South FIRST FRIDAYS is back this week! Galleries (both permanent and temporary) will be open from at least 5-9pm. Participating venues include ANNO DOMINI, Institute of Contemporary Art, KALEID Gallery, Works San Jose, the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, the SoFA Market, MACLA, Art Ark Gallery, and MACHU PICCHU.
Admission is free and all ages are welcome. Click here for a preview of featured art!
Happy Halloween everyone, hope you have a blast tonight! This might be the first Halloween in 3 years where the event is back full-force! Halloween is my favorite "holiday" of the year. It's the one day where you get to interact with your neighbors and the wider community. The level of creativity in decorations and costumes is also the most eclectic and interesting out of all the holidays for me--whether that's for trick-or-treating, Halloween parties, or work events.
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!
Scott Knies' final State of the Downtown address can be watched in full below. He outlines several initiatives that he was not able to complete in his 34 year career at the SJDA such as creating a new Downtown Plan, cleaning up our streets from those that suffer from mental illnesses and addition, and doing something about old and deteriorating buildings Downtown that have not been maintained by their owners. He also introduces the SJDA's new CEO, Alex Stettinski.
Friends of Levitt Pavilion San Jose: “Building Community through Music”.
Every Sunday in October (Oct 2, 9, 16, 23, 30) bring a picnic, drop a blanket on the lawn and enjoy free, all ages, high quality concerts from 3pm – 6:30pm in Historic St. James Park. There is a Beer Garden featuring Camino Brewing suds, and delicious local food trucks will be on hand to ensure a stress free Sunday evening in the park.
In the news: Yes - you may have heard about Levitt San Jose’s struggles to break ground at St. James Park. Having dealt with a progress-halting lawsuit recently, Friends of Levitt Pavilion San Jose perseveres, and sets the tone for the future site of a Levitt Pavilion with this first concert series. By recognizing the magic of live music to bring communities together and activate public spaces, Levitt San Jose strives to carve out a new era for Downtown San Jose’s most historic park.
About the Levitt San Jose Fall Concert Series:
Formed in 2016, Friends of Levitt Pavilion San Jose is a nonprofit with a mission to build community through free, all-ages, high-quality live music shows and performances on a permanent stage in historic St. James Park.
The Levitt San Jose Fall Concert Series, presented by Madrone Ventures & Studio Current, will feature top local and national artists, giving a sneak peek of what’s to come when Levitt Pavilion San Jose joins the community of permanent Levitt venues across the country.
We are proud to announce that the Fall Concert Series began with a performance from Antibalas on October 2nd, 3pm – 6:30pm. It’s hard to believe that more than twenty years have passed since Antibalas’s humble beginning as a neighborhood dance / protest band in the block parties and underground parties in pre-gentrified Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Over the past two decades they have evolved into what The Guardian called “one of the world’s finest Afrobeat bands” while enjoying equal renown for their cross-genre collaborations with legends of popular music. Opening for Antibalas will be Salinas locals, Quiensave. ¿Qiensave? is a Cumbia Urbana group from Salinas California with roots stretching back to Michoacán, Mexico. They create high energy dance music that has fortunately blessed them with the opportunity to travel throughout California, Arizona, Mexico, and Colombia.
October 9th Lyrics Born, the “funkiest rapper alive” took the stage from 3p – 6:30pm. Known for weaving funk and soul into classic, boom-bap Hip Hop, his energy electrified the crowd!
Jose James performed on October 16th. Known as a jazz artist for the hip-hop generation, José James artfully blurs the lines between traditional and contemporary jazz, hip-hop, soul, funk, pop and rock. San Jose’s own Jackie Gage will open with her velvety voice, uplifting songwriting, and transcendent music.
October 23rd will welcome Latin Folk songstress, La Doňa from 3pm – 6:30pm. La Doña, born Cecilia Cassandra Peña-Govea in San Francisco, California, is a solo reggaeton singer, songwriter and multi- instrumentalist. The Chicana artist began her career at age 7 playing trumpet, and later strings and percussion in her family’s conjunto. She also played in a youth salsa band and a Balkan fusion band before synthesizing her unique upbringing in her original compositions. La Doña combines her deep roots in Latin folk traditions like corridos and rumba with the propulsive modern sounds of reggaeton, cumbia, and hip hop. Mosaic Organization will begin the show with a variety of cultural performances ranging from dance to live musical performance.
The Fall Concert Series will close on October 30th with performances from San Jose local, Will Sprott and Orgone, whose sound draws from 1960s and 1970s-era funk and soul.
Friends of Levitt San Jose social links: Facebook, Instagram
The Levitt San Jose Music Series is supported in part by the Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation, which partners with towns and cities across America to activate underused public spaces through the power of free live music, creating welcoming, inclusive destinations. Presenting a broad array of music genres and cultural programming, Levitt venues and concert sites are community anchors where families, friends and neighbors of all ages and backgrounds come together. Learn more at levitt.org. #MusicMoves
There is a massive DÃa De Los Muertos celebration in Plaza de Cesar Chavez that runs from 11am to 7pm today. The event features all sorts of live entertainment including pro wrestling and mural painting. Of course there will be tons of Mexican cuisine and live music as well. More details below courtesy of the San Jose Downtown Association.
Congratulations to David Gauthier! 🥳🎊
You have won 4 tickets for the internationally renowned show Champions of Magic.
For those that did not win, you can still purchase tickets over here.
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