Most eyes in the Bay Area were fixed on a certain baseball game Thursday night, so I was really glad to see more than 260 people come out to History Park in San Jose for the Valley of Heart’s Delight dinner, where I was the guest of honor.
I was thankful and humbled by seeing so many friends there and listening to their words of appreciation for my work writing about this community for the past 16 years. It was fun to get “dueling commendations” from Mayor Sam Liccardo and the rest of the San Jose City Council — and I couldn’t believe it when former Fairmont public relations queen Lina Broydo arrived in a shirt decorated with my columns.
But it’s also fair to say that while Thursday night’s History San Jose fundraiser was celebrating me, it was really all about you — the “doers” in San Jose and the Santa Clara Valley who keep the culture here thriving and creating a place we want to live in. After all, we’re not about “fake news” over here. I don’t have the creativity to make this stuff up; I’ve proudly just been the messenger. And in this case, they didn’t shoot me but gave me an armful of commendations to take home.
If you were there, thank you; if you weren’t, you missed a good event that was heavy on local participation. Dinner was provided by Ewell Sterner and the Hunger at Home crew, which has done so much to keep unemployed and at-risk people fed during the pandemic. Virag Saskena from San Jose’s 10th Street Distillery poured some of their award-winning whiskies. The band Hella Fitzgerald provided the perfect swingin’ soundtrack for the night, and mixologist Andrea Whitaker served an Apricot French 75 to guests as they arrived in a fitting nod to the valley’s orchard past.
History San Jose has done a great job of preserving and documenting our city’s heritage, a heritage that has evolved along with our demographics; History Park is home to partner organizations that celebrate our Chinese, Vietnamese, Hispanic, African American and Portuguese communities, as well as its own collection of buildings honoring San Jose’s collective past (including a replica of the Electric Light Tower).
But the future’s just as important, so let’s keep things moving forward in Silicon Valley. I wouldn’t want to run out of material for this column.
SPARKS OF CREATIVITY: There are few better ways to look toward the future than the Leigh Weimers Emerging Artists Awards, which were presented this week to four Santa Clara County artists: painter Ema Harris-Sintamarian, sculptor Kiana Honarmand, singer/musician Tori Paul and jazz guitarist Mason Razavi.
They were selected from more than 80 nominations in various artistic fields including visual arts, music, written word and performance and each will receive an unrestricted $5,000 grant in memory of Leigh Weimers, my predecessor at the Mercury News who often put the spotlight on Santa Clara County’s arts and culture during his 40 years as a columnist. I’ve been happy to serve on the program committee since its inception in 2013 and took part in the awards presentation last Wednesday, along with Leigh’s wife, Geri Weimers, and their daughter, Kristin Weimers.
“We are proud to support these amazing emerging artists in our community,” said City Lights Theater Company Executive Artistic Director Lisa Mallette, who serves on the selection committee and emceed the presentation. “We feel we have a wonderful, diverse group of extremely talented artist to lift up this year.”
The creative quartet presented their work at last Wednesday’s meeting of the San Jose Rotary Club, which sponsors the awards. Nearly $150,000 has been awarded to 32 artists since the program started. You can find out more about those previous recipients at www.weimersawards.com and watch this year’s program at www.youtube.com/sjrotary.
MARTHA’S KITCHEN TURNS 40: There was a great crowd as Martha’s Kitchen celebrated its 40th anniversary Oct. 9 with an outdoor event at Presentation High School in San Jose.
From the garage in her Willow Glen home, Louise Benson had been preparing and giving away peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for years before she and her friends started “the little soup kitchen” in 1981, serving hot meals at Sacred Heart Church on Willow Street and naming it after Martha, a Biblical figure who offered meals to Jesus and his followers. Benson died in 1986, but her legacy lives on: Today, Martha’s Kitchen provides nearly 100,000 meals and distributes 250,000 pounds of groceries each month.
In addition to its meal service at Sacred Heart, Executive Director Bill Lee worked to open a second location in Watsonville and has partnered with other organizations to distribute food in Morgan Hill, Gilroy and Santa Cruz, as well as San Benito, Monterey and Fresno counties.
‘HAMILTON’ TREATS: Audiences got “Hamilton” off to a great start for Broadway San Jose this week, providing a nice “welcome back” to the Center for the Performing Arts. Here’s a tip for anyone who has tickets for the show, which runs through Oct. 31: The lines for the outdoor concessions and bathrooms are significantly shorter than the ones inside.
Also, consider this as a recommendation for the Patriotic Passion, the signature cocktail being sold at the CPA for the show, which is a combination of Pimm’s, whiskey and lemon juice that definitely has some revolutionary flair.
Even Psycho Donuts has “Hamilton” fever, with the creation of three sweet treats inspired by the musical that will be available at its Campbell and Valley Fair location: the Burrfect, a peanut butter vegan donut with coffee and chocolate icings and a peanut butter drizzle; the Show Me the $10, an apple cinnamon donut decorated with green sprinkles; and A Treasury is Born, a star-shaped donut filled with Earl Grey tea custard and decorated in red, white and blue.
Source: www.mercurynews.com