by Mary Pope-Handy, Clair Handy | Jan 5, 2022 | Events, Food & Drink, Irrelevant Fun, LG Lifestyle, Los Gatos Art & Entertainment, Los Gatos Events, Los Gatos Restaurants, Cafes, Bars, Wineries, Pampered in Los Gatos
While the annual CrabFest is postponed another year, the Rotary Club of Los Gatos is continuing a new tradition with their 2nd annual Virtual WineFest & Auction! Save the date for Saturday, January 29th at 5pm!
This year’s event centers around gourmet bites and Argentinian wines (or try the non-alcoholic selection) guided by sommelier Joe Chiodo. Tickets include a Wine Tasting Kit for 2 with curbside pick-up from Rootstock Wine Bar prior to the event. Evening entertainment includes a live performance by Lavender Fields.
And as always, the main event is the charity auction! Proceeds benefit the Rotary Charities foundations, and this year the “Raise the Paddle” auction item benefits Los Gatos House of Hope, West Valley Community Services, and Peninsula Food Runners to help fight hunger and food insecurity locally.
Virtual WineFest & Auction
For ticket sales, event details and updates, contact the event team, or donate directly check the Los Gatos Rotary website and Virtual WineFest & Auction event page. Each ticket is for a 2-person tasting experience at a cost of $150.
The event is also posted on the Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce event calendar with easy links to save the date on your virtual calendar and view a video promotion for the event.
by Clair Handy | Jun 28, 2021 | Downtown Los Gatos, Events, Food & Drink, Irrelevant Fun, LG Lifestyle, Los Gatos Art & Entertainment, Los Gatos Businesses, Los Gatos Events, Los Gatos Restaurants, Cafes, Bars, Wineries, Maps of Los Gatos, Pampered in Los Gatos, Shopping, Visiting Los Gatos

Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce poster for the Promenade!
The Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce invites the community to celebrate summer together with free live music all summer!
Thursday Promenades in Downtown Los Gatos
There’s a party in downtown every Thursday Promenade beginning this week! Every Thursday evening, 3pm to 8pm from July 1st to August 12th, the stretch of North Santa Cruz Avenue in downtown Los Gatos between Main St and Bachman (that’s from Dolce Spazio to Andalé for the foodies) will transform into “the promenade.” The street will be open to foot traffic, and two stages will bookend the promenade with live musical entertainment!
Bands will begin performances at 4:30pm on the North Stage (Bachman), and at 5:30pm on the South Stage (Main), with entertainment from a different group each week. See the lineup (and any changes) on the Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce calendar, the Thursday Promenades page linked above, or Camber of Commerce social media pages.
Drivers, plan to reroute around this stretch of N. Santa Cruz Ave on Thursday nights. While there is usually plenty of parking along the old rail line behind the shops, it tends to fill up with festival traffic, so schedule in some extra time for parking. If you’re coming for the event, consider traveling by bike, or using a ridesharing service if you plan on patronizing any of the bars or brewery!
As someone who regularly attends free summer concerts in Los Gatos, which were mostly canceled earlier this year (and the Fiesta de Arts / Wine Walk postponed until September), the Promenade is music to my ears!
So invite your friends to eat, drink, play, and stroll the night away!

Musical lineup, taken from the Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce Facebook page. Click to see the original post.
by Clair Handy | Oct 20, 2020 | Irrelevant Fun, Los Gatos History, Los Gatos In The News
Tucked away on the back page of the San Jose Daily Mercury from Monday September 5th, 1892 is an amusing and impudent little article titled “The Effect of the ‘Mercury’ on the Gem of the Foothills”.
It reads:
San Jose, says the Los Gatos News, is making a lively bid for Los Gatos favors. The Mercury has arranged for a daily news budget and an agent (his name is Dennis) is canvassing the town for subscribers. Like the Novitiate College and Glenridge, the Garden City will soon be applying for annexation to Los Gatos. No doubt San Jose envies us our felicitous zephyrs and the picturesqueness of our mountain scenery and would like us to divide the honor which the Gem of the Foothills monopolizes on the Pacific Coast. We advise our Town Board to go slow on San Jose. It would be well to modestly suggest that our patronizing sister first purge herself of the discordant elements which have been blazoned from the electric tower and have been made so conspicuous in the councils of the body politic before we risk the chances of admitting her to our peaceful realm. We will take the Mercury on probation and if the evidences of peace and good will develop a tendency to reform in these important particulars, we may, at some future time, consider a proposition to admit San Jose as a suburb, providing she will allow us the privilege of attaching to her main sewer to the Bay, or offer some other equally persuasive inducement.
The author sets up the joke right at the start. The News and the Mercury are competing daily papers; the Mercury (based in San Jose) is hawking subscriptions in Los Gatos (home of the News) while condescending to the Town in it’s publications, at least in the author’s opinion. In response the author (presumably from our little Town and proud of it) turns right around and patronizes them back! This article references contemporary issues, from overtly bragging about annexations and reputations, to addressing the desired expansion of public utilities (sewage, in this case), and takes jabs at San Jose’s first attempt at electric street lighting and the “San Jose Electric-Light War”! What a cheeky piece of history!
by Mary Pope-Handy | Apr 3, 2019 | Events, Irrelevant Fun, Los Gatos Art & Entertainment, Los Gatos Businesses, Los Gatos Events
Art lovers, this one’s for you! JCO’s Art Haus, an appointment-only gallery on University Avenue in Los Gatos, will be open to the public for one weekend only selling their curated collection at studio prices. The Very Very Rare Affordable Art Fair will take place at the studio and will represent local and international artists in a warehouse space.
Dates & Times:
•Thursday, April 25 4 pm to 9 pm
(Reservations required – opening reception, 6 pm — 8 pm)*
•Fri., April 26 10 — 7
•Sat, April 27 10 — 7
•Sun., April 28 12 — 6
(MEET THE ARTISTS, 4 — 6)
Whether you’re planning on decorating your new home, or just want to window shop, this is a great opportunity to check out a large collection you might not otherwise see.
For more information and to RSVP, visit the JCO event page at this link: http://www.jcosplace.com/art-fair/
Planning on going? Check in or share your interest on the Facebook Event Page here: https://www.facebook.com/events/258144291756420/
by Mary Pope-Handy | Mar 12, 2010 | Irrelevant Fun
March 12, 2010
It’s that time of year again! Don’t forget to move your clocks forward 1 hour Saturday night.
And, while you are at it, change the batteries in your smoke detectors, too.
by Mary Pope-Handy | Mar 8, 2008 | Irrelevant Fun
March 08, 2008
www.realtown.com/LiveInLosGatos/blog/irrelevantbutfun/time-change-reminder-move-clocks-ahead-tonight”>Time Change Reminder: Move Clocks Ahead Tonight
Date: Mar. 8, 2008
Tags: None

A quick reminder: this is the night to move your clocks forward one hour. Daylight savings time is coming to an end!