Viva CalleSJ - Downtown Westbound

Viva Calle SJ is back for it's 2nd event of 2023! Miles of city streets will be completely shut down to let people walk, run, bike, unicycle, or skateboard down the streets of San Jose. 

Viva Calle Downtown Westbound features three activity hubs which are basically festivals-within-a-festival that highlight the local area. This time the activity hubs will be at San Carlos, Roosevelt Park, and SoFA. You can expect live music, vendors, food, activities, bike parking, and good times at all four hubs. In between the activity hubs you will still find all sorts of interesting stops, hydration stations, and stores. Up to 100,000 people attend this event, but it never feels crowded given how spread out it is.

Viva CalleSJ 2022 takes place on Sunday, June 11th from 10am to 3pm (streets are closed until 4pm). There is no beginning or end and the traffic flows in both directions. It's completely free and you can use the handy map below to locate the routes and festivities. For more info, head over here.

Spirit Airlines begins flying from SJC today

Super low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines has officially begun service from SJC's Terminal A. They are starting with two flights per day to Las Vegas, one to San Diego, and another to Dallas Fort Worth. Unfortunately these are all routes that are currently being served by other airlines at San Jose International, but the competition will help drive prices down.

Ironically, travelers on San Jose's lowest cost carrier will have easy access to airport lounges as both of them at SJC are in Terminal A--One by gate A8 and another on the way to Terminal B around gate A15. You can enter for free with Priority Pass or buy a day pass to enjoy a meal and cocktails before your flight.

Spirit flights start at only $39 each way, but there are many potential upcharges such as baggage, selecting a seat, and even overhead-bin access.

Source: SVBJ

South FIRST FRIDAY (+ SubZERO) - June 2023

South FIRST FRIDAYS is back this week with multiple galleries (both permanent and temporary) open from at least 5-9pm. 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.

In addition to FIRST FRIDAYS it is also the 14th Annual SubZERO Festival. This spans from 5pm-11pm and includes nonstop live music, a beer garden, food trucks, and hundreds of vendors. The events are related so come and enjoy them both at the same time!

It all goes down this Friday, June 2nd and continues on Saturday, June 3rd. 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 SubZERO artists, musicians, and food trucks.

FEATURED ARTISTS

1Culture Gallery, Layla Aghaee, Alcala Designs, Rebecca Anguiano, Julie Barrett, Bay Area Glass Institute, Bay Maples Wild California Gardens, Purl Bailey (AKA Marilyn Roaf), The Blunt Letters, Bolo Vintage, Julianne Bonnet, Bungalow Glow Candle Co., Julie Cardenas + Sarah Mahoney, Classic Loot, Bre Contreras, Curious Shapes (Bryan Corbin), Crossroads Trading Co., Current Tattooing, Cypher Dance Company + K408, Nicolaus James Dalton, Jennifer DeChenne, Designs by Maureen, Eleventh Dimension Tattoo Arts (Ron Earhart , D-Rock, Michael Ascarie, Amber Joy) , Eraeon Designs, Ruben Escalante, Faded Visualz, Flow State Sound Healing & Arts,, Force129 + Betty Proper, Francisco Franco, Game Dev Club of SJSU, Cynthia Gonzalez, Heiko Greb, Hand in Hand Henna, Haptic Synapsis, Andrew Heine, Higher Fire Clay Space, House of Inanna Belly Dance Troupe, InterKinetic by SJSU CADRE, thejemalshow, Jodi408, La Madre Bruja, Lady of the Ocean Crafts, Land and Sky Fine Art, Trisha Leeper Productions, Rene Lorraine, Valentino Loyola + Inside Out Clothing, Luui Arts, Frankie Mcfly, Julianne McKay, Rayos Magos, Nicole Margaret, Laurus Myth, nizzotes, Ocelote Press (Jhovany De Ala), OaxaCali Studios (Dario Cruz + Steve Gonzalez), Tania Okay, Gianfranco Paolozzi + Emmanuel Cervantes-Mejía, Francisco Ramirez, Random Marks the Art of Doug Edwards, Joseph Richardson, Mason Roberts Artist, Rene Schilling-Sears, StageOne Creative Space, Suha Suha, Sujata Tibrewala, Eric Vasquez, VMGC Designs, Heylu Wheat

LIVE MUSIC

—> DAY 1: FIRST FRIDAY, JUNE 2nd

MAIN Stage

(South 1st St. btwn San Carlos & San Salvador St.)

with Stage Poet & Emcee “Mighty” Mike McGee

6:15pm Douglas Von Irvin’s Carnival 

Unique brand of Rock & Roll called “Monster Garage Pop”

7:30pm Silent Pictures

A mix of beachy reverb-jangle, big choruses, swirling strings & more

8:45pm Hyperdrive Kittens

Punkabilly, Burlesque Pop Punk originals. #GlitterPunk

10:00pm O’Craven

High-charged Celtic Pirate Rock

BEER GARDEN Stage

(Located at the corner of S. 1st St. and William St.)

7:00-7:45pm In the Ponds (San Jose)

Instrumental post-rock with ambient vibes and a shot of heavy blues. 

With great music provided by Flipside Crew from 5-11pm

featuring Dougie, Jswizza, No Way Jose & Notorious P.I.G.

—> DAY 2: SATURDAY, JUNE 3rd

Main Stage:

(South 1st St. btwn San Carlos & San Salvador St.)

with Stage Poet & Emcee “Mighty” Mike McGee

6:15pm Mothers Against the Future

MATF is a 3 piece hard rock band that combines elements of grunge, punk, and friendship

7:30pm Dogcatcher

Combines elements of indie rock, soul music, and Americana.

8:45pm Mayya

Inspired by anyone who is unapologetically themselves and aspires to create a positive environment through her melodic, energetic music.

10:00pm The Trims

Indie/Dance/Post-Punk 

—> Beer Garden Stage:

(Located at the corner of S. 1st St. and William St.)7:00-7:45pm Swords of Fatima (Los Angeles)

Many worlds converge into their sound morphing your ideas of Rock or Punk

With great music provided by Flipside Crew from 5-11pm

featuring Dougie, Jswizza, No Way Jose & Notorious P.I.G. 

BEER GARDEN & FOOD TRUCKS

On Tap…

Camino Brewing Co.

Fox Tale Fermentation

21st Amendment Brewing

and more...

plus…

3 Brothers Kitchen

3 Hermanos Mexican Grill

Akita Gourmet Sushi

Chickn Bros.

Road Dogs

40th San Jose Fountain Blues & Brews Festival

Get ready for the 40th San Jose Fountain Blues & Brews Festival, the ultimate celebration of music, beer, and community on June 17th at Plaza de Cesar Chavez Park! This year's festival is set to feature an amazing lineup of world-class blues musicians, including The Devon Allman Project featuring Larry McCray & Jimmy Hall (Wet Willie) “In the Spirit of the Allman Brothers”, Chris Cain Band, Diunna Greenleaf Band, and Andre Thierry & His Accordion Soul Music.

But that's not all - in addition to the incredible music, you can enjoy a wide selection of beers from over 40 craft breweries and delicious food options.

There’s $25 GA tickets and $85 VIP tickets that provide a seat in a shaded section located near the stage, along with exclusive access to a private bar and flushable toilets. Additionally, the package comes with two drink vouchers and a commemorative 40th San Jose Fountain Blues & Brews Festival t-shirt.

Get your tickets now and visit fountainblues.com/festival for more information. Don't miss out on the 40th San Jose Fountain Blues & Brews Festival!

Midtown Immersive Night Parties

Midtown San Jose is not typically an area where you see community events. The Abierto initiative is looking to change that with Midtown Immersive Night Parties. For the next four Fridays on a small tract of land in an industrial area you'll find Moveable Feast food trucks, a beer garden, a maker market, and live music.

This is a great way to discover a part of San Jose off the beaten path that is just minutes from Downtown San Jose and Santana Row. Again, it happens every Friday until June 16th from 5-9pm at 245 McEvoy Street. You don't need to RSVP, but you can to show your support over here.

SJMADE Fest May 20-21

This weekend SJMADE is hosting their Spring event at History Park. There will be over 300 vendors and several themed areas: Kitty Carnival with a kitten lounge; K-Pop Plaza featuring live performances; Maker Marketplace; Artist Avenue; and food trucks spread across Noddle Fest, Spicy Feast, and Sweets Street.

SJMADE Fest runs from 11am to 6pm both Saturday and Sunday. The first 1,000 people each day will get a door prize. For a full list of vendors and activities, head over here.

San Jose B-roll on The Good Doctor

San Jose has not gotten a lot of love in film. Sure there have been some scenes in movies like Mad City and Terminator 2 filmed in San Jose, but nothing that really paints San Jose in a positive light. However, there is one show on TV right now called The Good Doctor where the story takes place in San Jose (it's filmed in Vancouver) and it frequently uses B-roll of Downtown San Jose. Some of it is decent but I finally caught up with the show and they really outdid themselves in the Season 6 finale.

Around the 37 minute mark if you're watching on Hulu is the best b-roll I have ever seen of Downtown San Jose. They took some artistic liberties as the parking structure the scene takes place on does not exist and the sunset positioning is not accurate... but wow. This episode had nearly 4 million viewers and it made Downtown look stunning.

The San Jose Blog's 14th Anniversary

Time for a personal post! The past several years have been a rollercoaster ride. Both the ups and downs have made it challenging to post on the blog regularly. Fortunately the last two and a half years have been mostly ups. I travelled all around the world, met the love of my life (our first date was in Downtown San Jose), we got married, and as of literally a couple weeks ago we have a new addition to our family named Ava. 

After I get used to the sleep depravation, I promise that I will go back to posting more regularly. However, the lens with which I view San Jose will change to be a bit more family oriented. I'll be more likely to highlight the newest playground versus the hottest craft cocktail bar. 

I just want everyone to know that my heart is still in San Jose and I'll be committed to help promote our city even as my life circumstances change. Hopefully my daughter will appreciate San Jose as much as I do!

P.S. The San Jose Blog just got it's 5 millionth visit! Thank you to everyone that has supported the Blog over the years. Hat tip to Jennifer Bullock who sent Ava the onesie below!