Popping Up in Santa Cruz

As first-timers in Santa Cruz County, we discovered that exactly 1 mile from the MAH sits the boardwalk with games, rides, cotton candy and all the nostalgic amusement park fun you can imagine. And it just so happened that our exhibition was coinciding with a very special birthday: the 100th Anniversary of the Giant Dipper!

The iconic wooden coaster is the 4th oldest in the country and has an amazing history dating back to when it was built in 1924. But what made this even more special? The curators at the MAH connected with the team at the boardwalk and we were so very lucky to have an original car from the Giant Dipper integrated into our exhibition!

With this incredible centerpiece secured, we knew we had to do something equally special with the rest of the show. So we put out a call for Santa Cruz County photo submissions and received hundreds of incredible images from residents who had been accidentally capturing our aesthetic all along. Turns out, Santa Cruz had been building our dream portfolio for decades.

From the red-brick lighthouse housing the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum to Capitola’s dreamy Venetian Court, and all the vintage neon signs to the perfectly symmetrical beach umbrellas, it was a treasure trove of AWA-worthy locations. The town’s natural color palette of warm oranges and coastal blues felt like it had been curated specifically for us. When it all came together – more than 100 AWA photographs from fantastic photographers around the world and in Santa Cruz County – the exhibition was the perfect blend of global AWA magic and Santa Cruz charm.

Thank you again to all of the photographers who participated, the amazing team at the Santa Cruz MAH, the wonderful people from the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, and every one of the thousands of visitors who came to experience it. Here’s many more, Adventurers! 🥂