October 2014 Downtown Dimension Highlights

Here are my notes from the latest edition of Downtown Dimension:

• The San Pedro Square Market--which transformed the block and became one of Downtown's most popular destinations--is celebrating its 3 year anniversary. Spuds Potato Bar is now open and brings the total number of businesses to 25. A two-story expansion on a 13,000 SQFT parcel across the street is already in planning.
• The Downtown Ice skating rink is under construction and the Circle of Palms and opens at 5pm on Nov 14th. Twice per night at 6pm and 9pm the lights on the trees will dance to music.
• The SoFA Market is open at 387 S. First Street. The Falafel Bar and Vero's Coffee are the first two vendors. Next up is the Fountainhead Bar [Josh: with architecturally-themed drinks], a Ramen restaurant, and perhaps a burger or pizza place.
• SoFA-based Cowgirl Bike Courier has started delivering legal docs, medical supplies, packages, flowers, and groceries throughout San Jose.
• AFK Gamer Lounge is moving into 15,000 SQFT at 163 W. Santa Clara (formerly Los Gatos Brewing Company) and will feature more than 100 networked gaming rigs.
• Developers, bankers, and investors will get a glimpse of how hot Downtown San Jose has become during a "Center of Opportunity" tour on Oct. 30th.
• The Downtown Association is seeking event producers and artists to increase activation of Downtown's public spaces with events, exhibits, and interactive projects. The Downtown San Jose Activation Fund will issue grants up to $3,500 for original programming and up to $7,500 for special productions that bring people together for dance, deep discussion, or positive social interaction.

To read the full newsletter, click here!

Halloween Happiness and Holiday Happenings Coming to Westgate Center

San Jose, CA – Family-friendly Westgate Center has a festive fall planned with events and incentives that invite shoppers to participate in activities and take advantage of offers that make the season a little more special.

No Tricks, Only Treats!
Saturday, Oct. 25, noon to 4 p.m.
Come for some spooky fun, trick-or-treating, music and more! Everyone is invited to a free family Halloween event at Westgate Center. Activities include trick-or-treating at participating stores, carnival games and treats with no tricks. Families can enter to win a four-pack of tickets to Kurios - Cabinet of Curiosities, the latest creation from Cirque du Soleil. Guests will receive a free trick-or-treat bag and their first piece of candy at the registration table inside of the main entrance near Sushi Boat restaurant.

Activities during the event include live musical entertainment by Andy Z, Let’s Play in Spanish, The Dance Zone, balloon animals and pumpkin decorating. Mark the day by having Halloween photos taken for $10. The event is free and open to the public. Registration begins at noon.
Participating stores include Any Mountain, Buffalo Wild Wings, Chevy’s, Crazy 8, The Dance Zone, Ella, Gymboree, M Beauty, Michael’s, Nordstrom Rack, Old Navy, Party City, Ross, The Salon Professional Academy, Tuxedo Wearhouse and Willow Street Pizza.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town…and Westgate Center!
Saturday, November 22, 10:45 a.m. to 1:45 p.m.,
Ho Ho Ho! Westgate Center celebrates the arrival of Santa with a celebration that includes music and kid-centered activities. Santa’s arrival marks the first day of Santa photos, which continues until the week before Christmas. Festivities include live musical entertainment by Andy Z, The Dance Zone and more. Action Day Primary Plus will provide arts and entertainment. Kids will also be entertained by face painting, balloon animals and other surprises are in store. Guests will receive an informational card with special shopping and dining offers at the center.

Santa Photos at Westgate Center
Beginning Saturday, Nov. 22, guests are invited to take a picture with Santa every Friday, Saturday and Sunday and every day during week before Christmas. Photography services are provided by Ardent Impressions. Please visit ShopWestgateCenter.com for pricing and hours, which vary from day-to-day.


About Westgate Center
Westgate Center, located in San Jose, California is a 645,000 square-foot community center offering a one-stop family destination for shopping, dining and entertainment. Westgate Center features over 50 shops and restaurants and is anchored by Target, Nordstrom Rack, Walmart Neighborhood Market, Nike Factory Store, Old Navy, Burlington Coat Factory, Michaels and Ross. Westgate Center is a property of Federal Realty Investment Trust www.federalrealty.com (NYSE:FRT), headquartered in Rockville, Maryland. For more information, please visit shopwestgatecenter.com.

About Federal Realty
Federal Realty Investment Trust is an equity real estate investment trust specializing in the ownership, management, development, and redevelopment of high quality retail assets. Federal Realty's portfolio (excluding joint venture properties) contains approximately 20 million square feet located primarily in strategically selected metropolitan markets in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and California. In addition, the Trust has an ownership interest in approximately 1.0 million square feet of retail space through a joint venture in which the Trust has a 30% interest. Our operating portfolio (excluding joint venture properties) was 95.3% leased to national, regional, and local retailers as of June 30, 2014, with no single tenant accounting for more than approximately 3.2% of annualized base rent. Federal Realty has paid quarterly dividends to its shareholders continuously since its founding in 1962, and has increased its dividend rate for 47 consecutive years, the longest record in the REIT industry. Federal Realty is an S&P MidCap 400 company and its shares are traded on the NYSE under the symbol FRT.

Playful People Productions Presents: Arabian Nights

Arabian Nights has never been hotter.  This Bollywood inspired musical mashup of Aladdin features many tales of adventure, romance, destruction and heroism.  Plus -- they'll be bhangra, shimmies, puppets and magic! Sheherazade is spinning her playlist of crowd pleasers and you and your entire family will be dancing through the night.  Join us for this amazing and unique show!

Our shows often sell out prior to the show weekend so be sure to buy your tickets early, you won’t want to miss out on this fantastic production.

All Shows at the Historic Hoover Theater, 1635 Park Ave  San Jose, CA 95126

Show Times:
Saturday, October 11th - 10:00am and 7:00pm
Sunday, October 12th - 2:00pm  

Tickets available at www.playfulpeople.net
$12 attendees 12 and up, $8 children 11 and under,  and $6 Children’s floor seating

Tickets at the door (30 minutes prior to curtain)
$15 attendees 12 and up, $10 children 11 and under, and $6 Childdren’s floor seating

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Playful People Productions provides a quality, caring environment in which children, youth & their families have positive theatre experiences, while being involved in many aspects of on-stage/ back-stage theatre. Our company fills a need of providing beginning through advanced theatre for the whole family to the community. The founders have expanded the program to include classes & summer camps.

Playful People Productions is run by mother-daughter team, Barbara Galiotto & Katie D' Arcey, who between them have approx 50 years experience in the musical theatre world. Both are Positive Discipline trained & worked as early Childhood Educators as well as in theatre. Both have worked as professional directors with children's theatre for many years.

For each production, Playful People Productions employs professional designers, artists, choreographers and directors to guide our students. The company also hires experienced college & high school students to do jobs in the production such as directors, stage managers, lighting, make-up, & set designers, choreographers and assistants. This allows students to gain work experiences in all aspects of theatre. The goals of Playful People Productions are: to provide the community with a variety of performing opportunities for children, youth & families to experience; to challenge young people in the community; provide a safe, caring environment; and to involve parents in a wholesome, well-rounded activity. The founders believe that a good theatre experience will greatly improve the lives of the children.

San Jose Ramen Yokocho is on!

If you love Ramen, head over to Downtown San Jose either this weekend or next! The San Jose Ramen Yokocho in the Convention Center will feature 9-10 exotic Ramen selections (including a deconstructed Ramen burger). Below is the full Ramen lineup for the event. In addition to the great soups, there is an all-day Doraemon film screening, art exhibits, and vendors. The event is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 11am-9pm and next Friday from 4pm-9pm. I'm going tomorrow, can't wait!

Saturday Stats: San Jose is the #7 Most Educated City in the US

WalletHub analyzed the 150 largest metropolitan statistical areas in the US to determine where the most educated Americans are choosing to settle. They analyzed 9 metrics including educational attainment, the percentage of workers with STEM jobs (science, technology, engineering, and math), doctors per capita, public school rankings, and the average quality and size of universities.

San Jose came in a very respectable 7th place. Outside of college towns, only Seattle outranked San Jose. SF was far behind in 14th and New York was all the way down in 51st place. San Jose also came in 1st place nationally when it came to the percentage of workers in STEM jobs. See the top 25 below or head over to the source link to see the full list.

Sources: SVBJ, WalletHub

Strike Brewing Co. Taproom Grand Opening Tomorrow!

Tomorrow is the official opening of the Strike Taproom at 2099 S. 10th Street #30. The grand opening celebration will run from 2pm to 8pm and feature food trucks to compliment the beers. Come see how the beer is made and taste a variety of brews from 8 different taps, including some new releases.

Part of the proceeds will go towards the US Pain Foundation. To find out more about San Jose's Strike Brewing Co., visit their website over here.

You’re in! You’re officially invited to the Grand Opening of the Strike Warehouse Taproom!

We’re launching our Bay Area warehouse taproom October 4th, 2014.

It’s an honest to goodness working warehouse taproom full of fermentors, kegs, and hops because beer making is fun to watch. Come taste our beer at the source!

All 8 taps will be full, including our year round favorites and some new releases.  Like our brand new Double IPA. Of course you’ll want something tasty with our beer so come enjoy food from popular Bay Area food trucks too.

A portion of the proceeds will help support the US Pain Foundation, an organization that brings support to those living with chronic pain.

Pre-purchase drink tickets here to help keep lines short and the beer flowing!

We hope to see you there.

When: October 4th, 2pm to 8pm
Where: Strike Brewing Co.
2099 S. 10th Street #30
San Jose, CA 95112 408

See you soon & Cheers!
- Drew, Ryan, Jenny, Ben, Bill, James, Barry, Gary & Wrigley the BrewDog

Moving Petals Blooms in the South Bay

Food trucks started the mobile vendor crazy, and lately more and more retail-oriented businesses have been getting into the action as well. A San Jose-based flower shop is the newest vendor to go mobile.

Moving Petals is the South Bay’s first flower market on wheels. They offer custom handcrafted bouquets right out of the truck, offering both convenience and quality. Their goal is be be at the forefront of the mobile movement and strive to become a recognized pillar in the community.

I think it's a great idea and hopefully we'll see them around at the many major events in San Jose each year. The Moving Petals truck is already scheduled to be at Oktoberfest at San Pedro Square on October 11th, the Willow Glen Beer Walk on October 25th, and the Halloween Parade in Willow Glen on October 31st.

To find out more, head on over to the Moving Petals website. To locate the truck, follow them on Facebook or Twitter.

Wednesday Wishlist: Better Signage in San Jose

There are many great attractions and restaurants in San Jose that people have no clue exist. This could easily be solved with improved signage in the Downtown core and other parts of San Jose such as Japantown.

SPUR recently took a field trip to London and found some of the best signage around. Each post had a full directory of major attractions and what you can find within a 5 minute walk and a 15 minute walk. The signs are also consistent, so once you get used to one you can easily use any of them.

Not only should we consider something like this for San Jose, but I think we should take it a step further and put a Silicon Valley spin on it. We should make interactive digital signs. Not only would they stand out even more and look cool, but they could easily be modified when new restaurants and attractions come in. A portion of the sign could even be used to promote events similar to the signpost banners that are being used today.

Imagine all the creative things you could do with an interactive digital sign. With a cheap camera you could look into another location such as another part of San Jose or even a sister city. You can turn the signs into a game (explore Downtown and find them all, be submitted for a drawing of some kind). They could be used to display local art. The possibilities are endless.

Source: SPUR