Entertainment

Los Gatos Youth Theatre summer musicals

The amazing Los Gatos Youth Theatre has two productions being presented this month:

  • The Sound of Music, Youth edition (ages 7 – 14) and
  • Disney’s Freaky Friday, Encore group (high school students ages 14-19).

The actors and crew have been working hard for weeks to make these shows spectacular!  All the details are below.

 

Los Gatos Youth Theater summer productions 2022

 

Los Gatos Youth Theater 2022 lineup, dates, ticket prices, and location

 

The Sound of Music – Youth Edition

Reprise group: ages 7-14

July 14th 7:00pm

July 15th 7:00pm

July 16th 2:00 and 7:00p

July 17th 1:00pm

Disney Freaky Friday – a New Musical

Freaky Friday – Encore group

High School students age 14-19

July 21st 7:00pm

July 22nd 7:00pm

July 23rd 2:00pm, 7:00pm

July 24th 12:00pm, 5:00pm

Purchase tickets at www.Lgyt.net

 

This year, the performances will be at the R. J. Fisher auditorium, an indoor theater.  Masks are required in the audience.

Ticket prices
Children: $10 (10 yrs and under, section is the first 4 rows and smaller kid seats)

Student: $17
Adult: $20

 

Los Gatos Youth Theatre logo

Tickets on sale @ https://lgyt.seatyourself.biz

marketing@lgyt.net

The Los Gatos Youth Theater is nearly 13 years old and is a non-profit. Interested in participating? Reach out at marketing@lgyt.net

Learn more about Los Gatos Youth Theatre at https://LGYT.net/. 

 

 

The Promenade: Strolling Downtown Los Gatos with Live Music this Summer! 7/1 – 8/12, 2021

Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce: The Promenade Thursdays poster
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!

Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce: Thursday Promenades Live Music Schedule 2021
Musical lineup, taken from the Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce Facebook page. Click to see the original post.

Full Spectrum Jazz Performs Monthly at the Los Gatos Lodge

October 01, 2009

Once a month or so, the highly talented band,  Full Spectrum Jazz, performs at the Los Gatos Lodge. Over the summer they played at Jazz on the Plazz in Los Gatos, so you may be familiar with them already.  This is a local group, and a few members are even residents of the town of Los Gatos. Their next performance there will be in the evening of October 15th (please check the schedules online at the band’s website and the Lodge’s website).

Full Spectrum Jazz plays a variety of jazz styles, and at times also employ a vocalist. When we were there in mid-September, Duane Lawrence joined them for part of each set. Duane has a beautiful voice & is an enthusiastic singer – the two complimented each other very well.

Below are some photos I took in mid-September. Unfortunately the lighting was such that members to the far left and far right were not too well illuminated, so my apologies that a number of band members and Duane Lawrence are not in these pics (they just didn’t turn out).  Come check them out for yourself two weeks from now!  (There’s no cover charge and drinks & munchies are reasonably priced.)

Full Spectrum Jazz performs at the Los Gatos Lodge monthly

Full Spectrum Jazz performing at the Los Gatos Lodge

Joel Karp & Roger Levinson are featured in a song composed by Roger Levinson

The Los Gatos Lodge is located at 50 Los Gatos – Saratoga Road, Los Gatos, California.  (Los Gatos-Saratoga Road is also known as Highway 9)  It is just east of Highway 17, between the freeway and Los Gatos Boulevard.  There’s plenty of parking too.

Free Music Lineup This Weekend in Los Gatos

July 06, 2007


The weather this weekend is anticipated to be nearly perfect in Los Gatos, with temps reaching only to the low or middle 80’s. It’s a perfect time to be outdoors, and what better way than to take in some of the town’s delightful free music?

Here’s what’s doing in downtown Los Gatos this weekend:

Saturday, July 7, 12 noon – 2pm at Border’s in Old Town: Daphna Rahmil (Jazz & Folk)

Saturday, July 7: 5 – 7 pm at Vasona Park: Leanne Weatherly Band (Jazz)

Sunday, July 8, 6:30 – 8pm at the Civic Center Lawn: Becca and Carlos Reyes (country)

From Los Gatos to Santa Cruz: A Quick Trip

June 12, 2007


The beach at Santa Cruz, CAHave you been “over the hill” yet this season?

To locals, that means traversing the Santa Cruz Mountains (also known as The Coastal Range) to get to Santa Cruz county. Usually the destination is one of the many beaches along the Monterey Bay: Santa Cruz, Capitola, Rio del Mar being some of my favorites. Depending on traffic, the trip is usually about a half hour by car. So by Silicon Valley standards, it’s very close.

The Log Ride at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk in Santa Cruz, CA - photo by Mary Pope-HandyA major destination on the other side of “The Hill”, particularly when out-of-town visitors arrive on your Los Gatos doorstep, is The Boardwalk. This year, the Boardwalk is celebrating its 100th aniversary, so there’s even more going on than usual!

For instance, this Saturday night, the Boardwalk features a fireworks display that should be incredible in honor of the milestone birthday. The show will be choreographed to music and will begin at 9pm.

Additionally, every Friday night (beginning June 22nd) there will be free concerts at the Boardwalk, called Bands on the Beach. The music begins at 6:30pm and again at 8:30pm.

The Giant Dipper, built in 1924, at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Photo by Mary Pope-HandyThere are some good deals to be had at the Boardwalk if you just plan ahead.  First, if you think you’ll be back more than once this season, get a season pass. This is especially helpful if you have visitors here from out of the area. Also if you visit the amusement park’s site, there are cupons you can print online too. Oh, and admission is free – it’s only the rides, food, and souveniers that will cost you. Even if your goal is simply people-watching, you’ll have plenty to do at the Boardwalk!

And here’s a little secret that I didn’t find on the Boardwalk’s website: starting June 25th, “1907 Nights” are back. On Monday and Tuesday evenings after 5pm, rides are a mere 75 cents each (the Giant Dipper is usually $4.50!!)

So go early (avoid monstrous “beach traffic” if you go on weekends by getting onto Highway 17 by 10am), park close, and pack layers so you can stay a good long time, even if the fog rolls in. Have a great time.  And don’t forget the sunscreen! 

No Prohibition in Los Gatos: Bars in Los Gatos

Bars in Los Gatos? You bet. Carrie Nation is probably turning over in her grave since one of them is named after her.

A strong advocate for the Women’s Christian Temperance Movement, Carrie Nation was opposed to alcohol in a very big way. History has it that she attacked dozens of bars together with a band of praying & singing women and eventually wielded a a hatchet to make her point. In fact, in later years this seems to have become her “niche market” as her newsletter was called “The Hatchet”. Though jailed some 30 times, she paid her fines with lecture fees and  (believe it or not) the sales of small souvenir hatchets.

I suppose it is true that “actions speak louder than words”.  But it’s also true that irony is one of the funniest forms of humor.

And so it is quite humorous indeed to most folks in Los Gatos that one of the town’s most popular bars (and there’s no shortage of them)  is named none other than “Carrie Nation’s”.  In case you don’t know this colorful bit of history, the beveled glass in the main door portrays an ax.  (If nothing else, it’s a conversation starter!)   Located at 8 North Santa Cruz Avenue (close to Main Street), Carrie Nation’s is a fun place to stop in for a drink if you have a sense of humor and enjoy the old “fern bar” atmosphere.

There are many fine bars in Los Gatos. I was intent upon writing about them here until I found an excellent article in the San Jose Mercury News which did a beautiful job reviewing them. Depending on your mood and the circumstances, you may prefer Viva (at Los Gatos Blvd and Blossom Hill), Mountain Charlie’s, The Black Watch, or Johnny’s, or Double D’s or any of the great sites in town from Steamer’s or The Wine Cellar or who knows what. Read the article.  If you have kids in tow, I do suggest Double D’s  (at Highway 9 and North Santa Cruz Avenue) or Johnny’s Northside Grill (532 N Santa Cruz Ave).

But whether you frequent bars or not, next time you are in downtown Los Gatos, take a gander at 8 North Santa Cruz and enjoy a chuckle at the image of the hatchet on the door there.  Imagine what Carrie would have to say!