Comfortable temperatures and clear weather drew nearly 1,000 to kick-off the holiday season at Santa Clara's annual Tree Lighting Ceremony last Friday night. The honor of lighting this year’s tree went to Ann Tacchino, a long-time Senior Center Volunteer and former Senior Advisory Commissioner.
As always, Silicon Valley Power escorted Teddy, the bear that has crowned the city’s Christmas tree most years since 1911, to his post. Teddy will preside over the 2008 holiday season from his perch atop the stately 75-foot Colorado blue spruce in City Hall Park.
Presented by the city’s Senior Advisory Commission, the evening offered plenty to enjoy: Face painting, sweet treats, holiday musical favorites from the renowned Déjà Vu jazz band and Déjà Vu Too vocalists, and, of course, a visit from Santa with treats for the little ones.
This year Santa came to town in an antique-reproduction carriage drawn by 11-year-old Black Percheron stallion, Nick, his mane in a special show braid and decked out in an elegant parade harness for the occasion.
Santa's horse-drawn carriage was generously provided by Santa Clara firefighter Matt Conner, who owns several Percheron horses and offers holiday carriage rides that raise money for the Humane Society. Conner received Santa Clara's first-ever business license for a horse-drawn carriage business.
A Santa Clara native whose grandparents had horses, Conner's interest in the stately draught horses was sparked by seeing them on a visit to Disneyland. "I just like them – they're different," he says. "The Fire Department used Percherons back in the day."
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Local Artists Plan Art Show
By Cynthia Cheng
When local artists Lacey Bryant and Lara Sophia visited a thrift store, they found large bed sheets for sale at $4 per piece. The women took the sheets home and painted colorful, edgy portraits of their friends on the sheets.
On Saturday, Dec. 13, the two artists will host Oh Sheet! This art show will take place between 6-9 p.m. at Barefoot Coffee Roasters at 5237 Stevens Creek Blvd. in Santa Clara. The show will feature the bed sheet art as well as a number of other stunning portraits on traditional canvases.
Sophia holds a degree in Art with an emphasis in Education from California State University at Humboldt. She is currently working on a teaching credential so she could teach art to elementary school students.
“A lot of my art is very intuitive,” Sophia says. “[When I draw people], I try to catch a quirky emotion or an alluring ‘come hither’ sort of glance.”
Bryant holds a degree in Fine Art from Ohlone College in Fremont. She has been painting since 2000.
“I tend to like bright colors,” Bryant says. “I like color contrasts, shape contrasts, and contrasts of things that are three-dimensional next to something flat. For example, I like to have one part, like a face, that pops forward while the rest of the painting is a backdrop.”
It just so happens that both Bryant and Sophia cite Henri Matisse as one of their favorite artists. The two women favor the French artist’s use of flat spaces and unusual color combinations in his works of modern art.
In 2006, Bryant and Sophia started bouncing ideas with each other and decided to work with each other on a series of collaborative art projects, many of which wwill be displayed at the art show on Dec. 13th. The two artists’ work styles complement one another.
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Wedding Bells Ring at High Noon
By Alessio Cei As the noonday sun beat down in front of the Silver Dollar Saloon, the black-clad preacher looked out over the assembled crowd in their ten-gallon hats and fancy duds, and asked whether anyone objected to the marriage of Gretchen Simpkins and Paul Fry.
Saloon proprietor Shaughnessy McGehee racked his shotgun ominously, ready to defend his friends’ marriage, but no one objected – which is just as well, since his gun was loaded only with confetti.
Though the well-to-do wedding could have come straight out of the Wild West, Fry and Simpkins said their vows on October 25th, 2008. “We met about thirty-two years ago at Santa Clara University,” said Fry, a long-time resident of Santa Clara. “We had an art show together; he was the photographer, I did studio painting,” said Simpkins. The two reunited after the death of Simpkins’ previous husband.
The theme of the wedding emerged from Fry’s deep passion for American history. He is the president of the Gunslingers of the Old West, a historical re-enactment group that pays so much attention to accuracy that it has been called on to perform for historians. Fry even created a pile of bank notes as party favors, identical to the ones once issued by real banks. His enthusiasm has infected Simpkins, who now plays a part in train robberies enacted at Roaring Camp. “I get to shoot the shotgun,” said Simpkins gleefully.
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City Council Roundup: December 2, 2008 Meeting
By Larry Sacks
Roll Call
All Council Members were present.
Special Orders of Business
Mission Engineers, Inc. was recognized for their service to the Santa Clara community since 1953. According to the staff report, “the business has grown through the years and become one of the most respected engineering firms in the Santa Clara Valley and the Bay area. They have also provided engineering services to the City of Santa Clara for many decades. As one example, they were the engineering firm that provided work on the 1968 development of the Space Industrial Park in Santa Clara, 160+ acres bordering on the Bayshore Freeway, which was described in a front page story in the June 12, 1968 “Santa Clara Journal” as a ‘$1.1 million project, termed a ‘model industrial park’ by engineers, (and which) will feature underground power lines.”
Unfinished Business
• Amendment No. 1 to the consulting contract with Keyser Marston Associates, Inc., (KMA) was approved. This will increase the contract amount by $100,000 to a total not to exceed $250,000, for fiscal and economic analysis to assist staff in the San Francisco 49ers stadium Term Sheet negotiations.
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Police Botter: Week of December 6, 2008
Sunday, November 30th, 2008
Assault With A Deadly Weapon Location: 1800 Block of Monroe
Two brothers got into a fight at their home and one brother cut the other with a box cutter. The wounded brother walked to the Police Department where he reported that he had been stabbed. The Fire Department arrived to render first aid. As officers were responding to the home, the suspect brother also walked into the Police Department and surrendered. He was arrested and booked into County Jail.
Case Number 08-12791
Vehicle Tampering Location: 100 Block of Saratoga Avenue
A witness reported seeing two subjects attempting to break into a vehicle at an apartment complex. Officers located the suspects, a juvenile and an adult, and the witness positively identified them. The suspects were transported to the Temporary Holding Facility. The juvenile was cited and released to his mother and the adult suspect was cited and released.
Case Number: 08-12800
Monday, December 1st, 2008
Vandalism Location: 3100 Block of El Camino Real
The victim stopped his vehicle at a red light, but was a few feet into the crosswalk. The 73-year-old suspect was crossing the street and was unhappy about having to walk around the vehicle. The suspect used his cane to strike the victim’s vehicle numerous times and smash the windshield. The elderly suspect continued on his way to a local restaurant where he was arrested. He was booked into County Jail.
Case Number: 08-12835
Assault Location: 3000 Block of Benton Street
The victim was walking on the sidewalk in front of a high school when he was approached by three adult male suspects who demanded cigarettes and money. The victim told them that he did not have either. The suspects assaulted the victim, leaving him with a bloody lip and facial injuries. The suspects then fled.
Case Number: 08-12845
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