La Selva Beach Branch Library

Join us for an author talk with Craig S. Harwood, author of Bridget's Gambit: A Saga of Family Enterprise in Gold Rush California, and discover the remarkable life of Bridget Evoy.
Bridget Evoy was a pioneering woman who, together with her daughters, built a potent business empire and "broke glass ceilings in the fields of real estate and commerce" during the tumultuous years of the California Gold Rush. Harwood shares the compelling story of Bridget's journey: from escaping the Irish famine and leading a wagon train across the Overland Trail, to her emergence as a fiercely independent business leader breaking barriers for women in the patriarchal world of “El Dorado.” As the publisher states, Harwood's spirited biography of an audacious, persistent woman brings to the forefront the largely unheralded contributions of women in the forming of California statehood—and restores a lost chapter to the history of the American West.
Registration is recommended, but not required.&nbsp;
About the author: Craig S. Harwood is the multi-award-winning author of two university-published biographies. His newest book, Bridget's Gambit, received the 2026 Silver Medal in the Independent Publisher Book Awards, a prestigious national honor. A professional geologist, Craig works throughout California's Central Coast and Bay Area. He is a fourth-generation Californian who grew up in the area and lives in Santa Cruz County.
The views and opinions expressed by presenters in Santa Cruz Public Libraries programs are their own and do not constitute an endorsement by Santa Cruz Public Libraries or its member jurisdictions.&nbsp;
Los puntos de vista y opiniones expresadas por los presentadores de programas en las Bibliotecas Públicas de Santa Cruz son propias y no constituyen en un respaldo o reflejo de la postura de las Bibliotecas Públicas de Santa Cruz ni de sus jurisdicciones miembro.

Local Event: Bridget Evoy: Trailblazer in the California Goldrush Economy

Santa Cruz County

La Selva Beach

California

Bridget Evoy: Trailblazer in the California...

Join us for an author talk with Craig S. Harwood, author of Bridget's Gambit: A Saga of Family Enterprise in Gold Rush...

Bridget Evoy: Trailblazer in the California Goldrush Economy

Surplus Assets to Ongoing Operations of Driscoll's Online Auction&nbsp;October 20th - 22nd
Featuring Large Inventory of Electronics: Zebra TC22 Handheld Devices, INIU Smart Power Banks, Camera Desk Mounts, USB-C Wall Chargers and Much More
View Catalog/Register to Bid Here:&nbsp;<a href="https://svdisposition.hibid.com/catalog/783692/surplus-assets-to-ongoing-operations-of-driscolls" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">svdisposition.hibid.com/catalog/783692/surplus-assets-to-ongoing-operations-of-driscolls</a>Featured Assets Include:<ul><li>(1000+) Zebra TC22 WLMT0 Handheld Devices</li><li>(600+) INIU 20,000mAh Smart Power Banks</li><li>(900+) Raubay Camera Desk Mount, Magic Arm with C Clamp, 1/4”, DMA01</li><li>(600+) RVP+ USB C Wall Chargers Block 38W</li></ul>

Local Event: Surplus Assets to Ongoing Operations of Driscoll's Online Auction

Watsonville

Surplus Assets to Ongoing Operations of...

Surplus Assets to Ongoing Operations of Driscoll's Online Auction October 20th - 22nd
Featuring Large Inventory of Electronics:...

Surplus Assets to Ongoing Operations of Driscoll's Online Auction

You're invited! Watsonville's Holiday Boutique is coming up Sunday, Nov 1, from 12 noon to 4pm. Doors open at noon sharp. It's our annual fundraiser, raffle and craft fair. Get a head start on your holiday shopping with local crafts, succulents, plants, gift certificates and unique gift baskets.&nbsp; And be sure to enter the quilt raffle &amp; choose-your-own-prize raffle.&nbsp; More info:&nbsp; email info@watsonvilletaiko.org <a href="https://www.watsonvilletaiko.org/events" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">watsonvilletaiko.org/events&nbsp;</a> &nbsp;<a href="https://www.watsonvilletaiko.org/events" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"> </a><a href="https://www.facebook.com/watsonvilletaiko" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">facebook.com/watsonvilletaiko </a>

Local Event: Watsonville Taiko Holiday Boutique

Watsonville Taiko Holiday Boutique

You're invited! Watsonville's Holiday Boutique is coming up Sunday, Nov 1, from 12 noon to 4pm.  Doors open at noon sharp. It's...

Email

Thanksgiving asks us to be grateful.
But what if you are overwhelmed? What if your family relationships are strained, someone you love is missing, or the suffering of the world feels too big to set aside?
What if gratitude can't be called forth simply because the calendar tells you that it's time?
This Thanksgiving, I’d like to invite you into a different kind of gratitude practice, one that does not ask you to deny your grief, your loneliness, anger, fear or your &nbsp;uncertainty.
Thanksgiving Without Pretending&nbsp;is a seven-day email practice for meeting these holidays, and your life, exactly as they are.
Each morning from Monday through Sunday, November 17 through November 22, you will receive an email exploring one of the inner obstacles that can make gratitude and love difficult:
<ul><li>Overwhelm</li><li>Judgment</li><li>Disconnection</li><li>Scarcity and comparison</li><li>Jealousy</li><li>Sadness and loss</li><li>Isolation</li></ul>
You will not be asked to push these feelings away or replace them with positive thoughts. Instead, you will explore what becomes possible when you meet each experience with honesty, curiosity, and compassion.
Every email will include:
<ul><li>A short inspirational teaching</li><li>A guided meditation</li><li>A Zen koan or contemplative phrase</li><li>A poem</li><li>A simple practice connected to the holidays</li><li>A question to carry with you throughout the day</li></ul>
The practices will take approximately 10–15 minutes and can be done wherever you are. Regardless of whether you are preparing a large family meal, spending the holidays quietly, caring for someone, traveling, grieving, or choosing not to celebrate in the usual way the time spent in these practices will be a healing salve.
Gratitude is not pretending that everything is good. It is the willingness to receive what's here. It's remembering what continues to sustain you. It's allowing sorrow and appreciation, absence and love, to sit together at the same table.
Perhaps the deeper question of Thanksgiving is not:
What should I be grateful for?
But:
Can I meet this life with an open heart, and what becomes possible when I do?
I would be honored to practice with you.
Thanksgiving Without Pretending A Seven-Day Practice of Gratitude, Belonging, and Love
Dates:&nbsp;November 17-22, 2026 Cost:&nbsp;$50.00 Delivered:&nbsp;One email each morning Register here:&nbsp;https://IllanaBerger.as.me/ThanksgivingWithoutPretending

Local Event: Thanksgiving Without Pretending: A Seven-Day Email Practice of Gratitude, Belonging, and Love

Pleasure Point

Thanksgiving Without Pretending: A Seven-Day...

Thanksgiving asks us to be grateful.
But what if you are overwhelmed? What if your family relationships are strained, someone...

Thanksgiving Without Pretending: A Seven-Day Email Practice of Gratitude, Belonging, and Love

La Selva Beach CA

La Selva Beach Book Discussion Group

Bay Area

Capitola-Soquel

Santa Cruz

Scotts Valley

Santa Clara County

Gilroy

Los Gatos

Campbell

Saratoga

Cupertino

Los Altos

Illusive Comics & Games, LLC

All are welcome at Illusive Comics &amp; Games, located in Santa Clara. Woman owned and all spectrum friendly, we are a brightly lit, well organized, and welcoming shop. It's easy for anyone to come in and wander, and shop. Roll some gorgeous dice and play some boardgames if you have the time. We will you pick out the perfect item you're looking for! We have the largest selection of new comics in the Bay Area. You can also find Dungeons &amp; Dragons, Pokemon, Magic: the Gathering, and a huge selection of boardgames. We've got comic books for every age, starting with Superhero board books. We have a full weekend of events all of the time, which we update on our website each week. There's also space for free Boardgaming for you and your friends. Illusive has been a Santa Clara mainstay since 2007. We're on Stevens Creek at Lawrence Expy and 280, next to Harbor Freight, on the other end of the center from MicroCenter. Open every day of the year, our Holiday Hours for 2026/27 are Mon 11a-7p Tues 12p-7p Wed 11a-8p Thur 11a-7p Fri 11a-9p Sat 10a-7p Sun 11a-7p (Libraries, Teachers and Schools- contact us for bulk ordering discounts for your schools and fundraising options!)

All are welcome at Illusive Comics & Games, located in Santa Clara. Woman owned and all spectrum friendly, we are a brightly lit, well organized,...

Nearby Communities

State Edition

National Edition

Events and Things to Do in La Selva Beach, CA

Tuesday, October 20

Surplus Assets to Ongoing Operations of Driscoll's Online Auction

OCT

20

9:00 AM

Watsonville, CA

Also around town...

Please confirm event details with the organizers before attending

Saturday, October 17

Tuesday, October 20

Sunday, November 1

Monday, November 16

Wednesday, December 23

Surplus Assets to Ongoing Operations of Driscoll's Online Auction

Illusive Comics & Games, LLC