Send ideas to montereycountynow.com/events 24 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY JUNE 11-17, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com Friday, June 12- Sunday, June 14 GREEN TEAM Jade is pretty to look at, but it is much more than that. It draws creatives who carve it into statues or jewelry or other art forms, mystics who say it has powerful healing properties, and legions of fans. People like this green-hued mineral for all sorts of reasons—maybe you find the translucence of thin, polished pieces mesmerizing, or you’re wowed by the craftsmanship of making a stone into a rounded, organic work of art. The Monterey Bay Jade Festival is a chance to celebrate all that and the artists who work intimately with jade over three days. Carvers exhibit their best work and a variety of vendors sell their wares. Best of all, this nonprofit donates proceeds from the event to Big Sur schools, where the next generation of jade hunters and jade artists is getting inspired. [SR] Noon-6pm Friday, June 12; 10am-6pm Saturday, June 13; 10am-4pm Sunday, June 14. Custom House Plaza, Monterey. Free admission. montereybayjadefestival.org. INK MASTERS Tattoos were a taboo among much of Western culture once upon a time, reserved for sailors and military men, but now it’s estimated that 40 percent of Americans between the ages of 26 and 40 sport ink as an important form of personal expression. Over 100 of the world’s best tattoo artists are descending on Monterey for the three-day Ink at the Bay Tattoo Festival, billed as a family friendly event. The festival mixes art and culture, featuring tattoo contests, food vendors, craft and trading card vendors and a car show. Plus, live tattooing will be taking place all weekend. [PM] 3-10pm Friday, June 12, 11am-10pm Saturday, June 13, 11am-7pm Sunday, June 14. Monterey County Fairgrounds, 2004 Fairground Road, Monterey. $29/Friday, $40/ Saturday or Sunday, $157/three-day pass, free/kids 10 and under. (831) 676-6261, inkatthebaymonterey.com. Saturday, June 13 JOINING THREADS Choosing the right fiber and needle size is crucial to ensure your piece has the right tension, texture and drape. Choosing a reason to find the tribe where you can share and explore your love for fibers with fellow crafters is also important. A great day to start this quest is joining Monterey Knitting Social Club’s latest event: Worldwide Knit in Public Day. While the event has knit in the title, it’s open to all crafters including knitters, crocheters, weavers and so on. Open to all ages. Bring a snack, friends and family and a work in progress and enjoy crafting in public while chatting with other crafters. [CJ] Noon-4pm, Saturday, June 13. Colton Hall Lawn, 570 Pacific St., Monterey. Free. (831) 431-0207, bit.ly/KnitInPublic2026. JUBILANT JUBILEE Juneteenth, a federal holiday in the U.S., is commemorated every June 19. It marks the time Union Army Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger told still-enslaved people in Galveston, Texas about their emancipation. That’s worth celebrating, and you can start the party early in Seaside. The Monterey County Juneteenth Jubilee, presented by the Monterey County Black Caucus, features live music, food and more, shining a light on Black businesses and people who have contributed to the fabric of the community. [EC] 1pm Saturday, June 13. Laguna Grande Park, 1249 Canyon Del Rey Blvd., Seaside. Free. juneteenth.montereycounty@gmail.com, tinyurl.com/JuneteenthSeaside. HOT PICKS friends, exploring what the food vendors have to offer. The series opens with Sol Band, a group from Fresno and Coalinga, which blends funk, Latin soul and old-school vibes. This family-friendly event will take place on the second Friday of the summer months— mark your calendar for July 10 and August 14. [AP] 5:30-8pm Friday, June 12. Cesar Chavez Park, 555 Front St., Soledad. Free. (831) 223-5180, tinyurl.com/MusicSoledad. JAZZ HOUR Stonum and Drybread are the names of the two jazz musicians who will entertain the community during the Sunset Center’s Terrace Hour this Friday. Leah Stonum from Alabama is a pianist and vocalist; Mel Drybread from Kansas City is a bassist, saxophonist and an arranger. Stonum and Drybread play as a duo, and sometime as a sixpiece band. They first joined forces on cruise boats on the Mississippi River. Their repertoire ranges from improvisational jazz standards to pop tunes, from Elvis to the Beatles to Motown. Guests are welcome to bring their own food and non-alcoholic beverages. Wine, beer and canned cocktails will be available for purchase. [AP] 6pm Friday, June 12. Sunset Center, San Carlos and 9th, Carmel. Free. (831) 6202048. sunsetcenter.org. RHYTHM IS A DANCER DJs Miggss, Sweet, Big D and Kemisst are calling all Salinas reggaeton lovers to the Fox Theater for an event called Fantasia. Reggaeton is a musical genre combining reggae with hip-hop and rap; it originated in Panama in the 1980s and emerged in Puerto Rico in the late 1990s. While the musical backing in hip-hop and rap serves as a backdrop for the lyrics, in reggaeton, the music is just as important as the text. A characteristic element of reggaeton is a synthesized percussion rhythm known as “Dem Bow,” named after a song by Shabba Ranks. The songs are typically sung or rapped in Spanish. [AP] 9pm Friday, June 12. Fox Theater, 241 Main St., Salinas. $24. (831) 758-8459, foxtheatersalinas.com. Friday, June 12- Saturday, June 13 MAD MUSIC From the group that brought us “Golden Hits of 1612” and “Renaissance Now!” comes “Musica Sacra E Profana: Sacred and Secular Music of the Renaissance.” Under the direction of Jefferson DeMarco, the group he helped found in 2003, Madregallia!! (yes, two exclamation points) and the choir’s accompanying musicians, The Pastyme Consort, will be performing music from some of the best composers of the Renaissance, from both the sacred and secular worlds of the day: Claudio Monteverdi, William Byrd, Thomas Weelkes, Tomas Morely and others. It’s early music to soothe modern souls. [PM] 7:30pm Friday, June 12 and 2:30pm Saturday, June 13. All Saints’ Episcopal Church, Dolores and 9th, Carmel. $30. pastyme@gmail.com, pastymemusic.com. The Suborbitals will bring their amalgamous sound of indie, surf, punk and jazz, born and raised in Monterey Bay, to the historic Henry Miller Library alongside Pacific Grove’s the Bloody Kerouacs (details on p. 26). NIC COURY Ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro, known as the “Jimi Hendrix of the ukulele,” will bring the positive energy and magic of the four-stringed instrument to Monterey as part of his “Tradewinds and Rainbows” tour (details on p. 26). SIERRA MORALES HOT PICKS continued on pg. 26
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