We're a local family with three kids on the Eastside, and we kept finding out about cool things in Santa Cruz after it already happened. A new business opening that we'd find out about a few weeks after the fact, or a street fair or concert we'd miss. We found ourselves checking different websites and Instagram accounts to find things going on, but we'd still miss things.
We had the thought that it would be nice to have everything in one place. So every Tuesday we started looking up everything going on around town and write up the handful of events we'd want to go to ourselves. We sent it out to some friends and family who loved it, so in June 2026 we opened it up to the rest of the county. We posted about it on Nextdoor and in a few Facebook groups, and in the first week nearly 1,800 neighbors joined the list. We were not expecting that!
This has turned into something we're passionate about and are so excited to continue building, and we see so much potential for helping connect the community and help local businesses.
It's growing quickly, but the core idea hasn't changed. Low Tide Local is a free email every Tuesday morning, built around things we'd take our own family to. If you hear about something we should include, send it our way. We can't include everything but we'll try our best!
