OPENING VIBES
By Brian Upton
Not every conversation has to be political. Honestly, I probably drive my family and friends crazy with that line. But I mean it. I think most of the time we can name what’s going on around us — the fractures, the tension, the distance we all feel — without dragging it into party lines or talking points. We all feel the weight of it. Not just as a country, but as people—tired, hurting, and longing for something steady in a world that keeps breaking open. We share this fragile planet, even as we drift further apart. It’s painful to name, and harder to hold, but I still believe division doesn’t have to be the protagonist in our story.
From day one, we’ve built Santa Cruz Vibes on something else entirely: connection. To me, that’s the real currency here. When you slow down and actually listen, when you step into somebody else’s perspective, you start to feel less distant. Engagement is the fastest path to empathy. And empathy — that’s where real change begins.
That’s the thread we see running through this fall issue. Frans Lanting’s feature on our local wetlands is a poignant reminder that fragile systems only survive when everything works in harmony. That feels like the world we live in right now — messy and vulnerable, but still capable of resilience if we can remember we’re connected.
Then there’s Ryan “Chachi” Craig’s trip to Tasmania. Through his eyes — as a surfer, an artist, and yes, as my co-owner — you see how far away places can still feel close. Waves and people thousands of miles away, and yet they carry echoes of home. Adventure has that power to collapse distance.
Back here in Santa Cruz, we mark 40 years of the Open Studios Art Tour. Think about that: four decades of artists opening their doors and letting strangers in. In a world that tells us to stay guarded, here’s a tradition built on trust and vulnerability.
I also sat down with the next generation, Sheyna Burns and Bella Bonner. These two aren’t waiting for permission to lead; they’re shaping what’s next, right now. It’s not coming from a boardroom or a ballot box, but from signs flipped at protests and ideas sparked in the community. That’s real courage. Kyle Thiermann taps into that same spirit with his new book, “One Last Question Before You Go.” It’s raw, it’s intimate, and it asks us to sit with uncertainty. To me, that’s a connection too — the willingness to show up vulnerable and unpolished.
And of course, the Santa Cruz Film Festival is just around the corner. There’s nothing like sitting in a dark theater with strangers, letting a story carry you somewhere else. For a couple of hours, the walls we build between ourselves dissolve. That’s the magic of film. It reminds us that we all breathe the same air.
Every one of these stories says the same thing in a different language: division may be loud, but connection is louder if you choose to hear it. It lives in wetlands, in studios, in protests, in waves, in books, in films. None of these alone will “fix” what divides us. But together, they create openings — little cracks where empathy can get through.
That’s what we’ve always wanted Vibes to be. A pause from the chaos. A place where we can step out of the noise for a bit and remember what holds us together. Yes, our other platforms — digital, SCVM TV, and podcasts — are where we delve deeper into the more complex topics. But the magazine is the space to reconnect.
And if you do want to lean into the more complex conversations, we’ve opened up a new corner of the Vibes universe with our Drop In podcast. I’m really proud of this project. It’s where I sit with artists, leaders, and community voices to ask bigger questions and wrestle with the things that divide us. We’d love for you to join us there — scan the QR code below and take the leap with us.
I don’t have the solutions. But I know this: showing up for each other — through story, through art, through community — matters. Engagement is still the fastest path to empathy. And empathy, right now, feels like the most radical act we can take as a society.
As another season unfolds, I hope you carry these stories with you, not as distractions, but as reminders that even in complicated times, connection is still possible. And maybe, just maybe, that’s where we start to close that gap dividing us.
