May 9, 2008

News Briefs

Boogie on down

The Campbell Chamber of Commerce [CCOC] announced the 30th annual Boogie on the Bayou Festival to be held Saturday, May 17 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, May 18 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in historic downtown Campbell. The success of outdoor festival continues to grow in popularity attracting local county residents to bay area wide Boogie on the Bayou aficionados.

“People come with a good attitude ready to enjoy Cajun and Louisiana culture without the humid sweltering climate of New Orleans,” said CCOC Executive Director Betty Deal.

The Boogie on the Bayou Festival will feature nine different bands performing Cajun, Dixieland, Boogie Blues and Jazz and Caribbean Calypso music. Back by popular demand, Motordude Zydeco headlines the main stage on Sunday from 2:15 p.m. to 5 p.m.

From every corner of downtown Campbell live performances of banjos, washtub bass, piano, accordion, guitar, rub board and drum rolls will have everyone tapping their toes. Strutters will show off their carnival spirit and boogie down Campbell Avenue from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. in a New Orleans spirited parade. Participation from community groups, along with enthusiastic people eager to join the festivity, as well as the decorated umbrellas make the procession a colorful attraction not to be missed.

This year’s Boogie on the Bayou will serve traditional food and drink including beignets, crawfish and zucchini, red beans, jambalaya, seafood gumbo and for the brave, alligator-on-a-stick. In addition, plenty of beer, wine and specialty drinks will be on hand.

Over 125 artists and craftsman throughout California will participate in the event, with over three-quarters of this year’s exhibitors having participated in past years. The juried arts and crafts fair draws hundreds of applicants each year, with every possible medium of work represented, including painting, pottery, photography, sculpture, metal work, jewelry, furniture, porcelain and ceramics, wearable art and much more.

Boogie on down to Campbell Avenue for this unique Cajun style family event. Sponsors include KRTY, the Campbell Reporter, A Tool Shed, Budweiser Light and the Campbell Times. For more information contact Campbell Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Betty Deal at (408) 378-6252, ccoc@pacbell.net.

Tell Mom you love her

The Downtown Campbell Business Association cordially invites everyone to a Mom's Day Soiree in Downtown Campbell. At participating stores, Saturday, May 10 from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m., there will be music, refreshments, Mother's Day specials, and a raffle. Shop for mom or bring her along for the fun.

Participating shops include: Bella James, Bombshell Boutique, Embellishes, Garofalo's Interiors & Antiques, Gelato Classico, The Olive Bar, Simply Smashing, Toastshop, and Trailsloggers Outdoor Discovery Gear.

And if you're a woman aged 21 or over, be sure to stop by the Cardiiff Lounge, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., for Bombshell Boutique's Hot Mama Day Party, featuring a fashion show, sexy shoe contest, free 5-minute massages, and more!

Downtown Campbell Free Wi-Fi Network launched!

Now you can stay connected online while enjoying life in Downtown Campbell! Social Wave is pleased to announce that they are providing Free Wi-Fi service in downtown Campbell. The Wi-Fi service is available in most outdoor areas of downtown Campbell and can be accessed by anyone with a Wi-Fi enabled device. To get on, just connect to the network named DowntownCampbellFreeWiFi.

For information about optimal coverage areas, see the coverage map at www.downtowncampbell.com. You'll get the best connectivity if you're trying to get on from an area colored blue on the map, but please note that your connection quality can vary widely even within the optimal areas. If you're having difficulty connecting, try changing locations.

Finding out what works

Patricia Appelquist (pictured) will host a Town Hall style meeting to introduce herself as a Campbell City Council candidate and work with the public on quality of life issues facing residents on May 29 at the Campbell Library Community Room from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Appelquist will be joined by speaker Michelle Randall from the Juncture Company and author of "Winning without Compromising Yourself."

Campbell painted purple for ACS Relay For Life

Campbell Mayor Donald R. Burr supported Blendz Cancer Awareness efforts and declared May 1 Paint Our Town Purple to encourage participation in the American Cancer Society’s (ACS) annual Relay For Life.

Volunteers met at Blendz and went door-to-door attaching purple ribbons and purple balloons on Campbell Avenue downtown businesses’ storefront windows to raise awareness and encourage involvement in Relay For Life, the ACS’s largest event and fundraiser.

If you are interested in learning more about the ACS Campbell Relay For Life held on July 12 and 13 or if you would like to become a relay sponsor [your company’s logo placed on the participant’s t-shirts] attend the Team Captain’s meeting on May 15 at 7 p.m. at the American Cancer Society, Santa Clara County Unit, 747 Camden Ave., Ste B, Campbell.

The ACS Relay For Life is the largest not-for-profit fundraising event in the world. It is a 24-hour team event that raises awareness of cancer in the community and raises funds to fight the disease. It is the American Cancer Society’s signature event.

For more information on Relay For Life or to register visit www.cancer.org.

Family Fun Day on May 18

Campbell Historical Museum will host a Family Fun Day on May 18. While downtown Campbell hosts Boogie on the Bayou Festival, families can visit the museum and enjoy free crafts activities for kids. The activities are self-paced with tables set-up throughout the museum with directions and supplies on each table. Activities will include: dressing up in vintage fashions, puppet making, designing canned fruit labels, and more.

Campbell Historical Museum is located at 51 N. Campbell Ave. It will be open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. for the event. Admission is $5 per person, children 3 and under are free. For more information call (408) 866-2119. 

RENT comes to Flint Center

The 2007-2008 national touring production of “RENT” features Heinz Winckler as Roger Davis and Anwar Robinson as Tom Collins. The Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning Broadway musical “RENT” written by Jonathan Larson and directed by Michael Greif, is coming to the Flint Center in Cupertino for one performance only at 7 p.m. on Sunday, May 18.

"RENT" comes to the Flint Center for one performance only on May 18. Photo copyright Joan Marcus

Winckler was the winner of the first South African Idol in 2002 and the fourth place finalist in the 2003 inaugural World Idol competition, in which he competed against American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson. Robinson was the seventh place finalist on the fourth season of American Idol. He has performed in the Toronto production of “West Side Story,” has recorded three hit albums, and sang the song “Chasing Shadows” for the Walt Disney movie “Treasure Planet.” Other accomplishments include the People Magazine award for Hottest Hunk, South Africa’s Hottest Artist and Best Male Personality as well as featured in Cosmopolitan’s Sexy Man Calendar.

Robinson will make his stage debut in this touring production of “RENT.” American audiences will recall Robinson as the music teacher who was rocketed to television stardom on season four of the pop-culture phenomenon American Idol. His vocal range quickly landed him a coveted spot in Idol’s Top 10, where Judge Paula Abdul touted him as “technically the best singer of the competition.” Robinson has toured the country as part of the “Idols Live” show. The New Jersey native has worked and appeared with a number of music icons, including Clive Davis, Patti Labelle, Kelly Price, Byron Cage and Pastor Donnie McClurkin. Robinson recently released his debut album, “The Truth About Love.”

“RENT” is the theatrical experience that transformed how a generation feels about musicals, changed Broadway forever and inspired a major motion picture. Set in the New York City’s East Village, “RENT” is about being young and learning to survive, falling in love, finding your voice and living for today. The show received its world premiere off-Broadway at the New York Theatre Workshop on Feb. 13, 1996 to ecstatic reviews and became a sold-out hit. It continues to play at The Nederlander Theater.

The success of “RENT” is always tempered by the death of its creator, Jonathan Larson. Larson died unexpectedly of an aortic aneurysm on the morning of Jan. 25, 1996, just hours after “RENT’s” final dress rehearsal off-Broadway, and 10 days before his 36th birthday.

“RENT” is presented by Jam Theatricals and the Flint Center as part of the 2007-2008 Broadway at Flint Center Season in Cupertino. Tickets range from $40 to $60 and are on sale now. They can be purchased at the Flint Center box office, online at ticketmaster.com, by phone at (408) 998-8497, and at all Ticketmaster locations. Discounts are available for groups of 20 or more by calling (408) 864-5885.

A razzle-dazzle good time

The 1920s roar back with a vengeance when the hit musical “Chicago” comes to Flint Center in Cupertino at 8 p.m. on May 30 and 31.

Based on the 1926 play by Maurine Dallas Watkins [which was based on real events], “Chicago” is, as we are told in the show’s opening lines, “a story of murder, greed, corruption, violence, exploitation, adultery and treachery—all the things we hold near and dear to our hearts." The story revolves around Roxie Hart, a nightclub dancer who dreams of starring in vaudeville. She kills her lover, nightclub regular Fred Casely, and convinces her husband to front the money to hire Chicago's shrewdest defense lawyer. The lawyer, Billy Flynn, turns her crime of passion into celebrity headlines, and Roxie becomes the toast of Chicago—until other crimes pull the limelight away from her.

Chicago was created by John Kander and Fred Ebb [known for their hit musicals “Cabaret” and “Kiss of the Spider Woman”] and Bob Fosse [famous for his innovative staging and choreography]. It first opened on Broadway on June 3, 1975 and ran 898 performances. Its current Broadway revival [on which this tour is based] opened Nov. 14, 1996, and is still running.

In 2002 Miramax Films took the Tony Award winning musical to the big screen, starring Renee Zellweger as Roxie Hart, Catherine Zeta-Jones as Velma Kelley and Richard Gere as Billy Flynn. The box office success and subsequent multiple Oscar wins including Best Supporting Actress for Zeta-Jones and Best Picture lead to the rebirth of the musical and touring success. For the first time since the movie “Chicago” is live in Cupertino. This production contains adult situations.

“Chicago” is presented by Jam Theatricals and the Flint Center as part of the 2007-2008 Broadway at Flint Center Season in Cupertino. Tickets, ranging from $41 to $61, are on sale now and can be purchased at Flint Center box office, online at ticketmaster.com, by phone at (408) 998-8497, and at all Ticketmaster locations.

The Assistance League of Los Gatos-Saratoga signature fundraiser on May 18 presents San Francisco Lamplighters Musical Theater with Gilbert and Sullivan performers Bruce Hoard and Arthur Jonathan Spencer.

Assistance League presents the Lamplighters singing Gilbert and Sullivan

The Assistance League of Los Gatos-Saratoga presents their eighth annual signature fundraiser with a performance of the Lamp-lighters singing Gilbert and Sullivan at the Saratoga Retirement Community, 14500 Fruitvale Ave., Saratoga on May 18.

An afternoon of music with one presentation at 12:30 and another at 2:15 promises beautiful surroundings and wine and gourmet hors d' oeuvres. This is a one time only performance in Saratoga featuring a potpourri of magical music and witty lyrics of Gilbert and Sullivan by the Lamplighters Music Theater of San Francisco accompanied and directed by Baker Peeples. A silent auction will follow as well as Saratoga Vice Mayor Chuck Page serving as the auctioneer for the live auction.

Seating is limited to 100 guests each performance. Tickets are $75. For more information contact Assistant League of Los Gatos-Saratoga chairperson Jillian Ring at (408) 741-5834 or visit www.allgs.org. For tickets call Linda Krain at (408) 867-3374.