Stage at St. James Park a welcome change
When ballet dancers and musicians perform at the St. James Park fountain Saturday afternoon, they won’t have to entertain on the decrepit structure or wade through trash.
The city’s Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services department just installed a temporary wood stage over the old fountain. It’s nothing elaborate, but it provides a solid platform for events like lunchtime ukulele jams, Thursday night’s Salsa Party or The Commons’ eclectic show on Saturday.
“The Commons’ upcoming event is a great example of the type of programming PRNS
staff has coordinated to provide a vibrant, cultural and enriching environment at St. James Park,” said Brian Clampitt, the city’s marketing and event coordinator. The stage, he added, creates a focal point for cultural celebrations, live performances and other activities throughout the week.
And lest anyone wonder why my historic preservation hackles aren’t up about this supposed desecration of the fountain, it’s important to note a few things: The stage is temporary and while St. James Park is historic, the fountain itself isn’t. It was installed in 1990 — planned as one of twin fountains — and designed to mimic one from the Victorian era. With a circle of metal fish at its base, it was once a beautiful sight. At least when it was working. But it hasn’t functioned in years, and, lately, it’s been more often used as a trash can and bathroom by people in the park.
The upper tiers of the fountain rise from the stage, providing a vintage centerpiece. It’s a perfect backdrop for a show like The Commons’ “Revival,” which will feature dancers from the New Ballet School, electric violinist
Alan Chen and the progressive music of the band
Whirl’d. The free performance starts at 2 p.m., and if you want to see what else is going on at St. James Park this summer, go to www.stjamesparksj.org.
HERE’S TO BEER: Silicon Valley Beer Week kicks off Friday, and as a sign of the event’s growing popularity over the past four years, opening celebrations are being held at three different craft brew locations in San Jose. Beer lovers can take their pick of visiting Strike Brewing Company (2099 S. 10th St. #30), Santa Clara Valley Brewing (101 E. Alma Ave.) or Hermitage Brewing (1627 S. Seventh St.). All the festivities take place from 5 to 9 p.m., and since they’re close together geographically, it’s possible to hit all three. Just take a designated driver.
Also part of the Beer Week fun, the tour guides at San Jose Walks & Talks have put together a pair of weekend “Breweries, Bars & Brothels” history tours of downtown San Jose. The Saturday tour is sold out, but there are still spots available for the 4:30 p.m. Sunday tour. For information on the tour, go to http://tinyurl.com/h4t8uvs. Check out the hundreds of other events connected to Silicon Valley Beer Week at www.svbeerweek.com. SWEET CELEBRATION: More than 175 nonprofit leaders got out of the hot afternoon sun July 14 for an ice cream social at the new Goodies Homemade Ice Cream and Fudge in San Jose’s Midtown district. They weren’t there just for the ice cream, though, but to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits.
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo; Michele Lew, former CEO of AsianAmericans for Community Involvement; and Rick
Williams of the Sobrato Foundation spoke about the organization’s role as the voice for nonprofits in the valley and sang the praises of Patricia Gard
ner, who’s been at the helm of the Council of Nonprofits for the past 15 years.
Other attendees included Irene Wong of the Packard Foundation, Fred Ferrer of the Health Trust,
Shiloh Ballard of the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition and Camille Llanes-Fon
tanilla of Somos Mayfair. CULTURAL CONNECTION: There was a big crowd from Cupertino among the packed house at Palo Alto’s Cubberley Theatre on July 2 to see the Adruta Dance Troupe, a classical Indian dance company that includes orphan girls from the Adruta Children’s Home.
The interest of the Cupertino contingent — which included former Mayor Orrin Mahoney, Councilman Gilbert Wong and other members of the Cupertino Rotary Club — was largely due to its sister-city relationship with Bhubaneswar, India, where the Adruta Children’s Home is located.
The visit was arranged by Jogesh Pati, a scientist at the SLAC National Laboratory and a recipient of the Padma Bhushan Award from India’s government who visited the children’s home in the past year.