What we’re about
Unplug and unwind. Bond over shared experiences. Make authentic friendships.
So Cal Explorers Meetup is the antidote to a hyper-mediated, disconnected world. We go on outings to learn, explore, and celebrate Southern California's most historic, iconic, interesting, cool and lesser-known spots, together. It’s through shared experiences that bonds are formed. We are not a dating group. We are not a networking group. We want everyone to have a place where they can connect and form friendships with other adults without any pressure or ulterior motives.
We'll enjoy walking tours, presentations, hiking, kayaking, museums, live music, movies, dining, exploring, and meetin' up. While everyone 18 and older is welcome, we tend to be a group of progressive, slightly irreverent, 40-60 year olds with counter culture sensibilities.
Come explore with other like-minded folks for relaxed, casual, and fun socializing, learning and dining. So Cal Explorers is where awkward encounters turn into epic friendships!
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- MOVIE NIGHT: "NIGHT OF THE HUNTER"The Frida Cinema, Santa Ana, CA
Cross-posted with LA & OC Weirdo Music & Art Forum
This is a great film. Actor Charles Laughton's only film as director. It was a box office and critical failure, so he never made another film, but now it is recognized as a classic way ahead of its time.
Date: Wednesday, May 21, 7:30 pm
Venue: Frida Cinema
305 E 4th St #100, Santa Ana, CA 92701
Phone: (714) 285-9422Dinner 6:00 @ 4th St Market, 201 E 4th St, Santa Ana, CA 92701
Tickets: $13.00
Trailer here
Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 93% positive rating.
Director: Charles Laughton Run Time: 93 min. Release Year: 1955
Starring: Billy Chapin, Lillian Gish, Robert Mitchum, Sally Jane Bruce, Shelley WintersA stark, Southern Gothic black-and-white as we present The Night of the Hunter, one of the most haunting and singular films ever made. The only movie ever directed by actor Charles Laughton, it is celebrating its 70th birthday this year!
Robert Mitchum is unforgettable as Reverend Harry Powell, a preacher with a forked tongue, a switchblade in his pocket, and “LOVE” and “HATE” tattooed across his knuckles. Posing as a man of God, he hunts two children across a dreamlike rural landscape, believing they hold the secret to a hidden fortune. What unfolds is a shadow-drenched tale of survival, spiritual terror, and the strange, luminous resilience of children in a world gone cold.
A box office failure on release, it’s now hailed as one of the most daring American films of the 20th century—an extremely unique vision that has permeated through pop culture until this very day.
Make sure to get to the screening early, as our Marketing Director Bekah will be doing a very informative and entertaining presentation on the film before it starts!
- MOVIE: KUROSAWA'S "RAN"The Frida Cinema, Santa Ana, CA
Cross-posted with LA & OC Weirdo Music & Art Forum
Akira Kurosawa's sprawling, epic take on King Lear should be required viewing for fans of westerns, war movies, or period films in general.
Date: Friday May 23 at 7:00
Venue: Frida Cinema
305 E 4th St #100, Santa Ana, CA 92701
Phone: (714) 285-9422Dinner 5:30 @ 4th St. Market - 201 E 4th St, Santa Ana, CA 92701
Tickets: $16.00
Trailer here
Roger Ebert Review here
Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 96% positive rating
Director: Akira Kurosawa Run Time: 160 min. Release Year: 1985 Language: Japanese
Starring: Akira Terao, Daisuke Ryū, Jinpachi Nezu, Mieko Harada, Tatsuya Nakadai
The Frida Cinema is proud to present a four night limited engagement of Ran, Akira Kurosawa’s final epic masterpiece. Now celebrating its 40th anniversary, we want to thank Rialto Pictures for their stunning new 4K restoration of the film
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A grand and visually breathtaking reimagining of Shakespeare’s King Lear, Ran explores themes of power, betrayal, and the devastating consequences of human folly. Set against the backdrop of feudal Japan, Kurosawa employs sweeping landscapes, intricate battle sequences, and vivid color symbolism to create a world teetering on the edge of chaos.Thirty years after its original release, Studiocanal decided to restore Ran in 4K in collaboration with the Japanese company Kadokawa. In 1985, the production of the original film was possible thanks to a French-Japanese collaboration and 30 years later, Studiocanal and Kadokawa replicated this partnership to restore the film. Ran has been restored in 4K by the French laboratory Éclair, under Studiocanal’s supervision. Based on an original negative, the majority of the restoration work was done manually, image by image. Color grading was approved by Masaharu Ueda, one of Ran‘s three cinematographers and a close associate of Kurosawa’s
- MOVIE NIGHT: JAWS 50th ANNIVERSARYThe Frida Cinema, Santa Ana, CA
JAWS - 50th Anniversary
BUY YOUR TICKET NOW - IT WILL SELL OUT!Date: Saturday, May 24 @ 7:30 pm
Venue: Frida Cinema
305 E 4th St #100, Santa Ana, CA 92701Optional dinner @ 5:30 pm
Fourth Street Market (4SM)
201 East 4th Street
Santa Ana, CA 92701Buy Your Tickets Here $13.00
Parking
There are two parking structures adjacent to 4SM off of 4th & 5th Streets accessible via Spurgeon St, a metered parking lot off of 3rd and Bush, and metered parking throughout East End and Downtown Santa Ana. Parking structures offer first 2 hours free!Watch Trailer here
Director: Steven Spielberg Run Time: 124 min. Release Year: 1975
Starring: Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton, Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw, Roy Scheider"For the first time in over 5 years, The Frida Cinema is proud to bring back one of greatest films of all time–Jaws! For Memorial Day Weekend only, come celebrate Steven Spielberg’s industry-changing, pop culture-shifting, era-defining movie right where it belongs to be seen: on the big screen with a packed crowd!
When the seaside community of Amity finds itself under attack by a dangerous great white shark, the town’s chief of police, a young marine biologist, and a grizzled hunter embark on a desperate quest to destroy the beast before it strikes again.
What else can be said about Jaws that hasn’t been said by every film scholar for the past fifty years? Featuring career-best work from its all-star cast of Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw, Lorraine Gary, and Murray Hamilton, the film has kept audiences from ever going back into the ocean (or their pool…or bathtub) for the better part of a century. It’s one of the best examples of man vs man, man vs himself, man vs society, and man vs nature ever put on celluloid."
