that is almost as impressive as Jeffers’ stonemasonry. Overlooking the Pacific Ocean, Hawk Tower is a National Historic Landmark, maintained by the foundation and open for tours 10am-2pm on Saturdays. 26304 Ocean View Ave., Carmel. [AP] 25-31 DECEMBER HOT PICKS To see more local events, and add your own, visit montereycountynow.com/events SUSIE JOYCE SHERRY MCGLOTHLIN VISUALS SHERRY MCGLOTHLIN Salinas Valley Art Gallery is ready for the holidays. It’s not too late to browse through their All-Member Mini Show to find a belated holiday gift—choose among paintings, photography, jewelry, ceramics, sea sculptures, blown glass and mosaics. Speaking of mosaics, Sherry McGlothlin is one of SVAG’s artists who specializes in this medium. For the holiday piece featured above, she used styrofoam cones “as the base to build and create these cute gnomes,” Jo Ann Moline writes on behalf of SVAG. “She used a thin set over the cones and created her designs with tiles and glass pieces before finishing up with her grout.” Visit the gallery at 218 Main St., Salinas. Hours are 10am-6pm daily; closed on Wednesdays. [AP] Wrockinfoose is the featured headliner for First Night Monterey at the Golden State Theatre. The band is made up of Monterey musicians. (See Hot Pick on p. 32, and a full First Night schedule on an insert that begins on p. 23.) BRAD WRIGHT Pianist Tammy Hall brings her fusion of jazz, gospel and classical music to an intimate New Year’s Eve performance at Wendi Kirby Music (for details, see p. 32). IRENE YOUNG Hot Picks continued on pg. 32
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjAzNjQ1NQ==