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Love, Grief, and Octopuses in the Monterey Bay

Sun, Aug 11

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Elkhorn Slough Yacht Club

In this event we’ll explore the depths of the Monterey Bay Canyon and through science and art, learn how we can hold our climate grief and our awe and love of these beautiful places simultaneously.

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Love, Grief, and Octopuses in the Monterey Bay
Love, Grief, and Octopuses in the Monterey Bay

Time & Location

Aug 11, 2024, 5:30 PM – 9:30 PM

Elkhorn Slough Yacht Club , Moss Landing

About the event

How do we hold climate grief and our love of beautiful places we call home at the same time?  Are we destroying ecosystems before we even know they exist? In this event we’ll explore the Monterey Bay Canyon – through science, art and music. This massive fissure starts at the Elkhorn Slough and stretches 292 miles. It’s as long and deep as the Grand Canyon and plays a central part of the Monterey Bay ecosystem, and yet we know very little about it.

Dr. Gul Dolen is a pioneering neuroscientist who is leading research into the brain's "critical periods" finite windows of opportunity that enable more rapid learning. According to an article in the New York Times, She found that "humans and octopuses share parts of an ancient messaging system involved in social behaviors, one enhanced by the presence of MDMA in both animals. These shared lineages may have been conserved to reduce fear and enable social behaviors." By comparing solutions across human, mouse, and octopus nervous systems, Dolen hopes to better understand "why critical periods exist, why they close, and why they can be reopened."

Dr. Christine Huffard is an octopus researcher with the Monterey Bay Research Institute. She's going to give an overview of the Monterey Canyon and how it influences our coastline. She'll also talk about how it's become a nexus of deep-sea discovery, including the discovery of an "Octopus Garden" with over 20,000 brooding octopuses. 

Luke Pustejovsky, COO of Tactogen and producer of the Candlelight Club, will talk about climate grief, and ways we can hold our love of these beautiful places along with our grief.  He'll talk about the potential of psychedelics to not only cope with it, but also to open ourselves to more love and affection for each other, ourself, and our planet. It worked for octopuses!.

Artists

We'll screen short films by Santa Cruz artist Kalie Granier. Her film 2 Feet "sits at the intersection of art, science, and ecological conservation, depicting the life power of the underwater kelp forest through women’s prayer." And her newer film, A'ai is made entirely in Esselen language and also explores our relationship with kelps forests.

There will be a performance by singer songwriter Brian Wood Capobianchi. Brian's career in music spans 20+ years. His work has been featured on national television, on international stages in 15+ countries and at numerous major music festivals throughout the US. He has shared the stage with many inspiring acts such as Thievery Corporation, Michael Franti, The Roots, Femi Kuti, Madame Ghandi, George Clinton, Slick Rick & Soulive. He’s part of the duo, driftr, based in Santa Cruz.

We'll screen short films by Santa Cruz artist Kalie Granier. Her film 2 Feet "sits at the intersection of art, science, and ecological conservation, depicting the life power of the underwater kelp forest through women’s prayer." And her newer film, A'ai is made entirely in Esselen language and also explores our relationship with kelps forests. 

Menu: Monterey Canyon Menu, Based on cookbook Forage. Gather. Feast by Maria Finn

Monterey Canyon starts at Moss Landing Beach and forks its way along the bottom of the bay, stretching 292 miles and descending into a 2.5 mile deep alluvial plain. It rivals the Grand Canyon in size and grandeur.  When storms hit, they push silt and seaweed from shore and the sea surface deep into the canyon, tumbling past the rocky walls and gentle slopes, until it deposits in the deep, deep alluvial plains. This nourishes sea creatures that dwell in the depths. It’s also a “carbon highway” as carbon sequestered by bull kelp is deposited in the deep sea where it remains buried indefinitely. World-wide, an estimated 200 million tons of carbon dioxide are being sequestered by macroalgae like bull kelp every year. The terrain of this deep canyon, combined with prevailing winds, creates an upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich water that feeds the abundance of sea life found there, including black cod, who live at depths of down to 9800 feet, and squid, who can exist in the twilight zone of the canyon walls.

Bread & Butter:  scratch made seaweed butter and smoked anchovy butter with local breads, 

Salad of local greens with fresh nori, pickled bladderwrack, shaved cucumbers, purple cabbage and wild radish pods. 

Squid and harissa flatbreads 

Black cod, kombu and wild mushroom chowder

Dessert: Octopus Trifles with candy cap whipped cream and berries (It’s a cake mold!)

PLEASE NOTE: In order to make these events accessible to people in different financial situations, the prices are tiered. Please consider what you can comfortably pay and please pay that and leave the less expensive tickets to people who work in professions like the arts, education, journalism, non-profits and boot-strapped start ups. Thanks for helping us expand our community of curious people.

Tickets

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    From $75.00 to $250.00
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    • $75.00
      +$1.88 service fee
    • $125.00
      +$3.13 service fee
    • $250.00
      +$6.25 service fee

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