The Big Easy Rolls into Great America

This past weekend, Great America brought back their Taste of Orleans festival. Who Dat? In its second season, Taste of Orleans features Cajun cuisines, live entertainment such as mask decorating for kids, Mardi Gras murals, chalk artists, live music and more!

If you missed it, don’t fret as Great America plays host to the Nola event again this upcoming weekend: July 29-July 30.

Great America did a great job at bringing a taste of the Big Easy to Silicon Valley! Classic Cajun dishes such as gumbo, etouffée and beignets were on site and definitely were delicious. To our delight, the hushpuppy shrimp skewers was a hit and the crisp frog legs with Creole aoli was savory and on point!

Great America’s nightcap was a firework display that featured a kaleidoscope of colors in the sky!

Hushpuppy Shrimp Skewers:                             Crawfish Etouffée:

   Crisp Frog Legs w/Creole Aoili:               Blackened Catfish Slider w/Tangy Slaw:

                        

Beignet (Left) & Praline Bread Pudding (Right):                              Brews!                                                     

        Live chalk artist and games for the family!

Great America's Taste of Orleans starts at Noon - 9pm on 7/29 - 7/30. The fireworks display starts at 9:45pm each day. Cajun cuisine is available with a $25 tasting card.

For more details on Taste of Orleans, visit: https://www.cagreatamerica.com/play/events/taste-of-orleans

2017 Season Passes are currently on sale for just $69 and features a season of fun in both Great America and Boomerang Bay Water Park. A $105 Gold Pass includes Halloween Haunt, WinterFest, free Great America parking, Gilroy Gardens and more.

By Andrew Rivlin and Noe Sacoco Jr

RAHSAANATHON 2017

Cafe Stritch has a multitude of events for Jazz aficionados coming up next week as part of their fifth annual RAHSAANATHON. The events honor the life and music of Rahsaan Roland Kirk, one of the most influential jazz musicians in history. Fun fact, Cafe Stritch was actually named after Rahsaan Roland Kirk's saxophone. Fun fact #2, the name of Cafe Stritch's predecessor--Eulipia Restaurant--was inspired by Kirk's "Theme for the Eulipions." 

Cafe Stritch is one of the best Jazz venues in Silicon Valley and this is their flagship event. If you love jazz, get your tickets before they are gone. For all of the details, please have a look at the press release below.

The Fifth Annual Cafe Stritch RAHSAANATHON:

A Celebration of the Life and Music of Rahsaan Roland Kirk

 Steve Turre Leads All-Star Band Featuring James Carter

RAHSAANATHON 2017 at Cafe Stritch

Thursday August 3 through Sunday August 6, 2017

San Jose, CA – July 5 2017 – San Jose’s Cafe Stritch is proud to present its Fifth Annual RAHSAANATHON: A Celebration of the Life and Music of Rahsaan Roland Kirk from Thursday August 3 through Sunday August 6, 2017.

The RAHSAANATHON’S main event is unique in the world. Rahsaan fanatics from everywhere will converge on Cafe Stritch for their annual pilgrimage. For three nights trombonist Steve Turre & The Eulipion All Stars featuring reedman extraordinaire James Carter (tenor sax / clarinet / flute) will bring bright moments to Cafe Stritch. This ensemble will be reprising their three-night stands from 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016.  The group will be performing Turre’s arrangements of Kirk’s music Thursday August 3, Friday August 4, and Saturday August 5.  Poet Betty Neals, who co-wrote “Theme for the Eulipions” (the house anthem of Cafe Stritch) with Kirk, will perform the song live. The band includes Charles McNeal (alto sax / soprano sax), Matt Clark (piano), Marcus Shelby (bass), Darrell Green (drums), and Terrie Odabi (vocals). The concerts are from 8:30PM to 11:45PM.

Tickets: $50 available at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/producer/397138 or at the door (if not sold-out)

Please note: Tickets to Thursday August 3, Friday August 4, or Saturday August 5 performances also entitle guests to attend the Sunday August 6 performance.

The festivities on Sunday August 6 begin with a screening of Adam Kahan’s feature documentary film The Case of the Three Sided Dream at Cafe Stritch at 6:00PM.  The Case of the Three Sided Dream is the award-winning documentary about multi-instrumentalist Rahsaan Roland Kirk (1935-1977), who went from blind infant to child prodigy, to adult visionary, to political activist, and finally to paralyzed showman. He was a seemingly superhuman musical force who played literally until the day he died.  Kirk was a musical force beyond category.  He never let anything stop him from pursuing what he called his “Religion of Dreams.”  Following the film (no tickets required), Cafe Stritch will present the Sonelius Smith Quartet featuring Claire Daly.  The group includes Sonelius Smith (piano) and Claire Daly (baritone sax / flute). Smith played with Rahsaan on multiple recordings including Rahsaan Rahsaan (1970), Natural Black Inventions (1971), and Blacknuss (1972). Claire Daly has been the bandleader on numerous recordings including Rah Rah, A Tribute to Rahsaan Roland Kirk.  She has been deeply inspired by Rahsaan’s music.  This is a musical homage to Rahsaan Roland Kirk in voice and music featuring tunes by RRK, his friends, and other kindred spirits. The concert will be celebrating Rahsaan, one of the most original jazz artists ever to live. The concert is from 8:00PM to 11:00PM.

Tickets: $10 available at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/producer/397138 or at the door. Please note: Tickets to Thursday August 3, Friday August 4, or Saturday August 5 performances also entitle guests to attend the Sunday August 6 performance.

Cafe Stritch will continue to present the photographs of house photographer Ron Orlando from August 2 through August 31.  Mr. Orlando is a photographer who is passionate about photography and jazz.  He has been taking photos of jazz musicians since the 1980s. This exhibit is entitled Jazz Exploration. It is composed of photographs of jazz musicians taken at Cafe Stritch since 2014.

Press from past RAHSAANATHONS:

http://jazztimes.com/articles/166119-review-the-26th-annual-san-jose-jazz-summer-fest

http://www.mercurynews.com/music/ci_26260902/cafe-stritch-catches-jazz-lightning-bottle

http://www.metroactive.com/features/columns/Rahsaanathon-Cafe-Stritch-Rahsaan-Roland-Kirk.html

Sourisseau News: Ice Cream

In this fascinating two-minute video, learn about the history of ice cream in San Jose. I wish I could travel back in time to experience some of the locations in the video like O'Brien's Candy Store!

To see an archive of past videos, head over here.

Sourisseau News Ice Cream January 2017 from WMS media Inc. on Vimeo.

FAME Sprint/Summer 2017 - July 29th

FAME is an eclectic annual show that highlights emerging fashion, art, and music. Over 100 local artists will be displaying and selling their work. FAME also includes live music, dance performances, a beauty bar by Umbrella Salon, food (tacos, bahn mi, macaroons, etc.), and alcohol provided by Nomikai.

FAME takes place this Saturday from 7pm-midnight at 1700 Alum Rock Avenue. Tickets start at $10.

In addition there will be a separate Goapele Show featuring Jeremy Passion at the same venue. That starts at 6:30pm and costs $45 per ticket.

For more information, head over to the FAME event page.

Retro Arcade / Awesome Bar coming to San Jose!

The owners of two bars that have helped turn First Street into a Downtown destination are now planning to open a brand new venture that sounds completely amazing.

Dan Phan and Johnny Wang first opened Original Gravity five years ago. It was the first dedicated craft beer bar Downtown (yes there was also Good Karma, but that was not purpose-built to be a bar). Original Gravity became a tremendous success and they followed that up with Paper Plane next door--the first craft cocktail bar in the immediate area. This team has shown that they can create outstanding drinking establishments, and that brings us to their third venture.

They are planning to open an arcade bar in Downtown San Jose. This will be a mix of retro arcade machines and what I'm assuming will be a great bar--I would expect nothing less from these guys. The 5,528 SQFT space is quite a bit larger than either Original Gravity or Paper Plane, so it will accommodate around 20 beers on tap, an extensive cocktail menu, and 20-40 arcade and pinball machines. There will also be a full-blown restaurant in part of the building that will be branded separately from the bar.

It gets better. The location is 52 E. Santa Clara Street, which some of you might remember as Toons. This is a key corner that has sat empty for ages, and it will become a unique destination that does not exist anywhere else in Silicon Valley (for a rough idea of what this might be like, check out Coin-Op Game Room). A successful business here will help continue Downtown's rapid rejuvenation.

The current ETA is to have the new venue ready by March 2018. I really hope Dan and Johnny nail the hat-trick since this might be their best concept yet!

Source: SVBJ (requires subscription)

Best of Summer Beer Dinner

Silicon Valley Beer Week kicks off today, and something special has been cooked up by Scott's Seafood and Santa Clara Valley Brewing. On Monday, July 24th, a special "Best of Summer" Beer Dinner is being hosted on the Scott's Seafood patio overlooking Downtown San Jose.

The food and beer pairing consists of five courses featuring Santa Clara Valley Brewing Company's award winning beers. Here is the full menu:

Best Of Summer Beer Dinner Pairing Menu

Opening Reception: Charcuterie and cheese platter
Beer Pairing: Dry Creek Blonde

2nd Course: Scallop Crudo: Thinly sliced raw sea scallop served with citrus wasabi soy sauce
Beer Pairing: Alviso Hefeweizen

3rd Course: Steak Tartare served with arugula and crispy shallots in a citrus dressing
Beer Pairing: Electric Tower IPA

4th Course: Halibut served with a saffron risotto and a mushroom ragout topped with basil pesto
Beer Pairing: New Almaden Red

5th Course: Chef's sweet surprise
Beer Pairing: Loma Prieta Rye Stout

Tickets cost $60 and the event runs from 6pm to 9pm this Monday. To learn more and purchase tickets, head over here.

New "all-you-can-fly" airline comes to San Jose

A new type of airline called Surf Air is about to launch several routes to San Jose. Instead of booking individual tickets, you subscribe to a membership that starts at $1,950/mo that gives you access to unlimited flights. This is aimed directly at executives and people who travel constantly within California.

Initial routes from San Jose will include Seattle, San Diego, and Las Vegas. It may also launch a route to Sun Valley, Idaho. Presumably they will fly out of the private aviation side of SJC, but that was not confirmed in the source article. Technically they could use any regional airport as the planes are Pilatus PC-12 single-engine turboprops.

Perks also include streamlined booking and the ability to arrive just 15 minutes before scheduled flight take-off.

This might be a very niche service, but I am sure it will be appreciated by the tech elite that are wealthy, yet not wealthy enough to own a private jet. It will be interesting to see how successful Surf Air becomes in the Bay Area.

Source: SVBJ

   

Taste Of Orleans Festival at Great America on July 22-23 & 29-30

The annual "Taste Of Orleans" festival is transporting California's Great America to Louisiana for the next two weekends. Access to the event is included with admission.

The event features traditional Cajun cuisine including crawfish etouffée, chicken and andouille sausage gumbo over rice, hushpuppy shrimp skewers with Cajun dipping sauce, crispy frog legs with creole aioli, blackened catfish sliders, and either classic beignets, or praline bread pudding for dessert. A tasting card with six selections is only $25. You can also pick up muffuletta pizza and bananas Foster funnel cakes a-la-carte. 

Orleans Place will also host family-friendly entertainment such as live music, stilt walkers, and chalk art. A fireworks show will cap the event each night at 9:45pm. 

If this is anything like the Great America Red, White & Brews event, it will raise the bar for the type of food you would expect in a theme park. The menu sounds outstanding!

For more information, the full press release is below and you can buy park admission tickets over here.

Taste Of Orleans Festival Returns To Great America July 22-23 & 29-30

Cajun & Orleans Food, Live Music And Décor In Orleans Section Of Great America

SANTA CLARA, CA – California’s Great America will once again bring its Orleans Place to life with the Taste Of Orleans festival July 22-23 and 29-30. Taste Of Orleans features live Cajun music, midway entertainment, regional food and drink and will be open to all Great America guests. To close each evening, a Taste Of Orleans fireworks show set to Cajun music will decorate the sky.

Cajun cuisine available with a $25 tasting card includes crawfish etouffée, chicken and andouille sausage gumbo over rice, hushpuppy shrimp skewers with Cajun dipping sauce, crispy frog legs with creole aioli, blackened catfish sliders with tangy slaw and a choice of classic beignets or praline bread pudding. Additional Orleans foods available a la carte include muffuletta pizza and bananas Foster funnel cakes.

“The response to Taste Of Orleans from our guests last year was incredible and we’re excited to bring back the event in 2017,” said California’s Great America vice president and general manager Raul Rehnborg. “In addition to traditional amusement park fun, Great America is committed to building on our tradition of live entertainment options.”

A chalk artist will paint Mardi Gras murals throughout the festival and there will be mask decorating for kids 12 and under.

2017 Season Passes are currently on sale for just $69 and features a season of fun in both Great America and Boomerang Bay Water Park. A $105 Gold Pass includes Halloween Haunt, WinterFest, free Great America parking, Gilroy Gardens and more.

Great America is currently hiring for the 2017 season and applicants can apply online at https://www.cagreatamerica.com/jobs.

CALIFORNIA’S GREAT AMERICA

California’s Great America is a 100-acre theme and water park located in Santa Clara, CA that contains thrill rides, family attractions and live shows. The park opens for weekends in March, operates daily Memorial Day through mid-August, continues weekends through fall with Halloween Haunt, and the season concludes in December with WinterFest.

CEDAR FAIR

California’s Great America is owned and operated by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company (NYSE: FUN), a publicly traded partnership and one of the largest regional amusement-resort operators in the world. The Company owns and operates 11 amusement parks, two outdoor water parks, one indoor water park and five hotels. For more information, see www.cedarfair.com. www.cagreatamerica.com