SAN JOSE SIZZLES WITH SUMMER EVENTS
SAN JOSE, CA (May 24, 2012) – Summer is made for play, and San Jose offers so many ways to do just that. From jazz festivals and restaurant week to gay pride and major sporting events, all with San Jose’s perfect weather as a backdrop, the city of innovation is the place to be this summer. For continued updates on events visit www.sanjose.org.
FESTIVALS AND CITYWIDE EVENTS
South FIRST FRIDAYS presents the 5th Annual SubZERO Festival Focused on emerging and present subcultures thriving in our region, SubZERO is an artistically bent, hi/lo-techno mashup where street meets geek. In addition to the South FIRST FRIDAYS monthly art walk you'll find outdoor stages of entertainment plus artists, performers & musicians celebrating the indie creative spirit. www.subzerofestival.com/
22nd Annual Vintners' Festival – June 9-10 This year’s festival, "A Taste of the Mountains," focuses on giving wine participants a self-guided tour of the Santa Cruz Mountains Wine Region. Guests take part in barrel tasting, meeting winemakers' and enjoying music, art and good food. Visitors may also wander through many of the winery gardens, and picnic in the picturesque surroundings. www.scmwa.com
Juneteenth Festival – June 16-17 African American Community Service Agency brings 2 days of live music and food to Plaza de Cesar Chavez Park in the heart of downtown. http://www.bayareajuneteenth.org/
Dine Downtown Restaurant Week 2012 - June 20 –July 1 More than 25 of downtown’s best restaurants offer imaginative three-course prix fixe menus at affordable $20, $30 and $40 prices points to new and loyal customers. The “week” kicks off with the popular and energy-filled City Bites sampler event throughout downtown. www.sjdowntown.com
Silicon Valley Music Festival – June 24 – 29 This week-long music festival celebrates classical chamber music at the Center for the Performing Arts. www.svmusicfestival.org
Fountain Blues Festival – July 14 St. James Park in San Jose comes alive this July with the sounds of Blues, including a Chicago Blues Guitar Shootout with Lurrie Bell and John Primer and performances by Ruthie Foster,
CANNED HEAT and a headliner to be announced June 1. www.sjdowntown.com
Japantown’s Obon Festival - July 14-15 Japantown's largest festival with two days of game booths, food booths, cultural exhibits and demonstrations, the Chidori Band, San Jose Taiko and over 1,200 dancers in full costume each evening. www.sjbetsuin.com
Santa Cruz Mountains Wine Passport Program – July 21 Wine lovers can visit more than 50 participating wineries that are not normally open to the public. www.scmwa.com
KraftBrew Summerfest – July 21 Sample kraft brew from over 12 breweries, enjoy live music and gourmet food, on historic Post Street. http://www.facebook.com/pages/KraftBrew-Fest/188260571219991
Symphony Silicon Valley’s Target Summer Pops Music Festival – July 28 – August 5 This free outdoor summer music festival brings free professional orchestral music to the community in delightful fully produced lawn concerts on the green at San Jose State University. www.symphonysiliconvalley.org
San Jose Renaissance Faire – August 4-5 See about 800 costumed performers bring Shakespeare’s England to life with parades, pageants, and fun townsfolke, as well as musicians, jugglers, and the ribaldry of actors drawing you even deeper into the Renaissance. Around 100 artisans display beautifully crafted masterpieces in the village. sanjosefaire.com
23nd Annual AT&T San Jose Jazz Festival – August 10-12, 2012 San Jose downtown beckons with the melodies of jazz every autumn. Over 1,000 jazz artists and 100,000 jazz music lovers meet in San Jose for a weekend of musical variety, tradition, and innovation. From Friday afternoon to Sunday evening, music lovers converge on the heart of Silicon Valley to enjoy three days of jazz, blues, salsa, Latin, R&B, electronica and many other forms of contemporary music. www.sanjosejazz.org
San Jose Gay Pride Festival - August 20-21
The festival includes live entertainment in Discovery Meadow, with a parade beginning at 10:30 a.m. Saturday festivities are free and Sunday events are ticketed. www.sanjosepride.com
Italian Family Festa – August 25 – 26
Enjoy authentic Italian foods, multiple stages of live entertainment, wine tasting, Bocce Ball, strolling the numerous arts and crafts merchants and more.http://www.italianfamilyfestasj.org/
PERFORMING AND VISUAL ARTS
Nederlander presents United Farm Workers Benefit Concert – June 22 Kris Kristofferson and special guest Los Tex-Maniacs with Mingo Saldivar perform to benefit the United Farm Workers, the oldest Latino organization to come out of the 1960’s civil rights movement and the largest farm worker organization in America. www.nederlanderconcerts.com
Lyric Theater presents Gilbert & Sullivan's “The Gondoliers” – June 23- July 1 The lovely bride of the King of Baratiria comes to Venice to meet the man she was pledged to in childhood. She learns her young prince was mixed up with a gondolier's son, so they must rule together until it is proven which is king. Plays at the Montgomery Theater. www.lyrictheatre.org
Nederlander presents The Dukes of September Rhythm Revue – June 30 Following the fervent reception of their previous tour in summer/fall of 2010, GRAMMY Award-winning singer songwriters Donald Fagen, Michael McDonald and Boz Scaggs are hitting the road again this summer as "The Dukes of September Rhythm Revue." San Jose Civic. www.nederlanderconcerts.com
Marquez Brothers Public Dance – July 7-8 The San Jose Convention Center rocks with the hottest Mexican bands. www.elmexicanopresenta.com
Children’s Musical Theater San Jose’s “Bye Bye Birdie” – July 13-22 This musical theater classic takes you back to the 1950's as teen heart-throb Conrad Birdie promises one final kiss to an adoring fan before he heads into the army. Montgomery Theater. www.cmtsj.org
Midsummer Mozart Festival – July 19-26 Enjoy the only music festival in North America dedicated exclusively to Mozart. California Theater. www.midsummermozart.org
LiveNation presents Aziz Ansari – July 19
One of today’s most popular comedians live at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts. www.ticketmaster.com
Anthony Robbins' Unleash the Power Within (UPW) – July 19-22
San Jose Convention Center. www.tonyrobbins.com
Nederlander presents Il Divo – July 20 The world's foremost classical crossover quartet. San Jose Civic. www.nederlanderconcerts.com
Nederlander presents The Wiggles – July 22
Don’t miss the world’s most famous children’s entertainment group in their last year with their original lineup. San Jose Civic. www.nederlanderconcerts.com
Nederlander presents Yanni at the San Jose Civic – July 24
Enjoy the unique music of award-winning Greek contemporary instrumental composer and performer Yanni, who performed live in concert in more than 20 countries around the world. www.sanjosecivic.com
Children’s Music Theater Presents “Xanadu” – July 27-August 5
Xanadu follows the journey of a magical and beautiful Greek muse, Kira, who descends from the heavens of Mt. Olympus to Venice Beach, California in 1980 on a quest to inspire a struggling artist, Sonny, to achieve the greatest artistic creation of all time. Montomery Theater. www.cmtsj.org
Children’s Music Theater Presents “Rapunzel” – August 9-12
This witty, tongue-in-cheek retelling of a perennial favorite gives us a possessive mother who happens to be a witch, a tentative young man who happens to be a prince and a strong-willed but naive young girl with the longest hair you're ever likely to come across comes to the Montgomery Theater this summer. www.cmtsj.org
Nederlander presents Yes – August 14
The Grammy award winning, ground-breaking progressive rock band YES plays at the San Jose Civic. www.nederlanderconcerts.com
LiveNation presents Brian Regan – August 23
One of today’s most popular comedians live at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts. www.ticketmaster.com
FREE OUTDOOR CINEMA AND ARTWALKS
South First Fridays Street Markets 2011 - June 1, August 3 and September 7 A diverse showcase of musicians and artists, the three South First Friday Street Markets take place in conjunction with the monthly First Friday art gallery crawls in the SoFA District. Includes live music and more than 35 artisan booths. The June event – a.k.a. SubZero – expands to more than three blocks. Takes place on South First Street between San Carlos and San Salvador Streets from 6 p.m.– 11:30 p.m. www.southfirstfridays.com
Starlight Cinemas 2012 – Seven Thursdays June 14 – August 23 and Friday, August 31 Take advantage of San Jose’s gorgeous weather by grabbing a lawn chair or blanket and enjoying free films under the stars in three of downtown’s central neighborhoods: San Pedro Square, the Historic District/Post St. and SoFA District/South First St. Pre-screening entertainment changes with the season, starting as early as 6:30 p.m., followed by the feature film at dusk. The climax of the eight-night series this year – the fourth annual Zombie-O-Rama – will take place Friday, Aug. 31. Includes fashion show, costume contests, live music, a young zombies parade for the entire family, and a “zombie crawl” and parade that passes a dozen participating bars and restaurants throughout downtown San Jose (both before and after the movie screening of “Shaun of the Dead”). www.sjdowntown.com
SPORTING EVENTS
9th Shark City Nationals & Tiger Claw's 4th KungFuMagazine.com Championships – June 9 San Jose South Hall. www.kungfumagazine.com
No Dinx Open Championships– June 16-18, 2012 Vollyball championship at the at the San Jose Convention Center.. www.ncva.com
USA Gymnastics Rhythmic and Trampoline National Championships– June 26-28 San Jose Convention Center. www.usagym.org
Team San Jose (TSJ)
Team San Jose, Inc. is an innovative partnership unifying the San Jose Convention and Visitors Bureau, hotels, arts, labor and venues to deliver an exceptional visitor experience and serve as the gateway to San Jose as a destination. Our company manages the San Jose Convention Center and Arts and Entertainment venues including the California Theatre, the Center for the Performing Arts, Montgomery Theater, Parkside Hall, San Jose Civic and South Hall. For more information about San Jose and Team San Jose, please visit the new www.sanjose.org.