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Almaden Valley Art & Wine Festival 2016

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Almaden Valley Art & Wine Festival 2016It’s that time of year again in the Almaden Valley! The 40th Annual Almaden Valley Art & Wine Festival 2016 will be held on Sunday, September 11, at Almaden Lake Park from 10am to 6pm. This year the community celebrates a milestone of four full decades of sponsoring the festival, which hosts over 90 vendor booths including a number of local artists and craftspersons selling their paintings, jewelry, sculptures, and much more.

The food at the festival will be local and diverse, including Indian specialties from Mayuri, pizza from Oak & Rye, Mexican cuisine from Carmen’s Taqueria, and Asian fusion from Cross Hatch Eatery. There will also be Gourmet Food Trucks offering even more variety, and of course you’ll find dessert favorites such as shave ice and kettle corn. The popular Premium Wine Tent will be offering selections from Rombauer Vineyard in Napa and Leal Vineyards in Hollister, along with selections from other local wineries. Not the wine connoisseur? Grab a beer from a beer truck and relax at the Beer Garden! Festival glasses with the Art and Wine Festival logo will be sold at local merchant booths.

The Kid’s Fun Zone will have a rock climbing wall, carnival games, and jump houses. The Fun Zone stage will feature performances by local school bands, dance groups, cheerleading squads, and professional entertainers. There will also be a Main Stage with performances by Joanne LeBlanc, Fog City Band, Big Mike and the HartBeats, Leland High School Cheer & Dance, and many more. The Main Stage and Kid’s Fun Zone entertainment schedules are available online at www.almadenwine.org/events. To top it all off, there will be a silent auction with items such as signed sports and entertainment collectibles, limited edition art, fabulous designer jewelry, and tickets to local attractions.

The Almaden Valley Art & Wine Festival is sponsored by the Almaden Valley Women’s Club, which raises funds for the festival every year. The festival is also made possible through the support of local sponsors as well as the City of San Jose. All proceeds from the festival are donated to non-profit organizations and local schools. As always, admission and parking are free, and a free shuttle service is available. Come join the Almaden Valley community in celebrating the 40th anniversary of this popular annual event!

Almaden Valley Community Events in July

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Almaden Valley communityJoin the Almaden Valley community this July in attending Music in the Park on Thursday nights 6:30-8:30 PM at Greystone Park (Mt. Carmel @ Camden Ave.). This past week Old School Rock & Roll headlined. The upcoming acts for the month include The Houserockers, Free Fahlen, and Sage, each performing their own respective genres of music each upcoming Thursday this month. This event is open to all Almaden Valley residents and is a great way to relax and listen to music with the Almaden Valley community.

This past weekend the New Almaden community hosted one of its weekly Saturday events “What’s In a Ranger’s Truck?” At the Almaden Quicksilver County Park, all attendees were welcome to view the inside of a Park Ranger’s truck and learn about the various tools used by rangers on the job, whether used for helping aid others in an emergency or for search and rescue purposes.

LED Holiday Lights: 6 Need-to-Know Tips

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Christmas lightsBy: G. M. Filisko

LED holiday lights vs. old-fashioned bulbs: 6 tips to help you decide which is right for you.

Should you chuck all your good old holiday light strings and buy new LED holiday lights? Here’s how to decide.

  1. LED holiday lights save you money. LED lights use up to 90% less energy than traditional holiday lights, according to the U.S. government’s Energy Star program.That results in a $50 energy savings for the average family during the holidays, says a Sierra Club spokesperson.Put it into perspective: The amount of electricity consumed by one 7-watt incandescent bulb (in a light string) could power 140 LEDs — enough to light two 24-foot strings, says Energy Star.

    2. But LED lights typically cost more than old-fashioned holiday lights.

  • 100-bulb string of LED lights: about $20 to $46
  • 100-bulb string of conventional lights: about $7 to $12

But shop around because LED prices are coming down. And you’ll likely find sales on LED holiday lights — if not before the holidays then certainly after.

3. LED holiday lights last and last. LED bulbs can keep your season bright for as long as 100,000 hours, says Cathy Choi, president of Moonachie, N.J.-based Bulbrite, which manufactures LED and regular bulbs. That’s substantially longer than the life of your old holiday light strings.

4. You can string a BIG strand of LED lights. Safety wise, you shouldn’t connect more than three traditional light strings, but you can connect up to 87 LED holiday light strings, totaling a whopping 1,500 feet, Choi says. So blow your neighbor’s display away by cocooning your house in lights:

  • You won’t have to buy as many extension cords.
  • You can take your holiday lighting display further away from the outlet.
  1. LED lights reduce the risk of fire. They stay cooler than incandescent bulbs, according to Energy Star.6. How about that hue? Some people stick with their old lights because they don’t like the brighter hue that white LED holiday lights emit. But Choi says manufacturers now offer a “warm white” bulb that more closely mimics the glow of an incandescent light. Be sure to read the label to choose a bright or warm white and to ensure what you’re purchasing is Energy Star-certified.

Colored and color-changing LED holiday lights are more vibrant than conventional lights, making your display easier to see from the street, Choi says.

Visit HouseLogic.com for more articles like this. Reprinted from HouseLogic.com with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.

Almaden Valley Summer Concert Series in the Park for 2013

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almaden-valley-concert-in-parkAlmaden Valley Summer Concert Series for 2013 offers a great evening of Summertime musical enjoyment. The 2013 Concert Series will be held every Thursday, July 11 through August 1 from 6:30-8:00pm.

This year’s line-up of bands will play Top 40, R&B, Motown, Big Band, Party Music, Classic Rock, and the Beatles. Relax and listen to some great music. Bring your lawn chairs, picnic dinner, and ice coolers. Fun for the whole family! The concerts are free for everyone to enjoy.

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South Bay Guitar Duo Playing at Almaden Community Center

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South Bay Guitar DuoAlmaden Branch Public Library will present a holiday concert by the acclaimed South Bay Guitar Duo on Saturday, December 15, 2012 at 2pm.

Several selections and a special sing-a-long will be performed by Ben Zussman and Jerry Snyder. Reservations are not required. Come and enjoy this free holiday event!

Meet Thriller Author Hannah Jayne at the Almaden Library

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Hannah Jayne Schwartz Visits Almaden ValleyAlmaden Branch Library will be hosting a “Meet the Author” event in the program room on Friday, October 19, 2012 at 4pm.

Thriller author Hannah Jayne will lead a workshop for community members interested in learning more about the life of an author. Jayne’s trilogy of novels is known as the “Underworld Detection Agency Chronicles,” and individual titles include Under Wraps, Under Attack, and Under Suspicion.

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