Welcome to our arts event calendar! This calendar supports arts programs and events in Monterey County. Find your next creative adventure, or submit your event to be added here upon approval.
Carmel Bach Festival: All Bach Organ Recital
Carmel Mission Basilica 3080 Rio Road, Carmel-by-the-Sea
Carmel Bach Festival | Meet the Composer: John Dowland
Sunset Center San Carlos St at Ninth Ave, Carmel by the Sea
Carmel Bach Festival: July in Paris
All Saints' Episcopal Church Doroles St & 9th Ave, Carmel-by-the-Sea
Carmel Bach Festival: Vivaldi Four Seasons & Handel Water Music
Sunset Center San Carlos St at Ninth Ave, Carmel by the SeaWeek of Events
Monterey Symphony Announces 2026-2027 Season at Sunset Center
Monterey Symphony Announces 2026-2027 Season at Sunset Center and Love Letter to New York at the Forest Theater Performances at Sunset Center, Carmel, San Carlos and 9th Ave. Carmel/Monterey CA – Monterey Symphony announces its 81st season with two Love Letter to New York performances at the Forest Theater and six concert sets at the […]
Summer Art Classes
A welcoming series of summer art classes for all skill levels, featuring instruction in drawing, acrylic and oil painting, landscapes, flowers, and still life in a supportive creative environment.
Monday, July 20, 2026
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July 20, 2026 -Carmel Bach Festival: All Bach Organ Recital
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July 20, 2026 -Carmel Bach Festival | Meet the Composer: John Dowland
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July 20, 2026 -Carmel Bach Festival: July in Paris
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July 20, 2026 -Carmel Bach Festival: Vivaldi Four Seasons & Handel Water Music
Carmel Bach Festival: All Bach Organ Recital
Enjoy a morning of organ music in the historic Carmel Mission Basilica. Performed by Andrew Arthur, the Festival’s Principal Organist and a member of the Artistic Leadership Team, this recital highlights the beauty of Bach’s works as well as works by Heinrich Scheidemann & Georg Böhm.
Carmel Bach Festival | Meet the Composer: John Dowland
This program features music by John Dowland, one of the most influential composers of the English Renaissance, marking 400 years since his death. Focusing on his celebrated lute songs, the concert explores themes of love, loss, time, and nature that made Dowland famous throughout Europe.
Carmel Bach Festival: July in Paris
Step into Paris at the turn of the 18th century, when candlelit salons and royal courts were filled with elegant, expressive music. Works by François Couperin and Jean-Féry Rebel capture the refined beauty, rich harmonies, and vivid character of the French Baroque, offering a glimpse into the sound world of the city alive with new […]
Carmel Bach Festival: Vivaldi Four Seasons & Handel Water Music
Vivaldi’s Four Seasons is a set of four violin concertos paired with short poems that describe the scenes each movement depicts: birds singing, dogs barking, storms breaking, and people celebrating. Vivaldi brings these images to life with musical details such as trills for birds, a repeating viola line for a dog, droning lines for Summer’s […]
Tuesday, July 21, 2026
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July 21, 2026 -Carmel Bach Festival: 19th Century Guitar
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July 21, 2026 -Carmel Bach Festival: Roaring 20’s
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July 21, 2026 -Carmel Bach Festival: Bach at Sunset
Carmel Bach Festival: 19th Century Guitar
This concert features 19th-century works for fortepiano and mandolino by Beethoven, Hummel, Giuliani, and Carulli. The program highlights the interplay between the two instruments and the elegance of early Romantic chamber music.
Carmel Bach Festival: Roaring 20’s
The 1920s marked a decade of bold reinvention as composers responded to a rapidly changing world with wit, clarity, and new musical languages. Works by Poulenc, Martinů, and Stravinsky capture the energy of the era—from Parisian surrealism and jazz-inflected dance to the crisp lines of neoclassicism—revealing three distinct voices shaped by the same moment in […]
Carmel Bach Festival: Bach at Sunset
Baroque music forms the foundation of the Carmel Bach Festival, and this program honors that tradition. J.S. Bach’s Cantata No. 39, Brich dem Hungrigen dein Brot, and Cantata No. 105, Herr, gehe nicht ins Gericht, showcase his mastery of choruses, arias, and recitatives, blending intricate musical craft with profound spiritual and moral themes. Antonio Lotti’s […]
Wednesday, July 22, 2026
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July 22, 2026 -Toddler Gymnastics
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July 22, 2026 -Carmel Bach Festival: Forest Quartets
Toddler Gymnastics
Join us on Wednesdays as we partner with Shea’s Gymnastics Toddlers will learn about the basics of gymnastics through games and movement in this fun and engaging Caregiver & Me program. Recommended for children ages 2-5. Fee: Included with daily admission.
Carmel Bach Festival: Forest Quartets
Held at Church in the Forest, a striking venue nestled among the cypress and pine trees of Pebble Beach, this concert features two landmark string quartets: Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 10, the “Harp,” and Mendelssohn’s String Quartet No. 1, a work that balances classical structure with Romantic intensity.
Thursday, July 23, 2026
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July 23, 2026 -Make & Take Crafts
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July 23, 2026 -Carmel Bach Festival: Field of Sound, curated by Featured Composer Angélica Negrón
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July 23, 2026 -Carmel Bach Festival: Twilight in the Cathedral
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July 23, 2026 -Carmel Bach Festival: Bach, Brazilian, and Bluegrass
Make & Take Crafts
Get crafty with us on Thursday mornings! Art making plays a central role in cognitive, motor, language, and social-emotional development. Enjoy creative exploration and make something fun to take home, too. Recommended for children ages 2 and older. Fee: Included with daily admission. free admission for members.
Carmel Bach Festival: Field of Sound, curated by Featured Composer Angélica Negrón
Curated by Angélica Negrón in line with the Festival’s theme, this program focuses on the nature of sound itself. The program unfolds as an immersive experience— blurring boundaries between acoustic and electronic sound, individual and collective voice, memory and environment. The use of strings, voices, and electronics reflects Negrón’s broader work, where sound is treated […]
Carmel Bach Festival: Twilight in the Cathedral
Experience the serene beauty of Twilight in the Cathedral, a concert that evokes the tranquility of a sacred evening in the historic San Carlos Cathedral. This annual concert highlights Baroque music for strings and organ.
Carmel Bach Festival: Bach, Brazilian, and Bluegrass
This program brings musical worlds together in one exhilarating evening. Festival favorites Fire & Grace—Edwin Huizinga and William Coulter—are joined by mandolin luminaries Mike Marshall, long celebrated for his Brazilian collaborations, and Caterina Lichtenberg. Experience Bach’s brilliance as it meets bluegrass drive and the rhythmic warmth of Brazil.
Friday, July 24, 2026
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July 24, 2026 -Miss Sarah Sunshine
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July 24, 2026 -Carmel Bach Festival: Baroque & Classical Academy Showcase
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July 24, 2026 -Carmel Bach Festival: Sounds of the Seasons
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July 24, 2026 -Carmel Bach Festival: Bach Cantatas
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July 24, 2026 -Jagged Little Pill
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July 24, 2026 -Carmel Bach Festival: Beethoven 6 Symphony & Appalachian Spring
Miss Sarah Sunshine
Please join our very own local celebrity, Miss Sarah Sunshine from It's Circle Time, every Friday from 10:15 to 11:00 at MY Museum. This educational and fun program will include singing, dancing, stories, and much more. It’s Circle Time is a playful learning space where songs, stories, and meaningful connections come together. Designed for young […]
Carmel Bach Festival: Baroque & Classical Academy Showcase
The Baroque & Classical Academy provides training from internationally acclaimed Bach Festival musicians and learning opportunities at the Carmel Bach Festival. BCA musicians have a full rehearsal schedule, including guided sessions with mentors, in preparation for the Baroque & Classical Academy Quartet Showcase Concert. Throughout July, BCA musicians learn how to curate programs, create socially […]
Carmel Bach Festival: Sounds of the Seasons
This concert features French composer Joseph Bodin de Boismortier’s cantatas inspired by the seasons, written around the same time as Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Scored for voice, obbligato instrument, and continuo, they explore music’s ability to depict the changing seasons and the natural world.
Carmel Bach Festival: Bach Cantatas
Bach Cantatas features two expressive works by J.S. Bach—Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam, BWV 7, and Cantata BWV 187. Rich in theological depth and musical invention, these cantatas showcase Bach’s gift for illuminating text through vibrant choral writing and nuanced instrumental color.
Jagged Little Pill
Jagged Little Pill is a powerful and emotionally charged musical inspired by the iconic album by Alanis Morissette. With a compelling story by Academy Award–winning writer Diablo Cody and music that defined a generation, this groundbreaking show explores the complexities of modern life with raw honesty and unforgettable songs. Set in a seemingly picture-perfect suburban […]
Carmel Bach Festival: Beethoven 6 Symphony & Appalachian Spring
Beethoven subtitled his Pastoral Symphony “Recollections of Country Life”. Each of its five movements depicts a countryside scene. The first movement conveys the calm joy of arriving in the countryside, with gentle, flowing melodies. The second evokes a babbling brook, while woodwinds mimic birdsong. In the third, people dance and celebrate with lively rhythms. The […]
Saturday, July 25, 2026
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July 25, 2026 -Carmel Bach Festival: Virginia Best Adams Showcase
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July 25, 2026 -Carmel Bach Festival: Counterpoint
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July 25, 2026 -Jagged Little Pill
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July 25, 2026 -Carmel Bach Festival: Best of the Fest
Carmel Bach Festival: Virginia Best Adams Showcase
In a typical season, the Virginia Best Adams (VBA) quartet comes to Carmel in July to train with Festival artists, and explore ways to communicate Baroque repertoire more vividly. In a light-hearted atmosphere of discovery, the VBA Masterclass participants experience a wealth of vocal music and examine all aspects of style, technique, communication, language, performance […]
Carmel Bach Festival: Counterpoint
Counterpoint is a collaboration between pianist and composer Conrad Tao and choreographer and dancer Caleb Teicher. The duo explore the dichotomy of their different perspectives and artistic practices, expanding their individual expressive capacity through a collective experience. Harmonic, rhythmic, and theatrical counterpoint between the artists seeks to map out constellations linking their disparate traditions, driving […]
Jagged Little Pill
Jagged Little Pill is a powerful and emotionally charged musical inspired by the iconic album by Alanis Morissette. With a compelling story by Academy Award–winning writer Diablo Cody and music that defined a generation, this groundbreaking show explores the complexities of modern life with raw honesty and unforgettable songs. Set in a seemingly picture-perfect suburban […]
Carmel Bach Festival: Best of the Fest
Favorite selections from the Festival are performed in this closing night concert that celebrates music, Carmel, the musicians of the Bach Festival, and the Festival’s loyal patrons. The program is a sampler of musician and audience favorites from throughout the two-week Festival. The concert is followed by a celebratory party on the Sunset Center Terrace […]
Sunday, July 26, 2026
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July 26, 2026 -Jagged Little Pill
Jagged Little Pill
Jagged Little Pill is a powerful and emotionally charged musical inspired by the iconic album by Alanis Morissette. With a compelling story by Academy Award–winning writer Diablo Cody and music that defined a generation, this groundbreaking show explores the complexities of modern life with raw honesty and unforgettable songs. Set in a seemingly picture-perfect suburban […]