More details on the Valley Fair expansion

We have been waiting a long time for the repeatedly-delayed Valley Fair expansion, but now plans are getting very real. Westfield has a video showcasing the massive 624,000 SQFT expansion. I can't give you a direct link or embed it, but all you have to do is go to this page, and scroll down to the middle of the page.

The official price tag will clock in at a whopping $1.1 billion. Given it is one of the most profitable retail centers in the world, I'm sure that investment will pay off.

The video starts off with a lot of nice things to say about us as consumers:

The heart of Silicon Valley
#1 Wealthiest Metropolitan Area in the U.S.
#1 Highest Median Home Value in U.S.
#1 Center for Technology and Innovation in the World
#1 Fastest Growing County in U.S.
Highest Concentration of Millionaires and Billionaires in the U.S.
Hyper Educated
Hyper Entrepreneurial

Then it goes into some of the details...

624,000 SQFT Expansion
Upscale Cinemas
150 New Retail Shops
New Flagship Bloominddails
Luxury Vallet and Elegant Outdoor Dining

And then you get the posh renders of what is being planned. I grabbed a few images from the video, but recommend watching it to get the full effect.

Huge thanks to Joe Meduri for sending this in!

Knight Cities Challenge 2017 kicks off today!

The Knight Cities Challenge is a battle for the best ideas to improve local communities. $5,000,000 in grants are up for grabs in 26 cities, including San Jose. We have done quite well in this competition in previous rounds. Earlier this year, $100k was given to create a Post Street Night Market and another $100k went to create MayFeria at the Mexican Heritage Plaza.

Applications will be accepted through November 3rd at knightcities.org.

Each submission should pertain to one or more of the following three themes:

• Talent - what will allow us to attract and keep talented people?
• Opportunity - how can we expand the economic prospects of our community?
• Engagement - what will spur civic connection and involvement?

Funding is provided by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Head over here and help make San Jose a better place!

Nutanix IPOs and raises $238M

Nutanix is a San Jose data tech company that had one of the most successful IPOs in recent years. The company's stock soared from $16 per share to $38 since the IPO, making the company worth over $5 billion. A huge chunk of that value will go to people that work and likely live in San Jose, adding further fuel to our economy.

The company is headquartered at 1740 Technology Drive, Suite 150.

Source: SVBJ

New Downtown San Jose Dog Park opens on October 11th!

Hart's Dog Park is located in the Downtown core at 194 W. Santa Clara Street (between San Pedro St. and Almaden Avenue). To launch the new park, there will be an opening celebration on Tuesday, October 11th at 10:30am complete with dog treats.

The Downtown PBID worked with the SJ Downtown Association to create this urban park for the rising number of Downtown residents with dogs. The 2,000+ high-rise apartments built in the last five years are all within a quarter-mile of the new park.

The park is 2,000 SQFT with a double gate, artificial turf, benches, planters, and tree stumps. A mural by local artist Tom Colla will adorn the wall and honor one of San Jose's most famous department stores. The park will also be maintained by Groundwex.

This is a fantastic way to re-purpose abandoned/vacant space. A fire destroyed the previous structure and this space has sat empty for a decade. Much like the small park next to Axis, this is a great way to enhance the quality of life for residents and visitors while also filling up the gaps in our streets.

San Jose Now-And-Then Photos

RENTCafe has 10 "Now-and-Then" photos that compare specific San Jose areas in 2008 to what they look like now. All you do is move the slider on each photo to quickly compare the two time periods. The article also has some flattering quotes such as this one:

"The downtown area in particular is transforming into a bustling live-work-play neighborhood with new residential towers bringing density to the business district." 

Head over to the source link to read the article and go through all of the photos!

Source: RENTCafe

JetSuiteX is launching a new route to Carlsbad (San Diego)

JetSuiteX is a public charter airline that flies out of San Jose's swanky private terminal on the opposite side of Terminals A and B. They already have two routes, one to Burbank and another to Bozeman, Montana. Their third route will be a nonstop to Carlsbad that launches on October 17th.

The flight will depart Carlsbad at 7:45am and arrive in San Jose at 9:10am, with the return flight leaving San Jose at 5pm and arriving at 6:25pm. Fares are $499 each way, but hey you are basically flying on a private plane.

For more info, head over to the JetSuiteX website.

Source: SVBJ

Wednesday Wishlist: Halloween in the Park! (Part X)

Keeping with San Jose Blog tradition, in October we have a Wednesday Wishlist post for Halloween in the Park. The idea is to build on the momentum that Christmas in the Park brings to San Jose each year and create something of similar scale for the month of October with Halloween in the Park! A lot of the infrastructure such as wiring, lighting, and booths might even be able to be shared between the events. The goal would be to make Downtown San Jose the epicenter of October Halloween experiences.

Below you will find brainstorming ideas we have collected for this concept so far over the years. Please have a look and provide your feedback and suggestions in the comments. Thanks!

---

The largest draw to Downtown San Jose for many years now has been Christmas in the Park. It has continued to grow year after year and brings in visitors from all over the Bay Area. It's economic impact is substantial and helps keep many Downtown businesses and restaurants alive.

What would you think about a similar event for Halloween? Picture Downtown lit up in orange and purple with elaborate Halloween displays assembled by local artists. Perhaps infrastructure could even be shared with Christmas in the Park (e.g. retail booths). A strong event in October would help maintain traffic between the summer months and Christmas in the Park. Here are the ideas we have so far:

• Animated Halloween Displays
• Created by local artists
• Analogous to the Christmas displays that attract many families during Christmas in the Park (almost half a million visitors)
• Family friendly so that everyone can enjoy it (PG/PG13, perhaps around the same level as Great America Halloween Haunt)
• Halloween Lighting
• Orange, purple, and green LED lighting on trees
• May be possible to use new programmable LED lighting that can go from Halloween colors to Christmas colors with the push of a button, allowing the lights to stay up for Christmas in the Park as well and reducing setup/take-down costs.
• Halloween Food
• Booths with candied apples, chocolates, candy, pumpkin seeds, etc.
• Food trucks
• Trick-or-treating station - a free piece of candy to anyone wearing a costume any day in October (could also be used to hand out promotional flyers for Downtown events/businesses/resources)
• Retail Booths selling Halloween items, for example:
• Artwork (paintings, glass pumpkins, etc.)
• Home decor/crafts like candles
• Light-up hats/necklaces/bracelets
• Costumes
• Zombie/Halloween make-up station 
• Halloween-themed Carnival Games
• Pirates of Emerson and Candlelighters (Fremont) do a good job of providing family-friendly games themed around Halloween
• A handful of children's rides could also be added to the Paseo and reused for Christmas in the Park
• Interactive Art
• Subzero/ZERO1-style, but with a Halloween spin.
• Halloween-themed video game kiosks and/or arcades
• Pumpkins
• Instead of the sponsored Christmas trees in Christmas in the Park, how about decorated Pumpkins (can even be Styrofoam so there is no mess/decay)?
• Pumpkin carving station for families. 
• Pumpkin carving contest.
• Costumed Entertainers
• Walking around the area, not necessarily scaring people but adding to the ambiance and providing photo opportunities for families
• Haunts / Mazes
• Would be ideal if these were nearby, perhaps in vacant retails spaces, surface parking lots, the San Jose Convention Center tent, or at SJSU.
• Could partners with one of the established San Jose haunt providers such as Deadtime Dreams or The World's Largest Haunted House.
• Potential Events
• Zombie-O-Rama can be used to kick off Halloween in the Park (late Sep. / early Oct. time-frame)
• Zombie Crawl
• Dia De Los Muertos Events
• Halloween/Dia De Los Muertos Bike Party
• Horror Movie Trivia Contest
• Weekly horror movie screening (perhaps in the Circle of Palms area?)
• Costume Ball

Inspirations:

• Candle Lighters
• Pirates of Emerson
• The Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze (photos below)

Chamber announces Silicon Valley IDEA (Initiative to Drive Economic Advancement)

The San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce announced a new initiative a couple weeks
ago to strengthen the Chamber’s regional economic development efforts. This includes a regional branding initiative and creating a shared voice for local businesses to identify and address issues related to regional business operations and quality of life.

The goal is to help maintain Silicon Valley's role as the world's top innovation powerhouse and market our area as such to the rest of the globe. Below are five short videos that introduce 'silicon valley IDEA.'

For more information on 'silicon valley IDEA' or to become directly involved in the program, please visit: https://siliconvalleyidea.org

Anne & Mark's Art Party

Check out this two-minute tour of Anne & Mark's Art Party, one of the coolest art festivals in the Bay Area. The video comes from our friends at WMS media Inc.

Anne & Mark's Art Party 2016 from WMS media Inc. on Vimeo.

Young Creatures playing at Back Bar SoFA

Young Creatures is a psych/rock band playing at the Back Bar SoFA tomorrow. To get a feel for their music, you can sample their work at Soundcloud. There you can even check out Slow, the first single off of their upcoming 2017 album.

The show starts at 9pm, is 21+, and only costs $5 to get in. Back Bar is located at 418 S. Market Street. For more info, follow the Young Creatures Facebook Page.

Creative Convergence Silicon Valley: C2SV returns to San Jose’s SoFA District, Oct. 6-8

The fourth annual C2SV conference kicks off next week in SoFA. It is Silicon Valley's version of South by Southwest, combining a tech conference with music festival. For all of the details, schedules, and for tickets (which range from $99-199), head over to the C2SV website.

San Jose, CA., — Now in its fourth year, Silicon Valley’s pre-eminent technology and music festival, Creative Convergence Silicon Valley (C2SV), will bring together business disrupters and technology luminaries for two days of forward­-looking discussions and three nights of music and parties with established and emerging musical artists.

The festival will take a deep look at the technology industry’s mixed record of promoting women into leadership positions as Michele Madansky and Hillary Mickell take the stage to present “The Elephant in the Valley.” Thursday evening will feature the SoFA Design Crawl, in which the district’s marketing and product design firms welcome visitors into their studios, and a night of music headlined by electronic music legend DJ Donald Glaude.
                                                                     
Friday will feature a rich lineup of speakers and topics, with highlights including best-selling author Antonio García Martínez talking about “Chaos Monkeys,” and a discussion about business reinvention with George Zimmer, former CEO of Men’s Wearhouse and current CEO of Generation Tux.

More notable presenters will be added. Previous conferences have featured industry legends such as personal computer inventor Steve Wozniak, video game pioneer Nolan Bushnell and antivirus buccaneer John McAfee.

C2SV will be held at the historic California Theatre, 27 South Market Street, in downtown San Jose’s creative district, SoFA. The conference starts on Thursday, Oct. 6, and ends on Friday, Oct. 7, 2016.

   # # #

About C2SV

Creative Convergence Silicon Valley (C2SV) was established in 2012 as the one­-day Silicon Valley Sound Experience (SVSX) and was greatly expanded in 2013 as the first conference of its type at the expanded San Jose McEnery Convention Center.  Visit:  www.c2sv.com  for more details.

1st Annual Little Italy San Jose Street Festival

Little Italy is throwing a huge party this Sunday from 11am to 8pm! The very first Little Italy San Jose Street Festival will feature authentic Italian cuisine (of course), local bands, traditional Italian entertainment, children's activities, Italian Cars, Italian Arts & Crafts. There may even be a sneak peak into the future Italian Museum & Cultural Center.

Admission is free and the event is family friendly. Free parking will be available at 333 West Julian. For more info, head over to their Facebook page.

San Jose Murder Mystery Dinners

Last weekend, my wife and I attended "A Dance with Death," a 50's-themed interactive murder mystery dinner in Downtown San Jose. The event was a blast!

The story is told during three acts where the mystery unfolds live. There are actors but some of the guests are also turned into characters in the story. Obviously, one or more people are not going to make it through the night and your goal is to figure out who the murderer (or murderers) are. In between the acts you have time to do investigation and interact with each character to collect clues. Throughout the show you also get a three-course meal and can order drinks to help lubricate your brain.

The Murder Mystery Co. hosts a dinner every Sunday at the Old Spaghetti Factory in San Pedro Square. They have been performing in the Bay Area for the last 3+ years and have a very talented group of actors. There are different themes and stories, but it looks like the two that are alternating right now are "A Dance with Death" and "Midnight at the Masquerade." The also host a Thursday event in Redwood City at another OSF.

Fore more information and for tickets, head over here.

Bay Area Bike Share expansion maps reveal new service areas

Bay Area BikeShare is responsible for those light blue bikes that you see throughout Downtown San Jose and parts of San Francisco. Thanks to a new sponsor--Ford--the program is going to dramatically expand starting in Spring of 2017. Bay Area BikeShare will also be renamed "Ford GoBike."

The program will go from 700 bikes to 7,000 bikes. Oakland and a couple other East Bay cities will also be added. If you are a subscriber, you will be able to access bikes in any available location in the Bay Area.

Below is the map of the area we care most about. The existing service area for San Jose is in orange, which includes most of Downtown San Jose and one station in Japantown. Phase 1 of the expansion will bring BikeShare to The Alameda. Phase 2 will push the service out beyond Japantown to the North and beyond Highway 280 to the South. Phase 3 will extend to the Airport area, the tech campuses on North First, and Naglee/Taylor. Finally, Phase 4 will go to Midtown, East San Jose, and towards Berryessa.

All phases should be complete by the end of 2018.

Expansion will start in Spring 2017 and roll out in phases, enlarging bike share in San Francisco, San Jose - and bringing bike share to the East Bay for the first time

Program to be renamed Ford GoBike as expansion begins

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Motivate and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) released maps Thursday showing the contours of the expansion of bike share in the Bay Area. The program will grow from 700 to 7,000 bikes with the first new stations being installed in spring 2017. The expansion will take place in phases, building outward from the existing service areas in San Francisco and San Jose and outward from more dense areas of the cities in the East Bay. Motivate and the MTC also released more specific maps with the proposed station locations for Phase 2 expansion stations. (Phase 1 locations were released earlier this year.) Expansion is expected to be complete by the end of 2018.

Station locations are being selected through an extensive community engagement process. Locations for the first two phases of expansion are the product of over 120 meetings with local officials, community leaders, business owners and residents, 19 public workshops, and door-to-door outreach – with more still to come. There is also an online station-suggestion portal that has generated over 5,000 unique station location suggestions submitted by the public so far. Motivate will continue this outreach as it plans additional phases of expansion, with Phase 3 public workshops beginning next week in Oakland and Berkeley (workshop schedule).

At full build-out, the system will have stations every few blocks in San Francisco from the Bay to the Beach; it will connect Oakland, Berkeley, and Emeryville; and it will extend the San Jose service area from the downtown core. It will link people to MUNI and BART, to jobs and schools, to businesses and parks. San Francisco will have more bike share bikes per capita than any other system in North America and will have one of the highest ratios of bike share bikes per capita than anywhere else in the world.

The program’s expansion is enabled by a public-private partnership, and Motivate recently announced that Ford Motor Company has signed on as the program’s title sponsor. The program will be renamed Ford GoBike as expansion begins in the spring.

“Since the launch of Bay Area Bike Share in 2013, we’ve heard a strong desire from the community to bring bike share to the East Bay,” said Emily Stapleton, General Manager of Bay Area Bike Share. “In the first year of our expansion, we’re planning to connect the key commercial corridors in Oakland, Berkeley and Emeryville to provide residents, workers and visitors in these thriving cities with a new and accessible option to travel in and between them.”

This week, Motivate and the MTC also released the proposed locations for Phase 2 stations for additional public feedback. Phase 2 will bring over 100 new stations that will expand the San Francisco service area into new neighborhoods including the Haight-Ashbury, Hayes Valley, and Dogpatch, make new connections across Berkeley, Oakland, and Emeryville, and expand service throughout downtown San Jose. Maps will be posted on the Bay Area Bike Share website, see below for details.

The best bike share station locations are highly visible, close to bicycle facilities, co-located with other transportation connections, and/or close to local destinations like parks, commercial districts, or other major destinations that attract large numbers of Bay Area residents. Bike share systems thrive when stations are placed close to one another, typically no more than a quarter mile or a five-minute walk. Specific locations are chosen through a process that couples feedback from the station suggestion portal with extensive public consultation in neighborhoods where the expansion is expected to take place, along with a technical assessment of site suitability.

See specific proposed station locations and learn more about how to get involved: bayareabikeshare.com/expansion

About Bay Area Bike Share, operated by Motivate
Bay Area Bike Share is a quick, convenient and affordable way to travel around the Bay Area. The system is growing from 700 to 7,000 bikes by the end of 2018, and expanding into the East Bay. Bay Area Bike Share is operated by Motivate, a global leader in bike share. Motivate manages all of the largest bike share systems in the United States and many of the largest systems in the world, including Citi Bike (New York and Jersey City), Divvy (Chicago), CoGo Bike Share (Columbus, OH), Capital Bike Share (Washington, D.C., Arlington and Alexandria, VA, and Montgomery County, MD) Hubway (Boston, Somerville, Cambridge and Brookline, MA), Pronto (Seattle), BIKETOWN (Portland, OR), Bike Chattanooga (TN), Bike Share Toronto, and Melbourne Bike Share in Australia. Learn more about Bay Area Bike Share at bayareabikeshare.com.

About the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC)
MTC is the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. For more information, go to mtc.ca.gov.

Save Empire Seven Studios

The Empire Seven gallery in Japantown has hosted hundreds of art shows over its 10 year run. Unfortunately, the building will soon be torn down to make room for luxury apartments. Officially, they will be kicked out on January 1st, 2017.

Empire Seven's proprietors are now looking to build a new gallery in the heart of Japantown. The project would create a new four-story building with the gallery on the main floor, a recording studio in the basement, and artist residences on the upper floors. The residences would help keep local artists in San Jose.

They are asking for donations through a GoFundMe campaign over here. Every little bit helps, including getting the word out to as many people as possible. Check out their 8-minute video below and learn more about the project here.

Saturday Stats: Median size of San Jose homes increased 51% over the last 100 years

San Jose home prices have become some of the highest in the world so you would think that the median size of homes would shrink to balance things out. However, this is not the case at all. Over the last 100 years, the median SQFT for a new home in San Jose has gone from 1,232 SQFT to 1,862 SQFT. To see how this compares with other cities, check out the source line below.

Source: PropertyShark

Stike Brewing Co. "Cheers to 2 Years" anniversary party on October 8th

One of San Jose's first craft breweries is celebrating two years at their S. 10th street location! To honor the occasion, Strike Brewing is throwing a huge party with killer beer, food trucks, live music, and a silent auction.

Tickets to the event cost $20 in advance or $25 at the door. That includes a special glass that's yours to keep and 3 pints of your choosing (everything is a pint that day).

To help absorb some of the delicious beer, the Gow Chow food truck will be on site from 1-5pm, followed by Kushi Yaki at 5-9pm. It all goes down on October 8th at 2099 S. 10th St. #30, San Jose, CA 95112.

Tickets are on sale now right over here. For more info, check out Strike's Facebook page.

LuDela unveils world’s smartest and safest real-flame candle

A San Jose company named LuDela is taking smart lighting to a whole other level. Instead of using LEDs like every other smart lighting device, the company's first product uses a real flame. You use a smartphone app called Wi-Fire to turn on the flame, turn it off, set a timer, and see how much wax is left. The app can even control multiple candles. To top it off, LuDela added safety features such as automatic extinguishing if the candle tips and phone alerts.

The LuDela smart candle is available at www.ludela.com for $99. Shipments begin early 2017. For more info, check out their site or read the press release below.

Groundbreaking Wi-Fire Technology Allows Multiple Candles to be Lit and Controlled From a Smartphone App Without the Need for Matches

SAN JOSE, Calif. – September 20, 2016 – LuDela today introduced the world’s smartest and safest real-flame candle. Featuring unprecedented Wi-Fire technology, the LuDela smart candle is the first to feature a real flame that can be lit, extinguished and controlled via a smartphone and eliminates the need for matches or other fire starters. LuDela addresses safety and aesthetic concerns that candle burners have faced for centuries, resulting in a safer, more convenient, and hassle-free approach to burning candles that delivers increased peace of mind and enjoyment to users.

“There’s nothing quite like the glow, smell, and ambiance of candles, but with it comes the fire risk, wax mess, hassles with wicks, and the time it takes to light and extinguish multiple candles,” said Jamie Bianchini, co-founder & CEO, LuDela. “LuDela addresses these issues with a smart candle that delivers the convenience and increased safety benefits of LED candles, but with the magic and fascination of a real flame. Combined with our social mission, LuDela delivers better light and better lives around the world.”

LuDela melds the beauty of traditional candles with 21st century Wi-Fire technology. Its innovative burning design utilizes 100 percent of the natural candle wax with no buried wicks and an “Everbrite Flame” that guarantees the candle will always shine bright. The LuDela smartphone app lights, extinguishes, and controls multiple candles with the touch of a button.

LuDela Smart Candle features with Wi-Fire technology include:

• Instant Ambiance
• Tap to Extinguish
• Multi-Zone Lighting
• Timer
• Candle Remaining Meter
• Scene Modes
• Long-Life Rechargeable Batteries
• App Controls Multiple Candles

LuDela Safety Features include:

• Proximity Extinguish
• Extinguish on Tip Over
• Smart Scan
• Child-Lock App
• Reverse Burn Design
• Safe Wax Pool Design
• Smartphone Safety Alerts
• Low Battery Detection

The LuDela smart candle is available at an introductory price of $99 at www.ludela.com with delivery expected in early 2017. Special preorder bundles and subscriptions–including LuDela’s Seasonal Scented Subscription that features curated scented refills that change with the season–are also available. Unlike standard pillar candles, LuDela burns 100 percent of the wax refills. As a result, consumers benefit from savings of up to 45 percent compared to other natural candles.

“LuDela literally pays for itself,” added Bianchini. “Within the first year, candle refill savings allow most LuDela users to recoup their $99 investment and begin saving money while continuing to enjoy safer, clean burning, beautifully smelling natural candles that light up their space–and their lives.”

For more information and to order your LuDela candle today, visit www.ludela.com.

Social Media
Twitter: @joinLuDela
Facebook: facebook.com/JoinLuDela
Instagram: instagram.com/JoinLuDela

About LuDela
LuDela is a smart and safe candle company with a mission to deliver better light and better lives to people around the world. With innovative Wi-Fire technology, LuDela offers the convenience and increased safety benefits of LED candles, but with the real flame ambiance and scents of real flame wax candles. LuDela is using its smarter, safer candle as a vehicle to help those suffering from poor lighting and lack of education in developing countries. To join LuDela in delivering a brighter global future, visit www.LuDela.com.

Camera 12 - (Part II)

Sorry to end on a cliffhanger, but I want to start the post today with a different tone. So what is the positive spin on Camera 12 shutting down? The opportunity to create something even better.

Over the past few years the theater did seem like it was being poorly maintained. While the ticket cost to see a movie at Camera 12 was less than most other movie theaters, it does take effort for people outside of Downtown to drive in, park, and go see a movie. To make matters even worse, the home movie experience today has become exceptional. For people to go out and see a movie, there needs to be a more compelling reason than 10 years ago--something you cannot get at home.

What Downtown really needs right now is a destination movie theater that will appeal to local residents and pull people from around Silicon Valley. It can't just be another Cinemark or AMC, it should be something that goes above and beyond. I think the Camera 12 space would be perfect for a premium movie theater with fewer seats, food, and alcohol. A great example is the Alamo Drafthouse. Even better is iPic Theaters where you get reserved leather recliners, blankets, and service in the theater.

The multi-level setup allows for even more opportunity to turn this into a premium experience that can cater to multiple audiences. The bottom floor can have nice reserved seats with no food or drink and costs similar to a normal theater. The upper floors can be 21 and over with a full bar and food served at your seat. Fewer seats that are more expensive would make the theater easier to fill, especially with a concept not found anywhere else in Silicon Valley.

Right now there are only two premium theaters planned for the area, one in Valley Fair and another all the way in San Mateo. Both are half-measures in malls that won't be of the same caliber as the iPic Theater pictured below.

Downtown is the perfect location for a destination movie house that will bring more people to the area instead of solely rely on nearby residents. We need to step up our entertainment game, and the Camera 12 spot is the ultimate anchor location that can help take us to the next level.

Camera 12 - Rest in Peace (Part I)

Unfortunately, the largest movie theater in Downtown San Jose has shut its doors. Camera 12 was one of my favorite movie theaters for a long time. I still remember when they first opened and hired actors to entertain crowds during premiers. My personal favorite was the Borat impersonator that hung out with crowds in line and introduced the film.

Camera 12 was also known for its central role in the Cinequest Film Festival. The 2017 festival will be a bit more complicated now. It was one of the few theaters eager to experiment with new technology, like the Barco Escape three-screen experience (image below).

Architecturally, it was also very unique. There are not very many three-story theaters in the US, let alone the Bay Area. I always enjoyed the view coming down from the top floor and the openness in the lobby.

Even though it seems like more and more people were patronizing the theater this year, revenue was outpaced by increasing rents and maintenance costs. Fortunately, Camera 3 and Camera 7 will not be impacted by the closure.

As sad as I am about this closure, there is a positive spin... (stay tuned for Part II tomorrow).

Source: The Merc, Andrew Rivlin

San Jose Brew Bike

With so many great beer options in Downtown San Jose, it's surprising we didn't get one of these sooner. San Jose Brew Bike is essentially a giant bike that takes you and up to 14 friends on a tour of San Jose's top beer hotspots. Don't worry, the person steering does not partake in the tastings.

The standard two hour tour will stop at three different establishments and stay for 30 minutes at each stop. The extended tours allow for a fourth or even a fifth stop. Tours begin and end at 286 West San Fernando Street (next to Adobe).

The cost is $25/person from Sunday-Thursday and $30/person on Friday-Saturday. This includes a designated tour guide, bottles of water, and discounts at each stop. You do have to be 21 and over.

For more info and to book a tour, head over to the San Jose Brew Bike website.

1st Annual Timmy Awards

The 1st Annual Timmy Awards is a new event recognizing the best places for tech professionals to work. There will be cocktails, hor d'oeuvres, music, and product demos. The moderator for the night is Katie Roof from Tech Crunch and the award presenters are Kerry Davis from Engadget, Marc Acton from Mix 106.5, and Jennifer Elias from the Silicon Valley Business Journal. Categories include Best Tech Startup, Best Tech Work Culture, and Best Tech Manager.

The event will take place this Thursday, September 22nd from 6pm-9pm at the San Jose Women's Club. For more information head over to the Tech in Motion site. You can RSVP for free over here.

We're excited to present Silicon Valley's 1st Annual Timmy Awards in an effort to recognize the best places for technology professionals to work. We asked the Silicon Valley tech community to weigh in by nominating companies they believe deserve to win and then voting for the finalists!

Organizations and individuals will be crowned the winners of each of the categories below on September 22nd. The evening will begin with cocktails, hor d'oeuvres, music and product demos from the best of the best in Silicon Valley tech.

Silicon Valley's Best Technology Manager

Bill Hu – CEO of Kika Tech
Erik Kostelnik - Founder & CEO of TextRecruit
Han Jin - CEO of LucidCam
Venkatachalam Rangasamy – Principal Software Architect at Equinix
Waqaas Al-Siddiq - CEO of Biotricity

Silicon Valley's Best Technology Startup 

Avegant
Blue River Technology
Cloudian
DataVisor
Datos IO
Engagio
Liquid Robotics
Loop Commerce
Primary Data
Rubrik

Silicon Valley's Best Technology Work Culture 

Branch
Drawbridge
Identity Guard
Kespry
MATRIXX Software Inc.
Peloton Technology
Pinger, Inc.
Retail Solutions Inc. (RSi)
Shipwire
Whipsaw, Industrial Design and Engineering

Cinequest doubling down on Virtual Reality

The main film festival for the most innovative place on earth absolutely needs to keep pace with technological innovations in film. That is why they are not just adding a Virtual Reality (VR) category, but they are actually renaming the whole event. Cinequest will now be know as the Cinequest Film & VR Festival. Within 24 hours of the announcement, they already received over 10 submissions.

The new name won't be the only change. Unfortunately, Cinequest may need a new venue this year as Camera 12 has shut down. I'll explain more in a separate post.

Source: SVBJ

Beers in Hell 2016

A unique event combining five craft breweries and 11 underground bands is coming to Johnny V's next weekend (Saturday, 9/24). Heavy San Jose, Ripple Music, and Doomed & Stoned are behind the festival which features heavy-blues, rock, and classic heavy metal music.

There will be 12 taps and brewery reps on site to talk beer and music. The breweries are Ballast Point, Lagunitas, Firestone Walker, Oskar Blues, and our very own Santa Clara Valley Brewing. SCVB will even concoct a special "Hell Brew IPA" just for the event.

Tickets are $20 and you can get additional perks and merch at the Indiegogo campaign over here. The event will run from 5pm to 1:30am at Johnny V's, 31 East Santa Clara Street.

About Heavy San Jose

Heavy San Jose is more than just a concert promotions company, we are creating a community of musicians, music lovers, and others in the industry who simply want to do what they love and help others do the same by offering as many ways as possible to support local music, see great live bands, and live a life filled with music. Our aim is to foster, help grow and bring further recognition to the Bay Area music scene, as well as to support the touring bands passing through.

To learn more visit:

www.heavysj.com

www.facebook.com/heavysjc

General Assembly is building a training campus in San Jose

General Assembly, an "Edtech" startup founded in 2011, already has 25,000 graduates from their 15 campuses across the globe. They train their students with practical skills that can be applied immediately to the most in-demand corporate jobs today (coding, web/app design, data science, marketing, et cetera).

They are expanding to 25 campuses by the end of the year and one of those will be in San Jose. The location is yet to be determined but they will host classes, workshops, and events at the new campus. Until the final space is acquired, they will be leveraging San Jose's co-working spaces--something they should be familiar with as General Assembly was originally going to be a co-working company.

General Assembly's only other Bay Area campus is in San Francisco.

Source: SVBJ

September 2016 Downtown Dimension Highlights

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

• The craft beer scene is exploding Downtown. Four new breweries will soon join the five existing breweries in the area. Two are near SoFA:
• Uproar Brewing Co. at 439 S. First St. (opens this Fall)
• Camino Brewing just south of 280
• Forager is a unique concept with craft taps and cafe rental space coming to the South First Billiards space at 420 S. First St.
• Brew Bike takes tasters for a Downtown pub crawl on a giant bike (steering is done by a designated cyclist). More info at sanjosebrewbike.com.
• Land needed for Modera at San Pedro Square has been cleared and the 201-unit residential project should begin construction in 2017.
• The Pierce (232 apartment project in SoFA) will have their first move-ins later this Fall.
• TeenHQ is now open at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library. It includes a gamer lounge, recording studio, hangout zone, and makerspace. Visit sjpl.org/teenhq for more info.
• Wework has opened five floors of co-working space at 75 E. Santa Clara Street, just about ISO Beers.
• Intacct added a fourth floor with 20,000 SQFT to its corporate headquarters in the Riverpark II tower.

To read the newsletter, click here!

The Light Between Two Towers

Our good friend Thomas Wohlmut from WMS Media embarked on a mission to discover if there is any connection between the San Jose Light Tower and the Eiffel Tower. I think his findings will surprise a lot of people. The documentary film will be available in 2017, and the very first trailer is below!


The Light Between Two Towers - Trailer from WMS media Inc. on Vimeo.

Largest dog festival in the US takes place this weekend in Downtown San Jose

I actually had no idea that Bark in the Park was the largest dog festival in the country. This year 15,000 dog lovers and 3,900 dogs are expected to attend. There will be food, drinks, 75 vendors for dog-specific goods and services, demonstrations, shows, and tons of contests (dog costume, dog/owner look-alike, tail wagging, etc.).

Proceeds will benefit local organizations including the Humane Society, San Jose Animal Care Center, and the Campus Community Neighborhood Association.

The event takes place on William and 16th Street in Downtown San Jose this Saturday, September 17th and runs from 10am-5pm. There is no cost of admission for humans or dogs. For more info, head over to the Bark in the Park website.

Viva Calle SJ 2016 is going down this Sunday

My favorite event in 2015 is returning this year with several improvements. During Viva Calle SJ, miles of city streets will be completely shut down to let people walk, bike, skateboard, or dance down the streets of San Jose. The route has changed a bit this year. Instead of extending to East San Jose, it will go to Japantown and Midtown instead and there will be even fewer intersections where the streets are not fully closed.

In 2016 there are four different "Activity Hubs," all of which are in new locations. These include the Arena Green in Downtown San Jose, W. San Carlos (Midtown), Willow Glen, and Japantown. Each hub has food, drinks, live music, vendors, and all-around good times. Last year I also noticed several stores and organizations were also setting up booths outside of the hubs. Try to visit as many as you can.

The event takes place Sunday, September 18th from 10am-3pm. It is completely free and has no designated beginning or end (it's not a race). You can use the handy map below to locate the routes and festivities. For more info, head over here. Hope to see you there!