Old Monterey District Blog

Let’s start the year off right! From January 1, 2021 through January 15, 2021, Shelley Bennett Skincare invites you to enjoy 15% off orders over $50 on our website with the code FreshStart.

Our retail shop features Shelley Bennett's own line of skincare products as well as Caudalie's full line of products and Image Skincare's clinical line. In addition, we carry skin care tools such as jade rollers, organic cotton washcloths, and more. Curbside pick-up as well as shipping and local delivery are available.

Shelley Bennett Skincare is located at 588 Houston Street in Downtown Old Monterey.

Cheryl Graham has been a beloved friend and dedicated employee at Parker-Lusseau Pastries and Cafe for 12 years. The Monday before Christmas, Cheryl suffered a stroke at work. Staff called 911 and she was immediately transported to CHOMP. On December 31, she was moved to CHOMP's Acute Rehab Center, where she is receiving the best care available and currently undergoes three therapy sessions each day.

Cheryl has a long road to recovery ahead of her. If you are able, please consider contributing to Cheryl Graham's GoFundMe page to help pay the bills as she travels this difficult journey.

From Parker-Lusseau:
In Cheryl's eyes, our customers come first. No matter what kind of day she is having, she always has something nice to say to them - a simple smile, a hug (pre-Covid), a compliment, while fixing their favorite drink. She knows many customers on a first name basis. We ALL love her.

Monterey Museum of Art presents an online symposium on Saturday, January 9, 10am-5pm, entitled Change = Action/Time: Generational Activism in Chicanx and Latinx Art. For more information and to register, click here.

Join Latinx and Chicanx artists and scholars including MacArthur Fellow Amalia Mesa-Bains, Ph.D., renowned collector Armando Durón, and internationally recognized Chicana artist Dr. Judith F. Baca for personal accounts, live Q & A sessions, and a live panel discussion with presenters moderated by Susana Smith Bautista, Ph.D.

MMA is also proud to welcome U.S. Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera as the invocation speaker for this year’s symposium. The symposium coincides with the Califas exhibition opening January 8 in partnership with Museo Eduardo Carrillo. Califas artists will host the morning discussion about generational experiences and activism in and around the Monterey Bay Crescent. MMA will also host local musicians, actors, and spoken word performances during breaks and transitions.

Alta Bakery and Cafe is happy to announce our January drink of the month, a maple cardamom latte. Come and try it this month - we're located at 502 Munras Avenue in Downtown Old Monterey.

While the doors of Monterey County Youth Museum (MY Museum) are physically closed in Downtown Old Monterey, we continue to provide play in fun and engaging ways for families while working to keep our organization alive and able to reopen in 2021. Please consider making a donation today to support us. Due to some very generous donors, donations made through Monterey County Gives! will have access to matching funds! Increase the impact of your donation between November 12th and December 31st.

MY Museum has had to make some difficult financial decisions in order to be in a good position to re-open when it is safe to do so. That said, we still need to pay our mortgage and are in critical need for community support. We carefully reviewed our budget line-by-line on day one and cut all costs possible. We received the PPP loan, but that was only temporary. General operating support would mean the most to us right now and could have the biggest impact on keeping the museum in operation for the long haul. The Association of Children’s Museums is projecting that 30% of children’s museums will not make it through this time and we are confident with support we will be one of the lucky ones.

In brighter news, with our physical space unavailable to families, our mission to provide play to families is always open. During the past few months we have provided the power of play to those who need it through our awesome Shelter & Play Kits. To date we have distributed over 2750 kits and are planning another 5000 more in the Winter and Spring of 2021.

Are you planning to do some knitting or crocheting over the holidays? Slowfiber has gotten in a bunch of new supplies for you, including recycled cashmere, wool, and an organic cotton and yak blend (really!). These yarns are in colors we actually wear and made from fibers that give you bragging rights...and warmth. Make your own knit items, luxuriously and sustainably. Slowfiber is located at 517B Hartnell Street in Downtown Old Monterey.

Now available in store and online:

Trendsetter, Lana Grossa
recycled cashmere / wool blend
50 grams, 66 yards
75% recycled cashmere, 25% Merino wool, and in an Aran weight...Whaa?

Trendsetter, Wish
organic wool / polyamide blend
50 grams, 165 yards
Awesome color choices...small fleck of tweed and just a little poly. Think socks...so nice and lightweight.

Trendsetter, Savona
recycled wool tweed
50 grams, 225 yards
This has a crazy good price point ($7.50). Best for lightweight scarves and shawls. Awesome color choices selected to help you match what you wear most already.

Trendsetter, Cotton & Yak
organic cotton / yak blend
50 grams, 95 yards
This 75% cotton, 25% yak blend is great - the yak adds a little drape to the cotton and the yarn does not pill.

View more yarn here at Slowfiber's online store.

We are happy to announce that East Village Cafe is open under new ownership! Serving up crazy good coffee, tea, authentic chai, and food to-go, this great little community spot at 498 Washington Street in Downtown Old Monterey is now operated by Ryan Lama, also the owner of local import shop Maybe on Monday (located nearby on Pearl Street). East Village Cafe is open daily for take-out, 7am-3pm.

Read about the positive changes taking place at East Village under Ryan's leadership in Marc C. Anderson's article in Edible Monterey Bay.

We encourage you to view the City of Monterey's 2020 Holiday Video Card, featuring lovely scenery and wildlife in Monterey and Monterey Bay plus a special performance by violinist Bailey McEachen in front of Colton Hall. Happy holidays, everyone. Anda!

You asked for it...the Nacho Bizness Party Pack is back for good! That's right - now you can get two regular nachos and two beers for only $30 whenever you want. We're open for take-out at 470 Alvarado Street in Downtown Old Monterey.

On Christmas Eve, Monterey Marriott Hotel invites you to leave the cooking to Chef Josh Silva-Arias and order our Christmas Eve Dinner To-Go.

Our take-out Christmas Eve menu includes: Caesar salad; a choice of herb roasted prime rib with charred brussels sprouts, roasted root vegetables, and confit potatoes OR seafood bucatini with shrimp, scallops, calamari with spicy tomato-basil cream sauce and garlic bread; and chocolate ganache cake with strawberries and whipped cream. View full menu here.

Price is $37 per plate plus 10% service charge and 9.25% tax. No pre-ordering is necessary. Available for take-out on December 24, 4:30pm-9pm at Monterey Marriott, 350 Calle Principal in Downtown Old Monterey. For more information, please call 831-649-4234.

Please join Monterey County Youth Museum as we welcome in 2021 with our annual NOON Year's Eve Extravaganza on Thursday, December 31. As usual, the festivities will be fun for the whole family...but this year we'll be celebrating outdoors at the drive-in theater at Monterey County Fair Grounds, 2004 Fairground Road in Monterey. Space is limited, so buy your ticket today.

Tickets are $50 per car and include a countdown to NOON, celebration swag (a few hats and noise makers), a bag of popcorn, and a candy bar to go with our drive-in-movie, Charlie & The Chocolate Factory!

Gates will open at 11am. The countdown and the movie start at 11:50am. Feel free to bring a picnic lunch and/or additional snacks.