Events
Fiesta de Artes in Los Gatos
Saturday August 11th and Sunday August 12th mark the return of the Fiesta de Artes Los Gatos, Art & Wine Festival, the only Art & Wine Festival in town all year! It will be located at the Civic Center lawn, and the hours are 10 am to 6 pm both days.
What happens at the Fiesta de Artes?
Think food & drink, art & shopping, dancing & socializing! Once again, there will be more than 150 vendors with a huge variety of artists and vendors displaying and selling their artwork, plus booths with food and wine and of course loads of music throughout both days. The hours are 10am to 7pm Saturday and 10am to 5pm Sunday, but music plays a little longer ending at 9pm on Saturday and starting an hour before Sunday events open.
Where is the Fiesta de Artes held?
In previous years, the festival reserved the Civic Center lawn across the street from Los Gatos High School. Last year it was a block party on N Santa Cruz, but it has been moved back to the Civic Center lawn again for 2018.
For more information, please visit http://www.lgfiesta.org/
Southern Kitchen Coffee Shop Celebrates 25 Years
On Saturday, March 3rd, Southern Kitchen marks an impressive 25 years of service*. This family-owned restaurant has been providing savory and sweet flavors with a touch of the South on E. Main Street for years – if you don’t know them you should!
Southern Kitchen invites you to celebrate with them, with a ribbon cutting and champagne toast from noon to 1pm (details on the Los Gatos Chamber events page). The restaurant’s web page does not have any information on the event, but it is advertised some on their social media pages. Regular hours should still be in effect, so if you can’t make it Saturday at noon, drop by weekdays from 7am to 2pm and weekends from 7am to 3pm for a scrumptious meal.
Event page: https://www.losgatoschamber.com/events/details/ribbon-cutting-southern-kitchen-25th-anniversary-10583
Southern Kitchen’s website: http://www.southernkitchenlg.com/
*I just hit my 25th anniversary in real estate, too! Apparently 1993 was a very good year for beginnings!
Los Gatos Historic Home Tour
The annual Los Gatos historic home tour returns to town for one day only on April 21st, 2018, and tickets will be available to purchase online as soon as February 26th. Sponsored by the New Museum of Los Gatos (NUMU), the annual event showcases beautiful Los Gatos properties from different eras and frequently their gardens, too.
The focus of this 23rd annual Los Gatos historic home tour will be the lovely Johnson Avenue neighborhood!
Seven houses will be on display for tour-goers. The medley of event features also includes some live music and vintage cars for show on the street.
The NUMU site offers this teaser about the Los Gatos historic home tour: “The program guide provided to all tour goers includes historical and architectural information on the featured homes as well as back stories and trivia on the history of the Johnson Avenue neighborhood, including the locations of the former sites of a private zoo of exotic animals, and the baseball field where Los Gatan Hal Chase practiced. (He was later implicated in the Black Sox scandal of 1919.)”
Sunday evening, in lieu of the usual second tour day is a new event, entitled A Bigger Bash.
Please visit the link below or click on the image at the right to get all of the details and to purchase your advance tickets (more costly if you wait to the day of the event).
http://www.numulosgatos.org/hht
Please also see this list of downtown, central, and historic Los Gatos neighborhoods
Pumpkin Train at Oak Meadow Park
The Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad is getting into the Halloween Spirit! Costumes are encouraged! Get all the details at
http://bjwrr.org/pumpkin-train-at-oak-meadow/
Or, find information on the BJWRR calender page.
Los Gatos Celebrates July 4th, Independence Day, Join in the Fun!
It’s officially summer and Independence Day is fast approaching. What are your plans for the fourth?
Downtown Los Gatos has plenty going on!
First up, a block party:
Between 10:30 am and 4 pm the Saturday before Independence Day, a portion of Downtown Los Gatos will be closed to traffic for a patriotic block party! There will be live music on multiple stages, games, crafts, red, white, and blue decorations, face painting, a bounce house, and a dunk tank. Pedal in to avoid traffic and make use of the bike valet service! Enjoy shopping and dining at all your usual haunts downtown for a break from the sun. Catch the fun at North Santa Cruz Avenue from Main Street to Bachman Avenue.
Check out the block party events page on the Town website, share the flier with a friend, and plan the day with the schedule of events through the links.
Next up, the annual 4th of July Symphony and celebration!
The San Jose Wind Symphony will come together once again at Oak Meadow Park under the bandstand. There will be great American music, barbecue, beer, snacks, games, a few words shared, train rides on the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad, carousel rides, and good fun for the family. So take some friends, wine, and a picnic, or a pooch and a Frisbee and enjoy your day at the park! Bring something to sit on, protect yourself from the sun, and prepare yourself to have some fun! Remember, parking in Oak Meadow is free to Town residents, but spots are limited so carpool if you can. Flag raising is at 4pm, and the concert starts at 4:15pm.
For more information, please see the info page on the town’s website for the July 4th happenings and the event flier.
Have a safe and happy Fourth, everyone!
Kid friendly things to do in and near Los Gatos
Will you be visiting Los Gatos for a day or weekend, or staying for a lifetime? Either way, there are tons of things to do for children of all ages both in and near Los Gatos.
Outdoors
If the weather’s fine, as it often is here, you might start by introducing your kids to Oak Meadow and Vasona Parks, which are adjacent to each other. Oak Meadow includes a great airplane that kids can climb on, a beautiful carousel and a small train that loops into Vasona and back. Vasona has paddle boats that can be rented (seasonally). And of course there’s lots of playground equipment and sprawling lawn for those who want to toss a ball or frisbee around. For time outdoors, these parks are hard to beat. Read more about these very cool parks here: https://liveinlosgatosblog.com/vasona-and-oak-meadow/
The Youth Science Institute is a program offered at Vasona to help educate students on nature. This is not a one day event but is extremely worthwhile. Check it out: http://www.ysi-ca.org/
If your little people like to hike and explore, the Montalvo estate and grounds in Saratoga is a great nearby option on a dry day, too. Montalvo is an arts center but there are wonderful trails which can be enjoyed. But no picnicing, sorry! Learn more at my Valley of Heart’s Delight blog: http://sanjoserealestatelosgatoshomes.com/great-time-of-year-to-visit-villa-montalvo/
All ages: any of the free music events, all of which are out doors, virtually all summer long in Los Gatos!
https://liveinlosgatosblog.com/los-gatos-free-music-concert-series-music-in-the-park-jazz-on-the-plazz-and-vasona-vibrations-schedule-of-events-and-performers/
Touristy but still fun
Roaring Camp and Big Trees http://www.roaringcamp.com/
The Mystery Spot http://www.mysteryspot.com/
The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk http://beachboardwalk.com/
California’s Great America in Santa Clara (amusement park, rides) https://www.cagreatamerica.com/
Time to eat!
There are MANY great kid-friendly restaurants in Los Gatos. A few of my favorites are these:
- The Diner of Los Gatos (hot dogs and burgers come in paper “cars”) http://.LGDiner.com
- Andale – patio dining http://andalemexican.com
- Double D’s sports bar – lots of tv screens, pool table, things going on, not stuffy! http://www.doubleds.com/
- Gelato at Dolce Spazio (or Fro Yo elsewhere) http://www.dolcespazio.com/
Indoor Fun
The Children’s Discovery Museum in San Jose https://www.cdm.org/
The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose https://www.thetech.org/
Petroglyph (in Los Gatos, Willow Glen, and Santa Cruz locally) http://www.petroglyph.com/
More?
Looking for more ideas? There’s a slightly longer list of kid friendly things to do on another of my blogs. Have a read:
http://sanjoserealestatelosgatoshomes.com/kids-in-silicon-valley-fun-places-to-go/
Tim Rogerson, Disney Artist, at Amour D'Art Fine Art Gallery May 10th, 2014 from 1-6pm
Disney art fans, take note! Tim Rogerson, Disney artist, will be at a downtown Los Gatos gallery in a couple of days. Take the opportunity to purchase pieces and watch him paint original artwork in person on Saturday, May 10th from 1 to 6pm! There will be wine tasting from the Loma Prieta winery also. The Amour d’Art Gallery is located at 216 N. Santa Cruz Avenue, Los Gatos, CA. Additional details at http://www.amourdart.com
Los Gatos Girls Night Out
January 26, 2013
The third annual “Girls Night Out” in Los Gatos is this upcoming Monday, January 28th, 2013, from 5:30 to 8pm at the Toll House. Sponsoring this event is the Los Gatos Visitor’s Bureau, which is a partnership between the Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce and the Town of Los Gatos. The Chamber’s website describe the evening as
. . . an evening of fun at the Toll House Hotel featuring beautiful fashions, fun shopping, sample beauty services, delicious light appetizers, fine wines and more!
For all the details and the opportunity to register, please see the Chamber’s website:
http://losgatoschamber.chambermaster.com/events/details/girls-night-out-2013-787
Looking For Something To Do In Los Gatos?
February 08, 2011
Feeling like you want to get out, engage with the Los Gatos community and wondering what you can do? I’ve got some ideas for you!
The Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce has a wonderful events calendar that covers every month of 2011. There are three neat items showcased for February alone. Take a moment and pop over to the Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce Community Calendar for 2011 and bookmark the link!
If you have time to volunteer in Los Gatos, the town welcomes your participation! We have one of the highest rates of volunteerism in our region. Check out the opportunities to give back to the community, get to know your neighbors and have fun in the process on the Los Gatos town website.
Our local hospitals can use your helping hands, too. Years ago I worked as a chaplaincy volunteer at Good Samaritan Hospital for a year or two (they provided training) and I loved it. But there are many different volunteer jobs they have at Good Sam – here’s the link to find out. (Sadly, I could not find a link for chaplaincy volunteers at Good Sam. I hope that program hasn’t been ended. It was quite valuable.) The same is true at El Camino Hospital of Los Gatos. Learn about volunteering at El Camino and volunteering as a chaplain at El Camino.
Perhaps you want to get fit? There’s no shortage of opportunities with our great weather and oodles of places to swim, play tennis, lift weights and work out. One of the highest ranking fitness centers in Silicon Valley is right here in Los Gatos at the Jewish Community Center (which anyone can join). I still need to get over there and see it myself but I’ve heard nothing but raves about it.
The weather’s been fine and it’s a great time to get out & get involved. Hope to see you around the town!
Winding Down the Summer of 2010 in Los Gatos
August 20, 2010
Many Los Gatos school children are either back in school or shortly will be back in the classroom. Technically, summer lasts almost another month, but the unofficial end of the season usually coincides with the academic schedule or Labor Day rather than the actual calendar date.
It’s been a very cool summer, generally, one that didn’t require a lot of air conditioning for most of us. Many days it felt more like spring than summer. My family and I just returned from a vacation to San Diego (which I highly recommend!), where we heard it was the coldest summer in 70 years. Sounds like all of California had an extra mild season!
There’s still a little summer left to be enjoyed, though! If you have worked and busied yourself and wondering if you totally missed the boat on summer fun, it’s time to take a break and sneak in some helpful R & R.
Here in town, you can enjoy several great “end of summer” events, several of which are no-cost:
- There are 2 more afternoons of Music in the Park and one more Jazz in the Plazz. (Dates are Aug 22, 25 and 29 – check link above for details.)
- Visit Oak Meadow Park on Saturday, Aug 28th for the “End of Summer Night Ride” with a pasta dinner, carousel rides and a train ride at the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad.
- Labor Day plans? Calvary Church of Los Gatos invites you to their Chill & Grill on Monday, Sept 6th from 11-3 (no admission fee – this sounds like a great event, please check via the link!).
- On September 11th there’s Claws for a Cause at C Hannegan’s.
Enjoy the end of summer!
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