Will this be the year of the 10-Way Jacket?

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

The SJ Rep is helping you help the community – AND see a play!

The San Jose Repertory Theatre has always been a leader in bringing the arts to everyone and giving back to the community. This season they are taking even broader steps in this direction.

In order to help community members who cannot afford regular priced tickets to the outstanding productions held at the Rep this year, they are offering Pay What You Will Tuesdays. The first preview Tuesday for each production of San Jose Rep’s 2009-2010 season, starting with the Tuesday, September 1 production of As You Like It, will be open to all members of the community for a suggested ticket price of $10, however any amount will be accepted. In addition, a canned food drive for Second Harvest Food Bank will have food bins in the lobby hoping for your donations. In this way any member of our community can not only see an exciting new production at the SJ Rep, but they can also help Second Harvest help those who are in even greater need.

Tickets go on sale at San Jose Rep’s box office one week prior to the scheduled performance. Seating is general admission and will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

Pay What You Will Tuesday:

• Groundswell – Tuesday, Oct. 13

• A Christmas Story – Tuesday, Nov. 24

• The Weir – Tuesday, Jan. 26

• Ain’t Misbehavin’ – Tuesday, March 16

• Sonia Flew – Tuesday, May 11.

If you don’t make it to this Tuesday’s preview of As You Like It, you can still see the production of one of Shakespeare’s most beloved plays at the SJ Rep from August 29 to September 27.

Sibling rivalry, royals in exile, mistaken identities, cross dressing (no kiddin’), and love at first sight, all make an appearance in this bewitching and sophisticated comedy about freeing oneself from the shackles of technology and finding oneself in nature. Really! The actors will be texting onstage, and you can too, during intermission and after the show!

Don’t miss this exciting new production. San Jose Metblogs is excited to attend the September 4 show and we will have our review up by Saturday afternoon. See you at the Rep!

Sharon Jones had the main stage crowd dancing.

The 2009 AT&T San Jose Jazz Festival opened last night with some big soul music, blues, and straight-up jazz. I caught bits and pieces of four or five acts, and they all would have been worth seeing all the way through. Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings was the headline on the main stage, and they had the house rocking. She had audience members dancing on stage and in the aisles after she demonstrated “The Groove”, “The Mashed Potato”, and more dances from the original days of soul and funk.

Meanwhile Kaye Bohler and her band were heating up the Hedley Club at the Hotel De Anza with sexy blues. And “sexy” was the key to Bohler’s act, as she worked the crowd, threatening to steal the men away from their wives, and singing songs that could teach the wives to keep their husbands.

At the 48 Hour Jazz Stage, where local bands are highlighted, I caught The Poblano Project playing “jazz with spice”. They were joined by set drummer Katie Hawn, and also did three numbers with a group of “young habaneros”, high-school aged up-and-coming musicians. I also caught a short piece of the CEO Jazz Jam, which was maybe more interesting for people-watching than for musical consistency. I think I recognized at least one of the CEO’s on stage (a “big name” in the electronics design industry) and saw San Jose city councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio in the audience. The bar at the 48 Hour stage, offering $4 beer, is one of the best-kept secrets of the festival.

The Festival continues today with Allen Toussaint headlining the main stage, local favorites SambaDa at 4 on the Latin Stage, Chris Cain closing out the Blues Stage, and of course dozens more bands. Tickets are $15 for one day or $20 for two days.

I’ve been getting myself in gear for this weekend’s San Jose Jazz Festival with my Cab Calloway and Winton Marsalis CD’s in the car, and KCSM when the CD’s run out. This is the 20th annual San Jose Jazz Festival (okay, “AT&T San Jose Jazz Festival“), and it will be pretty much all over downtown San Jose from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon. There will be 9 stages, plus food and plenty of “Extras“. And tickets can be had for only $15 per day or $30 for all three days, making it one of the biggest live music bargains of the year.

What caught my eye in this year’s festival program is the Club Crawl. The Crawl encompasses 13 downtown clubs, all with no-cover live jazz music on Friday and Saturday nights, running later than the outdoor stages. What I really like about the Crawl is that after you’ve seen superstars like Allen Toussaint and Bettye Lavette on the big stages, you can follow the Club Crawl and get a look at some hard-working local bands.

For example, on Friday:

• San Jose native Joe De Rose brings his trio to Hawg’s Seafood Bar
• Local vocalist Monica Marquis performs at Agenda Restaurant
• Keyboardist Kirk Tamura brings his Trio to A Perfect Finish Wine Bar

On Saturday:

• Northside native Doug Ellington and the New Urban Groove at the Temple Bar
• East Side based Polyluv at Koje Sake Lounge
• For night owls, Jazz Mechanics play at the Hedley Club in Hotel De Anza until 1:30 am

Check the Crawl webpage for specific times and more bands.

Note: The band in the photo is Bug Horn Rex. Its not officially part of the Jazz Festival, but they’re playing at the Naglee Park Garage Friday night from 6 to 9.

California Theatre

The best kept cinema secret in San Jose (even among typically well-informed local cineastes) is the summer Friday and Saturday evening programs at the California Theatre.  I recently spoke with filmmaker Alejandro Adams and Cinebanter podcaster Michael Vox about their trip to the Cal Theatre to watch PLAYTIME with fellow filmmaker Jarrod Whaley and Cinequest screenwriting competition winner Mary Szmagaj and her husband Bill.  The beautiful, refurbished Cal Theatre has shown films on its large screen for several years as part of the Cinequest Film Festival, but most film fans aren’t aware that at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights, a classic film is unspooled in front of a small, but devoted group of viewers.

The price: $5.  The balcony: available.  The ushers: incredibly polite.  Saturday night popcorn price: free.

For the first time anyone can remember, popcorn and drinks were not only allowed, but encouraged. Take it from someone who has personally been told to put their water bottle away by Mr. Packard himself, this last piece of news is a big deal. Up in Palo Alto, the Stanford Theatre has been showing classic films for years, and now we have our own version of that program right on First Street, a few steps from Original Joe’s. Where else can you listen to a live organist play famous movie scores before the show starts? Where else can you sit in an actual full-sized balcony where the image on the screen will complete with the beautiful design and colors of the theatre itself?

This summer, the programming runs from the much-seen: LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, WEST SIDE STORY, SOUND OF MUSIC to the little-seen: PLAY TIME to the silents: KID BROTHER, BLACK PIRATE. This weekend, July 31-August 1, they are playing 1967’s CLEOPATRA.

The price can’t be beat and while watching, it is hard not to feel as if you’ve been transported back in time, when grand movie halls still existed. Do yourself a favor. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by.

The complete summer schedule can be found here.

Looking for something fun and free for the family this evening? The 14th Annual Dancin’ on the Avenue in downtown Willow Glen runs today (June 20) from 5-10pm. This is always a fun event with lots to do for everybody. There’s a kid’s court full of games,arts and crafts  and face painting and of course dancing and music just  for  kids too.

Lincoln Street shuts down from Minnesota to Willow, with three stages of music and dancing throughout the event. Entertainment ranges from bluegrass, jazz and salsa to classical ballet, hip hop and belly dance. Visit the official site for a  list of performers. Look for plenty of great food and drink, much from local vendors as well.

Last year 30,000 people attended the event, so parking fills up fast. If you decide to park in the neighborhood, please be respectful of the neighbors. Here’s a map of the event and suggestions on parking.

Happy Father’s Day!

Dads celebrate Father’s Day this Sunday June 21. Take dad out for a free frozen yogurt, a free burger (when you buy one), and then head on over to Vallejo for The Northern California Pirate Festival free or get very adventurous and visit one of 100 National Parks for free! Don’t tell dad this is all free, act like a big spender.

Weekend events are Saturday and Sunday June 20–21. Here is some info to get you started…

Free TCBY frozen yogurt cups and cones for dads on Father’s Day.

Free 1/3 burger at The Counter to all dads all day on Father’s Day. Offer is limited to one regular 1/3 Burger per father who brings in a paying family member/child and purchases a Burger of equal or greater value.

Yo Ho Yo Ho a Pirate’s Life for Me! Spend Father’s Day Weekend near Vallejo’s pirate-infested waters at The Northern California Pirate Festival; it is free!

Fee-Free Father’s Day Weekend at over 100 National Parks; including Yosemite, Lassen, Death Valley, Lava Beds, Sequoia, and Joshua Tree. Special activities planned at many of the parks. There will also be Fee-Free Weekends in July and August.

TCBY and The Counter locations

Summer is almost here and what’s a better way to ignore recession woes than to hit up the park for some free music? Every year Music in the Park delivers something for everyone’s tastes. This year is no different! Here’s the lineup:

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]

This Wednesday April 29 is the third annual 31 Cent Scoop Night celebration at Baskin-Robbins from 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm.

During the event, Baskin-Robbins will thank its loyal customers by reducing the price of all 2.5 oz. scoops (or 3 oz. Soft Serve cones) to just 31 cents plus tax where applicable. Limit 3 scoops person.

As part of 31 Cent Scoop Night, Baskin-Robbins will donate $100,000 to the National Volunteer Fire Council’s National Junior Firefighter Program. At select local stores, you may also have an opportunity to donate to your local fire station.

Baskin-Robbins
Store Locations

April 29, 2009
5:00 pm – 10:00 pm