Boho Castro, a Bohemian-style fundraiser for the Castro Adobe

NOTE: TICKET SALES CLOSE AT 3 P.M. FRIDAY, JUNE 9.

Step back into the 1960s at the Castro Adobe, a time when the Jowers family owned and cared for the property. Relive the Jowers’ good times, when an eclectic ensemble of their artistic friends made the Castro Adobe a Bohemian center of arts and culture.

Boho Castro will also pay tribute to the Jowers’ iconic Aptos restaurant, the Sticky Wicket, by featuring foods modeled after the original menu as prepared by Mickey's Catering. Beer by Corralitos Brewing Co., wine from Storrs Winery, and made-to-order tea and espresso will be served.

The Sticky Wicket outdoor concerts evolved into the Cabrillo Music Festival thanks to Lou Harrison, Robert Hughes, the Jowers and others. Boho Castro will highlight this connection with live music at the event. Enjoy Lone Prairie, a vintage Western band, of which former Castro steward Joe Kimbro was a member. Also featured will be harmonica player Brendan Power (Laura Jowers’ partner). Brendan Power has recorded with Sting, Kate Bush, James Galway and other luminaries, played in the Riverdance show and performed on the Oscar winning soundtrack for the movie “Atonement.” Recorded Lou Harrison music will also be played.

Period dress is encouraged!

This event is a fundraiser to support the opening of Castro Adobe State Historic Park.

FAQs

• What are my transportation/parking options for getting to and from the event?

  The Castro Adobe site is fragile. Guests are asked to park offsite at Strawberry Business Center, 125 Hangar Way, Watsonville. Free shuttles will be running throughout the evening. Some parking for mobility-impaired guests available at the adobe. Guests who take the shuttle will be given a free ticket to enter our prize drawing!

• Do I have to bring my printed ticket to the event?
  No. You can provide your name at Will Call.

• Will tickets be available at the gate?

  Tickets are available in advance only. No tickets will be sold at the event.

• How can I contact the organizer with any questions?

  Call our office at 831-429-1840.

• Are sponsorship opportunties available?
  Yes, please contact Jo Kenny to learn more – 831.429.1840 ext 312 or jo@thatsmypark.org.

About the Jowers

The Jowers, Castro Adobe stewards (1963-68), owned and lived in the Castro Adobe during the Bohemian era of the 1960s. The Jowers also were the proprietors of the avante-garde Sticky Wicket restaurant in Aptos, a center for Santa Cruz County’s artistic community. The Jowers were instrumental in establishing the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music and even held early fundraising events for the festival at the Castro Adobe.

Victor and Sidney Jowers led remarkable lives, part of them at the Castro Adobe. Victor – reporter, restaurateur, Londoner – and Sidney – author, costume designer, New Yorker – loved the Old Adobe, as everyone called it in the 1960s. It was Victor’s home when he died at 39; it was the home Sidney left soon after when she moved with her two children to England, there to stay. For them, the Adobe was a celebration of culture, history and family, of the arts and of life. We’re honored to be joined at Boho Castro by Victor and Sidney’s children, Laura and Andrew.

About Castro Adobe State Historic Park

Located in Larkin Valley, near Watsonville, the two-story Castro Adobe, built between 1848-49, is one of the finest examples of a rancho hacienda in the Monterey Bay area. The property includes the restored cocina (kitchen) and the Potter-Church Garden, a unique outdoor space originally created by then-owners Elizabeth and David Potter (1968-72) in consultation with noted landscape architect Thomas Church.

Friends is leading a multi-year restoration effort to preserve and interpret the new State Historic Park in partnership with California State Parks. Work is currently being done to complete seismic stabilization, finalize the preservation of the historic adobe and establish a visitor center. It will be Santa Cruz County’s second state historic park and the first non-beach state park in the Pajaro Valley.