Each year San Jose’s Tapestry Arts Festival brings us some of the most interesting art around. Whether it’s *really* unique jackets (they are there every year!), gorgeous scenic photography, detailed illustrations, or handmade pieces using everyday household objects – the festival never disappoints.

My friends and I have gone each year for awhile now, walking up and down the isles making sure to stop by almost every booth. Every year I toy around with the idea of buying an illustration, miniature sculpture, or some wild piece of jewelry. What I enjoy the most is taking photos – my kind of art – of how I see the festival.

That and enjoying some warm, fresh made kettle corn. Nom, nom, nom.. mmm.

But arts and crafts are not the only things there. Music plays a big role at the festival, sometimes ranging from jazz to rock, to blues. With several stages throughout the festival there are simply too may acts to list here. Check out the festival’s lineup so you can be sure to catch your favorites.

But if you’re thinking it doesn’t sound any different from last year – then you’re wrong. This year there is an added event. Tapestry Arts presents the first annual Trash Art Fashion Show and Contest. “Think of it as Project Runway goes a little trashy.” So if you’re a fan of PR, a show where designers are given challenges to design clothing from sometimes unique materials, you may find this event fun to watch! The age group for the designers is 9 to 18 and they’ll be using trash and recycled materials to create wearable (they will be the models as well) art.

If you attend the festival please be sure to stop by our Flickr group and add any photos you may take of the event!

Details:
Tapestry Arts Festival
Downtown San Jose

Saturday 10 am – 6 pm
Sunday 10 am – 6 pm
Monday 10 am – 5 pm
All proceeds fund arts education programs in schools and arts outreach to the community

Trash Art Fashion Show and Contest
Plaza de Cesar Chavez Park
Sunday, September 6, at 12:45 pm

Here’s the plan, if you’re so inclined, arrive dressed up in your best zombie outfit and makeup (and be sure to bring a canned good(s) as there will be a donation spot for Second Harvest Food Bank.) Here’s the rundown of all the crawl spots of the night:

5pm: The Zombie Art Show! (Doors will be open to early birds at 4pm)
SLG Art Boutiki – 577 S. Market Street – On-site make-up, a drop off for your canned goods, zombie art show, free comic books. Other goodies will be available; representatives from Columbia Pictures will be around to give out free posters for the upcoming movie ZOMBIELAND starring Woody Harrelson. Also be sure to check out the hearse courtesy of California’s Great America (promoting this year’s GA Fright Night.)

6pm: Zombies then make their way to Gore Park (the corner of First and Williams) where maps will be handed out. The map will have a list of the pub-crawl for various places offering happy hour specials or free gifts.

7:45pm: After the zombies make their way through the downtown spots, head back to Gore Park for an outdoor showing of Shaun of the Dead (2004/ Rated R/ 99 minutes) courtesy of Starlight Cinemas.

Pub crawl specials:
South First Billiards – $3.00 Brainstem Blasts & $2.50 Pabst
Caffe Trieste – During Happy Hour (4-7) 2-1 Peroni.
Brix Nightclub – $3.00 Well Drinks, (2-1 drinks AFTER the movie)
The Blue Chip (this is downstairs at 325 S. First Street, so you might miss it) $1 Tecate and $3.00 Well Drinks. Free Fries with cheese steaks.

More details:
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
5:00 pm to 11:00 pm
http://www.zombieorama.com
Check out the Event on Facebook

Right. I know. You might be tired of hearing about all things Michael Jackson – but tough it out for one more. This one is a bit different. I promise.

Thrill The World is an “annual worldwide simultaneous dance of Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller.’” Annual – meaning it’s not something that just came up within the last few weeks. Matter of fact, they’ve been doing this since 2006 when 62 people danced and the first Guinness World Record was set for “Largest Thriller Dance”. The following year, 1,722 people in 52 cities danced Thriller at the exact same time, again breaking records. Last year that number went up to 4,179.

No doubt, this year may be the biggest number yet.

Luckily for us in San Jose, Grave Mistake will be putting together the workshops for San Jose/Silicon Valley dwellers to participate in the event. Learn the dance, some costume design, and makeup techniques.

Local time of the worldwide event will be Saturday, October 24th at 5:30pm PDT. Until then, join others in learning the steps at the first dance workshop on Sunday, August 2nd at 11:00am at John Mise Park in San Jose.

If it sound interesting to you, head on over to Grave Mistake and register!

One of the best festivals in the Bay Area is the Maker Faire (World’s Largest DIY Festival) and it’s happening next weekend, May 30 and 31st.

Now in it’s fourth year, Maker Faire has grown not only in size (it now spans the entire San Mateo County fairgrounds now) but also in popularity. The first two years it was rather easy to park at the main parking lot outside the East entrance to the fairgrounds. Last year traffic was backed up for MILES on the freeway just getting to the place. Not to mention, once you were there, you had to drive a bit farther to dedicated parking lots/garages elsewhere and ride an old school bus (free) to the fairgrounds. I think it’s awesome that this service is provided and goes to show just how wonderful this event truly is.

If you’re a Maker Faire virgin, what should you expect? Team Maker Faire boils it down to the categories of: Arts & Crafts, Science & Engineering, Robotics & Rockets, Sustainability, Fun For Kids, and Music & Fire. There is something for everyone. Bring Mom and Dad, bring your college buddies, meet up with your coworkers, or just come by yourself. Regardless, everyone will have something up their alley to watch, listen, or participate in.

Throughout the two days, special guests will be performing or speaking. One that will be no doubt popular – Adam Savage of Mythbusters will be speaking on Saturday (2pm, MAKE Main Stage 2) on “Colossal Failures”.

In the Arts & Crafts world at Maker Faire, if you’re into that sort of thing, there will be plenty at hand. Bazaar Bizarre (a fave of mine) will have a selection of indie designer and crafters on hand selling their wares. Swap-O-Rama-Rama is returning so if you’re into sewing be sure to bring a bag of unwanted clothes and your creativity. Donate the clothes and pick out some new ones and create a new outfit on-site. I checked it out the first year and noticed there were several sewing machines, screen printing machines, and all sorts of other resources (including fellow crafters) there for all your hand-making needs.

Sculptures, working-machines, fire-breathing iron contraptions — the festival showcases so many amazing creations.

The details:
Maker Faire 2009
San Mateo County Expo Center
Saturday: 10a-8p, Sunday: 10a-6p

Weekend and Day-Pass tickets are available. Note that while discounted tickets are no longer available via the website, there are over 75 locations in the Bay Area that offer discounted tickets. Don’t hesitate to check them out!

For more details and a program you can download, visit MakerFaire.com

2009 Dates (Mark your calendars):

June 4: Evolution (Journey Tribute) and Long Gon Bon (Bon-era AC/DC Tribute)
June 11: Sierra Leone Refugee Allstars (world/reggae)
June 18: Third Eye Blind (alternative rock); supported by Pilot Speed
June 25: Pete Escovedo (Latin jazz)
July 2: To Be Announced
July 9: Eek-A-Mouse (reggae)
July 16: Pato Banton (reggae)
July 23: Matt Nathanson (pop/rock); supported by MiGGs
July 30: Colin Hay of Men at Work (pop)
August 6: Anthony David (R&B)
August 13: Better Than Ezra (pop/rock)
August 20: Sonny Landreth (blues/rock)
August 27: To Be Announced

Now I know I’ll be at the Third Eye Blind and maybe the Better Than Ezra concerts – but my ultimate fave is Matt Nathanson. He’s so entertaining and hilarious – really a show you won’t want to miss. I believe the last time he was in San Jose for a Music in the Park (I think it was for Music in the Other Park) was back in 2006.

Regardless of who you decide to see, no doubt the summer is going to be lots of fun.

5:30 p.m. to 9:15 p.m.
Plaza de Cesar Chavez
(Market Street between San Fernando and San Carlos streets)

Food and beverages are available at the park. The Lounge in the Park, which is open to the public, will serve sangria, beer and wine.

[via Downtown San Jose]

The fourth annual Maker Faire’s theme is Re-Make America and it “will showcase individual creativity and grassroots innovation in the largest festival devoted to DIY culture and technology in the country.” Personally, I’m a big fan and have been to the previous three, sometimes going both days because there is just so much to see.

So what are they looking for?

“We’re looking for anyone who has something fun to share, something they’ve made with their hands,” explains Dale Dougherty, Publisher & Editor of MAKE magazine. “It can be practical or impractical–it could be something simple like a creative costume or maybe some handmade jewelry. Or it could be something wild like a bike with ten wheels, or a dog-powered lawn mower. Whatever it is, the more creative and imaginative, the better!”

So if you are a Maker and would like to share your innovations with others at one of the year’s best events, bring your project downtown on Sunday March 8th.

* When: Sunday, March 8th, 2009 (noon – 4pm)
* Where: The Tech Museum of Innovation
201 South Market Street
San Jose, CA 95113-2008
(408) 795.6225
* Admission: FREE
* Contact for Auditions: Sherry Huss, (707) 827-7074 or sherry@oreilly.com

[More Maker Faire audition details here]

Also – if you’d just like to stop by the Tech Museum, Sunday March 8th’s admission is FREE, as part of the Free Second Sundays Program.

Now by no means am I a sushi expert and I’m not that daring to boot. We tried some the same kind of rolls we like at other places and they were all quite tasty.

• Dragon Roll (Shrimp, Crab, Eel & Avocado)
• California Roll
• Sunny California Roll (Deep-fried California Roll)
• Lion Queen Roll (Crab, Avocado, Broiled Jumbo Scallops)
• Shrimp Tempura Roll

The rolls are rather large and you get quite a few pieces (6-10 for the ones mentioned above) – we were quite stuffed and had to bring home a good portion of them. The service was great — but we went around 7 o’clock on a Tuesday and there were not a lot of customers. Decor was typical, however they had a slew of wooden boats I wanted to take a photo of but there were a few people in the way. Maybe next time!

We also checked reviews online, like the reviews at Yelp – 3.5 stars. My philosophy is if there are a considerable about of positive reviews it’s worth trying out for yourself.

Looking back at my old post here about sushi, a reader named Eric pointed out Sushi Coast in the comments! And it only took me almost two years to try the place out.. ah well!

Back to the Fantasy…

There is a warning on the website about the effects of the popularity of this event. However, we didn’t check out the website before going, so it was all a great surprise to us. Like running downstairs on Christmas morning expecting to see that shiny new bike and instead it’s still in the box and dad has to take all day putting it together.

“Due to the popularity of Fantasy of Lights you may experience wait times of 30 minutes or more, especially on weekends. For families with small children you may want to provide in-car activities for their entertainment during the wait. We encourage you to visit Fantasy of Lights Monday through Thursday.”

Well, we went on a Sunday night, getting there at 6pm (when it opens) and we did not enter the park until 8pm. Again, if you check the directions on the site, it shows you a little Google map of the way they herd the cars into the park.

Here are some tips to make the best of your Fantasy of Lights adventure:

• If you find yourself stopped on Blossom Hill road you will be waiting approximately two hours to get into the park.
• Be sure your tank is filled, you will regret it if you have to jump out of the line after waiting FOREVER. Your children may be scarred for life if you do.
• You really should bring something to entertain your kids, don’t take that tip lightly!
• If you choose to take photos, turn off your flash. You may as well just show up during the day otherwise.

Where: Vasona Lake County Park, Los Gatos
When: Now until December 31st
Time: 6pm – 10pm nightly
Cost: $10 per car until Dec 10th, $15 Dec 11-31

Some highlights of this year’s parade (Sunday, December 7th):

• Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley will open the parade with a performance from the Nutcracker
• “The tween queen” (their words, not mine), Brianna James will be performing and making an appearance
• 2008 Grand Marshall, Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) will … stand there, smile and wave. Oh and you know, spread the magic of Disney and the holiday season and whatnot.

Other festivities begin the night before during the Inflation Celebration. “The night features giant helium balloons, dazzling floats, children’s activities, great giveaways and live entertainment.”

Overall it does sound like wonderful time to get out and do something with family or friends to get into the holiday spirit. And for fellow photographers out there, plenty of great opportunities for all styles of photography! That alone may be what pulls me out of my warm bed that early on a Sunday morning.

Here are the details:
Date: Sunday, December 7th

Parade path: Start on Santa Clara Street and Delmas Avenue, near the HP Pavilion, at 8:30 a.m. (proceeding east on Santa Clara Street)
It’ll take a right on Market Street and travel past Plaza De Cesar Chavez to end at San Carlos Street.

Check out their map for more details. [PDF]

More info on the official site: San Jose Holiday Parade

So while buying handmade is awesome, buying handmade AND local is even better.

From time to time, I’m going to share a few Etsy local finds. I invite you to do a Shop Local search on Etsy the next time you are in need of a gift for someone special.

(Also, just to note, I am in no way affiliated with Etsy – I just love the site!)

Here’s a few from San Jose, Los Gatos, and Palo Alto!

San Jose:

zbella.etsy.com: Nature-Inspired Metal Artisan Jewelry
I was really in awe of this pendant. Zbella notes, “I made this pretty little pendant by impressing the pattern of a real leaf onto copper sheet, giving it a deep red/black patina with my torch, and cutting it out to the shape of the leaf.”

Los Gatos:

BionicBenz.etsy.com: Belt Buckles
Gorgeous! Antiqued copper surrounds an assortment of lovely images. He also takes custom image orders.

Palo Alto:

JYEittreim.etsy.com: Fine Art Prints by Jillian Eittreim
Jillian, a BFA student at San Jose State University creates lovely, intricate pieces of art. My favorite, the example used, is titled Three Queens (in Sanguine ink).