Saturday, September 30, 2023
Mid-Autumn Festival today at San Jose's Berryessa Branch Library
Thursday, September 28, 2023
Urban Confluence meeting to discuss placing Breeze of Innovation in Plaza de Cesar Chavez
The agenda will cover a history of the project, the Plaza de Cesar Chavez master plan, and plenty of time for public comments and questions.
Below is an early concept render, but no finalized design currently exists. The project will be developed in collaboration with park neighbors, event producers, visitors, and all interested citizens of San Jose.
- Improved infrastructure such as a stage, lighting, and sound for park events such as concerts and Christmas in the Park
- A possible expansion of the park footprint based on recommendations from the San Jose Department of Transportation
- Elements that honor Cesar Chavez
Monday, September 25, 2023
Little Italy San Jose Street Festival this weekend
Thursday, September 21, 2023
CODAsummit: Art, Technology and Place - Oct 4-6
Wednesday, September 20, 2023
Culture Night Market at Hillview Park in East San Jose, Sep 23
Tuesday, August 15, 2023
Content 15.4 "Profiles" pick-up party
Friday, August 4, 2023
Italian Family Festa this weekend at History Park San Jose
Thursday, August 3, 2023
Monopoly: San Jose Edition
Source: SVBJ
Tuesday, August 1, 2023
100 Things To Do In San Jose Before You Die - 2nd Edition
25% of the entries on the second edition are new, and the rest have been updates with extended tips. I have used the book as sort of a checklist to see how many I can do. The answer is 52. In the 2nd Edition I have been able to do 52/100.
- Hiking Mount Umunhum
- Having a picnic at the Sierra Vista Open Space Preserve
- Bike, Blade, and Board at Viva CalleSJ
- Letting your taste buds travel with a Little Ethiopian in Little Ethiopia
- Indulge at Adega (I think this will be updated for the 3rd Edition)
- Pair farm-fresh food with gorgeous valley views at the Mount Hamilton GrandView Restaurant
- Celebrating the geekiest week of the year with Star Wars Day and Free Comic Book Day
If I haven't been super clear, I highly recommend the 2nd edition (even if you have the first). You can get the book in paperback or Kindle form over here.
Monday, April 17, 2023
Bay Area's first Portugal Restaurant Week! April 17th - April 24th
As a Portuguese-American it used to be a huge challenge to even find Portuguese food at restaurants in the Bay Area. Once Sousa's Restaurant (Azorean Portuguese) on Santa Clara Street closed down, there wasn't a single proper sit-down Portuguese restaurant in San Jose.
Fast forward to today and it's a different story. The first and only Michelin Star restaurant in San Jose and the only Portuguese restaurant with a star in the United States is ADEGA--coincidentally in the same East San Jose retail spot as Sousa's used to be. One of the hottest Downtown San Jose restaurants is Petiscos. Then you have Uma Case in SF, LaSalette in Sonoma, and Tasca Tasca also in Sonoma. There are also outstanding Portuguese-influenced restaurants popping up like Broma in Mountain View (with a Michelin Star chef from Chez TJ).
A celebration of these restaurants kicks off today with the Bay Area's first-ever Portugal Restaurant Week. Special discounted multi-course menus will be available at Adega, Petiscos, Uma Casa, La Salete, and Tasca Tasca. Now's the time if you have yet to experience Portuguese food, which is best served family-style with wide varieties of things to try. You can't go wrong with any of the five options, but please support our San Jose restaurants so they stick around for a long, long time.
For more info and menus, head over to the Portugal Week site over here! The event only runs until April 24th.
Monday, December 12, 2022
San Jose ranked top metro for immigrant success
Friday, August 19, 2022
28th Annual Assyrian Food Festival
One of the biggest benefits of living in San Jose is diversity. It's amazing that we have access to so many events each year celebrating different cultures. This weekend is the 28th Assyrian Food Festival. The two day event also features dancing, live entertainment, exotic teas, coffee, parties, arts, a raffle and of course a ton of authentic Assyrian cuisine.
The event runs from 11am to 11pm on Saturday and 11am to 9pm on Sunday at the Assyrian Church of the East (680 Minnesota Avenue, San Jose, CA 95125). Admission and parking are both free. For more info head over to assyrianfoodfestival.org.
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Saturday, January 29, 2022
Content 10th Anniversary Pick-Up Party
San Jose's leading publication focused on art and culture is celebrating 10 years in print on March 3rd with the release of issue 14.2 "Sight & Sound." As is tradition, Content kicks off each issue with a party, often including the people featured in the magazine. This time around, they are returning to the venue of one of their very first parties--the San Pedro Square Market.
Issue 14.2 features: Culture Night Market, Brandon “BQ” Quintanilla; 6th Street Studios, Abby Bettencourt; Baunfire, Juan Sanchez; Cartoonist/Writer, Trinidad Escobar; Artist/Muralist, Manuel Villagran; Artist, Caia Koopman; Photographer, Alex Knowbody; Tabrizi Productions, Faran Tabrizi; Photo 125, San Jose State Photographers; Musician, Bennett Roth-Newell; Instrumentalist, Lidia Rodriguez; 408 Collective, Gabe Rangel, Jared Carbajal, Misa James, & Tyler Richards; and Album Picks by Needle to the Groove.
There will be live music, courtesy of the artists in the latest issue, along with an assortment of local artwork on display.
This special event runs from 7pm-9:30pm at the San Pedro Square Market on March 3rd. Subscribers, features, and contributors will get a free drink and gift upon entry.
Tuesday, August 31, 2021
Content Pick-Up Party 12.4 "Profiles"
San Jose's premier art & culture magazine is resuming their "pick-up parties" with issue 13.4 on September 3rd--conveniently coinciding with the First Friday Art Walk. You can pick up your latest issue at Parque de Los Pobladores between 6pm-8pm and then check out the galleries and restaurants of SoFA. They'll even have live music, visual art, and mini auto show. What sort of magazine does that for their subscribers?
Speaking of which, if you're not already a subscriber you can learn more about the magazine over here.
In partnership with First Friday Art Walk - Content Magazine celebrates the release of issue 13.4 "Profiles" at Parque de Los Pobladores.
About this event
Join Content Magazine for the first outdoor Pick-Up Party of 2021 on Friday, September 3rd from 6:00-8:00pm in partnership with First Friday Art Walk.
This Pick-Up Party celebrates the release of Issue 13.4 "Profiles."
Featuring:
Low Conspiracy | Warren Chang | San Jose Foos | Annmariz | Aulala Design | 2021 West Valley Fashion Designers | Kaylee Dougherty | Barely Funktional | HeadHunter Crew | FlipSide Lovers | Francisco J Zarate | Google Downtown West | Needle to the Groove Album Picks
Connect with one another in this open outdoor setting and experience a blend of music by Barely Funktional and FlipSide Lovers, along with special guest performances, and visual art by Warren Chang, Francisco J Zarate, Jackelin Solorio, and more. Plus a special visit by Low Conspiracy Car Club.
It is a packed two hour event. We hope you will join us and stay and explore First Friday Art Walk. Open from 5-10pm.
We have missed you and cannot wait to see you!!
This event is made possible by Heritage Bank.
Tuesday, August 3, 2021
ArtWalk SJ + STREET MRKT
This month, South FIRST FRIDAYS is supersized with the return of our annual summer street market. All art venues will be open for in-person visits from 5pm-9pm, as will the indie urban street market featuring over 50 artists, performers, and creatives. You can't miss it since the market will take over a chunk of SoFA. Of course there will be great food and drinks as well.
For more info head over here.
Participating Artists & Indie Creatives:
Thursday, March 25, 2021
Silicon Valley Annual Check-up
In the video below Joint Venture CEO Russel Hancock summarizes the key learnings from the 2021 Silicon Valley Index. This year, special attention was paid to the impacts of the Coronavirus on our local economy. Other topics include income inequality, racial demographics, housing imbalances, patent registrations, and venture capital funding. The presentation provides an objective look at how our region is doing compared to previous years as well as the rest of the country.
If you find the content interesting, you can also read the whole 150-page study over here.
Monday, March 15, 2021
St. Patty's Day in Downtown San Jose
Downtown San Jose will be illuminated in green until March 17th for St. Patrick's Day. If you are in the area, these are the places you should pay special attention to:
- Security and Leticia Buildings at 70 S. First St.
- Twohy Building at 210 S. First St.
- The Pavilion at 150 S. First St.
- Circle of Palms on S. Market Street.
- Post Street between S. Market and S First streets
- San Pedro Square
- Fairmont Anex
- Bamboo Panda Mural on S. First St.
If you're looking for themed events, Ludwig's German Table will have a St. Patty's Day stand up comedy show featuring 5 local comics, Mezcal will be serving up Green Margarita's, and Plant Lush is discounting their Oxalis "shamrock" plants by 17% this week (if you find one with a 4-leaf clover it's free).
We could use a bit of luck right now, as could our local businesses so let's support them!
Tuesday, November 3, 2020
Thursday, September 10, 2020
New San Jose Flag
Here is a quick reminder:
It doesn't quite seem to represent the San Jose of today. Bushels of wheat and grape vines have little to do with our current culture of innovation, technology, diversity, or entrepreneurship. There was an attempt to redesign this flag in 2016, but it never gained traction.
Abhinav Ganesh has created a modernized version of the San Jose flag. It's clean and easy to remember. The sun iconography is also used in official City logos and reminds us of our 300 days of sunshine each year. Here is the official description of the unofficial redesign:
"the triangular shape represents the Santa Clara Valley, the triangles represent the mountains at our borders, and the sun represents our warmth and lofty aspirations. The blue and gold colors, currently used by the city, are also California's official colors."
If you would like to support the initiative to modernize the flag, Abhinav has started selling the new flags and donating $10 to local charities for each sale. You can learn more over here.
Monday, August 10, 2020
New San Jose Landmark Proposals!
The next step is to choose three finalists that will each receive $150,000 to refine and re-develop their concept. After that a single winner will be chosen around April 2021 and fundraising would begin for what could be a $100 million+ project next to the SAP Center on the Arena Green.
I've gone through all 960 submissions, and some are truly epic. Below are images of my personal favorites. I love so many of these, but my vote would go to the Infinity Ring at the end (check out the video). It looks amazing despite the 200ft height restriction, you can walk inside it to cross the river while getting a view of San Jose, and it can do some impressive lighting effects than amplify it's coolness. Which is your favorite?
List of Top Submissions
List of all Submissions