May 4, 2005

NewsBriefs

Art festival comes to Stone Church  

Reviving the spirit of the homegrown art fair, Stone Church of Willow Glen invites the public to attend its first Art & Handcraft Festival on Saturday, May 21 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

Local artists will sell and exhibit paintings, ceramics, jewelry, quilts, knitted items, photographs, handmade greeting cards and more. Find the perfect piece of art to complement the decor in your home. Take the opportunity to buy a gift for your favorite graduate or get a jump on birthday and holiday shopping. 

Stone Church is located at 1937 Lincoln Ave. Participating artists will donate 10 percent of their proceeds to the church to benefit its mission programs. 

Walk San Jose plans annual Mother’s Day Walk

Walk San Jose has scheduled its annual Roses to Roses Mother’s Day Walk for Sunday, May 8.

The group plans to meet at the Municipal Rose Garden (Dana and McDaniel). Be there early, and wander among the roses before signing in by 2:30 p.m. the departure time for a leisurely walk to the Heritage Rose Garden.

Once there, walkers can take a self tour, or just walk around the garden for a half hour; before gathering together for the walk back to the Municipal Rose Garden, where the return is scheduled for around 4 PM.

Cookies and bottled water will be available. Wear comfortable shoes and bring a hat—if it’s flower-decorated, it may win a prize. For more information, call (408) 972-8042.

San Jose Metroband schedules May 14 concert

The San Jose Metropolitan Band has scheduled a May 14 concert at the Hoover Theater in the Rose Garden across from the Rosicrution Museum. The concert will feature Sy Brandon, a composer from Wrightsville, Pa. His work contains three movements featuring different areas of the band playing a repeated theme.

Brandon is professor emeritus of music from Millersville University in Pennsylvania. He taught low brass, composition, orchestration, music history, electronic music and music industry for 24 years. He’s received numerous prizes for his compositions and more than 20 commissions for his music from the Boise Philharmonic, York Symphony Orchestra and the Twentieth Moravian Music Festival.

Brandon’s “Olympic Prelude” was selected as the competition piece for the 11th annual Australian Flute Festival Choir Competition. His music has been recorded by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia Bulgarica and the Swiss Duo Delimme. His music has been performed in this country and abroad including performances by the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force bands as well as on National Public Radio’s Performance Today.

The San Jose Metropolitan Band is an adult community band consisting of 40 to 45 musicians. It was founded in 1967 under the adult education program through the San Jose Unified School District. About 10-12 years ago, SJUSD couldn’t fund the band anymore and it split itself off into a nonprofit organization.

Today, the band offers South Bay residents six to 10 concerts a year. The band meets Mondays at Valley Christian’s music department to practice.

“We’d like to increase the size of the band, especially in percussion,” said Ed Lacina, who plays the (French) horn and is president of the band. Many current members were members of their college bands, playing at such universities as Purdue, Ohio State, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Kent State, Cal Berkeley and, of course, San Jose State.

The band is made up of mostly adults, although teenagers can play pending the director’s approval. The San Jose Metropolitan Band is always looking for qualified concert band musicians. The instruments of the standard concert band are piccolo and flute, oboe, English horn and bassoon, clarinet, alto clarinet, bass clarinet, alto, tenor and baritone saxophone, French horn, trumpet, trombone, baritone, tuba, timpani and percussion.

Placement is by audition. However, newcomers who may be easily intimidated by the audition are allowed to “sit in” for a few rehearsals.

Admission to the May 14 concert is $10 for general admission and $5 for seniors. Dr. Brandon will give a free 45-minute talk prior to the concert at 6 p.m.

For more information, visit the Web site at www.sjmetroband.org, call president Ed Lacina at 408) 685-3567 or e-mail the band at info@sjmetroband.org.

Cohn holds health faire in Willow Glen

Assemblymember Rebecca Cohn hosted the first of a series of health faires at the Willows Senior Center in Willow Glen on April 23 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The faire was designed to educate and raise public awareness of the huge rate of diabetes and obesity in children, women and seniors.

“This event helps address the health needs of those living in Santa Clara County along with activities the whole family can enjoy,” Cohn said.  It is designed to teach people “ about diabetes, obesity and related health issues, to receive up-to-date information on disease prevention and take advantage of free health screenings.”

The faire included three workshops. The first, conducted by Gretchen Flanagan a clinical dietitian with Lucile Parkard Children’s Hospital, dealt with eating right. The second discussed free and low-cost health insurance. It was conducted by Marta Avelar, the community relations director for Santa Clara Family health plan. The final workshop dealt with preventing and delaying type 2 diabetes. Mary Hallum, an instructor of diabetes management skills, conducted the workshop.

The faire was free and included various informational booths and community outreach services. It also featured several children’s activities including a jumping house, a clown and a fire engine from Willow Glen’s Station #6.

Comment meeting held for Wallenberg Dog Park

About 50 people from Willow Glen met on April 14 to discuss the design concept and proposed development of a one-acre off-leash dog park at Wallenberg Park, at Curtner and Cottle avenues.

Most of those attending were pleased with the city’s program and pleased with the potential designs. “They provided comments about the features and noted what they thought would work best,” said Tony Felice, a member of Ken Yeager’s staff.

The Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services is working to get parking spaces near the proposed dog park area, Felice added. The city hopes to offer 20 to 30 spaces for people with dogs.

The next step in the process is a Parks and Rec informational meeting on June 15. No location has yet been determined, but the commission meeting must be held prior to the master plan approval meeting, which currently is scheduled for July 6.

The city construction time line hasn’t yet been firmed up, added Felice. It still is being evaluated for feasibility with Parks and Rec and the Department of Public Works. However, indications are that the dog park will be completed in late 2006.

CCOC seeks exhibitors for custom and classic car show benefit

Central County Occupational Center will host its Second Annual Custom and Classic Car Show benefiting CCOC’s SkillsUSA Club on May 13 from 5-9 p.m., at 760 Hillsdale Ave. 

A $10 tax-deductible donation/fee is all it takes to exhibit a car in the CCOC auto show. Exhibitors will also receive a free meal. All proceeds will go directly to the CCOC SkillsUSA VICA (Vocational Industrial Clubs of America) club. Call Steve Johnson at (408) 732-6480 to register as an exhibitor. Spaghetti, hotdogs and drinks will be available for purchase by spectators. 

CCOC’s Engines and Transmission instructor, Charlie Thompson, will play 50s-60s music with his local band, Flashpoint, at the event.  

SkillsUSA is a national organization serving high school and college students enrolled in technical, skilled and service occupations, including health occupations. SkillsUSA provides education experiences for students in leadership and teamwork and helps build self-confidence, professional work attitudes and communication skills. Many of CCOC’s SkillsUSA club members compete in annual SkillsUSA championships at the regional, state and national levels.  

For more information on CCOC or SkillsUSA, contact Michelle Alaimo at (408) 723-6464.