 |
South FIRST FRIDAYS is back this week! Galleries (both permanent and temporary) will be open from at least 5-9pm. Admission is free and all ages are welcome.
Participating venues include the Institute of Contemporary Art, KALEID Gallery, ANNO DOMINI, The Citadel Art Gallery, Works San Jose, the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, the SoFA Market, MACLA, Art Ark Gallery, and MACHU PICCHU.
Click here for a preview of featured art.
3-Below--Downtown San Jose's only remaining movie theater--is hosting a brand new event featuring the works of aspiring filmmakers. The short film festival is called "Screen!" and the films will be shown on May 5th, 13th, and 20th. 100% of the ticket sales are going directly to the filmmakers. On June 3rd, they will announce the audience choice winners and award prizes.
This is partially funded by the City of San Jose Parks Department Abierto program and the SJDA. Tickets will be available closer to the event dates at the 3Below website over here.
|
South FIRST FRIDAYS is back this week! Galleries (both permanent and temporary) will be open from 5-9pm, rain or shine. Admission is free and all ages are welcome.
Participating venues include the Institute of Contemporary Art (with an awesome new façade), KALEID Gallery, ANNO DOMINI, Works San Jose, the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, the SoFA Market, MACLA, Art Ark Gallery, and MACHU PICCHU.
|
South FIRST FRIDAYS is back this week! Galleries (both permanent and temporary) will be open from 5-9pm, rain or shine. Admission is free and all ages are welcome.
Participating venues include the Institute of Contemporary Art (with an awesome new façade), KALEID Gallery, ANNO DOMINI, Works San Jose, the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, the SoFA Market, MACLA, Art Ark Gallery, and MACHU PICCHU.
Click here for a preview of featured art.
San Jose's leading publication focused on art and culture is celebrating 10 years in print on March 3rd with the release of issue 14.2 "Sight & Sound." As is tradition, Content kicks off each issue with a party, often including the people featured in the magazine. This time around, they are returning to the venue of one of their very first parties--the San Pedro Square Market.
Issue 14.2 features: Culture Night Market, Brandon “BQ” Quintanilla; 6th Street Studios, Abby Bettencourt; Baunfire, Juan Sanchez; Cartoonist/Writer, Trinidad Escobar; Artist/Muralist, Manuel Villagran; Artist, Caia Koopman; Photographer, Alex Knowbody; Tabrizi Productions, Faran Tabrizi; Photo 125, San Jose State Photographers; Musician, Bennett Roth-Newell; Instrumentalist, Lidia Rodriguez; 408 Collective, Gabe Rangel, Jared Carbajal, Misa James, & Tyler Richards; and Album Picks by Needle to the Groove.
There will be live music, courtesy of the artists in the latest issue, along with an assortment of local artwork on display.
This special event runs from 7pm-9:30pm at the San Pedro Square Market on March 3rd. Subscribers, features, and contributors will get a free drink and gift upon entry.
|
2021's "Year in Review" was just as interesting as the last one. Scott Knies again does an amazing job of highlighting the significant events of the year--both positive and negative.
A few surprises for me were that the Google project in Downtown West is moving forward uncontested (no lawsuits for once), San Jose now has the highest vaccination rate by far among the 10 largest cities in the US, and the MIRO project already has 90 residential leases and a new bar/restaurant concept coming in 2022.
You can watch the whole presentation, including the unveil of the modern new SJDA logo and MIRO winning the 2021 Golden Nail Award over here.
(SANTA CLARA, CA) Nov. 23, 2022 - The Bay Area’s most immersive holiday event returns this season, beginning November 26 and sparkling brighter than ever before. Running select dates until January 9, 2022, this magical outdoor experience has been extended to include additional operating days in the new year.
“We’re so pleased we could bring safe, fun and amazing experiences back into people’s lives this holiday season,” said Barb Granter, general manager. “WinterFest is one of Northern California’s most spectacular winter events and gives our guests the opportunity to enjoy time with friends and family, while making new holiday memories.”
About WinterFest
WinterFest features holiday fun for the entire family, including:
*Additional charge activity.
For complete information on WinterFest, including a full list of shows and attractions, operating hours and tickets, please visit https://www.cagreatamerica.
About California’s Great America
California’s Great America is a 100-acre theme and waterpark located in Santa Clara, California. As Northern California’s premier amusement park, featuring thrill rides, live entertainment, and in 2020 the new South Bay Shores waterpark, California’s Great America is the top destination for thrill-seekers and families alike.
About Cedar Fair Entertainment Company
California’s Great America is owned and operated by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company (NYSE: FUN), a publicly traded partnership and one of the largest regional amusement-resort operators in the world. The Company owns and operates 11 amusement parks, four outdoor water parks, an indoor water park and resort accommodations totaling more than 2,300 rooms and more than 600 luxury RV sites. For more information, see www.cedarfair.com.
NEXT SJDA PUBLIC MEETING: Dec. 10 Year-in-Review meeting, starting 8:15 a.m. You can attend in person at Hammer Theatre Center! Or by viewing it through Zoom or Facebook Live. Registration details will be posted here.
Agenda includes the year-end presentation on the big screen, Golden Nail awards and words board members reaching the end of their terms. Hope you can make it.
|
Happy Halloween everyone, hope you have a blast tonight! I'm optimistic today will mark some return to some normalcy after a brutal two years.
Usually in October we have a wish-list post for Halloween in the Park. The idea is to build on the momentum that Christmas in the Park brings to San Jose each year and create something of similar scale for the month of October with Halloween in the Park! A lot of the infrastructure such as wiring, lighting, and booths might even be able to be shared between the events. The goal would be to make Downtown San Jose the epicenter of October Halloween experiences.
Below you will find brainstorming ideas we have collected for this concept so far over the years. Please have a look and provide your feedback and suggestions in the comments. Thanks!
The OCTOBER 2021 Downtown Dimension is now available for download. This month's newsletter highlights:
|
|
 |
| Program cover of The Great Leap at The San Jose Stage Company. |
 |
| Manford (James Aaron Oh) making a basketball shot as Wen Chang (Alex Hsu), Connie (Monica Ho), and Saul (Tim Kniffin) watches at a distance on the court. Photograph courtesy of Dave Lepori. |
 |
| The set of The Great Leap at The San Jose Stage Company. Photograph courtesy of John Huân Vu. |
In the past timeline of 1971, we meet the American University of San Francisco basketball coach Saul (played by Tim Kniffin) who convinces a Chinese translator, Wen Chang (played by Alex Hsu), to a "friendship match" that will be played 18 years later in 1989. While in the present timeline of 1989, we follow 17-year-old Chinese-American Manford (played by James Aaron Oh) who pesters coach Saul to play in the "friendship match" against Beijing University. We also meet Connie (played by Monica Ho) who is a university student and is Manford's loving "cousin".
 |
| Saul (Tim Kniffin) and Wen Chang (Alex Hsu) converses on the basketball court in 1971. Photograph courtesy of Dave Lepori. |
Without sharing the details of the story, each of the actors bring a unique dichotomy to their characters delivering comedic relief towards a dramatic, unexpected, and satisfying climax!
When we first meet Saul in 1971, he is an ambitious and confident coach but now struggles personally and professionally in 1989. Ironically, Wen became the opposite of Saul where Wen was a "nobody" in China in 1971 and is now one of the more influential citizens in the country in 1989. Although Manford started out very obnoxious and arrogant, you come to love him when you realize this kid never gives up - especially if it's for the right reason. Lastly, Connie is an extravagant and straight-to-the-point girl but works to embody that family love that was truly missing from Manford's life.
 |
| Manford (James Aaron Oh) confronted by his "cousin" Connie (Monica Ho) on why he's not at school. Photograph courtesy of Dave Lepori. |
Overall, the show delivers a great story through the impressive dramatic and comedic performances of the actors to show that indeed, "theater is back!" Please note that heavy language is used and may not be suitable for all audience members.
 |
| Wen Chang (Alex Hsu) facing the tanks at Tiananmen Square. Photograph courtesy of Dave Lepori. |
Written by John Huân Vu, edited by Greg Ripa.
|
The SoFA Street Fair FALL EDITION is Sunday September 26, 2021, 2-8pm. After 2 years of virtual and hybrid events to keep the music playing, we are finally back LIVE on First Street, with the best local music and performance our San Jose scene has to offer. This event continues to be FREE, and ALL AGES are welcome. There are 8 outdoor stages and 66 live acts performing - all within 2 blocks. Rock bands, Alt bands, Punk bands, Latin bands, Jazz Bands, Singers, Comics, Wrestlers, and Burlesque Performers. There’s a little something for everyone. https://
North San Jose and Alviso are quiet parts of San Jose. There is honestly not much to do in terms of entertainment. Fortunately a new major amenity arrived a few months ago, Topgolf. It's part driving range, part Dave & Busters, and part gastropub.
The San Jose location is the first in the Bay Area as well as only the second location in all of Northern California. It is also one of only 4 flagship venues. To give you an idea of how popular these are, the Topgolf in Austin sells more alcohol than any other venue in Austin. The San Jose location is three stories with large bars and restaurants on each one.
The driving range aspect is more of a video game than anything else. Each golf ball has a microchip that lets it be tracked and the computer scores you based on your level of accuracy. There are also tons of games with different rules that you can play with your companions.
The food was surprisingly solid for a big chain. The burgers and fried mac & cheese were delicious. Service was a bit slow, but they were completely slammed when I went (on a Monday).
If you want to play, I would recommend getting a reservation since standby times can stretch to 4 hours or beyond. Parking is free, convenient, and they have a large number of free EV chargers as a bonus. It's also a great location for corporate events and parties. I experienced one firsthand and it was a blast.
For more info and to make reservations, head over here.
In order to move the needle on climate change, one of the key transitions we have to make is to move towards sustainable transportation. Fortunately electrics cars are also usually fast and fun to drive, providing further motivation to make the switch.
It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that San Jose is the top metro driving the EV industry. It seems like every other car on the roads is a Tesla, but several new compelling EVs are also hitting the road these days.
Despite being the 10th largest city in the country, San Jose has the 3rd highest number of EVs of any city in the US irrespective of population. It also has 2.4 charging stations for every 1,000 homes, versus the national average of 0.3 stations.
A common complaint for renters interested in EVs is that there are no charging stations at their apartments. In San Jose 12.3% of all rentals actually have stations, which is by far the most of any city. Not to mention most grocery stores and shopping centers have multiple stations, with some places like Santana Row having hundreds of chargers (have a look at the 4th floor of the parking structure on Winchester Blvd).
San Francisco came in as the 2nd best metro for EVs followed by Seattle and LA. For the full article to see all of the criteria used for the study, click here.
San Jose's premier art & culture magazine is resuming their "pick-up parties" with issue 13.4 on September 3rd--conveniently coinciding with the First Friday Art Walk. You can pick up your latest issue at Parque de Los Pobladores between 6pm-8pm and then check out the galleries and restaurants of SoFA. They'll even have live music, visual art, and mini auto show. What sort of magazine does that for their subscribers?
Speaking of which, if you're not already a subscriber you can learn more about the magazine over here.
In partnership with First Friday Art Walk - Content Magazine celebrates the release of issue 13.4 "Profiles" at Parque de Los Pobladores.
About this event
Join Content Magazine for the first outdoor Pick-Up Party of 2021 on Friday, September 3rd from 6:00-8:00pm in partnership with First Friday Art Walk.
This Pick-Up Party celebrates the release of Issue 13.4 "Profiles."
Featuring:
Low Conspiracy | Warren Chang | San Jose Foos | Annmariz | Aulala Design | 2021 West Valley Fashion Designers | Kaylee Dougherty | Barely Funktional | HeadHunter Crew | FlipSide Lovers | Francisco J Zarate | Google Downtown West | Needle to the Groove Album Picks
Connect with one another in this open outdoor setting and experience a blend of music by Barely Funktional and FlipSide Lovers, along with special guest performances, and visual art by Warren Chang, Francisco J Zarate, Jackelin Solorio, and more. Plus a special visit by Low Conspiracy Car Club.
It is a packed two hour event. We hope you will join us and stay and explore First Friday Art Walk. Open from 5-10pm.
We have missed you and cannot wait to see you!!
This event is made possible by Heritage Bank.
