Arts & Entertainment Travis Poelle as promising scientist and Victor’s grandson, Frederick Frankenstein, Christiana Meeks as his annoying fiance, Elizabeth, Ethan McDaniel as charismatic Igor, Sarah Gaudoin as Inga and Donna Federico as Frau Blucher. PacRep is the oldest and the biggest of local theaters, with access to four stages—two in the renovated Golden Bought Playhouse, and two at the Forest Theatre. It produces Broadway musicals, annual Shakespeare productions, dramatic and community theater, as well as children’s theater programs and productions—but no clown acts. BEST MOVIE THEATER Cinemark Century Monterey 1700 Del Monte Center, Monterey (831) 373-8051, cinemark.com Cinema loves the circus, whether it’s drawn to the rich color palette or the somber emotional layers underlying all the pizzazz on stage. Whether it’s flashy or sad, the big screens, reclining seats and multi-level riser seating at Century Monterey makes going to the movies a treat. This theater gives you good reason to shut off your streaming device and go out, where you can let someone else make the batch of perfectly buttered popcorn while you relax. This is how movies are meant to be watched. BEST PERFORMING ARTS VENUE Sunset Center 908 San Carlos St., Carmel (831) 620-2048 In 1926—the year Charles E. Ringling died—the beautiful campus of what now is the Sunset Cultural Center came into being as a school. But when the school got its performing arts venue three years later, the fate of the building changed. More and more coveted as a space of concerts and lectures, with the Carmel Bach Festival and other annual initiatives growing each year, the center eventually became what it is now: a performance space that also houses lecture halls, important gallery spaces and more. Sunset Center just launched a “Century of Creativity,” a five-year journey to its theater’s centennial in 2031, honoring the center’s remarkable evolution from schoolhouse to performing arts landmark, with a series of events beginning in the fall of 2026. BEST MUSEUM Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History 165 Forest Ave., Pacific Grove (831) 648-5716, pgmuseum.org One of the major draws for circuses of the past, besides the main shows under the big top, were the exotic animal menageries, where people could get an up-close look at live animals from far-away lands like elephants, giraffes, lions and other big cats. At the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History—which was founded in 1893, 90 years after the first circus appeared 38 BEST OF MONTEREY COUNTY® 2026 montereycountynow.com/bestof ’26 Best Restaurant for Romantic Dining ’26 It is our greatest pleasure to serve this incredible community. Thank you for letting us be a part of your celebrations and treasured memories - Pacific’s Edge at Highlands Inn PACIFIC’S EDGE HIGHLANDS INN 120 HIGHLANDS DRIVE 831.622.5444 www.pacificsedge.com
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