History San José Highlights Both Historic Locations in August

 ‘Happy Birthday Car 124’ at History Park on Sunday, August 12

& the Annual Fandango! at the Peralta Adobe

in the San Pedro Square Market on Sunday, August 19 

San José, CA – July 26, 2012

The second of the series of the History San José’s Family Days will be on Sunday, August 12, Happy Birthday Car 124!, a celebration of Trolley #124’s 100^th birthday party at History Park. A great place for a birthday party, this signature red trolley will be running on its track, there will be a trolley car drawn by a horse, and visitors can pump themselves a ride on a vintage hand-car. Vintage vehicles on display will include fire engines, an electric car, and Model T’s.

There will be crafts for the kids, live music featuring the Peninsula Banjo Band. And what a birthday party---cake included! Even the San Jose Giants will celebrate. Party-goers can stay, picnic and watch the fireworks after the baseball game. Food typical of the Gay Nineties will be available for purchase all afternoon.

Then on the following week, Sunday, August 19, is the annual Fandango! at the Peralta Adobe, in the heart of the new San Pedro Square Market.

This date is significant in that it commemorates the death 161 years ago of Maria Luis Peralta. He was the Californio who lived in the Peralta Adobe with his family, and was one of the first Accolades (mayor) of Pueblo de San Jose de Guadalupe.

Typical of that era, there will be music and dancing, as well as a descedant of the original horses that were brought by the Spanish explorers. Children will have the opportunity to make adobe bricks, corn husk “pocket buddies”, candles, rope a steer and learn more about the mission and rancho period of California.

Then mark all calendars, as Saturday, October 13 is the last in the series of Family Days. Filipino-American Heritage Day, celebrating Filipino American Month in October, will honor Filipino Americans and the current exhibit, Through My Father’s Eyes: The Filipino American Photographs of Ricardo Ocreto Alvarado (1914 – 1976). The exhibition is in the Gallery at the Pacific Hotel, and is a collection of 50 photographs chosen from more than 3,000 discovered by his daughter, Janet Alvarado after his death. This exhibit offers a rare view into the daily life of the Filipino-American community in the post-World War II era in the Bay Area. That celebration will include filipino foods, dancing and music, and other activities.

The series of Family Days at History Park is supported, in part, by a Cultural Affairs grant from the City of San José.

Upcoming events include:

·      Haunt History Park, safe trick-or-treating, on October 28;

·      Happy Birthday San Jose! At the Peralta Adobe and Fallon House at the San Pedro Square Market on Sunday, November 18;

·      Children’s Holiday Festival with Santa Claus at History Park on Saturday, December 8;

·      the Heritage Holiday Tea is on December 1 at the Fallon House.

General admission is $8 per adult, $5 for seniors and students with a valid ID and children under five are free. Admission is free to members of History San Jose.

For more information call 408 918-1047 or visit www.historysanjose.org

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About History San José: 

History San José is a non-profit organization that collects, preserves and celebrates the stories of diversity and innovation in San José and the Santa Clara Valley. HSJ manages one of the largest and most comprehensive regional history collections in the State of California, from 1784 Spanish governmental records to twenty-first century Silicon Valley technology. 

History San José     1650 Senter Road     San José, CA  95112       408.287.2290

For GPS tracking, History Park is at 635 Phelan Road in San José, CA  95112.

www.historysanjose.org