Santana Row October/November Events

OCTOBER EVENTS

LavAzza Espression slated to open Monday, October 8

LavAzza, known as “Italy’s favourite coffee” since 2007, is expanding its presence in the U.S. and opens its first cafe Bay Area coffee shop/cafe at Santana Row. The shop brings a contemporary and innovative approach to coffee with Espression cafe, a place where customers can experience an extraordinary blend of coffee creations and eclectic dining in an artfully designed environment. The menu ranges from traditional Italian coffee drinks to fresh baked goods, panini sandwiches, chocolate drinks and gelato. LavAzza’s history goes back 110 years when founder Luigi Lavazza opened a small grocery store in Turin, Italy. He is credited with inventing the concept of the blend, the art of mixing coffee of different origins to obtain a flavorful brew.

LavAzza opens at 300 Santana Row, at the entrance of the office lobby across from Crate & Barrel.

San Jose International Short Film Festival, Oct. 18-21

For the second year, Santana Row is the host venue for the festival, which kicks off with a Red Carpet opening night and after-party on Oct. 18. Hundreds of the best short films from 25 countries will be screened over four days with genres that include comedy, drama, sci-fi, animation and documentary. The event also features workshops and technology demonstrations, plus nightly filmmaker receptions.

Tickets go on sale in September. For more information, go to www.sjshortfest.com.

Mommy & Me “Halloween Family Fun Fest,” Tuesday, Oct. 30

Superheroes, princesses and little monsters are all invited to Santana Row’s Mommy & Me Halloween festivities. Costumed or not, kids can trick-or-treat on The Row, decorate pumpkins, play with balloon animals, get face paintings and listen to music by Andy Z. Complimentary trick-or-treat bags are provided. Capture the day with a 5x7 picture taken by a professional photographer for $10 at the Halloween set in Santana Row Park.

When: 10 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, Oct. 30 at Park Valencia. Mommy & Me is a free kids’ club held on the second Tuesday of every month from May through December. For more information, call 408.551.4611 or visit www.SantanaRow.com.

NOVEMBER EVENTS

Light Up the Row! Annual Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony, Nov. 13

Santana Row celebrates the 2012 holiday season with the annual Light Up the Row Tree Lighting Ceremony honoring the 10-year anniversary. The day of festivities include Santa photos, children’s activities, hot chocolate samplings, live music, carolers, costumed characters, special guests, performances by local theater groups and the lighting of the 40-foot Christmas tree, making this one of the most exciting holiday events in Silicon Valley.

Time: Festivities are scheduled from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., with tree lighting slated for 7 p.m.

3 p.m. to 9 p.m. - Photos with Surfin’ Santa in Park Valencia

7 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. - Tree Lighting Ceremony in Santana Row Park

6 p.m. to 9 p.m. - Live music, choirs, carolers, hot chocolate sampling and activities for children and families throughout The Row

Where: Tree lighting takes place at 368 Santana Row, across from the Left Bank Restaurant on the giant chess board in Santana Row Park.

Get your holiday shopping done, or get started! Guests will receive an exclusive shopping card good for 20 percent off any one item at select shops and restaurants on The Row. Pick up a card at Vera Bradley or the Concierge Center from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Nov. 13 and it’s valid through Sunday, Nov. 18.

Mommy & Me “Give Back to Your Community,” Tuesday, Nov. 13

The holidays encourage us to pull together and help those less fortunate and November’s program encourages kids to bring a canned food item that will be donated to Second Harvest Food Bank. Holiday fun includes face painting, balloon animals, Arts & Crafts with Action Day, “Beaming with Health” scavenger hunt, building animals out of unusual veggies and mini manicures for little ones by Lavande nail spa. Moms and kids will be entertained by music and performances by Broadway San Jose, the Harvest Scarecrow and Andy Z. Snacks are provided by Happy Family Brands and there’s a drawing to win a $50 gift card from The Container Store.

When: 10 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, Oct. 30 at Park Valencia. Mommy & Me is a free kids’ club held on the second Tuesday of every month from May through December. For more information, call 408.551.4611 or visit www.SantanaRow.com.

Rainy Day Rewards, November 1, 2012 - March 31, 2013

When there’s a 70 percent chance for rain, shoppers and diners braving bad weather will be rewarded with discounts that include 15 percent off purchases at participating shops and restaurants, a free signature Santana Row golf umbrella for customers who spend $150 anywhere on The Row and a $20 gift certificate to a participating shop or restaurant for customers who spend $300 on a designated Rainy Day.

No need to get wet: On all rainy days,  customers can pick up a complimentary umbrella to use while shopping and dining and then return it before leaving. The yellow umbrellas are conveniently located throughout The Row - outside Concierge, Via between Village California Bistro and Lark Creek Blue and the valet parking lot in the Winchester Parking Garage.

The 49ers Have Already Sold $670M in Seats

While the Santa Clara stadium is a little bit outside the scope of this blog, most of the people that are going to fill these seats are San Joseans. The Niners have already sold a staggering $670M in seat licenses. This is more than any other team in history 2 years before opening. Selling every single seat before the 2014 opener seems like a sure thing.

The good news for San Jose--besides residents having easy access to games with no taxes or financial risk--is that there are not many pre/post game options in the immediate vicinity of the stadium. That means that a lot of people are going to hop on light rail, and go to the nearest hub for the pregame or afterparty, and most of those places are going to be in San Jose. You can also expect San Jose hotels located near light rail to do very well on game days.

As a side note, this also shows a very strong market for professional sports in the South Bay, and should be additional evidence for Lew Wolff and the MLB to get their act together and allow the A's to move to Downtown San Jose.

Source: The Merc

San Jose Taiko presents Rhythm Spirit 2012: Taiko+Technology

San José, CA --- September 10, 2012 --- San Jose Taiko (SJT) is to perform Rhythm Spirit 2012: Taiko+Technology September 21 and 22. The company will be at an exciting new venue this year: the School of Arts and Culture at the Mexican Heritage Plaza.  SJT has partnered with the ZERO1 Biennial to explore the art form of taiko through the medium of digital expression.

Also included in this year’s Rhythm Spirit performance will be a preview of next year’s 40th Anniversary Rhythm Spirit 2013. While it seems like a long way off, the 40th anniversary is a milestone for San Jose Taiko, one of the oldest taiko groups in North America.

There are three performances of Rhythm Spirit 2012: Friday, September 21 at 8:00 p.m. and Saturday, September 22 at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. All shows will be held at the School of Arts and Culture at the Mexican Heritage Plaza, 1700 Alum Rock Avenue, San Jose, CA 95116.

San Jose Taiko will be sharing this journey of taiko and technology on its website at www.taiko.org and through its social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Tumblr).

Tickets are $25 for adults and $20 for students and seniors if purchased in advance ($30/$25 at the door).  All seats are reserved, and group rates are available. Ticket information is available by visiting www.taiko.org or by calling 408-293-9344.

# # #

About San Jose Taiko:

San Jose Taiko, with a deep respect of cultural traditions and a commitment to artistic excellence, is dedicated to the advancement of the taiko art form through the development of its world-class Performing Ensemble and the San Jose Taiko Conservatory. Located in the heart of Japantown of San Jose, the company performs throughout the Bay Area, the United States and abroad.

From its beginnings in 1973, SJT endeavored to create a contemporary musical style while respecting taiko’s Japanese roots.  Representative of the backgrounds and influences of its membership, SJT’s style joins the traditional rhythms of Japan with other world rhythms, including African, Brazilian, Filipino, Latin, and jazz percussion. All of SJT’s performances are fully choreographed, theatrically lit extravaganzas, bridging many styles while still resonating with the Asian soul in America.

Enrich the human spirit. Connect people beyond cultural and demographic boundaries.

San Jose Taiko, 565 North 5th Street, San Jose, CA 95112    408 293 9344      taiko.org

Saturday Stats: San Jose Gains 2,400 Jobs Over the Last 5 Years

Gaining a couple thousand jobs over 5 years may not seem very impressive, but keep in mind we were in the midst of the financial crisis and great recession in 2008/2009. Let's look at the numbers in terms of percentages and compare to other cities:

% Growth in Jobs from 2007-2012
San Jose: +0.29%
New York City: +0.23%
Seattle: -1.92%
San Francisco: -4.2%
San Diego: -5.56%
Los Angeles: -7.27%
Sacramento: -12.11%

In total, 81 major metros have fewer jobs in the private sector today than they did in 2007. So we're not doing too shabby with a positive 0.29%. Now we just need infrastructure to catch up because the increased traffic on the road is starting to get old!

Source: On Numbers

Winchester Mystery House Fright Nights

Last year the Winchester Mystery House produced the highest quality and longest Halloween maze in the Bay Area. It was befitting that a place with so much occult history finally get a proper "scare" attraction. This year they are stepping it up to a new level with two attractions, one of which will likely be the longest haunted maze in the United States. A lot was also invested into further improving the props, actors, storytelling, and variety of scares in the flagship maze. To top it off, the second attraction is a self-guided flashlight tour of the mansion itself with a surprise or two along the way.

The October calendar for this event is below and you can use the discount code "THIRTEEN" to get $5 off per ticket. For more info, check out the Fright Nights website right over here.

There are going to be a lot of great Halloween events in the Bay Area this year, but if you can only choose one to try out... this is it.

PARK(ing) Day this Friday @ 38 W Santa Clara Street

Friday, September 21, 2012, 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

First celebrated in San Francisco in 2005, PARK(ing) Day has since become a global phenomenon. The annual event celebrates public space and street life by temporarily transforming metered parking spots into public spaces. This year, SPUR San Jose and TransForm are partnering up in front of the SPUR office on Santa Clara Street to share its take on temporary parklets.

SPUR San Jose 38 W Santa Clara Street San Jose, CA 95113 map >>

Free to public

Wednesday Wishlist: San Joseans to Stop Referring to SF as "The City"

This really drives me nuts.  When San Franciscans do it, it sounds arrogant and self-indulgent.  However, it's even worse when San Joseans refer to our smaller neighbor up north as "the city." Every time we do this we are continuing to perpetuate a nickname that is degrading to San Jose, and many other Bay Area cities like Oakland.

Leigh Weimers is a former columnist from the San Jose Mercury News that has recently passed away (his memorial service is Monday, 3:30 at St. Joseph's Basilica). One of his few regrets was: "I'm sorry I haven't gotten more San Joseans to stop calling San Francisco "the city." It's "a city" -- so is San Jose -- but not "the city." That's so last century. (Source)

I'm hoping that Sal Pizarro, who has taken over Leigh's position, will take the baton and continue to fight to get that reference out of San Josean's vocabulary. I think the way things are going in San Jose, we can do it, but like anything it will take some time and conscious effort.

Downtown "Staycation"

I had a little Downtown "Staycation" over the weekend and thought it might be neat to share.

Friday

The Zero1 Street Festival started at 6pm and as always it featured all sorts of off the wall exhibits throughout SoFA like a silent rave and an interactive pipe-music-thingy. My wife and I were pretty impressed with the LED webbing they hung past William Street and I hope they keep it up year-round. The Zero1 Garage was definitely a highlight and will be open all the way up until December. Great addition to SoFA and worth checking out.

We had a snack at one of the food trucks, enjoyed some beers at the Gordon Biersch Beer Garden, then hit up Tanq with friends for dinner and drinks.

Then we did a second round at the festival and made it to the new Parque de los Pobladores, which turned out really well! It seems much, much larger and even hosted one of the music stages and a bright pink carpeted iLounge.

Some requests for the next biennial: participation from more galleries (Anno Domini, Higher Fire, SLG, etc.) and more food trucks.

After midnight, we all headed to Singlebarrel for some cocktails and stayed there until closing. After that we said goodbye to our friends and leisurely walked to the Four Points for the night, no need to deal with a car when you're staycationing Downtown.

Saturday

Woke up late, grabbed lunch at Mosaic which has reinvented itself as an Asian Fusion restaurant. The menu is definitely better than what it was before, still could use a little work. We then went for a really long walk Downtown.

Swung by the San Jose Museum of Art, check out all of the new exhibits including one specifically for Zero1. Then we went to Ross for a bit to look for some clothes (you can buy clothes Downtown!).

I was hoping to go to Original Gravity Public House since they were having their belated Grand Opening party, but there were so many people there we didn't end up getting anything.

We then walked down Paseo de San Antonio to find that San Jose's newest wine bar--"Wyne"--is coming along and looks like it is just a month or so away from opening. At this point it is Saturday mid afternoon and La Lune Sucre and Philz are both completely packed. This is turning into a pretty active district.

Next stop is Cafe Bonne Terre, which used to be Whipps. They have all the same menu items with the addition of crepes, both savory and sweet. My wife and I shared some gelato and a nutella/banana crepe.

Then we took another long walk. There are plenty of people on the streets including a surprising amount of families. Two or three years ago, you wouldn't really see this Downtown. I think the new high rise condos/apartments are really helping to change the dynamic.

Later that day, a few friends from SF were in town. I decided to gamble and take them to a restaurant I haven't been to yet, but was on my high-priority to check out list: Back A Yard. Wow, just wow. The food blew us away. The Jamaican jerk combo had some of the most flavorful chicken I've ever had, the beans/rice were amazing, the plantains were delicious, and the corn festival which is some sort of corn fritter thing was completely addicting. The 4.5 Yelp rating is definitely justified on this one.

After that we headed over to the San Pedro Square Market, and I gave them a thorough tour. Last time I took them here only Vino Vino and Pizza Boca Luppo were open. What a difference a year makes. Lots of people, live music in 3 different areas, tons of great food (which we could smell but were too stuffed to try)... it showed really well and they were impressed. "San Jose has come a long way" and "I may come here more often now" were some of their comments. We hung out for a while and then ended with some Treatbot. That's pretty much a wrap for the night.

Conclusion

When people ask "what's there to do Downtown?" the answer is a whole lot. Even just walking around on a sunny day and going to a bunch of random places was good times. I hope in the future more people that don't live Downtown will be willing to think of it as a destination and make a day (or two) out of going there.