Winchester Mystery House Featured in EveryDay with Rachel Ray

The Magazine "Every Day with Rachael Ray" is featuring various real-life haunted houses and the Winchester Mystery House is first on the list. To see the article, pick up the magazine or click here.

Keep Hydrated At The San Pedro Square Market!

Are you thirsty? Perhaps feeling a little dehydrated? Did you load up on yummy treats at the San Pedro Square Market and now you're just a little parched? While, yes, vendors sell various sodas, teas, or adult beverages - maybe you just want a little bit of water….

Hah, I know what you're thinking -- "Water?" This post is about WATER? Yes, yes it is.

You see, in the main building, if you mosey around, you'll notice that on pretty much every vendor's couner sits a water dispenser. 

I've seen pineapples, strawberries & lemon, oranges, and cucumbers as common flavors at Robee's Falafel, Loteria Taco Bar, Little Chef Counter, and CrepParis. Head over to On A Roll and you can sample their Jasmine Tea. 

Only one seems to stand out in the crowd... that is Pizza Bocca Lupo. They have a water spigot (with not very cold water.) Maybe someday they'll join the dispenser crowd? (No pressure guys!)

So next time you stop by the Market and are enjoying your lunch, dinner, snack or post-pub crawl munchies… keep hydrated with tasty water!

San Jose is the 2nd Happiest City for Young Professionals

We see a lot of stats on income in San Jose, but this one is focused around happiness of our younger workers. The results were compiled from 38,000 surveys and young professional was defined as an employee with less than 10 years of full-time work experience. San Jose ranked in second place for young professional happiness, with our neighbor Sunnyvale getting the bronze and LA taking the gold.

Also mentioned in the Business Journal article is that city officials are predicting 91,000 new residents between the ages of 20-34 by the year 2025. The influx of younger talent makes this a very important metric, especially considering that Silicon Valley companies and start-ups are aggressively seeking out this demographic at the moment.

Happiest Cities for Young Professionals
1.) Los Angeles
2.) San Jose
3.) Sunnyvale
9.) San Francisco

Source: SJBJ

KALEID Gallery & Phantom Galleries Today!

from Phantom Galleries by Cherri Lakey

Join us for the South FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk this Friday October 5th from 7-11pm.

KALEID Gallery is proud to present two feature exhibitions:

Space to Grow new works by Michael Borja.
A visual connection into a colorful corner of space, growing with wild plants, curious tigers, floating fishes, and animal portals.


Keeping Up Appearances new works by Michael Foley.

Opening Reception Friday, October 5th 7–11pm
part of the South FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk
Live music by J-Squared + Case in Theory
Exhibit on view through October 26, 2012


88 South Fourth Street (@ San Fernando)
San Jose, CA 95112
info@KALEIDGallery.com
408-947-1785
Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, noon -7pm, free admission
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Phantom Galleries presents Lonesome Town new works by Kori Thompson at Good Karma Vegan Café.
Everyone has a story. A story of why they are the way are. Every story leads up to when you cross paths or interact with that person. Whether its a person you talk to for a few minutes or a life long friend you see everyday. Our biggest contribution to one another is inspiration. It’s something that is not fake or phony, it can not be bought or sold. It’s a real feeling. These paintings represent the impression people I’ve met have left on me. ~Kori Thompson
Artist's Reception Friday, October 5th 7–11pm

Good Karma Vegan Café
37 South First Street
San Jose, CA
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Phantom Galleries presents Trina Merry's ART ALIVE GALLERY at 95 South Market Street.
Opening Reception & San Francisco Series Release Party, Friday Oct. 5th 7–11pm
Body-painted human canvas installation and live body-painting.
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For the complete list of all 19 venues and exhibitions participating in the South FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk clickHERE.
The Art Walk is free and open to the public!

David Yurman Flagship Store Coming to Valley Fair

A high-end luxury jeweler has decided to open their first Bay Area store in the South Bay. This is significant, considering that San Francisco has typically been the "go-to" for retailer's premier stores in the Bay. David Yurmman is actually joining a list of several others, mainly in Santana Row, that have deciding to make Silicon Valley their initial stop in expanding to Northern California. These include St. Croix, Hastens, and the Tesla Store.

In addition to David Yurman, Valley fair is also remodeling its luxury wing and is getting new stores such as Burberry, TAG Heuer, and Wolford. At some point in the future they are still planning to do a 500,000 sqft expansion which will add a second luxury wing with Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales, and better outdoor alignment with Santana Row.

Source: SJBJ

Silicon Valley Photography in SPUR & ZERO1 Exhibit

When someone says "Silicon Valley", what images, concepts, or names come to mind? 

Many people immediately start to rattle off the tech giants; Google, Yahoo, Apple... well you know, all of them. Technology! Cell phones! Semiconductors! 

But to some of us - it means your favorite taqueria, downtown festivals, movies in the park, or some of the many people that make up the South Bay. 

In partnership with Hipstamatic and ZERO1, SPUR (San Francisco Planning and Urban Research) put together an exhibit of Bay Area photographer's interpretation of the theme:

 A Peek Behind Silicon Valley's Digital Veil

I want to share my excitement, that -- I was part of the exhibit! I saw the call for submissions on Facebook awhile back and thought I'd go for it. So I put together some of my favorite photos I've taken here in the San Jose area. In the shots below, you might spy the Silicon Valley Roller Girls, the Alviso Marina, a scene from SubZero, and the Valet building next to the San Jose Stage Company. I really wanted to represent as much as I could of the San Jose area.

Posing with my photos. First time on exhibit!

My work is nothing compared to the other photographers featured at the event. It was an honor to be included with them. 

The exhibition photographers (and the theme of their work) are:

• Michele Guieu - a "geek tour" of Silicon Valley, from the Hewlett Packard garage to the Google Campus to the Apple Store
• Daniel Garcia - "Behind Everything is a Person", the talented people of San Jose that are changing the culture of Silicon Valley in less traditional ways
• Thomas Rogers - glimpses and snippets of Menlo Park, a focus on things that people wouldn't normally see in passing
• Barbara Boissevain - My Backyard to highlight environmental issues, with aerial shots of ponds along the bay's edge and mining in the South Bay
• Michelle Oblena - "Valley of Stomach's Delight", shots of the diversity of restaurant owners in the Santa Clara Valley
• Alex Chan - shots of Japantown performers, local painters and Color Me Rad in San Jose
• Halie Kampman - video footage of the subtle connections between the areas of San Jose, Los Gatos, Sunnyvale and Palo Alto

Here are some photos from the opening night:

Daniel Garcia of CONTENT Magazine

The exhibit is currently running up in San Francisco at the SPUR Gallery until October 20th. There has been some talk that a photo from each of the photographers will be featured in the windows of the retail establishments under the SPUR San Jose office (on Santa Clara Street) but I haven't gotten confirmation just yet. (I also haven't been downtown in the last week to check it out first hand.)

So you have a couple of weeks to jump on BART and head up to the SPUR gallery and check out the exhibition! 

A Peek Behind Silicon Valley's Digital Veil

September 19 - October 19

SPUR Urban Center Gallery
654 Mission Street,
San Francisco, CA 94105-4015

San Jose Stage Company Opens Season 30 with David Mamet’s Race, America’s most controversial topic

San Jose, CA (September 25, 2012) – San Jose Stage Company opens its 30th season with Race by Pulitzer Prize-winning writer David Mamet. This crime mystery tackles America’s most controversial topic in a provocative tale of sex, guilt and bold accusations. Race opens at The Stage October 3, and runs through October 28.

Race is the central theme, but the issues are more than skin deep as the red-hot debate delves into questions of sex, gender equality and social class. This black-and-white courtroom drama never reaches the courtroom, and while not so black-and-white, it is a comic debate where the laughs may arrive well after the joke. 

Artistic Director, Randall King believes Race is perfect not only to open The Stage’s Season 30 but also for the election season. “In our lifetimes, the Civil Rights movement had led the Baby Boomers to believe that this social problem was addressed.  The appointment of Barack Obama to the White House as our 44th president has shown us that many are still uncomfortable with the subject of race, and it has polarized our society in a way that has been politely hidden for decades. David Mamet's Race will in this heated presidential election season create a fervent and important dialogue, because the answer to the racial problem is not something that a creed, law or affirmative action can readily resolve, instead it lies in the knowledge that our individual allegiances ‘lies only in the imperfect, and the mutually unacceptable result of their interaction’. “ *   (*Race, Mamet)

The significance of opening Season 30 with David Mamet’s Race not only exemplifies the company’s artistic mission but also represents The Stage’s roots in the early 1980s. The collective of artists who founded this company were premiering the work of new American playwrights. The Stage has produced Mamet’s American Buffalo (1985), Speed-the-Plow (1993), and Glengarry Glen Ross (1988 and 2008).

Tony Kelly returns to direct Race for The Stage, where he helmed the productions of Oliver Mayer’s Blade to the Heat, Octavio Solis’ Gibraltar, Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts and David Mamet’s adaptation of Anton Chekov’s Uncle Vanya.

“The politics of Race weigh heavily on its characters, making them speak and act with sharp, barbed edges. Race is perhaps not about race, or sex, or power, or justice, but the sheer impossibility of humans living together without suspicion, mistrust, and shame,” states Director Tony Kelly. “That’s a truth both comic and dark, and it makes this particular play cut deeper, more often, than almost anything this legendary contemporary playwright has written.”

Performances are on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 PM, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 PM and Sundays at 2:00 PM. Race runs through October 28, 2012.

Tickets range from $20 - $45 and are available at www.thestage.org or by calling the box office at 408.283.7142. Visa and MasterCard are accepted, and discounts are available for groups, students and seniors. The theatre is handicapped accessible.

The Stage is located at 490 South First Street at William Street in downtown San Jose’s South First (SoFA) area.

# # # 

The Cast of Race: 

David Arrow* (Charles Strickland) returns to The Stage, having appeared in last season’s World Premiere of Buffalo’ed and On The Waterfront. His other Bay Area appearances include American Conservatory Theater, Magic Theatre, Aurora Theatre and Shakespeare Santa Cruz.

L. Peter Callender* (Henry Brown) returns to The Stage, where he was last seen in Blade to the Heat. Most recent appearances include at James in Circle Mirror Transformations at Marin Theatre Company and Skyes in Spunk at California Shakespeare Theatre. He is the artistic director of African-American Shakespeare Company in San Francisco and has appeared in all major theatres in the Bay Area.

Randall King* (Jack Lawson) is the co-founder and Artistic Director of San Jose Stage Company. He was most recently seen as Dodge in Buried Child, Johnny Friendly in On The Waterfront, The Waiter in Rock ‘n’ Roll, Sharky in The Seafarer, Ariel in The Pillowman and Richard Roma in Glengarry Glen Ross.

ZZ Moor (Susan) is making her Bay Area debut at The Stage. She has worked at the Denver Center and recently played Lady Anne in Richard III at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival. She was the winner of the Denver Post Ovation Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama for her role in For Colored Girls… in 2010.
* Member of Actors’ Equity Association

Tony Kelly (Director) most recently directed the New York premiere of Colman Domingo's A Boy and His Soul at the Vineyard Theatre, where it won the 2010 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Solo Show in New York City and a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Broadway/Off-Broadway production. He is a founding member of Thick Description in San Francisco, where he directed 43 productions over 21 years.

The show’s designers include Michael Palumbo (set and lighting), Jean Cardinale (costumes) and John Koss (sound).

   # # # 

About San Jose Stage Company:

Now in its 30th season, San Jose Stage Company is recognized as The Bay Area's Premiere Off-Broadway Theatre. The Stage is known for its devotion to new and cutting-edge work and for its commitment to showcasing high-quality local talent.

Ranked 3rd largest theatre and 9th largest performance arts organization in Silicon Valley by the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal Survey (May 2012), San Jose Stage Company is a vital force in the community. The Stage has earned a reputation for artistic excellence by providing high-quality, edgy theatrical experiences that engage, educate and provoke audiences. The Stage has produced 143 productions, 44 new works and 11 world premieres.

The Stage also offers five core educational and outreach programs, including National High School Top Honors Awards and has housed over 200 independent performance groups in its theatre. The Stage is located at 490 South First Street, San Jose, CA 95113.

For more information www.thestage.org            Box Office: 408.283.7142

Winchester Mystery House Fright Nights

It's finally October, one of my favorite times of the year. This year's Halloween season has more South Bay attractions than at any point in the past. Next week I'll have a full list of events along with feedback and recommendations. So far I have already attended one event which takes it to a whole new level, and that's Winchester Mystery House Fright Nights.

As I mentioned in a previous post, for their sophomore year Fright Nights has invested a considerable amount of time and money into expanding the original maze (already the best from 2011) and doing a new self-guided flashlight tour in the mansion itself. Here is feedback on both attractions:

Walk with the Spirits Flashlight Tour (35min)

This is a spin on the original flashlight tour. Instead of having a tour guide walking you through the mansion, it is entirely self-guided with an audio headset telling you history about each room along with stories about various encounters. They did a good job setting the ambiance by turning off all the lights and letting you explore on your own. There may not be any actors that will jump out in your face, but there is definitely a subtle psychological effect that I don't want to spoil. I would recommend looking through every nook and cranny, and definitely peering into all the windows. This sets the tone for the main event...

Curse of Sarah Winchester Resurrection (40min)

I have done just about every single haunt attraction within 50 miles for the past several years, and this is the single best maze I have ever been to, period. I would be surprised if there is another one in California at this caliber.

The maze is really designed for you to take your time and absorb the atmosphere. In fact, there are some areas that have no actors at all and are purely designed for ambiance, telling a story, and building suspense. The quality of the props and atmospheric design is beyond any other attraction I have ever been to. I would recommend taking your time, looking at all the intricate details.

As for scares, there really is no shortage here. I don't want to ruin anything, but I will say that there is a huge variety in what you will experience and a ton of surprises. I am glad that the seance room is back (where writing starts appearing on the walls) but the overwhelming majority of the maze is brand new. We're talking double the length of the previous year, double the number of actors, and giant new props.

Conclusion

Fright Nights is the new benchmark to which all other haunt events will be compared. I would be shocked if anything else in 2012 comes close to this, so if you have to pick just a single "haunt" event to go to this year, this is it. I would try to go early to avoid long lines, but to help with the wait they do have food trucks, snack shops, live music, and a bar this year.

Again, incredible event and congratulations to everyone involved for putting this together. The anticipation is already building for 2013, where Fright Nights will coincide with the release of a Hollywood movie about (and filmed in) the Winchester Mystery House.