August 2022 Downtown Dimension Highlights

The August 2022 Downtown Dimension is now available for download.
 
This month's newsletter highlights:  

• Meet Alex Stettinski, SJDA's next CEO, who answers some questions about his experiences in Southern California and Reno and how they could relate to his work starting soon in San Jose.
• The downtown event schedule for August includes some of San Jose's biggest festivals, and the total audience could approach 200,000.
• Business news includes a switch for 3Below, which plans to hold a musical Up on the Roof in August; and Serious Dumpling co-owner Phebe Shen, who worked through the first two years of the pandemic to create the menu and concept for her new and popular restaurant on San Pedro Square. 
• Groundwerx Employee of the Month Rico Montenegro wakes up every morning at 2 a.m. and pressure-washes downtown's city blocks before most people wake up.

28th Annual Assyrian Food Festival

One of the biggest benefits of living in San Jose is diversity. It's amazing that we have access to so many events each year celebrating different cultures. This weekend is the 28th Assyrian Food Festival. The two day event also features dancing, live entertainment, exotic teas, coffee, parties, arts, a raffle and of course a ton of authentic Assyrian cuisine.

The event runs from 11am to 11pm on Saturday and 11am to 9pm on Sunday at the Assyrian Church of the East (680 Minnesota Avenue, San Jose, CA 95125). Admission and parking are both free. For more info head over to assyrianfoodfestival.org.

Dine Downtown is happening now!

Dine Downtown is back with an assortment of specials to encourage people to try out Downtown San Jose's many fine establishments. This time around you have everything from a Cold Brew and Stan's Donut pairing for $5 at Academic Coffee to a $40 prix fixe menu at Petiscos. There are also many new names on the list like Serious Dumplings, Secco, Mama Kin, Desi Express, The FAB, and San Pedro Social.

To see all of the great specials, head over here!

Participating Restaurants:

• Academic Coffee • Desi Express • Devine Cheese & Wine • District • The FAB (Food & Beverage) • The Farmers Union • Fuze • Habana Cuba • Il Fornaio • Mama Kin • Mezcal

• Nomikai Social Food + Drinkery • Nox Cookie Bar • Orchestria Palm Court • Pastelaria • Petiscos • San Pedro Social • Scott's Seafood • Secco • Serious Dumpling • Voltaire Coffee Roasters • Voyager Craft Coffee

City Dance San Jose

CityDance is back for the summer! Head over to the Circle of Palms in Downtown San Jose from 6-9pm every third Thursday for free live music and dance lessons. This week on July 21st the genre is Bollywood. The August 18th session feature Cumbia. On September 15 K-Pop will wrap up the series.

Each session includes an hour of instructor-led dance lessons followed by live music and dancing until sunset on warm summer nights.

Better yet, admission to the San Jose Museum of Art will be free on these nights and Cafecito by Mezcal at the San Jose Museum of Art will be open in case you dance up an appetite. I would also recommend walking into the Hilton Signia next door (formerly the Fairmont) to see the new aesthetic. There is an excellent bar and Peruvian/Japanese tapas at the Signia to continue the night after dancing.

Music in the Park - Downtown San Jose - July 15th

The '80s are back on Friday, July 15th with A Flock of Seagulls and ABC's 40th Anniversary Tour. The show takes place from 5pm-10pm at Plaza de Cesar Chavez as part of the Music in the Park series.

Tickets start at $25. VIP tickets cost $75 and include an exclusive VIP beer & wine bar, a lounge area, VIP seating, and skipping the line to enter to event. If you just want to listen to the music, there is also the $0 option of walking around Downtown San Jose close to Plaza de Cesar Chavez.

July 2022 Downtown Dimension Highlights

The July 2022 Downtown Dimension is now available for download.
 
This month's newsletter highlights:  

• PBID renewed by overwhelming majority
• Message from the president
• Dine Downtown returns July 21-31
• Council votes to remove parking mandates
• Groundwerx Employee of the Month is Safety Ambassador Dominic Asberry
• Al Fresco dining extended on San Pedro & Post 
• New business openings include Mama Kin, Serious Dumpling, and Scratch Cookery

Happy 4th! Here's where to watch fireworks

Below is the list of places in Silicon Valley hosting a fireworks show tonight. The earliest show is at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View at 8pm and the latest ones are at Great America and Morgan Hill at 9:45pm. Stay safe everyone!

San Jose

Discovery Meadow (180 Woz Way), 9:30pm

Almaden Lake Regional Park (6099 Winfield Boulevard), 9:15pm

Mountain View

Shoreline Amphitheater (One Amphitheatre Parkway), 8pm

Milpitas

Milpitas Sports Center (1325 E. Calaveras Boulevard), 9pm

Cupertino

Creekside Park (10455 Miller Avenue), 9:30pm

Gilroy

Gilroy High School (750 W. 10th Street), 9:30pm

Morgan Hill

Outdoor Sports Complex (16500 Condit Road), 9:45pm

Santa Clara

Great America (4701 Great America Parkway), 9:45pm

Latest San Jose BART Updates

VTA released a new conceptional video of the new BART station planned for Diridon. The teal accents are a nice nod to the San Jose Sharks. Below the Diridon video is an older one showing the plan for the Downtown San Jose Station, which is just a half-dozen blocks or so away from Diridon.

Hat tip to MrAronymous from the San Jose Development Forum.