San Jose Jazz Festival 2011: Friday Schedule

5pm	The Boathouse Allstars
6pm	Doug Beavers' Titanes del Trombones featuring Wayne Wallace and Abel Figueroa The Poblano Project
6:30pm	Swing Dance Lesson
7pm	TBA Ron Gariffo Orchestra
8pm	Karabali Zoë Keating Michelle Pollace's Jazz y Clave
8:30pm	Ohio Players Swing Dance Lesson
9pm	Stompin' at the Savoy
10pm	Non Stop Bhangra Eliza Henderson After Hours at the Pagoda     (DJs and performances, 10pm–1:30am)
11pm	Millennium Sounds Orchestra

San Jose is Developing a 100-Mile Trail Network

San Jose's Annual Trail Program was released a few weeks ago, and it reveals quite an ambitious plan to link up and develop a network of trails that would exceed 100 miles. To give you an idea of the scope of this, we currently have 36 miles of paved trails. The Annual Trail Program is a great read and provides the status of over a dozen different projects that are currently in process. Some of these are pretty impressive, such as a 9 mile trail extension from Montague Expressway to Story Road consisting of at least 5 pedestrian bridges and 11 under-crossings. Read all about it right over here.

San Jose Jazz Summerfest Overview

Wednesday Wishlist: New Earthquakes Stadium

I'm really looking forward to this stadium and the Quakes deserve a permanent home they can be proud of. I can't wait until this thing officially becomes under construction!

The San Jose Jazz Summer Fest 2011

The San Jose Jazz Festival is coming this weekend! This is a must attend event for anyone in the Bay Area that even remotely likes Jazz music. With 10 stages, every type of Jazz genre you can think of, and an amazing line-up of talent, there is something here for everyone.

For more information, head on over to the San Jose Jazz website. Each morning we'll also be posting the full lineup of artists for that day.

Netflix is Moving Some Operations to San Jose

Netflix is dividing up operations into two different divisions, one that will focus on streaming video and another that will focus on their traditional DVD and Bluray mail-based rentals. Well, it just so turns out that DVD operations are moving to San Jose in North First Street. 225 engineers are expected to make the move, along with a substantial amount of sales tax dollars. 

Netflix is a company that is expanding very quickly and desperately needs more space. Los Gatos has been a difficult partner in accommodating their growth needs, and I have a feeling that they are testing the waters in San Jose. If they continue to grow at their existing rate and things work out well in the San Jose office, perhaps they will choose to also relocate their streaming operations at some point.

For more info on the Netflix move, click here.

Open Studio at ArtStreet San Jose

from Phantom Galleries by Cherri Lakey

Artist Curt Schauer’s ArtStreet San Jose Studio Gallery combines a working studio with gallery space to promote the work of local artists working in a range of media.

Join us for the opening from August 5-7. We’ll have a weekend of fine art, friends, food and drink. Artwork indoors and out. Invite your friends!

Opening Reception: Friday, August 5th,, 6pm to 10pm
BBQ, wine, beer, soft drinks outdoors under the carport

Open Studio: Saturday/Sunday, August 6th and 7th, Noon to 5pm
Snacks, wine, beer, soft drinks outdoors under the carport.

Featuring art by ArtStreet San Jose members and friends including:
Jaap Bongers - San Jose, CA: Metal Cast Sculpture
Luke Gilliam - Bath, UK: Paintings, Prints
Helen Ju - Mountain View, CA: Dogs, Paper and Wire Sculpture
Minal Kashkari - Santa Clara, CA: Stained Glass, Needle Point
Jon Scally - San Jose, CA: Glass
John Schultz - Mountain View, CA: Metal Cast Sculpture
Treg Silkwood - San Jose, CA: Glass
Curt Schauer - San Jose, CA: Glass, Monotypes, Digital Prints

ArtStreet San Jose Studio Gallery
748 Coleman Avenue, Suite E
San Jose CA 95110
http://artstreetsj.com

First Annual San Jose Renaissance Faire This Weekend

Just a reminder that the Renaissance Faire is kicking off in Downtown San Jose for the first time later this morning. Check out the flyer below for details!

South FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk Aug. 5th!

from Phantom Galleries by Cherri Lakey

Join us this Friday, August 5th for the South FIRST FRIDAYS art walk + STREET MRKT in downtown San Jose!
7pm-11pm, free and open to the public.

KALEID Gallery
88 So. 4th St.
Two new exhibitions by featured artists Jonathan Perea and Michelle Waters.


Convergence by Jonathan Perea
Subatomic abstract realism: A worldwide acceleration where science and spirituality dances to the tune of the cosmos. The illusion of duality unveiled a new beginning.



Musings from the Wasteland by Michelle Waters
The paintings in this series are influenced by the nightmarish imagery of Hieronymus Bosch, Edward Abbey’s writings and my work as a wildlife rehabilitator and environmental activist. My art deconstructs the assumption of human superiority by showing what might transpire if animals took control over the fate of the planet. Animals demolishing the Glen Canyon Dam and wildlife laying waste to a bulldozer are some of the characters who populate my paintings.


Caffe Frascati
(formerly Caffe Trieste)
315 So. 1st St.

Cheating Time: Constructing a Praxis of Juncture by Trina Merry
Through bodypaint, Merry has taken classical high art themes, such as the Four Seasons, and high art forms, such as ballet, to examine this concept of process, connection and living in season. Performance artists, such as dancers with fabric, are caught in the moment of leaps & turns frozen by photography. One of the featured bodypaintings of the exhibit based on Picasso’s “Guernica”, is set on a purposefully posed human canvas, yet full of imagery of an existential moment- the horror & anguish experienced by the victims of war.
“I feel like Caffé Trieste is the correct venue to explore these high art subjects as it has been a proud supporter of San Jose artists as a venue for music, poetry, & art exhibits.
This exhibit explores two important photographer relationships I have with Martin Delfino & Rafael Hernandez. Both are immigrants with a wonderful love of avante garde art who have been instrumental in my growth as an artist.”


Good Karma Vegan Cafe
37 So. 1st St.

Dreams by Valerie Runningwolf
What are dreams? Where do they come from? Some believe they may come from a collective consciousness, others believe they are messages from the spirit world, or maybe self generated from our minds.
A collection of dreams brought to life by mixed-media artist Valerie Runningwolf can be seen at Good Karma in August. Please join us during the First Friday art walk to share your dreams in a collaborative art piece.


PHO69
321 So. 1st St.

Collection of Light A new series by LAuruS Myth
LAuruS Myth work is based on patterns found in nature that have lead to patterns used in modern technology. Not only do these symbols relate to each other visually, but they also function as patterns that guide flows of energy throughout machines and plant life. Connecting and converting this energy into the power that lies within human life and purpose, fuels her motives and creative inspiration. Her hope is to capture the essence of vibration through the repetition of organic and geometric shapes.




On South First Street between San Carlos & San Salvador streets
7-11pm, FREE


ARTISTS/CREATIVE VENDORS:
Ai & Ai, Al Preciado, Andre Hart, Sandi Billingsley, Boombotix, Bugs & Monsters, Chicanoart.Friscostyle, Crossroads Trading Co., David Mejia, DonBon, EAZ & Sugar Skulls by Jodi, Emily Bones, Empire Seven Studios, Emo Gonzales, Force 129, Francisco Franco, Gianfranco Paolozzi, Haley Goodlett, Ike Greca, iMiNUSD Track Boutique, Ivan Gonzales, Josh Marcotte & Kerfufle, Keith Bunnel, Korrupt Clothing Label, Linda Ritter, Lost Village, Luna Park Chalk Fest, Mayberry Workshop, Michael Foley, Mike Borja, Out of Print Vintage, The Rabbit Hole, Rock ‘n the Trend, Shannon Amidon, Shayne Herrera, TeaShack, TechShop San Jose, The Usuals, Valentina Vintage, Waitman Gobble, Zine Party by Yumi


ON THE STAGE:
Please note: these times are tentative and may change. Please check back.
7:15-8:00 PM Orangutang
8:10-8:30 PM Corrupt Autopilot
8:50-9:35 PM Whiskerman
10:00-11:00 PM Ben Henderson & Friends
with STREET MRKT’s Emcee “Mighty” Mike McGee
ArtCar Fest 15th Anniversary Showcase
featuring 30 mobile, street legal sculptures from around the bay area

For full exhibition schedule of all 20 participating art venues, please visit;
http://www.SouthFIRSTFRIDAYS.com
or join us on Facebook here!

San Pedro Squre Market- Tenant Update

from feed/http://www.sanpedrosquaremarket.com/CMS/UI/Modules/BizBlogger/rss.aspx?tabid=211291&moduleid=341923&maxcount=25 by Michael Maida

As we mentioned in our last blog post we are beginning to highlight our market tenants. This weeks blog post will be on Crewners Barber Shop. Crewners  will be an old-school barbershop with all of the current amenities. The barber shop is the brainchild of Dan Dixon. Dan is a skilled technician who's also blessed with the gift of gab. Here is a little aboutCrewners:

Crewners will be an upscale barbershop, providing fashionable and stylish haircuts and the highest quality full barbershop services. Vintage decor blended with modern equipment will create an atmosphere that is warm, welcoming and invites customers to relax, refresh and reminisce. The chair you see below was found on craiglsist. Once Dan saw the chair, he knew it had to be restored so it could become the centerpiece of his store.

The Chair before

The Chair after its rehab

Crewners is sure to be one of the most memorable tenants in the project. We will keep you informed on all of their progress.Here are a few shots of the construction so far...

 

Just a reminder space is filling up fast. Find out how to become a tenant right here:

Wednesday Wishlist - Premium Movie Theater

I was in Austin a couple weeks ago and somehow ended up in an iPic Movie Theater (twice). Usually I'll never go see a movie when travelling since you can do that pretty much anywhere. I'd rather have experiences that I could only get in that city (e.g. 6th St. live music in Austin), but this sounded unique enough that I had to try it out.

When I walked into iPic, the last thing it looked like was a movie theater. Ticket sales looked like a fancy hotel lobby, there was a full bar, full dinner menu, and free pool tables. What I embarked upon was the most comfortable movie going experience I've ever had in my life.

Here's the deal. The theater is 21+ only, no kids, no crying babies. Each theater only has a few dozen seats and there are 2 different seating options: Premium and Premium Plus. Premium seats are at the front of the theater and go for $19 a person. The main pluses here over a normal theater are access to the lounge before the movie, huge leather seats, reserved seating (like picking seats on an airplane) and the ability to bring dinner and drinks into the theater. Now the premium plus seats are a bit more interesting and go for $29 a person. What do you get for the extra coin? Giant plush seats with an electronic recliner, full table service during the beginning of the movie, blankets, and unlimited popcorn. That's right, you can order full dinner along with all the drinks you can handle inside of the movie theater. It was such a slick experience I ended up back there the next night as well.

With so many movie goers in the San Jose area (obvious by the number of theaters we have) along with the highest household income for a large city in the US, you would think this would be a no-brainer location for a premium theater. I bet an iPic here would be a tremendous success. While sipping a Martini and watching the previews, I couldn't help but think "why didn't they build one of these at Santana Row instead of CineArts?"

Renaissance Faire is coming Downtown!

Wow, this is an interesting new event for Downtown San Jose I really didn't see coming. On August 6th and 7th, Guadalupe River Park will be transformed into a medieval kingdom complete with jousting, minstrels, magic, and of course the obligatory turkey legs. You can find more information on the First Annual San Jose Renaissance Faire in the poster below or at there website right over here.

1st Street Updates

Let's start the week off with some good news. 2 new restaurants are coming to First Street in Downtown San Jose very soon. First off is Zanotto's Express which will feature sandwiches, soups, salads, and sushi. This location will essentially take the best of Zanotto's and package it into a deli environment.

Next up is the former Maceio space. It won't be empty for much longer as it's in the process of being converted to Cabritos Mexican Bistro. I'm trying to get more info on this one.

They will join WOW Noodle house, Bella Mia, Billy Berks, and Smile Sushi to help build some vibrancy in this area. As soon as the old E&O corner space is built out, I think we'll have a nice little restaurant district here.

Veggielution Olympics

Coming August 6th, replacing our workday that Saturday.

Have some fun, win prizes, and support our youth program Dig Crew (and help our summer youth leader Alyssa Quinonez represent us at the National Rooted in Community Conference in Philadelphia, P.A.
Our summer youth leader Alyssa Quinonez will be representing Veggielution and the Dig Crew this summer at the national Rooted In Community conference held in Philadelphia, PA.  Rooted In Community is a national grassroots network of diverse youth and adults working together and committed to fostering healthy communities and food justice through urban and rural agriculture, community gardening, food security, and related environmental justice work.  Alyssa and fellow youth will work to create the Youth Food Bill of Rights to be presented to congress at the conference.  There is even word of presenting it to the First Lady!  For more information, please visit rootedincommunity.org
Alyssa has been working hard to plan and coordinate the Farm Olympics as a way to support her trip to Philadelphia.  She will be participating in the events and gathering donations for her trip.

Sponsor Alyssa

Prizes and Games!

Family-fun, including corn shucking, watermelon seed-spitting, giant vegetable toss, cherry tomato chubby-bunny, relay races, and a corn-on-the-cob eating contest. All this will lead up to our main event, the Weed-a-Thon, with contestants scouring the farm for our Most Wanted weeds and weighing in their bounty at the end to win one of many exciting prizes donated by local businesses.
REGISTER BY AUGUST 2nd!

Saturday Stats: San Jose Ranks #1 in Longevity

Here's a nice statistic for you all. San Jose has the best life expectancy out of any city in the United States! We just barely beat out Honolulu for the top spot. With friendly people, great weather, and low crime... this shouldn't come as a huge shock. Click here to see the full list.

World's Largest Heart Made of People

If you are looking of something really unique to do this Saturday, someone is going for the Guinnness World Record for the largest heart made out of people at the Children's Discovery Museum. For all of the details, check out their Facebook page!

Time	Saturday, July 30 · 3:00pm - 8:00pm
Location	The Field Next To The Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose
Created By	Albert Ricardez, Armando Ricardez
More Info	GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORD! James Bowser is inviting everyone to join him in breaking the current world record in the Guinness Book of World Records by making The World's Largest Heart Made of People. This event will take place on Saturday in the park next to the Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose @3:00pm On July 30th Please bring own refreshments and some to share if possible :) Location: 180 Woz Way San Jose, CA 95110 COME WITH ARM'S OPEN AND READY TO JOIN IN THE HEART PLEASE INVITE EVERYONE YOU KNOW!!!! HOSTED BY: JAMES BOWSER email: ArtOfPrinting@yahoo.com

"Celestial Summer" Debuts at Axis

Today Axis is hosting an opening celebration for Celestial Summer, the latest exhibition at the Axis Art Gallery featuring photographs taken from the Hubble Space Telescope. You can also enjoy refreshments, tours, and see art works from over 50 local artists in the Axis lobby. If you feel like taking in some views, you can also have a look at the model homes on the 12th floor and the Penthouses.

It all goes down between 5:30pm - 7:30pm tonight at 38 N. Almaden #101.

Downtown San Jose Restaurant List Updates!

I added a brand new page to the Downtown San Jose Restaurants database to make it easier to track changes made to the document. We now have 202 Downtown San Jose Restaurants in the list, along with tons of useful information like numbers, websites, hours, yelp reviews, and costs. Below is a list of the latest changes from the changelog tab:

• 6/19/2011 Changelog started
• 6/19/2011 Thepthai closed
• 6/28/2011 Maceio closed
• 7/1/2011 Popeye's is now Southern Fried Chicken
• 7/5/2011 Added A & K Noodle House on 304 E. Santa Clara St.
• 7/5/2011 Added Osheyo at 273 E. San Fernando St.
• 7/5/2011 Added Peanuts Deluxe Cafe at 273 E. San Fernando St.

If you haven't bookmarked it yet, here's the link to the spreadsheet! There is also a permanent link over to the right entitled Downtown San Jose Restaurants.

Yogurtland is Coming Downtown

A brand new Yogurtland is coming to Downtown San Jose near SJSU at 125 E. San Carlos Street.  Some of you may remember this as the old Gamestop space. Thanks to Arlene for the tip!

The Tech After Hours

The Tech Museum is planning to but open from 6pm -11pm one day each month. The next night-time museum event is scheduled for next Wednesday and will include glow-in-the dark drinks, games, music, and dancing. Sounds pretty interesting! More details below:

The Tech Museum After Hours
First Wednesday of the month
NEW Longer Hours!
6:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.After Hours is the new monthly themed event where adults only can enjoy science, technology, entertainment and cocktails together with their friends. Each month is new and different.

Like our new After Hours Facebook page!   Music and Games Galore
presented by homefrys
Wednesday, August 3
6:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.

Get your game face on.
Enjoy music, dancing and games galore! From Nintendo Wii, made-up games by guests, and lots more board games.

Sip on a glow-in-the-dark "Tech-Tini" from our no-host bar.

Explore the entire museum under moody blue lighting and contemporary sounds as you decide whether to play a bevy of board and party games!

Limited cafe menu available for purchase.

Buy Tickets
Tickets are $12.00; $10:00 for members.
Call for group rate for 10 or more!

For more information or to buy tickets please call (408) 294-8324. Or buy online now. (service charges may apply. Members service charges waived.)

Microchip Technology Moves to San Jose

Another company is choosing to make their San Jose their corporate headquarters. Microchip Technology is moving from Sunnyvale to 98,423 sqft on 450 Holger Way in North San Jose. For more information and a great article on companies deciding to move to our city click here.

VTA Offering Free 4G Wireless to Riders

VTA is the first mass transit agency on the globe to offer a 4G wireless network on ALL trains. The new system launched a week ago on the entire fleet of 100 light rail trains. This is a huge value add that will hopefully get more Silicon Valley residents taking public transit. More info right over here.

The Usuals Event & Contest Tonight

The Usuals Present:
A Photographic Exhibit by Mark J. Sebastian Featuring FlavorInnovator
…Friday, July 22, 2011, 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm

Music by Cutso and Weezy of The Bangerz and DJ Bluz, DJ ThuyVu
Photobooth by John Dsr Agcaoili
Treatbot Karaoke
The art, of course!

MoGo BBQ
Treatbot: The Karaoke Ice Cream Truck

Make sure to get your hair did because John Dsr Agcaoili of Darkside of the Moon Photography & Design will be shooting a free photo booth session in the back with music provided by Dj ThuyVu and DJ Bluz. John is also on Booty Duty, so don’t be surprised if there are some girls milling around. In our store-front window, we will have none other than DJs Cutso and SquareWeezy of the Bangerz crew, serving tracks so hot, you’re going to need a mask to prevent your face from melting. Outside, MoGo BBQ will be providing korean BBQ style burritos and tacos while Treatbot: The Karaoke Ice Cream truck will be serving up dessert along karaoke while introducing two new flavors.

Artist and Venue Info
Mark J. Sebastian
www.markjsebastian.com

FlavorInnovator
www.flavorinnovator.com

The Usuals
www.shoptheusuals.com

July 2011 Downtown Dimension Highlights

Here are my notes from the latest edition of Downtown Dimension:

• This year's Golden Nail award is going to Redevelopment Agency Executive Directory Harry Mavrogenes for his many years of service to Downtown San Jose.
• Christmas in the Park is seeking $240,000 in additional funding to continue to operate during the holidays.  They are planning to raise this amount through additional corporate sponsorships.
• 16 new artworks created by local high school students have been added to the Downtown Doors program, including new vinyl pieces on utility doors in the Downtown core.
• NextSpace Coworking is now open at 97 S. Second and provides virtual infrastructure for freelancers, telecommuters, and entrepreneurs. Visit their site at www.nextspace.us
• The TechShop is now open at 300 S. Second.
• In just 2 months of leasing, Three Sixty Residences is already 25% occupied!
• 3 new "tree islands" were added to San Pedro Street and overall walk-ability was improved
• 8 new bronze koalas were improted from Mexico and installed on the eucalyptus trees on San Carlos Street.

To read the full newsletter, click here!

Hitchcock's "The Birds" Tonight @ Post St.

I love how related events are being integrated into Downtown San Jose's Starlight Cinema series.  Last week's feature--The Big Lebowski--had an impressions contest and "Lebowski" drink specials in SoFA.  Fido in August will be coordinated alongside a zombie crawl.  And this week's feature will have a Bird Parade before the showing of, well, The Birds. Below is some info pulled from the Sherman Cellar's newsletter, which is a cool little wine shop on Post St. where this week's feature will be playing tonight.

Post Street Movie Night

Downtown San Jose! 

If you are a fan of Creekview

 

Click to View Video

Vineyards wine and you love classic movies, this next Post Street Movie is for you! 

On Wednesday July 20, Post Street Merchants and the Downtown Association present Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" for your nightmare causing entertainment.  Just to wet your whistle, Andy's Pet Shopwill lead a Parade of Birds (have one?  bring it on down) right here in front of Sherman Cellars.  You will not want to miss this movie. 

By the way, Creekview Vineyards wines will be featured at all of the Post Street and San Pedro Square movie nights: click HERE for a complete listing of Starlight Cinema Movies, and the pre-show entertainment! 

Chihuahuas in San Jose

Guest Post by Melissa Lisbon:

For many months, our local shelter, the San Jose Animal Care Center (http://sanjoseanimals.com) has been inundated with dogs, especially small dogs.  Almost 50% of these small dogs are Chihuahuas or Chihuahua mixes.  As a result of the July 4th holiday, the single worst day of the year for pets going missing, the shelter took in an extraordinary number of frightened animals, including a high number of chis.  

Why do we have so many Chihuahuas in San Jose?  Many people believe it is due to the trend set by Hollywood where Chihuahuas act as an "accessory" - thank you Paris Hilton!  The reality is that many people are still not spaying and neutering their chihuahuas and are trying to make a profit from breeding these dogs.

San Jose Animal Advocates (http://sjanimaladvocates.org), a community group dedicated to raising awareness of the homeless pet situation in San Jose, is trying to help bring attention to this issue and engage the community with this ongoing problem.  On Saturday, July 23rd, San Jose Animal Advocates will be hosting a fundraiser, "Buy a book, Save a Dog".  Community donated books, magazines, cds, and movies will be sold to raise money for two local groups who are making a positive impact on the chihuahua dilemma in San Jose.  Proceeds will be split between PAWS for SJACS (http://paws4sjacs.org) and The Perfect Dog (http://theperfectdog.org).  PAWs for SJACS is a non profit organization which supports the San Jose Animal Care Center and funds out-of-state animal transports.  With the money from the fundraiser on the 23rd, we hope to be able to fund another transport of chihuahua mixes to a humane society in Oregon or Washington state.  The Perfect Dog is a local dog rescue group that saves dogs from the San Jose Animal Care Center and the South County Animal Shelter in San Martin (south of San Jose).  Proceeds from this fundraiser will help this local dog rescue to afford to save more shelter dogs.

San Jose Animal Advocates, PAWs for SJACS and The Perfect Dog have also teamed up to develop a website that is specifically geared toward the Chihuahua breed and the Chihuahua crisis in California.  The name of the website is ChiFriends (http://chifriends.org) and the goal is to raise awareness about this great breed of dog and to act as a resource for other area dog rescue groups and shelters.

What else can you do to help with the Chihuahua crisis in San Jose?

 - Adopt a chi from the San Jose Animal Care Center (there is a July adoption special for chis, only requiring licensing fees) 

 - Spread the word about the importance of spaying/neutering your pets

 - Consider becoming a dog foster parent which allows rescue organizations to save more dogs