August 21, 2008

Calendar of local events

Unless otherwise noted all phone numbers are in the 408 area code.

MUSIC

Aug. 23
First Annual New Almaden Music Festival: Featuring live music from Chile Juice, Another Drummer, Corduroy Jim and Taboo Voodoo. Hours are 2 – 9 p.m. at the New Almaden Community Club, 21727 Bertram Road, next to La Foret. Admission is a $10 donation.

Aug. 24
San José Chamber Orchestra presents “Opera!” at Le Petit Trianon, 72 N. 5th Street, San Jose at 7 p.m. This production starring Christopher Bengochea, is conducted by Barbara Day-Turner and features Layna Chianakas, Malcolm MacKenzie and Rachelle Perry-Ward. The works of Puccini, Verdi, Gounod, Bizet, Mascagni, Massenet, Offenbach, Henry Mollicone and Alva Henderson will be presented. Tickets are $30-45. For more information, call 295-4416 or visit www.sjcotickets.org or www.sjco.org

Aug. 24
Target presents Symphony Silicon Valley in a free family concert. Discovery Meadow Symphony Silicon Valley will perform the best loved music of musical theater, ballet, opera and symphony in a 3 p.m. al fresco concert at Discovery Meadow, next to Children’s Discovery Museum, located at West San Carlos and Woz Way, San Jose. This free outdoor concert event will include selections from Bizet’s Carmen and Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony as well as special children’s activities. For more information, visit www.symphonysiliconvalley.org or call 286-2600

THEATER

July 30 – Sept. 21
Get ready as San Jose Stage Company’s “Altar Boyz” rocks you to the heavens. Hitting The Stage at 490 South First Street in downtown San Jose, this hilarious off-Broadway musical phenomenon highlights quintessential boy band, Altar Boyz as they set out to “raise the praise” with every concert performance. Directed by SJSC’s Rick Singleton, Altar Boyz combines spectacular dance moves, angelic vocals and a touching story line to capture with perfect pitch the unique “boy band” culture. For ticket information and additional show times, visit www.sansojestage.com.

CHILDREN/FAMILY

Aug. 23
NBeyond Dance Company, 672 Blossom Hill Road will be offering a free workshop from 12 – 4 p.m. For more information, visit their website at www.nbeyonddance.com

Aug. 23
San Jose Chinese School, a non-profit organization serving Almaden Valley and its vicinities since 1974, is hosting a community introduction meeting from 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. at the community room of the Almaden Library (6445 Camden Ave.) from 1:30 PM to 2:30 PM, Saturday, on 08/23. Everyone who is interested in learning more about San Jose Chinese School is encouraged to attend.

FIFTY PLUS

SeniorNet still has openings in the following courses: E-Mail A to Z, Basic Word Processing, Photo Shop 6 part 2,
Picasa Web Albums, Basic Tips & Techniques, Greeting Card Magic Pt 1, Quicken, Digital Music, CD Burning, Managing Your Files, Digital Camera, Beg Comp Skills (Wed) and Beg Comp Skills (Thursday). Classes begin the week of Aug. 11 at the Almaden Community Center. For more information call Don House at 268-1703 or visit www.snlcsj.org.

CLASSES

Ongoing
Children’s Drawing & Painting Classes - art classes for children 7-12 years old are offered in Nelly Rouhani’s house in Almaden. Classes are on Tuesdays or Thursdays from 3:15 to 4:15 p.m. with a maximum 4:1 child to teacher ratio. Children will learn about the fundamentals of drawing and paint using various media. Tuition is $100 per month, and includes all required materials. A snack will be provided. For more information, call 607-7588 or email niloufarafshin@sbcglobal.net.

Take a Ceramics Class this Fall! Enjoy something different by taking a hand-building clay class in a relaxing garden setting. The classes are very small in size so you can focus on growing as an individual with lots of personal attention from the instructor.  Fall program will be on Tuesday & Thursday evenings from 7-8:30 p.m., and Wednesday mornings from 9-10:30 a.m.. The fee includes instruction, clay, glazes, use of tools, and all kiln firings. For more information or to receive registration materials, call (408) 679-0238.

MISCELLANEOUS

Aug. 9 – Oct. 31
“Embroidered Lace and Lacy Embroidery”, a new exhibit for the Sunnyvale Lace Museum will include handstitched items from the turn of the century decorated with various embroidery stitches.  Some of these items include scarves, gloves, dresses, blouses, and other items of apparel.  The museum gift shop also offers heirloom quality lace products and a full line of lacemaking items.  The Lace Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is located at 552 South Murphy Avenue in Sunnyvale, with free parking.

Aug. 23 - 24
Don’t miss the ACS Discovery Shop’s Fall Preview! Cool deals on fall clothing and accessories. Hours are 8/23 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on 8/24 from noon to 4 p.m. The American Cancer Society Discovery Shop is located at 1103 Branham Lane in San Jose. Call 265-5535. Proceeds support cancer research. Hope.Progress.Answers.

Aug. 30 – Sept 1
33rd Annual Tapestry Arts Festival: Tapestry Arts Festival is San Jose’s oldest and largest community event. Tapestry’s juried art festival features: 250 art & craft booths, 35 food vendors offering a wide selection of culinary delights, four entertainment stages, the Creativity Zone, a free hands-on art activities area for kids of all ages, Interactive Alley sports & recreation area and the indoor Design for Living Show. Proceeds from this event support arts education programs in the community. Venues are Parkside Hall and local downtown streets. Admission is free. For more information, call 494-3590 or visit www.tapestryarts.org

Sept. 6 - 7
37th Annual Mountain View Art & Wine Festival: One of America’s top art festivals, more than 200,000 arts lovers gather on Mt. View’s Castor Street between EL Camino Real and Evelyn Avenue for this vibrant multicultural celebration featuring 650 artists and craftmakers showing an eclectic mix of handcrafted wares, live entertainment, scrumptious food and drink, “green” product exhibits and a one-of-a-kind Kids’ Park with breakdancing, hip-hop, magicians, jugglers, comedy, sing-alongs, amusements and hands-on art. Admission is free; hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days. For more information, call 650-968-8378 or visit www.miramarevents.com

Sept. 11
Evening Alpha Course at Holy Spirit Church: Alpha is a relaxed ten-week course for anyone interested in finding out more about the Christian faith. It communicates the essentials of Christianity with its understanding of God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Adults of all ages are welcome regardless of spiritual background.  Each meeting starts with a meal and an opportunity to get to know each other. Alpha is a place where no question is regarded as too simple or too hostile. There is no charge for the Alpha course, which meets once a week for 10 weeks in the Holy Spirit Parish Hall on Thursday evening from Sept. 11 – Nov. 20, 6:30 to 9 p.m. Contact Gail DiBenedetto at gdibened@sbcglobal.net or call the Holy Spirit Parish office at 997-5101 to sign up or for more information.”

Ongoing
Get ready for a blast from the past! Leland Chargers Class of 1988 are reuniting this September. The location will be the Hotel Valencia in Santana Row at a to-be-announced date. For more details or to join a Reunion Committee, contact Paula Cavagnaro at CavagnaroPaula@yahoo.com or Laura Delizonna at ldelizonna@gmail.com
Willow Glen High School Class of 1988 Twenty Year Reunion. This event will be held on Sept. 13, at the Hotel Los Gatos, 210 E. Main St. in Los Gatos, at 6:30 p.m. Cost is $95 per person. For more information, go to Classmates.com and click on the Events/ Reunion link and register today.



HAVE AN ITEM FOR OUR CALENDAR?
We are seeking calendar items pertaining to the south bay communities we cover in our seven monthly community newspapers: Blossom Valley, Cambrian, Campbell, Evergreen, Santa Teresa, Willow Glen, Fifty Plus, and our weekly publication, Almaden Times Weekly. Items must be submitted by email or fax several weeks before the event. Send an email to candy@timesmediainc.com or fax to Candy Richter at 494-7078. Photos should be sent digitally as jpegs or mailed to Calendar, Times Newspapers, 1310 Tully Road, Ste. 107, San Jose, CA 95122. Due to the large volume of items received calendar requests left on voice mail cannot be used. Space is limited.