OUR UPCOMING EVENTS

PREVIOUS EVENTS

    LOCAL BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: ALMA OSCURA

By: Mariah Ring

       Combining coffee and cultura, Alma Oscura is serving up carefully crafted beverages to the Central Valley. Pop-up founders and husband and wife duo, Cristian and Maricarmen Cruz, started the business as a small side hustle but have steadily grown over the past year. Originally serving up cold brew on tap at their gym, Alma Oscura gained a following that afforded them the opportunity to start attending local events with a coffee cart. Since then, they have expanded their schedule and menu to include local and traditional flavors created with high quality ingredients.

      Cristian and Maricarmen began Alma Osucra by supplying cold brew to a friend and business owner, but it quickly took on a life of it’s own. Their name and branding is tied to their Mexican heritage, which is incredibly important to the couple. When translated from Spanish, Alma Oscura means “Black Soul.” Their slogan, “Find what lights your soul,” plays into the name and invites customers to find their passion and connection over a perfect cup of coffee or tea. Another homage to their heritage comes in the form of sourcing coffee beans from Mexico or Mexican roasters every few months. Cristian carefully picks the beans for the business, rotating roasters to showcase different regions and bring high quality products to the Central Valley. Completely self-taught, Cristian experiments with different flavors and combinations, unafraid to infuse his creativity and innovation when crafting their house-made syrups. The current Fall menu features a Spiced Thai Tea Hojicha, combining two cultures into one which he refers to as a “cultural gumbo;” Camotes Enmielados, a latte inspired by sweet potato street vendors in Mexico; and a Central Valley Pluot Matcha, utilizing locally sourced pluots for a twist on a classic. Serving the best ingredients possible and creating a product they are proud of are at the heart of  Alma Oscura. 

     Cristian may be at the forefront of Alma Oscura but he credits Maricarmen for pushing him to take the leap and pursue the business full time. They both greatly value the connections they have made through the business and the community they are continuing to cultivate. Alma Oscura has begun to make a name for themselves in their first year of operation, securing pop-up residencies for Gallo employee events and at Poor Example, an art gallery and event space in Escalon. As for the future of the business, Cristian commented that having their own community space with the capacity to hold events would be great but that he is currently seeing where this adventure takes the couple. 

      To see the seasonal menu, pop-up locations, and to learn more about Alma Oscura, visit them on Instagram, @almaoscuracafe!

  ORGANIZATION SPOTLIGHT: VALLEY IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS

By: Christine Mora

      Valley Improvement Projects (V.I.P.) is a non-profit organization based in downtown Modesto, dedicated to creating meaningful improvement in local marginalized communities through outreach and advocacy. Their mission is centered around “improving the quality of life of underrepresented and marginalized residents of California’s Central Valley by advocating for social and environmental justice.” Co-founders and directors, Bianca Lopez and Thomas Helme helped establish V.I.P. in 2012 through their passion for social and environmental justice, and continue to push the organization forward more than a decade later.

          V.I.P. opened their current physical community center in 2023 as a dedicated space for education, outreach, and community support. They offer a variety of different services and programs that are dedicated to improving the Central Valley, including hosting a market every other month where all items are donated by the community and free for “purchase,” called the Really Really Free Market. Each other month, V.I.P. hosts an event called Up-Cycling Crafts, where they focus on teaching the community about sustainability and the importance of making something new out of something used to reduce waste. Recently, V.I.P. and Empower 8 collaborated for an up-cycling craft where attendees had the opportunity to screen print their own designs on old clothing to give them a second life. This event highlighted the importance of keeping textiles out of landfills, while still serving as a fun activity for all ages and bringing together like minded community members. Other up-cycling activities have included creating tote bags out of old t-shirts, making notebooks out of paper scraps, and crafting Spring decorations from egg cartons. 

       V.I.P.'s advocacy work sets them apart, as they work not only to provide resources to improve the community, but also advocate for major improvements of the systems creating social and environmental issues in the Central Valley. They are committed to advocating for clean air in disadvantaged areas, pesticide reduction in rural areas and school zones, sustainable land use, police accountability, tenants' rights, and much more. Establishing a reputation for continuously helping the area’s marginalized communities has strengthened V.I.P.’s  drive to continue finding new and innovative solutions to today’s major issues.

        Along with advocacy work, V.I.P. has turned to the Central Valley’s youth to begin outreach with the community’s rising leaders. V.I.P. is hosting a Youth Summit, “The Future Starts with Us,” on October 18th, 2025. The summit will be entirely planned and led by a cohort of young community members who are fueled with passion for improvement and desire to create better foundations for themselves and future generations.

       In addition to their community outreach and advocacy efforts, V.I.P. leads several projects aimed at tackling environmental issues across the Central Valley. Projects like SCAMP focus on air monitoring and educational workshops around air quality, while SCERP is designed to reduce emissions in the region. Through CVEC, V.I.P. helps bring awareness to clean transportation options by hosting events where community members can test drive electric vehicles and learn about financial incentives. They also lead the Pesticide Safety Network, a monthly meeting that pushes for transparency around pesticide use, safety protections, and community accountability. V.I.P.’s Environmental Justice Task Force works directly with residents to track local issues, report concerns to the right agencies, and create policy change when needed. Most recently, they hosted an Environmental Justice Conference on October 4th to bring more attention to these issues. As they continue growing, V.I.P. plans to expand their programming to include more family-friendly and educational activities. With their passionate team, V.I.P. remains committed to empowering the community through grassroots efforts and creating real, lasting change from the ground up. To learn more about their projects, visit them on Instagram, @valleyimprovementprojects, or at their website linked below.

CREATIVE NATIVE Q & A: SKY WOLVENLION

Q: What is your name and hometown?

A: My name is Sky Wolvenlion and I currently live in Manteca, CA!

Q: How were you first introduced to art?

A: I just never put down the crayons I picked up when I was a menace of a toddler doodling on my mom’s walls.  

Q: What is your favorite medium to work with and why?

A: There are so many fun mediums that I love to visit and play around with but pen and ink has to be the one I return to the most. There is a certain level of comfort I find within the familiar black lines.

Q: Is creating your fulltime career? If not, is that your goal?

A: It is not! I tried it out for a couple years and that was really fun but also a lot of pressure. While I may try my hand at it again in the future, leaving myself free to create without the weight of obligation has helped free up my creative flow again.

Q: Where do you find inspiration? Are there artists that inspire you?

A: I pull inspiration from everywhere! Stylistically, I have been greatly inspired for quite a long time by manga artists such as Junji Ito, Kentaro Miura, and many others. Inspiration on the ideas themselves tends to come from quite almost anything - from my meditations, to nature, to conversations I find myself in. 

Q: Do you have advice for youth that are interested in pursuing a career in the arts but may be anxious to start?

A: You really just have to start! Look for inspiration from others for what you might want your career to look like but allow yourself to make mistakes and do your own thing. Unless you have a genuinely miraculous stroke of luck, this is the kind of thing that takes a long time to establish. Think about the message you want to share with others but also give yourself the room and flexibility for that to change and evolve with you over time. Patience, perseverance, and an open heart will take you a long way.

Q: What do you believe is the most prominent or most recurring theme in your art? What does this theme mean to you?

A: This is a question I always struggle to find an answer that I feel satisfied with. Right now, I’m finding that a lot of my art involves themes of change. There is a certain threshold in your personal growth where you are stretched to the point that you cannot snap back to the form that you were once so comfortable with. You realize that you need to let go of who you thought you were. The identities that felt so bespoke become just something that you tried on for a little while. The process of accepting this change takes us through a wide breadth of experiences from deep, existential terror to the breathtaking freedom of witnessing our own divine nature. 

Q: Where can people go to view or purchase your art?

A: You can view most of my work on my instagram @wolvenlion as well as DM me on there for any interest in the purchase of my work! My lovely friends at Black Bomb Entertainment (Sonora, CA) and Bloodstone Bookshop (Sacramento, CA) have some of my works for sale as well!

Q: Do you have any upcoming community events or collaborations coming up that you would like to promote?

A: I currently don’t have any events coming up but I’m sure you’ll see me around!

COMMUNITY EVENTS & RESOURCES