Día de los Muertos at the Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose

Día de los Muertos honors the lives of departed ancestors and loved ones. The Children's Discovery Museum is throwing a special event on October 28th for visitors to learn more about Día de los Muertos. Attendees will also be able to make sand paintings with stencils, build cardboard skulls, and watch a parade with massive skeleton puppets led by Teatro Familia Aztlán.

Visitors can also write down the names of loved ones who have passed and bring personal mementos to share on a community altar. The event takes place between 9:30am to 12:30pm and 1:30pm to 4:30pm on Saturday, October 28th.

Source: The Merc

San Jose Downtown Association Annual Meeting

The San Jose Downtown Association is having their annual meeting this Friday from 8-9:30am at the Hammer Theater, 101 Paseo de San Antonio.

The agenda includes SJDA CEO Alex Stettinski's Downtown Address, financial reports, committee reports, and election of new board members. It's always a interesting meeting discussing the biggest news impacting Downtown San Jose (plus they have delicious muffins).

You can register for free over here.

Student Housing tower at 100 North 4th Street moving forward to environmental review

Another Downtown San Jose high-rise is getting closer to becoming reality. A 23-story tower designed for student housing near San Jose State University has published its initial environmental study. 

The tower would have 1,424 beds, which means another 1,424 people in Downtown San Jose right behind MIRO and City Hall. Units are split between 147 two-bedrooms, 105 three-bedrooms, and 78 four-bedrooms. Each apartment has one bathroom for every bedroom.

100 North 4th is 270 feet tall and comes in at 703,360 SQFT. There is a retail component, but it is just a single 8,420 SQFT space, which is quite large for an undivided unit. It would accommodate a restaurant the size of Rollati, but I imagine it would be something student-focused.

There is also 21,900 SQFT of common open space (including homework rooms every other floor), and a four-story podium parking garage for 287 cars and 426 bicycles.

While targeted towards students, they cannot restrict who occupies the building similar to The Grad. This type of project can be a really great value for young people that are just starting out in their careers. The apartments are furnished and include most utilities. You can also likely get by without a car in Downtown San Jose. 

These co-living upscale dorm projects are rare in San Jose but I hope we see more of them. It's one possible solution for adding large amounts of low-cost(ish) housing in our urban core and it happens to be a couple blocks away from a future BART station.

Source: SF YIMBY

Downtown San Jose getting not one, but two new underground Speakeasy's

Little Italy San Jose is about to open the Italian Cellar, an underground Speakeasy-style bar that is part of the brand new Italian Museum & Cultural Center. The bar will specialize in cocktails such as the Aperol Spritz, Old Fashioned, and Espresso Martini as well as Italian beers and wines. The soft opening is on Thursday, October 12th.

Downtown San Jose's newest neighborhood has expanded quite a bit recently, and also include a relocated Poor House Bistro and Littlest Little Italy collection of eateries and market. However, this won't be the only Speakeasy coming to Downtown San Jose.

An empty corner at 2 W. Santa Clara street will be getting an underground bar partially inside of an old bank vault. Not a lot of details on this yet, but there is a permit application on the window.

Safeway next to Valley Fair Mall finally closing, perhaps opening up expansion opportunities

After 67 years, the anachronistic-looking Safeway next to Valley Fair mall is finally closing. It was only a matter of time given how valuable this land is and how unusual it is to have a Safeway right next to the most successful mall in California.

This opens a pretty significant expansion opportunity for the mall, which has been on a roll with both retail stores and experiences for visitors such as a high-end cinema, bowling, escape games, and foodie destinations like Eataly, Din Tai Fung, and Baekjeong. Perhaps the location could be used to push out Macy's Men's and extend the newest wing. This area is filled with premium outdoor dining, luxury retailers like Lucid Motors and new flagship stores (Apple, Burberry). While most malls are struggling, Valley Fair and Santana Row are both thriving, so now would be a great time to continue to invest.

As for the Safeway employees, they will all be given options to move to other stores in the area.

Source: SFGATE

Santana Row Halloween Family Fest - Oct 24th

Halloween Family Fest is a kid-friendly event featuring trick-or-treating, pumpkin decorating, live music, stilt walkers, and arts & crafts at Santana Row. Families should bring their Trick-or-Treat bags and costumes. As an added bonus, kids will eat for free at LB Steak and Left Bank.

Santana Row Halloween Family Fest takes place Tuesday, October 24th from 10am to noon.

VeggieFest 2023 in Downtown San Jose Today 🥕

Today from 11am to 5pm in Plaza de Cesar Chavez you can experience a celebration of healthy and sustainable living. There is a lot going on including live music, arts & crafts, and of course fresh veggies to eat. I've posted all of the details below. 

Tickets are free and available here.

🌿 San Jose VeggieFest 2023: A Celebration of Healthy and Sustainable Living 🌿

Join us for a day filled with joy, flavor, and community at San Jose VeggieFest! With an inclusive theme that embraces healthy living, sustainability, community engagement, local economic support, and cultural celebration, we are thrilled to host a day that brings people together for a common cause.

🎶 Featuring Las Cafeteras: Join us for a soul-stirring performance by Las Cafeteras, a band renowned for their infectious blend of Afro-Mexican beats, rhythms, and rhymes. Las Cafeteras' meaningful lyrics tell stories of social justice, community, and celebration, resonating with the core values of VeggieFest. Their music creates connections across cultures and generations, promising an inspiring and unforgettable experience at San Jose VeggieFest 2023!

🥦 What to Expect

Promoting Healthy Living: Explore a variety of mouthwatering plant-based foods and beverages that encourage healthier dietary choices.

Community Engagement: Enjoy live entertainment and connect with individuals from all backgrounds.

Economic Support for Local Businesses: Discover local small businesses that share the event's values.

Cultural Celebration: Engage in multicultural performances and diverse culinary offerings.

🎉 Confirmed Participants:

Food & Beverage : Azalea's Creations, Açaí do Amazonas, Casita Vegana SF, Churros El Guero, Green Flour Bakery, Green Wolf Foods, Jaguar Baker, The Giving Pies, The Lemonade Bar, Souley Vegan Food, Juice Alize, and many more!

Education & Community Services: Evergreen Valley College, Fresh Approach, CAL FIRE, California Highway Patrol, SCC Public Health, Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, Elected Representatives, and more!

Art & Crafts: Art Pocket SJ, Beaux Nails, Bethinketh LLC, Eminence Candle, Harji Naturals LLC, Ivy Indigo, Jellybee Jewelry, Luna Glow, Sacred Source, SuccsLife, The Source Zero, and more!

🎟️ Tickets: FREE ENTRY!! Please register through Eventbrite, will be scanning tickets at entrance.

Free entry for all ages!

📢 Join Us:

Be part of this joyful and meaningful event that brings together our community for a day of fun, learning, and connection. Whether you're a vegan food lover, an environmental enthusiast, or simply someone who enjoys a great gathering, San Jose VeggieFest is the place to be.

For more information, please contact Juan Rodriguez at Juan.Rodriguez@asm.ca.gov

South FIRST FRIDAY (+ STREET MRKT) Oct 6th, 2023 in Downtown San Jose

South FIRST FRIDAYS is back today and it's going to be a big one. Multiple galleries in three different districts are open from at least 5-10pm. Participating venues include ANNO DOMINI, the Institute of Contemporary Art, KALEID Gallery, Works San Jose, the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, the SoFA Market, MACLA, Art Ark Gallery, MACHU PICCHU, Natural Do Salon, 1Culture, and Chopsticks Alley Gallery. 

You can also swing by the San Jose Museum of Art to watch ballet. It'll be an art & culture filled day with many options to try out the newest restaurants in the Downtown area. I have to mention Goodtime Bar and the Club on Post, two excellent additions to the San Jose food scene that are in the Fountain Alley section of South FIRST FRIDAYS.

In addition to FIRST FRIDAYS it is also a STREET MRKT featuring over 50 artists a beer/fermentation garden, live music, and food trucks.

It all goes down today, October 6th. As usual admission is free and all ages are welcome. Click here for a preview of featured art! Below is a map with all of the galleries to check out across three different districts. Keep scrolling for a list of artists and food trucks.

South FIRST FRIDAYS presents:

STREET MRKT an indie urban art faire 
5–10pm, free admission (spend it with the Artists!).
So. 1st St. between San Carlos & William streets

Join us for the LAST OUTDOOR STREET MRKT of the year! Featuring 50+ talented artists gather together out on So. 1st St. transforming the SoFA District into a lively outdoor gallery for the evening. We’ll have stunning paintings, unique sculptures,, chic fashion, live performances and even on the spot experiences like custom poems and the Deep Legends Bus with DJ Dirty Beats . Support our amazing artists and help our local art scene thrive!

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS
Soloman Acosta
Rebecca Anguian 
Bay Area Glass Institute  (BAGI)
Purl Bailey (aka Marilyn Roaf)
The Blunt Letters
Bolo Vintage
Julianne Bonnet 
Budding Art Foundation
Bungalow Glow Candle Co.
Emmanuel Cervantes-Mejía + Michael Rogan 
Crossroads Trading Co.
Curious Shapes / Brian Corbin
Current Tattooing
Jhovany De Ala
Jennifer DeChenne
Mario Dimas
Designs by Maureen 
Enchant Christmas
Faded Visualz 
Flow State Sound Healing & Arts 
Force129 & Betty Proper 
Cynthia Gonzalez
Hand in Hand Henna
Sydney Hessel 
Higher Fire Clay Space & Gallery
Jodi408
Land and Sky Fine Art / Joe Mandrick
Frankie McFly 
Julianne McKay
La Madre Bruja 
Mattea Muzzy
Tania Okay + Lotte Van De Walle 
OaxaCali Studios
Tania Okay 
Jean -Luc Pedanou
Ragavon
Francisco Ramirez
Art of Joseph Richardson 
Mason Roberts 
Rene Schilling Sears
Radhika Sinha
South Bay Ceramics
Suha Suha
Sujata Tibrewala
Eric Vasquez
Heylu Wheat

Performances:
S 1st St and San Salvador intersection
6:00pm: SPR Strings Violin & Viola Studio
7:00pm: Huethuetl Tezka Aztec Dance
5pm–10pm DJ Dirty Beats & the Deep Legends Bus

Flipside Crew DJs in the beer garden, plus delicious food trucks!

BEER GARDEN & FOOD TRUCKS

On Tap…
Clandestine Brewing
Fox Tale Fermentation

plus…

Delicious Food Trucks…
3 Brothers Kitchen
3 Hermanos Mexican Grill
Akita Gourmet Sushi
Chickn Bros.

The South FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk + STREET MRKT is produced by CURATUS in collaboration with the participating art venues, local artists, musicians, performers and independent businesses.

STREET MRKT is supported in part by a Cultural Affairs grant from the City of San Jose.