Wednesday, November 11, is Veterans Day. There will be a memorial ceremony and a parade in downtown San Jose. In honor of Veterans Day, entrance fees waived at National Parks and other areas.

The Parade‘s Opening Ceremony begins on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month with a memorial ceremony at Plaza de Cesar Chavez on Market Street.

The Parade begins at noon from Delmas Street (near HP Pavilion) and travels east along Santa Clara to Market Street. The Parade then proceeds south on Market Street and ends at San Carlos Street. The reviewing stand is near Park Street.

Vice Admiral Jody A. Breckenridge, Commander United States Coast Guard Defense Forces West and Pacific Area, is this year’s Grand Marshal.

In addition, entrance fees waived on Veterans Day at public recreation lands managed by the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, along with the Bureau of Land Management. Click on the service’s link for more information (other fees still apply). There are a number of public recreation lands in the Bay Area or head on over to Yosemite.

Veterans Day
Wednesday, November 11, 2009

October 4th is just a couple of weeks away, so it is time for San Jose runners to get ready for the Rock ‘n’ Roll 1/2 Marathon. Though this news is exciting for the runners, and good for the city, for me it is just ho-hum. That was until I heard about the post race concert.

* Rock ‘n’ Roll 1/2 Marathon Post-Race Concert:
* Finish Line Festival Stage – Plaza de Caesar Chavez.

# 1 Jonny Lang – (Grammy winner) is the concert headliner.

# 2 It is free! – and open to the public. (the concert)

# 3 Lang is scheduled to take the stage around 12 PM.

Note: For the marathon – register online

Are you tired of driving by the creeks around San Jose only to see them clogged with debris of all sorts? Here’s your chance to do something about it!

This year is the 25th Anniversary of California Coastal Cleanup Day, one of the largest events of it’s kind of the year. Just because we aren’t actually on the coast doesn’t mean we can’t chip in and clean up our waterways (which eventually lead to the ocean) now does it?

Last year, just in Santa Clara County alone, 1,331 volunteers removed 95,656 pounds (47.8 tons) of debris and 16,327 pounds (8.2 tons) of recyclables from 26 locations throughout the county.

So get on over to CleanaCreek.org and find out the details on one of the 35 locations targeted for clean-up. Bring your own gloves, sturdy shoes, sunscreen, a hat and some water (in a recycled bottle please!) and pitch in. You’ll also need to download and sign a waiver to participate, and it’s a good idea to visit the volunteer page for instructions.

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

Pierluigi Oliverio

Tonight is council member Pierluigi Oliverio’s 3rd annual district 6 “Safety Fair & Outdoor Movie Event“.

Featuring – “WALL-E” by Disney/Pixar

When – Friday, August 28th

Time – 7:00 PM

Where – Bramhall/Willow St. Park – Willow Glen

Enter – Willow St. (near Meridian) cross street Glen Eyrie

Bring – a Blanket and Flashlight

A free music series at San Jose State University begins this weekend, continues Tuesday, and winds up next weekend, between August 22 and 30.

What kind of music you ask?
John Williams film scores, Lemony Snicket music, a legendary jazz vocalist, Beatles music a brass band, and more performed by Symphony Silicon Valley along with other artist.

The concerts, bottled water, harmonicas for children at the Family Concert and ice cream at the Brass Band Concert, are all free.

Saturday August 22, 7:00 pm
John Williams Film Scores

Maestro Bruce Hangen and the orchestra’s performance may include Jurassic Park, ET, Star Wars, Jaws, Schindler’s List, Indiana Jones, and Harry Potter.

Sunday August 23, 3:00 pm
Family Concert

A family concert, with Lemony Snicket music The Composer Is Dead and harmonica virtuoso Robert Bonfiglio playing Gershwin. The first 1,200 kids receive a free harmonica.

Tuesday August 25, 5:30 pm
Cleo Laine & John Dankworth

Jazz songstress Cleo Laine and saxophonist John Dankworth the “king and queen of British jazz.”

Saturday August 29, 7:00 pm
Classical Mystery Tour

A Beatles tribute band from the Broadway show “Beatlemania” joins the orchestra to perform classics from the Lennon-McCartney Songbook, strings and horns! Classical Mystery Tour conductor Martin Herman along with soloists Jim Owen,Tony Kishman, Chris Camilleri, and Tom Teeley.

Sunday August 30, 3:00 pm
Brass Band & Ice Cream Social

The 39-piece band led by Tony Clements, principal tubaist with Symphony Silicon Valley perform Bugler’s Holiday, Thoughts of Love, Holst’s Mars, and selections from Phantom of the Opera. The ice cream is free.

The concerts held on the grassy mall at San Jose State University; enter at 4th Street and West San Carlos. Bring a picnic and your beach chair. Arrive early!

408-286-2600 x 23

Outdoors showing of two films this Friday and Saturday, free!

This Friday August 21, 2009 is Jackie Chan’s The Legend of Drunken Master. In this sequel to Drunken Master, Wong Fei-Hung (Chan) must do battle with thieves trying to smuggle priceless artifacts out of China. The film includes some of Jackie Chan’s finest choreographed fight scenes along with a knock your socks off final. Anita Mui provides a great comedic performance.

Rated R – For adult content, adult language and violence.

The film will be shown in the parking lot next to Orchard Valley Coffee, Downtown Campbell. The parking lot opens at 6:30 pm, the film begins between 8:00 pm and 9:00 pm; bring a chair and a blanket.

Orchard Valley Coffee Shop
349 E. Campbell Avenue, Campbell

Then on Saturday August 22, 2009, it is San Jose Giant’s Movie Nights with the showing of Bolt on the big screen. Bolt is an animated family film about the adventures of a canine actor, who believes that he really possesses superpowers, mistakenly shipped from Hollywood to New York City and now making his way back home. Along the way, Bolt befriends an alley cat and hamster providing insight about being a real dog in the real world. Voices include John Travolta (Bolt), Miley Cyrus (Penny) and Malcolm McDowell (Dr. Calico).

Rated PG – For some mild action and peril.

The film will be shown at Municipal Stadium, San Jose. Gates open at 6:00 pm and the film begins at 7:00 pm (showing on the big screen thus no need to wait for dusk). Check out the Family Fun Zone including speed pitch, bounce house and t-ball. Bring a blanket and watch the movie from the outfield. Admission and parking are free; concessions will be open during the movie.

Municipal Stadium
588 East Alma Avenue, San Jose
408- 297-1435

Willow Glen Extra reported the other day on a threat to the “Three Creeks” bike trail proposed to link trails along Coyote Creek, the Guadalupe River, and Los Gatos Creek. The trail is planned by the city of San Jose to be built along abandoned railroad rights of way, but money hasn’t yet been found to purchase the land.

In the meantime, the railroad has sold portions of the land off to other parties, and now one purchaser is planning to build a structure over the proposed trail site. Stucco Supply Co. is requesting planning approval to build a storage area on the land they acquired from the railroad.

Because planning approval is needed there’s still time for input from the public. With enough support, the planning department can require the property owner to grant an easement for bicycle access through the site, allowing the bike path to pass through the area without having to be diverted onto busy streets.

See the WGx article for more detail, including the names and addresses of appropriate government people to contact if you support development of San Jose’s cycling infrastructure.

We are not talking about the type of kites you flew as a kid. We are talking giant creature kites and kites made from fine paper and bamboo along with an assortment of other kites.

The 22nd Annual Berkeley Kite Festival will take place this weekend (July 25-26) at the Cesar Chavez Park in the Berkeley Marina.

The Berkeley Kite Wranglers are the foremost giant creature kite team in the world with nearly 30,000 square feet of giant show kites in their collection. Watching a group of these giant kites fly in formation is stunning.

Highlighting this year’s festival is a group from the Sode-cho Kite-Flying Society of Hamamatsu, Japan, which will present its traditional Machijirushi kites, made from fine paper and bamboo. The Machijirushi kites used in a nearly 500 years old kite-fighting competition, the goal of which is to force the other kite out of the sky using just your kite.

For the kids there is free kite making (11:00 – 1:00) and kite flying lessons (11:00 – 4:00) and a designated area for families and their kites.

Event highlights include: world-record attempt for giant creature kites, team kite ballet, Japanese-style Rokkaku Kite Battle, humongous kites & windsocks, kite sales tent. manufacturers’ demonstrations, Taiko Drummers from Taiko Spirit, and more.

Bring your own picnic as food is usually expensive at most events.

Parking is $10.00 at the Berkeley Marina and of course, there will be traffic. An option would be to park on the other side of the freeway (near University and 6th) and use the walkway overpass to get to the park. The event is free.

AC Transit bus line 9 goes to the Berkeley Marina; line 9 is available from the Downtown Berkeley BART station.

22nd Annual Berkeley Kite Festival
Cesar E. Chavez Park at the Berkeley Marina

Saturday and Sunday, July 25-26, 2009
11:00 am to 5:00 pm

510-535-KITE

Admission: Free

So who knew San Jose had its own Roller Derby teams?

We knew, but we forgot. So when I met Ana Z from the Silicon Valley Roller Girls I could not wait to attend a bout.

I took my 17 year old daughter and three of her friends to the June 13th bout with San Jose’s Dot.Kamikazes against the Santa Cruz All-Stars. These two teams seem to have quite a rivalry, and both the derby girls and the audience were looking forward to the match up. We arrived 30 minutes early to San Jose Skate and found the parking lot full! There was still plenty of parking over at the business park next door though. Being new to the whole Roller Derby scene there was quite a lot to take in when we first entered the doors. Everyone was wearing black and green (team colors), there were green hair and wigs, tattoos, and some of the most amazing and interesting people you could imagine.

On the floor of the rink were folding chairs lined up around a taped off skating circle, so our group took seats about four rows back. Premium ticket holders got to sit in comfy couches, but the folding chairs had just as good of a view. While we could see just fine, next time we plan to get there earlier so we can be in the front row. This row does carry a warning in the program though: “Front row is SUICIDE SEATING due to crashing rollergirls. Sit at your own risk please!” While waiting for the bout to begin there were raffle tickets to buy, Roller Derby goodies to purchase, and lots of pizza and nachos and snacks to eat.

The bout began with a helmet and pad check of the girls, then an explanation of rules and demonstration of roller derby. This was really helpful to us newbies, and allowed us to enjoy our experience fully. The basic rule you need to know is the “Jammer” (girl with a star on her helmet) from each team scores points by breaking ahead of the pack to pass the other players. One point for every player passed, including anyone in the “naughty box”. As for the rest of the players, no “unladylike behavior” is allowed. It’s not the knock-down drag-out fight you see in the movies – but don’t think it’s without excitement! Although fighting, and blocking by hands, elbows and head are not allowed, plenty of other pushing IS allowed and the crowd cheered loudest whenever anyone fell (or was pushed) down.

This particular bout was very exciting. The teams were super psyched to face off with each other and you could tell by the play. However, it was the SV Roller Girls, our home team, who took the early lead and never let it go! Final score was 131-100 and it was exciting to the very end.

Multiple raffle prizes were called throughout the bout, everything from skateboards to tattoos. Pizza, nachos, and soda were enjoyed along with all the excitement, and we even had Tasty Hoops hula hoopers for halftime entertainment. All the Derby Girls are awesome, and had great derby names. Everything from Booty Vicious to Juicy K. Tore to Smashleigh to The Undie Taker, the girls go by pseudonames and they don’t ever depart from them. Mistits was a fan favorite, but my personal fave player and Jammer was Smashleigh. I definitely recommend that you find a way to get to a bout and enjoy all the juicy Derby goodness these girls have to offer.

Missed the bout? The next official home bout won’t be until August 8th, but NO WORRIES!! Because today is a FREE Roller Derby Exhibition bout at Roosevelt Hockey Rink, 901 E Santa Clara Street, San Jose. Action starts at 5pm! I recommend you get there early, and then make plans for the August 8th bout as soon as you get home!

Silicon Valley Roller Girls
Calendar and maps
Nocklebeast’s derby photos

Special thank you to Nocklebeast (from the Santa Cruz side!) for the use of his derby photos – you need a very fast shutter speed to catch these girls in motion!  Click on the link to see lots more excitement!