The Diversity Center provides a variety of well-being programs and activities to build resilience and community belonging.
Queer Liberation Quilt Art Workshop
Hosted by: The Diversity Center
Date: Thursday, February 6
Time: 6:00-8:00 pm
Location: The Diversity Center
Ages: 18+
We’re creating a Queer Liberation Quilt that celebrates where we’ve come from, who we are today, and our dreams for the future! Our Queer Liberation Quilt will be displayed at the Threads of Love Art exhibit May 2025, serving as a testament to the resilience, unity, and creativity of our community.
Workshop participants will create a unique fabric panel that expresses their thoughts, feelings, and aspirations. Participants are invited to send a message to their younger selves, gratitude to elders who paved the way, affirmations for our current selves and our hopes and wishes for the future of the LGBTQ+ community. All supplies will be provided. We will be using fabric paint and other embellishments to create our Queer Liberation Quilt Panel. RSVP here.
Safe & Sober Super Bowl Party
Date: Sunday, February 9
Time: 3:00-7:00 pm
Location: The Diversity Center
Ages 18+
Kick-off is 3:30 pm! Enjoy gameday with your community in an inclusive, alcohol-free space. Some delicious treats will be provided, and additional shareable food is welcome. RSVP here!
SPILLING THE CHAI Writing Workshop and Book Launch
Date: Friday, April 18
Time: 6:00-8:00 pm
Location: The Diversity Center
Age: 14+
Local poet, Geneffa Jahan, will read from her recently published poetry memoir, SPILLING THE CHAI: POEMS ABOUT FAMILY AND FOOD, and lead attendees in poetry-writing prompts around hidden family recipes and the flavors of memory. The first hour will focus on poetry-writing exercises with time for an Open Mic-styled reading. Geneffa will read from her book for the second hour with time to purchase and have your book personally signed. This event is especially for those who identify as LGBTQ+ and allies. It will be co-facilitated by local teen trans youth poet, Madeline Aliah. RSVP here.
Advanced Directives Workshop with Hospice of Santa Cruz
Date: Thursday, February 20
Time: 6:00-7:30 pm
Location: The Diversity Center
Age: 18+
Life happens. Serious illness happens. Accidents happen. If you can’t speak for yourself, who will be your voice?
Planning ahead by completing an Advance Healthcare Directive can bring peace of mind to you and your loved ones. An Advance Healthcare Directive is a legal document that outlines your personal and medical healthcare choices and names an advocate to speak for you when you can’t speak for yourself. It’s important for everyone over the age of 18 to have an Advance Healthcare Directive.
By thinking ahead and communicating your treatment preferences early on, you can spare those close to you the anxiety of having to guess your wishes. Most importantly, an Advance Healthcare Directive gives you the opportunity to make very personal health care decisions for yourself. RSVP here.
Dancing for Every Body: An All-Levels Accessible Monthly Dance Class
Date: Every Last Monday, starting February 24
Time: 5:00-6:30 pm
Location: London Nelson Community Center, 301 Center St., Santa Cruz
Ages: All Ages
Join Motion Pacific’s Mo Katzman for an accessible dance class you can do in a chair, with a cane, standing, or in a wheelchair. Register here. Dancing for Every Body will promote the mind-body connection, with a focus on easeful and fun movement, finding the joy and resilience in our moving bodies, dance making, and story sharing. Being Queer and non-binary, Mo will be facilitating the class through a Queer lens and is passionate about creating belonging through cultivating Queer spaces. Mo is very much interested in co-designing the class in response to desires and needs. This class is for all accessibility levels, dancing can be done sitting or standing, and no dance experience is necessary to join. Calling all LGBTQIA folks and allies! A sliding-scale donation is requested but not required.
Cultivating Authentic Well-Being Practices
Date: Thursdays, February 27-April 24, 2025, skipping 4/10
Time: 6:00-7:30 pm
Location: The Diversity Center
Ages: All
This 8-week series uses the 8 Dimensions of Wellness as a guide to deepen our authentic relationship to well-being and identify aligning practices. Register here!
Recurring Programs
Queer and Trans Yoga Hosted by Sapphire Collective
Date: Weekly on Monday
Time: 6:00-7:15 pm
Location: The Diversity Center
Ages: Adults and teens
This is a trauma-sensitive, all-levels, all-bodies/abilities class taught by a rotating queer-identifying yoga teacher each week. We highlight self-nurturance through yoga asana and meditation, a somatic and mindfulness healing practice that resources us for our resilience as well as community care. No prior yoga experience is necessary. Ultimately, this is a brave space for LGBTQ+ identifying folks to gather and take deep care. Please bring your yoga mat and water bottle.
Queer and Trans Yoga Hosted by Sapphire Collective
Date: Weekly on Monday
Time: 6:00-7:15 pm
Location: The Diversity Center
Ages: Adults and teens
This is a trauma-sensitive, all-levels, all-bodies/abilities class taught by a rotating queer-identifying yoga teacher each week. We highlight self-nurturance through yoga asana and meditation, a somatic and mindfulness healing practice that resources us for our resilience as well as community care. No prior yoga experience is necessary. Ultimately, this is a brave space for LGBTQ+ identifying folks to gather and take deep care. Please bring your yoga mat and water bottle.
Santa Cruz Queer Book Club
Date: Tuesday, February 4
Time: 6:00-9:00 PM
Location: The Diversity Center
Ages: 18+
This event is open to all! Eat, drink, and chat about LGBTQ+ literature! Text Jeffrey at 732-272-5896 to be added to the Whatsapp group.
Queer Movie Matinee
Date: Fridays, February 12 & 28
Time: 3:00-5:00 pm
Location: The Diversity Center
Join your community and watch an LGBTQ+-themed movie twice a month! We alternate screening documentaries and films, and we’re happy to take requests if you have a favorite movie. We’ve got popcorn, snacks, and a big screen, and we’re ready for some fun, on the second and fourth Fridays of the month.
On February 14 we will screen the Oscar-winning documentary “Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt,” and on February 28 a community member will show a locally produced satire of the “Ellen” sitcom, starring Santa Cruz queers from the 90’s!
Queer Activities Collective: Board Games
Date: Sunday, February 23
Time: 10:00-11:30 am
Location: The Diversity Center
Ages: 21+
Queer Activities Collective is a community-based offering for adults 21+ who want to socialize in a safe space. Welcoming masc/butch lesbians and their supporters. Join these fun monthly activities facilitated by community member Carolyn Rosevelt, supported by TDC. RSVP here!