The Villages in San Jose celebrates a golden milestone
Fiftieth birthday parties aren’t too common at the Villages, as the gated neighborhood in
San Jose’s Evergreen area bills itself as serving the 55-and-over set.
But the celebration on Aug. 5 was for the Villages itself, which was founded in 1967 as one of the city’s first planned senior living communities.
And just looking at the way the community has grown and evolved in that half of a century, it’s fair to say that 50 is the new 25. The Villages has grown to offer more than 70 social organizations, several community service groups and other recreational activities for its active residents.
More than 1,000 of them took part in one or more of the anniversary events, which included a spring fiesta, a July 4 event, a golf tournament and a gala dinner. The capstone was an Aug. 5 champagne-and-cake reception — attended by San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, Santa Clara County Supervisor Dave Cortese, City Councilwoman Sylvia Arenas and other dignitaries.
And while the Villages itself is only 50 years old, the site it’s been built upon has a history going back much further. The community includes the Wehner Mansion, a historic landmark built in the late 1880s that was the centerpiece of a huge vineyard in the Evergreen Hills. The Queen Anne house and surrounding lands eventually were sold to the Cribari family, which produced their wines there until moving the operations in 1959.
ANOTHER JAZZY NOTE >>
The San Jose Museum of Art hosted the Next Gen Stage for this year’s San Jose Jazz Summer Fest. It was one of three stages at the festival that was free for the community to enjoy, and this one showcased youth bands and was a great way to see the future of the art form.
Bay Area saxophonist Oscar Pangilinan, who led the San Jose Jazz Summer Camp band at the stage, mentioned that nearly 150 students attended camp this year, which is a record number.
And the importance of music education came into focus when Pangilinan pointed at one of the band’s youngest members — Daniel Wu from Kennedy Middle School in Cupertino — to do his first improv solo on trumpet. The dimpled seventh-grader gave Pangilinan a surprised look back and then nervously grinned from ear to ear as he pulled it off.
49ERS’ MAKE OFF-FIELD MOVE >>
The 49ers have brought Justin Prettyman — who has spent the past 11 years with the Boston Red Sox Foundation — to the West Coast to be the executive director of the 49ers Foundation. Prettyman replaces Joanne Pasternack, who left in May to take over the Warriors Community Foundation. He’s got big shoes to fill.
Last month, the 49ers were named the 2017 ESPN Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year for the franchise’s community education efforts, and the team also received the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Steve Patterson Award for Sports Philanthropy in 2014.
HOLD THE AX >>
City Lights Theater Company’s added three more performances of its hit summer musical, “Lizzie,” a rock opera retelling of the infamous Lizzie Borden ax murders.
The added shows are at 8 p.m. Aug. 25 and 26 and 2 p.m. Aug. 27. We were all set to close ‘Lizzie’ this Sunday,” Executive Artistic Director Lisa Mallette said, “but we kept hearing from people who hadn’t been able to find time in their schedule to see it — or who wanted to see it again.” Get tickets at www.cltc.org.