Who’s on First?
An innovative Downtown project adds vitality via temporary art installations.

The City of San Jose, in partnership with the Valley Transit Authority, recently launched a series of temporary art installations in Downtown San Jose called Who’s on First / What’s on Second. Unrelated to the Abbott and Costello comedy routine of the same name, Who’s on First / What’s on Second instead draws its inspiration from the people and activities of Downtown San Jose, and as the name suggests, will be installed on or around First and Second Streets.

Eight artists, or collaborative art teams, from the Bay Area will install multimedia works that include a video projection, sound sculpture and a giant light haiku. The first installation, Video Mirrors, was created by San Francisco artist J.D. Beltran. Installed in The Globe, a new Downtown residential building, the work consists of video projections, and appears on the S. Second Street side of the building, opposite the Santa Clara VTA transit platform.

Beginning in late November, the bell tones from the historic Trinity Episcopal Church at 81 N. Second Street will be used for more than the call to Sunday worship services. San Francisco artist Bill Fontana will incorporate sound and surroundings to create The Bells of Trinity, art that Fontana calls “sound sculpture.” A special performance is slated for spring 2008 at the church.

In December, San Jose artist Chris Eckert will present Light Haiku. A spotlight designed and built specifically for this installation will project haiku poems on a giant 650-square-foot luminescent screen on the exterior wall of the HP Pavilion parking facility, facing San Fernando at Second Street. More than 100 poems written by recording artist and poet P.C. Muñoz will be featured, along with contributions by guest poets from around the world. San Jose grade-schoolers get an entire piece of the exhibition, and other haiku submissions will be considered for display. Go to www.lighthaiku.com for more information.

The Who’s on First / What’s on Second project is a collaborative effort that includes the San Jose Redevelopment Agency, VTA, San Jose Downtown Association, Camera 12 Cinema, law firm Ropers, Majeski, Kohn & Bentley, and others. More information about the project and artists can be found at http://sanjoseculture.org.

Fog City Mavericks
How the Bay Area inspired Coppola, Lucas and other pioneers to change movie history.

The Bay Area’s achievements in special effects and digital animation in movies over the past 30 years are well documented. Think Lucasfilm, Industrial Light and Magic, and Pixar. Less known, however, is the impact Northern California has always had on movies in general.

That’s the focus of Fog City Mavericks, a compelling two-hour documentary by Gary Leva that shows how the independent spirit of the Bay Area fueled some of the greatest accomplishments in film history. The program, which premiered last month on the Starz premium cable channel, airs twice during Thanksgiving weekend.

From 19th-century San Francisco photographer Eadweard Muybridge – whose revolutionary invention, the zoopraxiscope, projected images from rotating glass disks in rapid succession, forming the basis of motion picture technology – to the establishment of the first “anti-studio” production company, American Zoetrope (founded in San Francisco by Francis Ford Coppola in 1969), the Bay Area has always been at the forefront of the movie industry. “Everything we’ve done,” says Pixar producer/director John Lasseter of his local film brethren, “no one’s ever done before.”

Lasseter is among the many filmmakers interviewed in Fog City, which traces the rise of the independent film movement to Coppola’s The Godfather and George Lucas’ American Graffiti – films that flew in the face of traditional Hollywood moviemaking while speaking to a new generation. Godfather dared to humanize mob life long before The Sopranos, while Graffiti built its entire story around rock ’n’ roll music, paving the way for contemporary movie soundtracks.

Buoyed by the success of Coppola and Lucas, not to mention the maverick nature of the Bay Area itself, other filmmakers pursued their visions in Northern California, free from Hollywood interference. Berkeley-based producer Saul Zaentz, for example, gambled his fortune twice to make movies no other studio would touch, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Amadeus – both of which won multiple Oscars while also cleaning up at the box office. Then there’s San Francisco native, Carmel resident and Hollywood superstar Clint Eastwood, who uses his clout to get studio backing while still making movies his way, from Play Misty for Me to Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima.

Leva packs a lot into Fog City, weaving in commentary from Eastwood, Zaentz, Chris Columbus, Sofia Coppola, Brad Bird, Steve Jobs and other local luminaries with clips from their iconic films. But the story always comes back to Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas, from the former’s epic Apocalypse Now to the latter’s Star Wars legacy. Leva even draws parallels between the two trailblazers and “father of filmmaking” Muybridge: all three overcame great personal tragedy early in their careers to leave their mark on motion pictures.


Fog City Mavericks airs Nov. 23 at 5:15pm, with an encore Nov. 24 at 1:45am, on Starz. The program will also be shown throughout December; visit www.starz.com for more information.

San Jose Holiday Parade
Because everybody loves a parade.

This particular event is so much more than a parade, offering a weekend’s worth of activities and festivities. Visitors will see classic holiday parade attractions, such as giant balloons, dozens of marching bands, fire engines, stunning floats, dancing girls, breakfast with Mrs. Claus, a 60-foot tree, and appearances by the celebrity of the season – Santa. This year’s parade is also particularly star-studded – featuring Grand Marshal Mickey Mouse, an opening act by performers from the acclaimed Cirque du Soleil, a performance by The Disney Channel’s Monét, and plenty of other entertainment. Recognized as one of the top 25 parades in the nation, this spectacular event will heighten the holiday fever of all who attend.

Inflation Celebration
Market St. & Park Ave., adjacent to the Tech Museum
Saturday, December 1: Watch all the enormous balloons get filled and ready for the parade: 3 – 7pm

Mrs. Claus Breakfast Nook
Tech Museum of Innovation, 201 S. Market St.
Sunday, December 2: Join Mrs. Claus and her friends for breakfast – you don’t want to attend the Holiday Parade on an empty stomach: 7 – 8:30am

26th Annual San Jose Holiday Parade
Downtown San Jose www.sanjoseholidayparade.com
Sunday, December 2: Bring the whole family for a day of clowns, floats, balloons, and over two dozen marching bands: 8:30am

Christmas In The Park
Plaza de Cesar Chavez, Market St. between San Carlos & San Fernando www.christmasinthepark.com
Thru January 1: Plaza de Cesar Chavez has been transformed into a holiday fantasyland, with more than 60 musical and animated exhibits, music, food, a 60-foot tree and the one, the only, SANTA!

Downtown Ice
Circle of Palms, 170 S. Market St. www.sjdowntown.com.
Thru January 13: Sharpen up those blades and go skating in Downtown San Jose. Seriously, we’re not yanking your chain; it’s outside and everything.

Winter Wonderland
Paseo de San Antonio, next to the Fairmont Hotel
Thru January 1: It’s a holiday artisan fair featuring handmade ornaments, jewelry, candles, knitwear, and let’s not forget the glass blowing demonstrations and fabulous desserts!

Holiday Train Exhibit
Fairmont Hotel, 170 S. Market St. (408) 998-1900
Saturday, December 1 – 26: An electric train exhibit featuring model villages depicting locales in the United States, England, the Netherlands, Russia, Germany, Mexico, France, the Philippines, and Switzerland.