Stop by downtown Saratoga’s Wildwood Park (20764 4th Street off Big Basin Way) on Sunday 8/8/2010 from noon to 6pm to enjoy an afternoon of free music plus activities & entertainment for kids, including an appearance by a magician!  A variety of bands will be onstage, and Saratoga’s own Mike Gurley will be performing too.

This is a benefit for the Susan G Komen breast cancer research fund, so will be a live auction and donations would be very much appreciated.

Memorial Day this year is Monday, May 31st.  What can you do to celebrate this important holiday?

The best “list of events” which I’ve been able to find is on the San Francisco Examiner’s website.  It includes not just happenings in the South Bay and San Jose areas, but also Felton, Santa Cruz, Gilroy, Santa Clara and all over the Bay Area.  Some of the events listed aren’t related to Memorial Day, but rather are scheduled to coincide with the long weekend.  (That’s the down side of this day being attached to a Monday – it is too often connected with sales, picnics or parties more than actually remembering what our service people have done and are doing for us.)

Another good Memorial Day resource is a comprehensive website devoted to the subject of Memorial Day:  http://USMemorialDay.org.  This thorough site includes the history of the observance of this holiday and also online activities for kids and adults.  Additonally, you can learn about the history of “Taps” and even hear it played online.

For the last decade or so, Americans have been encouraged to stop what they’re doing at 3pm on Memorial Day and observe a moment of silence or remberance. Taking a minute to participate in the “National Moment of Remembrance” is a great way to focus on the meaning of the day and remove some of the rampant commercialism which has coated the holiday such that too often the original meaning is entirely lost.

Wishing all my readers a very happy Memorial Day.

June 2010 is Global Labyrinth Month, so now is a great time to learn a little about the history of the labyrinth and find some local ones to enjoy.

What is a labyrinth? Luckily I found a comprehensive labyrinth site which explains that it’s thousands of years old and is (and has been) used for prayer and meditation by many cultures and religions. They can be in all kinds of materials: sand, pavement, rock, paint, landcape… Most are permanent but some are now portable or temporary.  Some are inside, some outside.  I have seen them in several religious settings and recently was invited to a “labyrinth dedication” party at a friend’s backyard in the Cambrian Park area of San Jose too, but was surprised to learn how widespread it is beyond my own experience.

You may have heard of or seen the labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral in France (if looking at the amazing stained glass windows there didn’t capture your entire attention for several days). This may be one of the most popular ever.

Where can you find a labyrinth in or near Silicon Valley?  I found lots of sites identifying public and private labyrinths. One labyrinth locator site  indicated 271 of them in California alone!  Here are some that I’m aware of, but I invite readers to post comments with other locations.

Interestingly, not every site with a labyrinth is religious in nature. The Santa Clara Valley Water District Headquarters at 5750 Almaden Expressway (between Coleman Av. and Blossom Hill Road in Almaden Valley) has a labyrinth in the garden right next to the Los Alamitos Percolation Ponds. You can actually see it from the satellite view of Google Maps.
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It’s the holiday season in Silicon Valley: what to do? 

The downtown San Jose Holiday Parade is always the first Sunday in December (mark your calendars!), following one day after the downtown Los Gatos Holiday Parade, which is always the first Saturday in December.  (This year, 2009, it’s December 6th.)  Yesterday I stumbled upon a website dedicated to the San Jose parade and learned that you can find info on it on Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter.

There’s lots to do in downtown San Jose during the holidays. This year, in addition to Christmas in the Park  (runs to Jan. 1st) and Winter Wonderland, there are performances of The Nutcracker to be enjoyed, courtesy of Ballet San Jose (the 30th anniversary of that production and Christmas in the Park here, by the way).  Ice skate between the palms at Downtown Ice, which runs through January 18th this year (2009). 

The Cathedral Basilica of St Joseph (Roman Catholic) offers free musical events in mid to late December as well, and all are welcome. This is the 8th annual “Season of Hope” series.   Concerts are every night beginning December 12th and running through December 23rd, with performances at 7pm and 8pm.  The Cathedral’s website does not list the dates of particular performers, but the Valley Catholic newspaper does (a couple of the links show up as “tiny urls” instead of names, but most performers are listed).

Although it’s not a Christmas, Hanukkah or NewYear’s theme, it’s worth a mention that the Tech Museum of Innovation is hosting a fabulous Star Trek Exhibit  right now too. There’s an enormous display,called “Star Trek The Exhibition”, a couple of rides (extra cost),  plus you can view Star Trex IMAX in the theater (also an extra cost).

Visit the Farmer’s Market year-round on Fridays at San Pedro Square.

There’s lots to do in Silicon Valley through the month of December – this is just the tip of the holiday iceburg!

For things to do in Los Gatos this month, please see this post on my Live in Los Gatos blog. Holiday Events in Los Gatos for 2009.

For more things to do in and around Silicon Valley over the holidays, please check out these links:

Santa Clara Chamber of Commerce’s blog
Downtown Campbell
Milpitas Chamber of Commerce

The Tapestry Arts Festival is an annual Labor Day tradition in downtown San Jose. Check out the website for details, whether you’re a vendor or a patron:

Http://www.TapestryArts.org

Below, enjoy a few pics I took of our time there on Monday:

Many thanks to all the vendors, musicians, volunteers, sponsors and organizers who made this such a great event!

During the fabulous Obon Festival in July, my husband and I popped into Wunderboy Glass and Mechanica in Japantown (San Jose) and happened upon them doing live glassblowing. The photos below were from that day, July 12th. Pics weren’t planned so were taken with my treo – quality not the best but hope you enjoy them nonetheless!

Today I got an email from them, stating that Wunderboy Glass and Mechanica is hosting a live glassblowing this Friday evening at 8pm; it will be hosted at Art Object Gallery in Japantown – a great area full of shops and restaurants, so go early and enjoy a meal in the neighborhood first. (Address: 592 North Fifth Street San Jose, CA 95112) Since we enjoyed watching them, I wanted to let you know about it too.

Additionally, Also on friday evening, in the Art Object Annex Gallery, you will also be able to see and purchase our glass work along with work by some of the South Bay Areas best known artists. Pieces by Luis Gutierrez, Reid Winfrey, Sara Cole, Joe Sax, Randy Shiroma, Ken Matsumoto, Mario Uribe and Rachel Lazo.

You will also have the opportunity to preview work bymembers of the Women’s Caucus for Art, whose opening will occur on Saturday from 6-9pm in the Art Object Main Gallery.  If you’re anywhere in Silicon Valley, this is a worthwhile event!