Let the spirits be your guide as Winchester House reopens
San Jose’s most famous house expects to start entertaining visitors again next week as the Winchester Mystery House offers selfguided tours of the 160-room mansion.
Now let’s think about this spooky proposition. You’re basically on your own in a sprawling building known for its architectural oddities that has had nearly a century of ghost-related myths built up around its foundations. I’ve managed to get turned around on a tour with a dozen other people and a guide, so let’s hope they’re counting everyone on the way in and the way out.
Fortunately, guests on the “touchless” experience will be independent but not unattended. Tour hosts will be stationed throughout the estate to assist visitors as needed, and there will be plenty of signage and audio prompts to keep people going in the right direction.
“Over the course of the past few months, we’ve been challenged to create a safe and compelling experience for guests that will be sustainable in the ‘new normal,’ ” General Manager Walter Magnuson said.
That means tour groups are restricted to members of the same household, everyone must wear a mask and the route has been modified to focus on the largest rooms of the house. Management and staff designed the tour to comply with current county and state guidelines, but it’s unlikely anyone ran the plans by all the spirits that are said to inhabit the place.
Tickets go on sale Friday at winchestermysteryhouse.com and provide access to the Sarah Winchester Garden Tour. Of course, if you’re not quite ready for an in-person visit to the attraction once billed as America’s Most Haunted House, you can always stick to buying or renting the video tour or taking the new immersive virtual tour, also available on the website.
OBON FESTIVALS GO ONLINE >> The Obon Festival in San Jose’s historic Japantown is one of summer’s highlights as its traditionally takes place the second weekend in July. And although there may be no gatherings currently allowed, that doesn’t mean there won’t be an Obon Festival. It just has gone virtual.
This Saturday, Obon@Home starts with a welcome at noon, and though there may not be 1,400 dancers filling Jackson Street, people can do their own dancing at home at 7 p.m. In between, there will be taiko performances, a discussion on history, Buddhism and traditional foods, and a tribute to volunteers. Get information on the schedule and how to view the event on Facebook Live at facebook.com/sanjoseobon or sjbetsuin.org.
Mountain View’s Obon Festival also will be going online July 17-18. Activities include live games, a fashion show, cooking demonstrations, cultural discussions and a virtual tour of the Mountain View Buddhist temple. Get more information at obon.mvbuddhisttemple.org.
SAFETY FIRST >> The Palo Alto Art Center is inviting Bay Area artists to submit work for an upcoming exhibition that explores the theme of safety. What “safety” means, especially with the various changes and crises happening in the world today, can be very different for people and communities.
Patricia Hickson, the Emily Hall Tremaine Curator of Contemporary Art at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Connecticut, is the juror of the show, which will award $1,000 in prizes for selected artworks.
The show is expected to open Sept. 19 and run through Dec. 13, though it’ll be presented online indefinitely.
Submissions must be made by Aug. 10, and a $40 nonrefundable fee ($35 for Art Center Foundation members) is required. Go to cityofpaloalto.org/artcenter and click on upcoming exhibitions for submission details.