Pow! Wow! returns, hoping to add ‘light to the blight’
The inaugural Pow! Wow! San Jose festival last October was a colorful antidote to the city’s “Tan Jose” reputation, leaving 20 striking murals around town in its wake. Pow! Wow! is back for a second edition this month, and organizer Juan Carlos Araujo says to expect even more this time around.
“It was really well reviewed, and it paid off all year,” said Araujo, co-founder of Empire 7 Studios. “This year, we’re going back into some of our previous sites and expanding into some new sites. We’re adding some light to the blight.”
Araujo said out-of-town artists begin arriving Wednesday and will tour the area to get a sense of the valley. They’ll see the vistas from Mt. Umunhum, take in the natural beauty of Coyote Creek and even stop by the headquarters of various tech campuses, which are certainly part of our creative ecosystem. In line with the festival’s social justice ethos, one planned stop is the statues of Tommie Smith and John
Carlos at San Jose State, which is celebrating the 50th anniversary of their historic Olympic protest this week.
The arts and culture festival also will provide opportunities for the community to engage with the artists and become part of the projects themselves. The public part kicks off Saturday with a Block Party in the lot behind Faber’s Cyclery and Camino Brewing on the 700 block of South First Street. Beat Junkies founder J Rocc and New York DJ Statik Selektah will perform live at the all-ages party, from 3 to 10 p.m.
There’s also an art show at Empire 7 Studios on Oct. 23, a pop-up Halloween Party in the Eastridge Center parking lot on Oct. 27 and a repeat of last year’s popular bike tour of all the completed murals
on Oct. 28. And, of course, you can stop by the mural sites and see more than two dozen artists in action throughout next week. Get more details and updates at www.powowsanjose.com.
HARKER WELCOMES BACK TAYLOR EIGSTI » After a two-year hiatus during construction of its new Rothschild Performing Arts Center, Harker School in San Jose has relaunched both its concert and speaker series, with jazz pianist and Menlo Park native Taylor Eigsti performing at the Oct. 18 opener. It’s his fourth time performing at the school but his first appearance there since 2015.
Investor and author Magdalena Yesil, a founding board member of Salesforce, will open the speaker series Nov. 28, followed by a book signing. Get more information on both series at www.harker. org/about/events.
The venue, which
opened in February, is named after early Facebook employee Jeff Rothschild and his wife, Marieke Rothschild, who are parents of two Harker graduates. They made a $10 million matching gift for a capital campaign that included athletic facilities and the performing arts center.
DECADE OF IMPACT » San Jose’s Notre Dame High School honored IBank Executive Director Teveia Barnes and Shirlee DiNapoli Schiro, a 1946 Notre Dame graduate, last Friday at its 10th annual Women of Impact Luncheon. More than 760 guests attended the event at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center, where Schiro, a longtime supporter of San Jose’s arts scene, also received a commendation from Assemblyman Ash Kalra.