Winchester Mystery House to host parties for movie premiere
“Winchester” arrives in movie theaters next week, and the Winchester Mystery House is putting out the welcome mat with two days of premiere events at the San Jose landmark mansion.
There are four parties planned — two each on Feb. 2 and 3 — where guests can enjoy a cocktail and appetizers, roam the house and view some of the Victorian-era costumes from the thriller starring Oscar winner Helen Mirren. After about an hour of spirited socializing, everyone will head across Winchester Boulevard to Santana Row for a screening of the movie at the CineArts theater. Don’t expect Dame Helen to be there, but like Sarah Winchester herself, I’m sure she’ll be there in spirit.
The fictionalized — and from the trailers it seems very fictionalized — story has Jason Clarke as a skeptical San Francisco psychiatrist summoned to the sprawling, maze-like house by the widow Winchester, played by Mirren. Thrills, chills and a great deal of stair-climbing ensue. Some scenes with Mirren and Clarke were filmed at the house last spring, though most of the movie was made in Australia.
Tickets to the premiere events at the mansion are available for $49 at www.winchestermysteryhouse.com.
ATTACK OF THE DRONES! >> Japanese high-tech dance troupe Elevenplay is bringing its fleet of two dozen glowing drones to the Hammer Theatre Center in San Jose on Saturday for an onstage mashup of technology and art. The innovative group, which pairs its choreography with iPads and projection mapping, turned heads as part of the opening act of Lady Gaga’s 2014 world tour and the closing ceremony at the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
The one-night-only show is the first of a three-part ArtTech Series at the Hammer that will include “Teatrocinema,” a live cinema-theater experience in April. It also will feature “Bella Gaia,” an audiovisual journey that combines music with NASA satellite imagery of Earth and time-lapse nature photography. Tickets for all
three shows are available at www.hammertheatre.com.
KOREMATSU COMMEMORATIONS >> Fred Korematsu Day — which commemorates the life of the Japanese-American civil rights activist — is being observed with two special events in San Jose this month.
On Saturday, Don Tamaki, the attorney who
represented Korematsu in his landmark 1983 case against the United States over the internment of Japanese citizens during World War II, will deliver a speech at the Wesley United Methrodist Church in Japantown. That’ll be followed by a panel discussion with Tamaki; Fred’s daughter, Karen Korematsu; and Zahra Billoo, executive director of the
Council on American Islamic Relations in the Bay Area, who will speak on both Korematsu’s case and the current Muslim travel ban. RSVP for the 1 p.m. event by emailing publicprograms@jamsj.org.
On Tuesday — Korematsu’s birthday — retired U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel will present a retrospective look at her decision in Korematsu
v. United States, which overturned his wartime conviction for violating the Japanese American internment. The noon talk will take place at the Santa Clara County Family Justice Center in downtown San Jose. Space is limited; email rsvp@scscourt.org.