In 2014, 24 campers participated in Santa Clara University Camp Kesem’s inaugural summer camp. In 2015, 42 campers came. This year, the group is aiming to serve 55 children. What makes Camp Kesem’s summer camp unique is that it’s free and open to youth whose parents have, or have had, cancer. Kesem means “magic” in … Read more
At Westfield Valley Fair Mall’s Feb. 20 Lunar New Year celebration, master magician Dan Chan emerged on stage in a crimson red mask and a dark costume in the style of an ancient Chinese warrior’s uniform. While performing a dance with elegant fan waving and martial arts movements, Chan’s mask would repeatedly and swiftly switch … Read more
Pink, red and white M & M candies filled small cups on each table. Layered heart-shaped doilies served as coasters for tea pots. The tea cups came in lipstick red. Musician Benjamin Akeala Belew played jazz and love tunes on the piano. The Santa Clara Sister Cities Association got in the mood for Valentine’s Day … Read more
Patti Simone, associate professor of psychology at Santa Clara University, remembers growing up as the last of six children and being surrounded by an extended, loving family. Her father Karl Mueller, a World War II veteran of the United States Navy, still has many stories to share. Enriched by these stories, Simone believes it’s important … Read more
Jenny Gregg, children’s librarian at Central Park Library, led the 90 participants at the Feb. 6 Pete the Cat Pajama Party in song: “My buttons, my buttons, my four groovy buttons…Pop! Oh no! One of the buttons popped off and rolled across the floor. How many buttons are left?” Created by illustrator James Dean, Pete … Read more
At the front of the Central Park Library on Saturday, Jan. 30, children were launching handmade rockets. Indoors, near the teen reading area, other children were guiding robots across a race track. These were just a couple of the many activities of the STEM Innovation Bowl, sponsored by Kaiser Permanente. An estimated 8,000 people attended … Read more
A few years ago, Wendy Chang wanted to craft a handmade gift for her daughter’s eighth birthday. She found a pair of pants her daughter had outgrown and used her sewing smarts to fashion a cupcake from them, adding beads for icing. Chang continued with her sewing projects and eventually founded Sugar Plush, a one-year … Read more
“When I first started playing guitar, I had to remember to keep my wrists high and not to keep my elbow in or out,” says Micah Montgomery, 6. “Now I have to remember to keep my thumb out.” Montgomery has been studying guitar for one year at The California Conservatory of Guitar, based in Santa … Read more
Although the Year of the Monkey begins on Feb. 8 this year, Northside Library welcomed in the Lunar New Year on Saturday, Jan. 23 with daylong festivities. About 2,800 people came and participated in events, from watching lion dancers soar sky high, to enjoying beats from the ShanXi Drummers, to sampling pieces of thousand-year old … Read more
On Thursday, Jan.14, Cabrillo Middle School students dressed up in old Western attire-rustic vests, prairie dresses and boots- for their stage production of “Pecos Bill & Slue-Foot Sue Meet the Dirty Dan Gang,” directed by Adrienne Marquette. Any student who auditioned got a part, and students sang and danced uninhibitedly in front of supportive peers. … Read more