Monterey & Santa Cruz counties
What's on around
Monterey Bay
Verified dates, locations and free-or-ticketed status for public events across the Central Coast — the details that official calendars bury. Monterey Car Week 2026 is covered in full; the rest of the regional calendar is being built out event by event.
Featured event
August 7 – 16, 2026 · Monterey Peninsula
Monterey Car Week 2026
Ten days, 91 listed events across the peninsula — concours lawns, historic racing at Laguna Seca, auctions and dawn drives on Highway One. 27 of them are free for spectators.
Also on the Central Coast calendar
Coverage in progress
These recurring Monterey and Santa Cruz county events are next to be covered. They are listed without dates on purpose — each one gets a page when its date, venue and admission are confirmed against the organizer, not before.
- Monterey County Fair
- Santa Cruz County Fair
- Capitola Begonia Festival
- Pacific Grove Butterfly Parade
- Castroville Artichoke Festival
- Watsonville holiday markets
Before you drive
Peninsula traffic peaks in August
Highway One, Ocean Avenue and the routes into Pebble Beach and Laguna Seca slow to a crawl during Car Week event hours. Check live closures before every trip, and text CARWEEK to 65513 for public safety alerts.