Providing a lot of fun in a fundraiser
The Children's Discovery Museum held its Legacy for Children Award fundraiser last weekend, the first one in person since 2019, and a couple of really smart decisions were made by Executive Director Marilee Jennings and event co-chairs Alan Marks and Kim DeCarlis.
The first was to host the event at the Purple Museum in downtown San Jose, which surprisingly was the first time in its 21 years that it had been there. That allowed the hundreds of guests to live life as a kid again, exploring Bill's Backyard, collaborating on watercolors in the revived LeRoy Neiman Art Studio and even crawling through the toddler-friendly Wonder Cabinet. The concepts of play and fun were so baked in that people were encouraged to wear sneakers with their fancy attire — and many, many people did.
And the second smart move was selecting Dallas Mavericks CEO Cynthia “Cynt” Marshall as this year's guest of honor. The Richmond native — who has been a groundbreaker throughout her career — was an ebullient honoree, mingling and taking photos with people she had just met like they were old friends. She was a good sport, too, when she was called up to be part of performance by cast members from Freestyle Love Supreme+, the hip-hop musical improv group started by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
“I'm just so happy to be home. It's great to be home,” said Marshall, who was accompanied to the Bay Area by her husband of 39 years, Kenneth Marshall. “This award means so much to me because it taps into my true passion in life. And my passion in life is about achieving permanence and stability for our children.”
And the Children's Discovery Museum is still a great place for kids to have fun. It recently ex
panded hours to five days a week, Wednesday through Sunday, and members can visit without a reservation. In addition to the reopening of the Leroy Neiman art studio, the exhibit, “Potter the Otter: A Healthy Adventure,” reopens July 2 after originally opening briefly in February 2020. Go to www.cdm.org for details.
JAZZ IS BACK IN LOS GATOS
>> No matter what the temps are outside, it's gonna be a cool summer in Los Gatos with the return of Jazz on the Plazz after a two-year absence. The lineup for the “Brubeck Summer” kicks off with Svetlana and the Delancey Five on Wednesday, with the weekly series continuing on Wednesdays with acts including Paula West (July 13), Marcia Ball (July 27) and the Brubeck Brothers Quartet (Aug. 10). The shows at the Los Gatos Town Plaza start at 6:30 p.m. every week.
Longtime supporter Linda L. Lester is also back as the presenter of the annual gala for Los Gatos Music and Arts, which this year will feature vocalist Jamie Davis on Sept. 18. You can check out the full lineup as well as reserve tickets for the gala at www.jazzontheplazz.com.
CHARGED UP TO WALK >>
The YWCA Golden Gate/ Silicon Valley got a fantastic turnout Thursday for the return of the Walk a Mile in Their Shoes event, which raises awareness about domestic violence and sexual assault and raises money to stop help survivors.
Among the group walking around Santana Row in high heels were about 150 members of IBEW Local 332, which represents electrical workers throughout Santa Clara County. The team was co-captained by Lilliana Martinez, a fouryear apprentice, and local President Javier Casillas. Along with many other groups, Local 332 has been a longtime supporter of the walk, thanks to the early efforts of now-retired Sal Ventura and continuing with support from members Frank Mann and Jason Lucero.
This year's walk has raised nearly $100,000, and you can still donate at bit.ly/WALKINTHEIRSHOES22.
TWO SIDES OF THE VALLEY
The Valley of Heart's Delight and Silicon Valley will both get their due at the “Apricot STEM Fair” on July 16 at the Los Altos History Museum, which combines science, technology, engineering and math activities with lessons on the region's agricultural past.
The STEM side of things will include robotics demonstrations, building marshmallow towers, making a sundial and creating photo sensitive art. Lisa Prince Newman, author of “For the Love of Apricots,” will hold a conversation about all things apricot and share some recipes from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The two worlds also will come together in an activity launching apricots with a catapult.
Admission to the Apricot STEM Fair, which runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., is $7 at the gate, and it's free for kids 12 and under. Advance registration is required at www.losaltoshistory.org for workshop.
This is the second in a series of four familyfriendly programs to support the museum's new permanent exhibition, “Making Connections: Stories from the Land,” an immersive experience that will open next year.
“Nowhere does the juxtaposition of events show up more clearly than the transition from the Valley of Heart's Delight to Silicon Valley, something many of our residents witnessed and remember,” said Elisabeth Ward, the museum's executive director. “Both time periods used science, technology, engineering and math. The STEM Fair is an opportunity to highlight the differences and similarities between these two periods in history, and celebrate both the continuity and the changes in our valley.”