February 5 – March 29, 2010
“When Ya Gonna Give Me A Damn Show?" Exhibition
Featuring the artwork of Bill Baltezar, this exhibition will show works audacious, yet spectacular in composition. Each painting has a handwritten, fully animated story on the back. Bill passed away in October 2009. He has had numerous art shows over the years and his paintings hang in many homes, galleries and museums in Montana and California. He was a member and past president of the Salinas Fine Arts Association and a member of the Butte Arts Chateau. He appeared in numerous productions of the Salinas Performing Arts and Hartnell Western Stage, was a Charter member of the National Steinbeck Center, and a member of the Salinas Elks Lodge.

February 5 – April 22, 2010
The Creeks of Salinas: The Gabilan Watershed Experience
This exhibition celebrates the ecological address of Salinas, Prunedale and Castroville by following the course of the water that lands on the Pacific side of the Gabilans and Fremont peak. Following the successful 2004 exhibit about the Pajaro watershed, project director Jennifer Colby was asked to collaborate with the CSUMB Watershed Institute’s Return of the Natives to tell their 15-year-old story of restoration of Natividad Park and Carr Lake. In addition to that central story, this multi-media exhibit will tell the larger story of the watershed with two community art projects: The River of Photos and My Place in the Watershed – funded by a California Stories grant from the California Council for the Humanities.

Return of the Natives -RON's environmental goal is to protect the waters of the Monterey Bay through restoration of the waterways and the lands draining into the Bay. RON's social goal is to bring people and nature together on our restoration and garden projects in the watersheds. To date RON has trained over 450 teachers, and has hosted over 3,000 community members and 10,000 school children in community planting days. Each year at least 2,000 school children, college students, and volunteers, propagate and plant over 50,000 native plants at restoration sites. RON Staff helps local teachers in establishing native plant gardens on their school sites. Collaboration with the City of Salinas includes the restoration of Natividad Park and Carr Lake.For more information, visit www.watershed.csumb.edu/ron/

March 5
The Creeks of Salinas: The Gabilan Watershed Experience
5 – 7:00 PM First Friday / National Steinbeck Center

Coming March 1 and March 26
RON (Return of the Natives) Plantings and Flow to the Bay Workshops
More information to come.

March 20
Watershed Day: Celebrating the Watershed
10AM – 4PM  Hands on art and science in the Vista Room.

Enjoy these special exhibitions, plus our permanent exhibitions at the John Steinbeck Exhibition Hall and the Rabobank Agriculture Museum for one single museum admission price.