San Jose’s famous “Dancing Pig” neon sign will get a welcome party Nov. 19 at its temporary home at History Park.
The historic Stephen’s Meat sign recently was dismantled from its original spot on Montgomery Street to protect it from being damaged during construction of Google’s Downtown West project. The sign is believed to have been originally installed in the 1950s and outlived the building it touted, which was demolished in 2007 and turned into a parking lot near the Diridon Caltrain Station.
The sign, which had fallen into disrepair, was restored in 2019 thanks to a $35,000 fundraising effort begun by the Preservation Action Council. Young Electric Sign Co. did the restoration work, and San Jose glass artist Kevin Chong spent four weeks recreating the neon signage.
The History Park celebration next weekend begins at 3 p.m. with sign-inspired artist demonstrations, exhibits and a holiday art and gift market inside the Empire Firehouse replica building. A relighting ceremony will take place at 5:15 p.m., followed by glass demonstrations and a reception at the Bay Area Glass Institute’s studios at History Park.
The party is free and open to the public, but RSVPs are requested at www.preservation.org/events/party-at-the-pig.
MITTY MEMORIES: Archbishop Mitty’s Black and Gold fundraiser at downtown San Jose’s Signia by Hilton hotel on Saturday night was a big deal for Mitty President Latanya Hilton. Part of that was because it was a return to being an in-person event for the first time since 2019 — and nearly 700 supporters packed the Imperial Ballroom for an outstanding MTV-era musical tribute by the school band, Exodus, and a hilarious set by comedian Rita Rudner.
But there was also a more personal reason for Hilton, a Mitty alum who returned to become the school’s president in 2020. The first Black and Gold event, featuring headliner Ray Charles at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga, was held in 1992 when Hilton was a senior at the Catholic school in San Jose.
“Now, I’m standing here 30 years later as the president,” she said, giving a shoutout to her 1992 classmates who were in attendance. “This is a surreal moment.”
GRATEFUL IN-SIGHT: The West San Jose-Campbell Lions Club organized a cupcake party Oct. 11 to thank San Jose State’s Delta Gamma sorority for its help with their efforts in helping to sort thousands of recycled eyeglasses the service club distributes around the world through its Lions in Sight program. Lions District Governor Melinda Blaza welcomed the sorority members, along with some VIPs including San Jose State Interim President Steve Perez, SJSU Alumni Association Executive Director Valerie Gonzales and Bob Stewart and Lisa Quan from the San Jose Vista Center for the Blind.
The Lions are still roaring, too. Last week, three members of the club — retired ophthalmologist Art Lowe, Lucie Mueller and Jan McClure — flew to Merida, Mexico to help provide eye screenings and glasses for more than 700 people over two days. And the club is looking for community volunteers to help out at its next eyeglass “sorting party” on Nov. 12 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Vista Center for the Blind. Get more information at wsjclions.org.
GOLF TOURNAMENT’S GOLDEN IDEA: A sold-out group of 144 golfers raised more than $60,000 at the eighth annual Golden Golf Challenge at Stanford Golf Course last month for the Valley Medical Center Foundation, which supports the Santa Clara County health system and hospitals. The gimmick for this tournament is that a golden ball rotates through each team, and the group with the lowest golden ball score is the winner, with the foursome of Amal Radia, Loc Tran, Chad Harrison and Frank McMenomy taking the honors this year.
But the other big news to come out of the event was that its been renamed in honor of Chris Wilder, the former executive director of the VMC Foundation who suffered a massive stroke in March 2021. Wilder was an avid golfer before the stroke and has been improving his skills on the putting green as his recovery continues. And guess what? He’s still better at the game than I’ll ever be.
Source: www.mercurynews.com