For figure skating fans, what could be better than attending the U.S. championships this weekend at SAP Center in downtown San Jose? Maybe doing that and hanging out with Olympic gold medalist Brian Boitano.
Boitano, a Sunnyvale native, is hosting Boitano’s Lounge at the arena Friday through Sunday in the swanky club-level space where well-heeled fans mingle during the NHL season. It’s a pop-up version of his bar and restaurant at the Kindler Hotel in Lincoln, Neb., where he had a hand in creating the dozens of signature cocktails served there since it opened in 2019. (Remember, on top of being an elite skater, Boitano hosted two seasons of “What Would Brian Boitano Make?,” a cooking show on Food Network.)
The cover charge was a VIP-level $250 a day, or $650 for the whole weekend, which included food and drink in the lounge, as well as seeing Boitano and a few of his friends, including Olympic medalists Kristi Yamaguchi and Ashley Wagner and 2022 U.S. national champion Mariah Bell. And those tickets were all snapped up faster than a triple-Salchow.
Oh, well. At least fans can still enjoy watching the next generation of elite figure skaters — and likely members of the U.S. team for the 2026 Olympics. Tickets for the weekend’s events are available at www.skatesanjose2023.com.
EXTRA! EXTRA!: Redwood Middle School in Saratoga is putting on a production of “Disney’s Newsies Jr.” this weekend at Saratoga High’s McAfee Performing Arts Center. And, if you’ve ever seen the show, you know that a big part of the story involves newspapers, or “the papes,” as they say.
Vidya Vineet, the parent of Redwood performer Ria Vineet, figured if you’re looking for newspapers to use as props, you should go to the source. So she called the Mercury News to see if the school could get bundles of newspapers for the show.
Jeremy Gracey, the transportation/single copy manager for the Bay Area News Group, came through and procured about 1,000 newspapers in 20 bundles for her and even loaded them in her car. That should be enough for the six performances, featuring two rotating casts, Friday through Sunday. Tickets are available at bit.ly/23NJR.
WELCOME RETURN: A concert celebrating the music of African American composers is back in East Palo Alto this weekend after two years off because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The African American Composers Institute was started in 2009 by a group of musicians — including retired Superior Court Judge LaDoris Cordell — to provide a showcase for work by Black composers who might otherwise be unknown to audiences.
The program for this weekend’s concerts will feature work by composers including Jacqueline Hairston, Betty Jackson King, Jeremiah Evans, Regina Baiocchi, John Robinson, and Valerie Capers. The shows will be held Jan. 28 and 29 at 3 p.m. at Eastside College Prep’s Performing Arts Center, and tickets are available at aacinitiative.org/concerts.
LET’S CELEBRATE: If you’re up for more Lunar New Year festivities, head over to Eastridge this weekend. The East San Jose shopping center has a three-day celebration of the Vietnamese Year of the Cat going on Friday through Sunday. There’ll be lion dancers, fashion shows and carnival rides and games in the parking lot at the corner of Tully and Quimby roads. The party starts at 3 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Source: www.mercurynews.com