Dear Downtown San Jose Supporters,
Navigating back into the purple tier hasn't been easy for any of us. We want to thank you for doing your part in keeping the community safe and supporting our local businesses. We encourage you to keep these small businesses at the top of your mind when deciding where to order takeout or to shop for holiday gifts.
When you're strolling around downtown, please remember to be safe and wear your mask. Stop by Plaza de Cesar Chavez to see our holiday lights, and grab a treat from downtown before you leave!
As we head into 2021, let's take a look at everything that happened this past year at our Year in Review 2020 meeting this Friday, Dec. 11 at 8:15 am.
In this newsletter, you'll find:
We're all in this together.
|
|
SJDA Year in Review 2020 Meeting - This Friday, Dec. 11
|
|
|
|
|
SJDA’s annual year-in-review presentation will be virtual this year on Friday, Dec. 11, starting at 8:15 am. This meeting will also include the Golden Nail presentation and a farewell to SJDA and PBID Board of Directors members reaching the end of their terms. Register here.
|
|
|
|
Have you gone downtown to see the lights yet? We're celebrating the holidays differently this year with our new Light the Holiday Nights public space activation. This passive, festive light experience is meant to brighten your evening as you stroll through the heart of downtown at Plaza de Cesar Chavez. After shopping or dining downtown, stop by the park with your family to take photos and be surrounded by glowing trees, arches and holiday joy. Our 26-foot-tall stylized holiday tree will light the night every evening until Jan. 3. We hope these colorful lights brighten your spirits and bring a smile to your face. Viewing the lights by foot is one way to get outside and be safe while getting exercise, which is also important to our mind, body and spirit.
|
|
|
We're excited to announce that San Jose made it in Conde Nast Traveler as one of the top 30 best (and most festive) cities to spend Christmas! We are so proud to have such a rich history of Christmas in the Park (which started in the 1950s) and Downtown Ice. We're keeping the holiday spirit alive this year with Light the Holiday Nights at Plaza de Cesar Chavez. Stop on by! Read the full article here.
|
|
|
|
It's still the most wonderful time of the year! Our gift to you this holiday season is our Downtown for the Holidays weekly giveaway. Enter for your chance to win a holiday fun pack, a taste of downtown, a staycation or an art adventure. Good luck! Enter here.
|
|
|
#dtsjopen - The Holiday Show Must Go On (Virtually)!
|
|
|
|
You can still enjoy and support the performing arts by watching City Lights Theater Company's live streams at home. The artistry and talent in these holiday productions are still here for you to enjoy. Hear this special message from Executive Artistic Director Lisa Mallette.
|
|
|
Downtown San Jose Farmers' Market & Holiday Market
|
|
|
|
|
The Farmers' Market and Holiday Market are open for two more Fridays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at San Pedro Square! The Farmers' Market booths get a holiday makeover this Friday, Dec. 11 and Dec. 18. You get to judge which vendor booth has the best decorations. Make sure you stop by the Market to judge the holiday decor, pick out fresh produce and shop the artisan booths.
|
|
Make your holiday gifts more meaningful by shopping locally. Come find unique, handcrafted products and gifts at our Holiday Market's artisan booths, Moment shops and downtown small retail businesses. Our small, individual efforts add up to enough to keep our community growing. Spend locally to make sure your dollars stay within the community.
If you want more retail options and to support small businesses, check out our list of open retail in downtown to shop local. Our small downtown businesses are what make our community special, so let's make sure they are here to stay.
|
|
|
#DTSJ Restaurants - Dine Local
|
|
|
Despite the discontinuation of outdoor dining, there are still ways you can support your local downtown restaurants. If we all do our small part and order takeout or delivery or pick up a treat when we're strolling through downtown, our individual acts of support can help our small businesses through this lockdown until we move to a safer tier.
Please check out our list of open downtown restaurants when you're thinking of ordering takeout or delivery or purchasing gift cards. Dine Local.
|
|
|
Arts - Holiday Shows That Bring You Joy
|
|
|
|
Opera San Jose - Three Decembers
Dec. 3 - Jan. 10
Details
|
|
|
A Christmas Carol: On Air
Dec. 4 - 31 (Save $5 with code BSJCAROL)
Details
|
|
|
City Lights Theater Company - Truce: A Christmas Wish from the Great War
Streaming Now
Details
|
|
3Below - The MeshugaNutcracker!
Streaming Now on BroadwayHD
Details
|
|
|
Hammer Theatre - Cool Yule
Dec. 9 (Pay what you can)
Details
|
|
Tabard Theatre - It's A Wonderful Life
Dec. 10 - 24
Details
|
|
|
South First Fridays
Dec. 11
Details
|
|
Broadway San Jose - Hip Hop Nutcracker
Dec. 12 - 14
Details
|
|
|
Hammer Theatre - The San Jose Nutcracker: Home for the Holidays
Dec. 12 - 31
Details
|
|
Dave Koz & Friends - The Greatest Hits of Christmas 2020
Dec. 12
Details
|
|
|
Children's Musical Theatre - Home for the Holidays: A Virtual Holiday celebration
Dec. 12
Details
|
|
SJMQT's Virtual Holiday Party (Members Only)
Dec. 13
Details
|
|
|
City Lights Theater Company - Alabama Story: Scenes and Memories
Dec. 13
Details
|
|
Broadway San Jose - Jagged Live in NYC: A Broadway Reunion Concert
Dec. 13
Details
|
|
|
San Jose Dance Theatre - The Nutcracker
Dec. 14 - 25
Details
|
|
City Lights Theater Company - A Christmas Carol
Dec. 15 - Jan. 3
Details
|
|
Outdoor Activities - The Story of the Holidays
|
|
|
|
While you're strolling through downtown, stop by 125 Market Street to see The Story of the Holidays, an outdoor experience presented by SJDA and 3Below Theaters to celebrate the holidays, storytelling and local arts organizations. Every evening from 4 - 10 pm until Jan. 3, enjoy free audio experiences of holiday stories and poems, comedy routines and game shows. Remember to bring your mask!
|
|
|
Other Essentials - (Virtual) Hot Chocolate with Your Neighbors
|
|
|
Some might argue that hot chocolate is an essential during the holiday season. We're sharing San Jose Downtown Residents Association Board Member Raul Aldana's family hot chocolate recipe:
- Ibarra Sweet Mexican Chocolate: two triangles
- One cup of milk (regular, 1%, 2%)
- Add cinnamon stick into sauce pan (or use cinnamon powder)
- Whisk constantly to produce a froth until it starts to boil
- Continue to heat until the chocolate melts
- Enjoy!
|
|
|
|
With your cup of hot chocolate in hand, come join SJDRA's Holiday Party this Thursday Dec. 10 at 7 pm, featuring public safety tips during the holidays, chocolate history and chocolate trivia (with prizes). Come meet your neighbors! Details.
|
|
San Jose Love Stories - Thank You to Our Local Businesses
|
|
|
|
San Jose Love Stories highlight acts of kindness by our community for our community. Paper Moon, Elyse Restaurant, Academic Coffee and Culinary Corner Bistro are only a few among many downtown restaurants who have been selflessly serving the community during this difficult year. We want to share their stories, missions and acts of community love to inspire you to support your local community too.
|
|
|
When their grand opening got delayed due to shelter-in-place and civil unrest back in March, Paper Moon Cafe stepped up to the challenges that they and the community faced. While dealing with slow business, they did their best to support other business owners on their marketing and operations and navigating PPP loans, made food for the unhoused neighbors at St. James Park, kept artists caffeinated day and night to beautify storefront windows and buildings and handed off thousands of drinks to frontline workers. Despite the hardships, they kept going and worked with local artists, Kiwibot and the US Marine Corps Reserves to continue to serve the community by collecting and distributing toys for Christmas.
|
|
|
|
This whole year while fighting a pandemic, Paper Moon grew their little corner of downtown into something magical. Their window art says it best: "Tough times. Tougher people."
|
|
|
Elyse Restaurant has endured vandalism from several occasions but has never veered from their mission to provide delicious meals to the downtown community, especially those who need it most. It all started out with an idea to feed the homeless with a nice warm bowl of soup and turned into a wonderful mission to provide meals for those in need. This Thanksgiving, with support from the community, they provided 1000 meals to anyone who needed it. Elyse Restaurant continues to serve the community by distributing free meals to shelters, churches and families, no questions asked. This is and has been a tough time for all, but Elyse Restaurant is doing their part in helping make everything a little easier (and warmer).
|
|
|
|
Academic Coffee owner Frank Nguyen continues to support the community, making a donation this week for Children's Musical Theater's annual fund-raiser. Meanwhile, Academic's business has been in steady decline wince May, and he's staying open on a month-to-month basis, regularly forgoing his own pay check to keep his employees working.
|
|
|
|
Culinary Corner Bistro has been working hard to keep their business going while also cooking and delivering lunch and dinner boxes to the community, which includes first responders, healthcare workers, Groundwerx crew members, seniors and those with health vulnerabilities. On Tuesday, they delivered meals to a hospital and fed Groundwerx crews. They will close for the week between Christmas and New Year's and take it week by week after that.
|
|
|
|
This year, we have fought a pandemic and all the challenges that come with it. Please show your love by supporting downtown San Jose's small businesses. With the County's new orders, businesses need your help to survive this winter. Spend locally to make sure your dollars stay within the community. It's been a long year, but we can get through this together. There is now a light at the end of the tunnel.
|
|
|
|
All eyes are on the area of #DTSJ surrounding the Diridon CalTrain Station, the site of Google’s proposed mixed-use development. This Thursday, the City of San Jose and San Jose Jazz presents the Diridon Experience Workshop, an interactive, hands-on virtual workshop to develop a vision for public spaces in the development. Continue your holiday shopping and support local artists at KALEID Gallery’s HARK! 2020 Holiday Show and Sale - KALEID is open limited hours Friday and Saturday and by appointment with social distancing measures and mask requirements. This Sunday, Poetry Center San Jose presents The San Jose Poetry Slam: Zoom Edition featuring California-based queer poet Mycah Miller and hosted by Slammaster Scorpiana Xlent.
|
|
So Much More to Look Forward to...
|
|
|
San Jose State University (5-0, 5-0 Mountain West) concludes its football regular season this Friday, Dec. 11 at 7 pm, with this big game against the University of Nevada (6-1, 6-1 Mountain West). The last time a San José State team began a season with a 6-0 record was in 1939, and last time the Spartans were 8-0 in conference play was 1990 as a member of the Far West Conference. Watch the game on the CBS Sports Network.
Here are some other holiday events you can look forward to:
|
|
|
Keep up with Downtown San Jose with our weekly Downtowner Online and monthly Downtown Dimension e-newsletters.
|
|
|
|
