Write 2 The Top

      Memorial Day weekend is synonymous with barbecues, picnics in the park, honoring our veterans, and the Mushroom Mardi Gras in downtown Morgan Hill. With all that eating, let’s add exercise too.

      The Live Oak Athletic Boosters will host the 27th annual Mushroom Mardi Gras Fun Run on Saturday, May 25th. The race features a 5K and 10K at the Coyote Creek Trail in Morgan Hill. It’s a great way to stay in shape and burn off calories.

      Roughly 65-70 volunteers band together to put on a successful event.  The organizers work hard every year. Proceeds of the race go to the athletic teams at Live Oak High.

      Volunteer coordinator, Leslie Hartl said, “This is Linda Pawlak's second year as race director. She works with the Morgan Hill Mardi Gras coordinator, sets up race logistics, meets with park ranger, takes care of permits, registration, posters, runner bags, t-shirts, prizes and posts results.”

      Last year, the weather was chilly but perfect for running. The race had a small turnout but rabbits of various ages competed and fast times were recorded for the 10K and 5K.

      Sean Curry, 44, from Salinas won the 10K in 2012 with 39:34. “I got out in front fairly early, and didn't look back until the turn around to find I had a good lead. I focused on maintaining that on the return portion, which has a gradual climb. I had to run my own race and not pace off of others as I often do,” recalled Curry. He plans to return to defend his title.

      Fremont’s Rebecca Yi, 37, won the women’s title in 42:52. Yi remarked, “This was my first Mushroom Mardi Gras Fun Run. It was very low key and friendly.”

      The 3.1-mile race had its share of competitive racers. Morgan Hill’s Ken Oliver, 51, won overall in 20:25. Oliver joked, “The 5K is for the young people. The fact they let an old guy like me win was terrific.”

      Annie Bergholz, 37, of Morgan Hill won the women’s division in 21:53.

       Get your athletic groove on and run for the ‘shrooms this year!

      When you hear the word fungus what comes to mind? Firm yet soft scrumptious morsels dipped in garlicky batter fried to perfection? Can you say portabella?

      The south valley is home to seven mushroom growers that are spread from Morgan Hill to Gilroy. Morgan Hill aka Mushroom Town is known for its 2-day fun-filled fungi festival held every Memorial Day weekend in May.

      It used to be at the park off Edmundson Avenue and moved several years ago to its permanent location on Depot Street and the Morgan Hill Community and Cultural Center. If you’re a shroomer aficionado most likely you have the 34th annual Mushroom Mardi Gras marked on your calendar already. The event is free.

      “The mushroom is the festival star, which can be tasted in soup, stuffed, sandwiched, deep fried, marinated, and put over rice, “ says Sunday Minnich, event director.

      Indeed, the event offers a vast array of fungal delicacies to whet the palate for the carnivore or vegan at heart. You can also sample other tasty treats like local barbecue chicken or beef, hand dipped strawberries in chocolate, Polish hot dogs with sauerkraut, fruit smoothies, and garlic fries.

      If you would like to know how mushrooms are harvested, visit Mushroom Alley. The exhibit is inside a large tent near the huge inflatable mushroom. Folks inside the tent will gladly explain mushroom farming and hand out soup from Monterey Mushrooms.

     Culinary wizards out there would appreciate the cooking demo stage featuring Chef Tyler Stone, Gene Sakahara and Sam Bozzo of Sakabozzo, Patty Tartaglia from The Food Fixx and Emily Baird with Del Fresh Mushrooms who supply mushrooms for the demonstration.

     Besides imbibing on the smorgasbord of food and drink, festivalgoers will have a musical variety of pop, bluegrass, classic rock, and the blues to enjoy. Headliner acts Evolution and Department of Rock will party with the masses playing classic rock and high-energy dance tunes.

     For the little guys, Munchkin Land promises hours of fun with rides, a petting zoo, games, pony rides, and rock climbing for older kids. In the midst of the party, streams of minstrels, jugglers, Mama’s Wranglers with Jimbo the Clown, and Monty the Mushroom will roam through the streets.

      Sunday entices, “Shoppers can entertain themselves for hours browsing fine arts, handmade crafts, jewelry, clothing, home and garden wares and marketplace vendors.”

        Whatever your preference, you can be sure to find it at the Mushroom Mardi Gras.

One of the most breathtaking scenic coasts in the world offers marathoners an experience bordering on the transcendent in central California. When a runner embarks on the unique racecourse on Highway One for 26.2 miles it feels more like soaring on the wings of the wind rather than pounding the pavement.

 The International Big Sur Marathon (BSIM) organizers will host the 28th presentation of their famous race on the last Sunday in April. Thousands of athletic enthusiasts from all over the world will converge to run from Big Sur to Carmel regardless of weather conditions.

Sometimes a balmy California day greets racers, and other times wind and fog are constant companions on the hilly terrain. However, to the diehards on course, the only thing that matters is the gorgeous oceanic views.

This classy marathon is divided up into different distances for all manner of athletic ability and taste. In addition to the 26.2, BSIM offers a 21-miler, 10.6-miler and 9-miler. People can also form relay teams to run in the marathon as well. If that isn't enough then throw in a 5K on Saturday the day before the marathon. 

Unfortunately, the marathon distance is sold out this year. When the race went on sale last July it took only 26 hours for it to sell out. However, the 5K, 9-miler and relay events are still available. Sign up on http://www.bsim.org.

Some of you may think, "Hey! What about a half marathon?"

The Big Sur Half Marathon takes place every November on the gorgeous Monterey coastline.

The BSIM organizers are racing veterans who love to run the distance and help others achieve their marathon dreams. Marketing Communications Director Julie Armstrong is passionate about their event and how it impacts the environment.

"For this year's race, we have a new sponsor in CamelBak who is now the title sponsor of our [BYOB Bring Your Own Water Bottle] stations.  They are committed to sustainability and proper hydration so we felt this was a good fit for our race," says Armstrong.

 "We were an early-adopter of greening our race.  We began major recycling efforts in 2007, and in 2009 our half marathon became one of the first (and still very few) Gold certified races in the country.  Our full marathon followed in 2010 with Gold Certification from the Council for Responsible Sport.  We were the first marathon to offer an online goodie bag . . .."

Big Sur Marathon fan Sean Curry of Salinas conquered the famous course last year in 3:11 after he did Boston two weeks prior. Sadly, an injury sidelined him last September.

"Last year I could picture myself finishing much faster with better planning and training, but since my training was interrupted I may struggle to even meet last year's time. Curry explains. "I have been cross training with cycling and a little swimming, but not consistently. In the last month, I have been more consistent with my running and am in the 30-60 miles per week range now. I'm learning more about my injury by running on it rather than not."

Curry along with other top runners plan to battle the hills in April. Last year Pacific Grove's Adam Roach won in 2:32:25 and Colorado's Nuta Olaru was the top overall female winner in 2:50:08. Olaru is coming back to defend her title. Who will win the race in 2013?

Armstrong encourages, "The event is regarded as a bucket list race and a highly coveted goal for runners throughout the world.  Registration for the 2014 race opens July 15th at 7AM and we anticipate an even faster sellout!"

With crazy allergies and health issues popping up like weeds everywhere, most people are fed up with junk in food, water, the things we buy and the environment.

Healthy living in today's world is on everyone's mind. Who wants to eat radioactive fish with three heads? So, what to we do about reducing our carbon footprint on Planet Earth?

We'll focus on six companies spread throughout Silicon Valley, the coast, and the south valley who are taking measures in making their products and practices green.

Let's take a green tour and begin in the charming city of Santa Cruz. This seaside getaway is an ideal model of clean, evironmental living. The first earth friendly commercial enterprise is Nut Kreations on Lincoln Street.

They proudly produce a wholesome, tasty assortment of nuts and fruits in an environmentally safe store. They roast and season their products in-house. You can buy freshly made gourmet trail mix or granola blend that is actually healthy and taste great.

Brody and Mina Feuerhaken own Nut Kreations. Mrs. Feuerhaken is not only crazy about nuts but grew up in a family of pistachio farmers. She and her husband are into a healthy lifestyle promoting wholesome products sans of GMO (genetically modified organisms) elements. Keeping the planet healthy is a crucial mission for the Feuerhakens, who opened their downtown shop in 2011.

She explains, "It is a way of life I was raised on and more recently became more aware of. There is too much waste happening around the world if I can make a tiny difference, I feel way better about it.

"We built the place following the guidelines of being green. Anything from the paint we painted the place, to our lighting our product packaging, waste usage ,...was all in mind for being green and sustainable. I also remind my employees everyday to reuse, and reduce their waste and be considerate in their footprint. It starts from the bottom, and if we all use little measures in our daily efforts it will add up!"

It's no easy task to receive green certification.

"It is very extensive, tons of paperwork and inspection, but like I said we built the place with that in mind. Therefore, we were all ready; the paper work took longer for me to go through though," she says.

Nut Kreations also work with other green companies and purchases from local growers in central California and the south valley.

The next green retailer on our tour is Greenspace on Swift Street in Santa Cruz. This home improvement store's online catalog sell eco-friendly paints, stains, sealers, finishes, plaster, flooring, countertops, tile, solatubes, and mattresses.

Greenspace opened its door in 2006 to meet the cry for more eco-safe products and services in the Monterey Bay area.

Their website states, "Our goal is to provide a resource center to educate the community on the wide array of options available to lighten our impact on the earth and to create healthy environments without sacrificing comfort and beauty.

"We have spent many hours choosing the appropriate products for our store. We select the highest quality materials that provide a high level of ecological benefit to the environment and to our clients."

They use the following guidelines for their products and services:

• Is it non-toxic?
• Does it contain recycled content?
• Is it sourced locally?
• Is it no more than you need?
• Does it reduce energy consumption?
• Does it reduce water consumption?
• Does it meet or beat strict European indoor air quality standards?
• Is it of sufficient quality that it will not need to be replaced frequently?
• Is it biodegradable?
• Is it sustainably harvested?

Our next stop is the quaint town of Saratoga in Silicon Valley. Rainsavers' founder and president is Brad Daniel. The basic principal of Rainsavers is water conservation.

Daniel reveals, "Rainsavers is green certified, by Santa Clara County. Recognized by the State legislature, we use all recycled plastic products, barrels, tanks, stands.  Have very little waste. We use recycled paper for printing.  No chemicals or toxins. Rainsavers protects the environment by reducing stormwater runoff.  This runoff from properties goes to the street storm drains.  When it travels down streets, it picks ups all the paint, road oils, feces and other  pollutants and goes to the bay.  By stopping the runoff before it begins, that eliminates the pollution going to the bay."

Daniel and his company are aware of how we impact our environment.

He says,"A clean earth to me is all pollution related.  By reducing stormwater runoff, I am reducing pollution to the bay.  Rainwater tanks are also used for fire prevention in the Santa Cruz mountains.  Fire is both a destructive and beneficial condition to the environment.  Fire removes ground level vegetation and causes mudslides, property damage.  The benefit of fire is removing all the dead wood and leaves, and it cleans a forest for new growth." 

We leave Saratoga to visit the unique town of Los Gatos. The Painting Pros, Inc. is the first company to be green certified in Santa Clara County. Owner Cleve Dayton worked in the painting business for thirty nine years and got his license in 1978.

Dayton says, "Many years ago when I started painting, the business was not very green. For example, it was commonplace to pour used paint thinner in the dirt somewhere out of the way where no would see it. Not knowing any better I used to do it too until one day I dumped some thinner at the base of a tree. Of course the tree eventually died. I was not too happy about that. It taught me a really good lesson. Since then I have disposed of all oil-base products in a safe way.

My view is that we only have one Earth. We should make sure that we don't damage the environment and we should do things to make it even better for future generations."

 We now depart Los Gatos and head south to the rural city of Morgan Hill. People and Planet on Vineyard Boulevard is super cool. They care about the earth and also what we put into our bodies.

Mike Monroe at People and Planet not only sells healthy stuff for the environment and people but they offers classes on Saturdays on green subjects as well. I like the slogan on their website, "Think Globally! Act Locally!"

The business sprouted in Gilroy at Monroe's house. They sold fair trade organic coffee, teas, and chocolate but they continued to expand their product line and subsequently moved into an office suite in Gilroy in the mid 1990s. In 2004, they settled in their current location in Morgan Hill on Vineyard.

One of their early customers is Specialized Bikes, who are ecology minded too. Monroe shares, "We grew and grew and started selling more food. Then they (Specialized Bikes) started becoming more interested in snack-type food. One particular employee (who is no longer there) had sensitivity to wheat gluten. She had celiac. She came over and asked if we can give her some snack bars that are gluten-free. From that simple request all of a sudden we started buying more snacking stuff and other gluten-free products." They transitioned from a wholesaler into a retailer.

Monroe says, "A pet interest of mine that I like to pursue is organic gardening. We sell organic produce from local farmers and sell organic local eggs from what I call ranchers. They are people who have a dozen hens and in the past they might've given their eggs away. We would buy their eggs, give them money for them and they in turn would purchase organic feed from us."

People and Planet is serious about selling edibles without GMO's and looking out for the best interest of workers who harvest food worldwide. They support and are part of a large Fair Trade Network.

For our final stop, we go Odeum Restaurant on Depot Street in Morgan Hill for delicious fine dining. This Mediterranean eatery is also green certified.

"Our ethical, environmental, and purcasing policy underlines our mission to work towards a harmonious accord between people, technology and nature, requiring that all activities must take the environment into consideration.  We believe that we can make a useful contribution by becoming a leading 'eco-friendly' operation, striving to achieve harmony with ecology and the environment. Our policy restricts certain products from being sold at our restaurant, such as eggs from caged birds or out-of-season fish, and gives preference to the purchase of local produce, meat and fish," boast co-owner, Ashley Polston, a local estate planning attorney turned restaurateur. Her partner is Michelin Star Chef Salvadore Calisi who creates the suptious menu at Odeum.

Polston also adds, "Odeum also uses solar power to sustain its operation and enjoys an on-site garden and orchard, used to provide the freshest herbs, vegetables and fruit. Customers enjoy a walk through the on-site gardens and often spot Chef Calisi harvesting the herbs and vegetables that will soon become their dinner. "

Good thing we have these green ventures to keep us healthy and our great outdoors pristine.

What memories do you have as a kid at a summer camp? Did you sit around a roaring campfire, toasting marshmallows on a stick singing songs or telling scary stories into the wee hours of the morning?

For those who had the privilege of attending camps, a plethora of pine-scented memories fill the mind with adventures of hiking the woods, climbing rocky terrain or collecting bugs by the creek.

What if your child or teen can't eat sugar like other kids because of diabetes? Or what of Sammy who is dealing with chemotherapy and doesn't get to go to camp like his friends? What about 3rd grader Brenda who doesn't seem to fit in with kids at a typical summer camp because of Asperger syndrome? And let's not forget Miguel who'd rather write code and build an awesome computer program rivaling Linux.

We at Out & About Magazine have something different in mind for today's young generation. Namely, summer sleepover camps geared for folks with special needs such as burn victims, hi-tech lovers, cancer patients, kids who suffer from autism or diabetes.

We'll explore six unique camps in California.

Silicon Valley is the technology center of the world and within its borders is a really cool outfit called internal Drive (iD) Tech Camps in Campbell. They offer STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) summer programs held at Santa Clara University, UC Berkeley, Stanford, and San Francisco State University. ID Tech Camps are nationwide at 26 prestigious universities with the express purpose of educating youth ages 7 to 17 in a weeklong camp or two week academy intensive on campus.

For example, kids can take courses on creating iPhone and Android apps, video game design and development, C++ and Java programs, 3D modeling and animation with Autodesk and Maya, robots, and web design with Adobe's Dreamweaver.

Karen Thurm Safran, VP of Marketing and Business Development, is passionate spreading the word about iD Camp's summer camps, and their gaming academy, programming academy, and visual arts academy. 

"We are proud of the impact iD Camps have on kids. It's the leading summer technology program in the world. These lucrative careers will grow; 1.2 million jobs that are STEM focused by 2018," Safran says enthusiastically.

Next on deck is Via West Campus in the Santa Cruz Mountains. They provide events for kids with special needs. Their website advertises, "Via West Campus offers year-round day and residential program that gives adults and children, ages 5 and older, with physical and/or developmental disabilities and special needs a chance to learn and grow amid fresh air and scenic surroundings. Our programs emphasize 'Living Healthy' themes that include nutrition, physical activity, health awareness and self-management. Via West is a unique community."

They have summer sessions ranging from 4 to 8 days. Participants are assigned to lodge groups based on age, gender and ability levels.

Via West campground covers 13 acres of forest roughly 15 miles west of San Jose in Stevens Creek County Park. Sign-ups for summer sessions are taken on a first come-first served basis.

Another neat place for kids with physical and mental challenges is Camp Krem in Boulder Creek. They provide summer camp for children and adults with developmental disabilities, such as Down syndrome, autism, and cerebral palsy. The camp is located in the Santa Cruz Mountains about a half-mile from Big Basin Redwoods State Park. These guys welcome kids of all ages with various disabilities to join the fun at their summer camp programs. Various sleepover sessions are available too.

Camp Krem offers a wide range of activities for all three camp programs. Main Camp offers daily swimming in their huge swimming pool, arts and crafts, music, sports, drama, games, nature study, theme days, and much more. They also have Outdoor Camp that gives physically able campers a chance to experience real outdoor challenges. Participants explore the nearly 100-acre property and local state parks and beaches. Campers gain pride in their accomplishments, learn to cook outdoors, navigate trails, and have plenty of fun.

Camp Sunshine Dreams is a gem located in Central California. These guys cater to children who suffer from cancer. The idea sprang from Sunny Sherven, The American Cancer Society and the Candle Lighters back in 1988. The camp grew from 25 campers to over 100 kids ages 8 to 15 years.

A letter from Spike they posted on their website says it best: "My first year as a camper, I was 8 years old and was going through chemotherapy. At first I was scared to go because I did not know what to expect nor did I know anyone going. I remember arriving at camp and exiting the bus and being greeted by so many smiley faces. There were so many kids but some of them were bald just like me . . .. The first night we arrived there was a campfire, so make sure to bring warm clothes. Expect to gain some weight because the food is great and there are tons of snacks throughout the day. I made so many friends while at camp, some who had cancer like me and some who had brothers or sisters with cancer."

The Burn Institute from Ramona, California, hosts Camp Beyond The Scars; this is for young burn victims. It's a fantastic place for fire survivors. They support these children by helping them promote a positive outlook towards their future and burn rehabilitation. Activities include rafting, swimming, boating, hiking, fishing, biking, rock climbing, astronomy, arts and crafts, campfire songs, and games. Camp Beyond the Scars represents one of the Institute's most successful on-going efforts. Camp Beyond the Scars is available for burn-injured children between the ages of 5 and 17. 

Actor Paul Newman founded a summer camp for kids with serious medical issues like hemophilia and spina bifida. The Painted Turtle is in Lake Hughes, California. Since 2004 they inspired thousands of kids through their summer and family weekend camps. One cool factor is that campers and their families don't have to pay the tab. It's on The Painted Turtle!

They cheerfully say: "Welcome to The Painted Turtle where children with serious medical conditions celebrate just being kids! Our goal is to empower campers-to make new friends, try new things, build self-confidence, and become more independent in their medical care.

Our camp sessions create a community, where kids get to know other kids just like them. With this feeling of belonging-of not being alone-campers are more ready to overcome challenges and embrace the new opportunities that they encounter every day." They have a staff of medical professionals to assist the kids during their stay.

Six special camps for unique kids. Start planning an incredible summer for your children today. You won't regret it.

Every spring the ladies of Morgan Hill's American Association of University Women (AAUW) put on a fun athletic event for runners and walkers. The Wildflower Run is synonymous with the family friendly town of Morgan Hill. The kids' 2K, the 5K and 10K are part of the race, which gives everyone a chance to pick their favorite distance.

Although serious contenders in the 5K and 10K races vying for top prizes are at the event, WFR caters to all levels of fitness. There isn't a hint of snobbery among the race organizers, the volunteers or participants toward newbies. You can have elites and the weekend warrior toe the line in a relaxed, fun atmosphere. 

Wildflower Run 2013 (WFR) has a new feature according to Barbara Palmer, who is ubiquitous with the race. Palmer says, "The big news for the run this year is that we are inaugurating a 5k stroller category for moms with little ones. Babies will get their very own shirt that says 'Wildflower Stroller.'"

Another cool element this year is the t-shirt contest. Carol O' Hare, sponsor committee co-chair explains, "To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Wildflower Run, runners are encouraged to wear tee shirts from past runs that they have participated in. To check out dates of shirts, go to http://www.aauw-morganhill.org/files/wfr_shirts.pdf. A prize will be awarded to whomever wears the oldest WFR Run tee shirt."

Speaking of WFR history, let's jump back in time with Palmer and O'Hare. Palmer shares, "I have been with the run since its beginning 30 years ago. I was with Marilyn Gadway when she came up with the idea. We were attending an AAUW convention."

O'Hare recalls, "It was first presented in 1984, just a year after the branch was chartered, for the express purpose of raising funds to support education for women. The first race was for women only, and the organizers were surprised by the large turnout of more than 200 runners."

She then adds, "Elena Moreno, longtime branch member, recalls that when Marilyn Gadway, who came up with the idea of the Wildflower Run, first began talking about a 'run', Elena had no idea what she was talking about. Elena says that the only 'run' she knew about, was a run in a stocking. Elena is now 91 years old and still supports the Wildflower Run."

For roughly three decades WFR expanded in size, changed venues, added several distances, plus a new t-shirt design every year. Their purpose remains the same: To raise funds to support education for women and girls who are planning to seek higher education. They hope to raise $30,000 this year ($1,000 per year the run has been around).

Race director Elizabeth Mandel is proud of her staff. "I have a wonderful team, with different people responsible for different aspects of the run (medals, publicity, sponsors, water stops, signs, course marshals, course setup, registration, MC, hospitality, expo area...) My job is to make sure they are coordinating all the aspects of their areas of responsibility so that, come race day, everything runs flawlessly."

Wendy Bell is in charge registration. She says, "I'm hoping we reach 1000 runners/walkers this year." Bell reflects on the inspiring story of one family who signed up. "I would get registrations from families with 7 or 8-year olds that had signed up for the 5K.  I would call them to see if they wanted to do the 2K.  One Dad said, 'Oh no. He wants to run with us and is practicing every weekend to do the 5K with us.' I think that is so awesome!!"

A culinary ride in downtown Morgan Hill made its debut last week. The Dishcrawl was my first progressive dinner. Forty of us met at the Ladera Grill on Monterey Road at the sold out event. I sat with a group of ladies who found out about it online.

Four downtown Morgan Hill restaurants were featured: Ladera Grill, Mr. Falafel, The Good Fork and The Candy Parlour.

The trick was not to eat too much at one restaurant.

Christa Nielsen hosted the fun-filled evening.

"I wanted to start Dishcrawl Morgan Hill because I felt as though Morgan Hill needed something to help build the community and allow more exposure for local restaurants," she told me.

The waiters streamed into the dining room, serving our first meal of the evening: Beef Wellington, Chicken Parmesan, grilled Atlantic salmon, Gorgonzola roasted potatoes, and seasonal steamed vegetables prepared by Executive Chef Tony Garcia.

The restaurants also catered to fellow diner Tina who sat with us and prefers vegetarian dishes. They were most attentive to her culinary needs. I like that.

I sampled each item and liked the grilled salmon, the pastry with the Beef Wellington inside and the potatoes. Tablemates Susan, Liza, Rina, Lynn and Mary agreed the salmon was among the best.

We then departed Ladera Grill and walked down the sidewalk to Mr. Falafel run by Art Nazzal. I shivered in the chilly night air, waiting for them to serve us falafel balls, chicken kebab, tabbouleh, hummus and fried lavash chips. I ate the falafel balls and most of the tabbouleh and nibbled on the rest. Everyone liked the chicken kebab, which seemed the most popular entree.

I felt no guilt partaking in this food affair because I ran 6 miles in the morning.

The Good Fork was up on deck; we strolled our way to the lovely eatery owned by Chef Maurizio Cutrignelli. I wish we ate there first. Indeed, I loved their cuisine the most. They served mouth-watering treats like fresh pasta filled with figs, pears, Asiago and mascarpone cheeses in Gorgonzola cream sauce, pulled pork slider and community farm-grown tomatoes topped with Burrata cheese. I'm coming back to this one!

We left The Good Fork to visit our last stop - The Candy Parlour operated by Nancy Reynolds. This is perfect for anyone who is a kid at heart. We got to enjoy the candy buffet with retro sweets and San Jose's Shurras Chocolates. Needless to say I tried the chocolate-coated caramels with sea salt, the caramel corn and variety of gourmet jellybeans.

Everyone was friendly and I made plenty of Dishcrawling pals that evening. The next Morgan Hill Dishcrawl will be on Nov. 13 with new restaurants. I can't wait!

Meanwhile, I need to take another 6-mile run to burn off the calories!

http://www.dishcrawl.com/morganhill/

A historical, significant act doesn't burst on the scene in one day. It begins with a germ of an idea deep in the crevices of the human heart. The right kind of heart connected to hundreds of other hearts ready to do good for strangers.

When the terrorists attacked the Twin Towers in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. and the ill-fated United Airlines Flight 93, it shook our nation to the core. I remember those surreal post 9-11 days with "God Bless America" posters festooned everywhere. Everyone was patriotic and mourned the loss of life.

In February 2002, five people met at IHOP Restaurant in San Jose to discuss something special birthed in our pastor's heart regarding Sept. 11. <name redacted>, former lead singer of a 1980s rock band, who became the founder and pastor of <name redacted>, shared his vision.

He told us, "God gave me a powerful tribute celebration to encourage the Pentagon families one year after the devastating 9-11 terrorist attack by organizing a major tribute: Washington D.C., Honors America's Heroes of Freedom. Together, we would pay tribute to the surviving families of the 125 who died that horrific day. This included the rescue workers who gave their lives to save people."

It turned out New York received a ton of publicity overshadowing the Pentagon families. Why not honor the nation's capital? Our ministry was small and unknown. We didn't have a budget for such a monumental task. We did everything by faith, trusting God to provide financially for the next seven months.

The five people grew to 40 as people caught the vision and eventually more volunteered from Texas and the East Coast. We had three volunteer teams across the nation assisting <name redacted>, president of the nonprofit America's Heroes of Freedom. No one received a penny to participate in this labor of love.

Anthony A. Williams, mayor of Washington D.C. endorsed the event along with 53 members of Congress. This gave us plenty of favor with the District of Columbia.

<name redacted> was also the promoter and organizer of the tribute. He handed responsibilities to certain key people. He gave me the job as top editor, which meant I was in charge of writing everything from political speeches to letters. I corresponded with the White House, Washington D.C. elite, top entertainers, and the U.S. Olympic committee.

Celebrities like boxing icon Mohammad Ali, Randy Travis, Roberta Flack, Ron Kenoly, and 17 U.S. Olympic medalists accepted <name redacted>'s invitation to participate. Airman Second Class Adrian Cronauer who was the inspiration behind the movie, "Good Morning Vietnam" agreed to be the emcee.

One hurdle after another greeted us as we ran toward the finish line.

The mayor's office in Washington D.C. warned us that Homeland Security reported terrorist threats on the one-year anniversary of 9-11. <name redacted> now found himself in a dilemma whether he should cancel the event or not. On Sept. 11, 2002 no terrorism occurred. The historic tribute took place on schedule.

Before the televised event, family members and recovery workers met the celebrities at the OAS Building for a catered dinner. I loved seeing people, I had written about for the last seven months, face to face. I fought back tears as I witnessed speed skater Casey FitzRandolph place his gold medal around the neck of a fatherless young boy. The kid's eyes exhibited wonder and awe.

After dinner, everyone went to the DAR Constitution Hall for the ceremony. Performances by Randy Travis, Ron Kenoly, Roberta Flack, The Nelsons, 17 U.S. medalists, and a 100-piece choir delighted the masses.Yolanda Ali shared on stage that after the terrorist attacks her husband Mohammad felt compelled to give people hope in the midst of the tragedy. He desired an opportunity to express his heart. When our organization invited him, Mohammad immediately accepted. 

<name redacted> said, "Nothing could stop Washington's D.C., Honors America's Heroes of Freedom Tribute. Overall, 1,800 family members who lost loved ones attended the ceremony. The Lord got his way."

Days after the ceremony, Washington, D.C. was abuzz about the historic event. We received positive reports from those who were there. Overall the general consensus was anyone who skipped the ceremony missed out on the ultimate 9-11 homage for the Pentagon families.

With "The Avengers" movie dominating the box office, it's no wonder that Big Wow Comic Fest attracted thousands to San Jose last weekend.

The laid-back, two-day comic book convention included graphic novels, comic books, cartoons, fine art, entertainment, games and costumers at the San Jose Convention Center.

This year featured respected comic artist Jim Lee; renowned cartoonist Morrie Turner, creator of the beloved Wee Pals comic strip; Jane Wiedlin from the '80s rock band The Go-Go's; and Thomas Jane, lead actor in 2004's "The Punisher."

Chris Perguidi, of Gilroy, and Allan Angel, from San Jose, owners of Integrity Comics, sold comics to eager fans.

"It's going pretty well. I almost didn't come today because my hot water heater broke, and I was trying to fix it," Perguidi said. "We're working on a new horror comic book and it should come out next month. We're also doing some stuff with Tim Vigil who is a classic comic book artist plus making new movies."

Morrie Turner, 88, from Oakland, came to Big Wow Comic Fest for the first time and enjoyed interacting with fans.

"This is my first time in San Jose. I've been doing this strip (Wee Pals) for 47 years. I finished the book 'Black Sports Heroes Past and Present,'" Turner said. "Peanuts inspired me. I like Charles Schultz. He encouraged me. Wee Pals came through the civil rights movement."

Down the aisle in Artist Alley sat freelance commercial artist Lela Dowling, 55, of Los Gatos, with her artist husband Frank Cirocco. Dowling does conceptual work for various clients including Mattel, Hasbro, Electronic Arts, Yahoo! and Leap Frog.

"I remember when I was in high school, my art teacher telling me I would never make it freelancing," Dowling said. "I actually came to this convention last year just to visit a few people. We were talked into coming out of retirement. Sales are going well."

Oakland filmmaker Ernest Fosselius, 66, entertained visitors with his humorous anecdotes. He created the popular "Star Wars" parody "Hardware Wars" back in 1977.

"I went there (to see 'Star Wars') with some friends and they went, 'This is the coolest thing in the world man! There's never been a movie like this!'" he said. "They were all so hyped up on it. I watched it and thought it's kind of cheesy. I was never into sci-fi. Then I said, 'I'm going to do a spoof.' They said, 'Oh, no man! Lucas, he's got people and they'll get you, man! Nobody makes fun of Lucas!' I said, 'OK. That makes me want to do it all the more.' I grew up on MAD Magazine. They make fun of everybody."

Artist Danny Bulanadi, of South San Francisco, worked for DC and Marvel Comics. He inked for titles like "Captain America" and "Conan The Barbarian." He also illustrated the bestselling "Good vs. Evil" graphic novel for No Greater Joy Ministries. Now, he does art for Kingstone Comics.

"I think Big Wow Comics is really good, especially to the kids who want to draw," Bulanadi said. "Women and girls that are artists need to see this place. It will give them inspiration."

Perguidi offered advice to aspiring comic book creators.

"A lot of people want to do what we do and they want to follow their dreams ... but many people make excuses: 'I'm bored, I'm a woman, I'm black, I'm whatever.' You can't say that," he said. "Everyone has a brain and two hands. My parents were drug addicts. No one believed in anything I did. I still go out there every day and go to every one of these shows. That's how you become successful."

The 26th annual Wondercon made its debut at the Anaheim Convention Center near Disneyland. Nothing seemed out of place there with Star Wars storm troopers, hairy monsters, fairies, superheroes, and nerds.

Due to repairs at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, the organizers moved their popular arts event down to southern California rather than skip a year.

Hollywood made a splash in Anaheim as expected throughout the 3-day convention. Warner Brothers Television and Animation offered attendees several panels, autograph signings and screenings of Alcatraz, DC Nation, Fringe and Person of Interest.

The cast and crew from Cartoon Network's hit show Adventure Time delighted both children and parents. Andy Ristaino works full time with Adventure Time as lead designer.

"It's a very fun job; I do character, prop and effects design. It's fun, but it's still work. If I'm not doing my own stuff on the side, I get kind of depressed," Ristaino remarked. "I still need that creative outlet for my own thoughts." He published several books: The Babysitter, Escape from Dullsville and Night of the Living Videots. 

For music lovers, composers from the Famous TV Theme Music panel talked about their projects. "Right after Cal Arts, I got a job to do sound design for a Michael-Jackson video. It was weird; we worked 21 hours straight, and then we got fired. I love this business," Zuckerman joked. "We did a whole bunch of commercials. I learned how to compose different styles."

Wynn and Zuckerman wrote the music for Heroes and Avatar the Last Airbender-the Legend of Korra.

Wynn added, "I began working for Music House and did a lot of different things for them . . .. Then Avatar came up. We dove into it and ten years later we're still doing it."

Besides watching movies, popular geeky TV shows and sitting at panels, people went to the exhibit hall to purchase their favorite items or meet people from the industry.

Authors Mike Lynch of San Jose and Highland's Brandon Barr were in the small press section. "We are having fun meeting lots of interesting people, and selling books. Two of our books are popular such as When The Sky Fell and After The Cross," Lynch enthused. "They are more in line with the fantasy and comic book people that are here."

Chris Perguidi from Gilroy and Allan Angel of San Jose of Integrity Comics came to test new ground. "I like seeing the artists as usual like Scott Shaw and the other guys in Artist Alley, " Perguidi said. "It's an enjoyable show but it was better in San Francisco."

Angel agreed, "It's been disappointing here."

Paul Dale from Torrence set up his anime caricature business in Artist Alley. "I do more of a performance than just draw-like a comedy act when I work directly with people. It's a fun way to do artwork in which you're drawing people's portraits," Dale explained. He's an improv actor too.

Scott Shaw is a successful cartoonist with four Emmy Awards for his work on Jim Henson's Muppet Babies. "Ever since I was a little kid I wanted to be either a cartoonist or a paleontologist. A teacher in junior high told me I would not likely work in a museum but for a petroleum company. So much for that, I'm going to be a cartoonist," Shaw enlightened.

Lonnie Millsap of Los Angeles got a break into cartooning.

"I came up with a book idea in 2009 (My Washcloth Stinks!) and self-published. I submitted to Barnes and Noble and they placed an order. I started trying to market the book, moved to LA and got it in stores. Keith got me in Wondercon in 2011," Millsap said.

 "I met Lonnie last year and his stuff is accomplished. He's really good," His friend Keith Knight, the creator of The Knight Life comics, remarked. Knight sold his books Chivalry Ain't Dead plus other titles. He misses the Bay Area.

"I urge people to let Moscone Center know that we want Wondercon back in San Francisco."

The legendary Stan Lee, creator of Spider Man showed up for a limited time on Saturday to sign autographs. Because Wondercon kept this a secret, roughly 300 people met him. Lee spoke kindly to each fan despite the hefty bodyguard bellowing orders at people nearby.

Next door was renown animator and director Ralph Bakshi and his son Eddie selling his iconic movies: Lord of the Rings, Fritz The Cat, Fire and Ice, Wizards, American Pop and Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures.

Bakshi came to Anaheim to celebrate the 35-year anniversary of his unprecedented fantasy Wizards in the ballroom.

"We had a really good time, we sold out of Wizards Blue Rays, which is premiering here and lot of fan enthusiasm has been great," the younger Bakshi said.

America's Birthday is around the corner and a new party is coming to town--guaranteed to rock your patriotic socks off. God Bless America Celebration 2011 debuts at the Morgan Hill Community and Cultural Center on a fun-filled July 4th in downtown.

With an estimated 75-thousand to a hundred thousand folks attending the much-anticipated parade, the organizers of God Bless America Celebration are prepped to entertain the masses after the last float leaves Monterey Road. Bring your favorite chair and get there early to secure a good spot on the premises.

The celebration begins center stage at the outdoor amphitheater with a line up of patriotic entertainment from 1pm to 6pm featuring five hours of live music plus a men's choir. There will also be dancing under the sun with a DJ spinning the latest hits.

For hungry and thirsty revelers they can eat delicious Tri-Tip and other goodies at the barbecue or among the food booths. For the little ones the kids' zone with bounce houses, clowns, face painter, balloon twisting and entertainers await them. The US Marine Corps will present the color of the American Flag in a special ceremony.

Steven Lopez Productions and <name redacted> collaborated on the free event for everyone to enjoy. Lopez worked in promotional marketing for over two decades and served in the US Marines Corps.

"Our fore-fathers trusted God from the beginning to establish this great nation and we wish to honor them. God Bless America Celebration calls everyone to be united under God to serve the community. Many Americans have given their lives for this country," Lopez said.

"We salute those who served or who are currently serving in the armed forces. We also want to publicly thank all military, first responders: police, fire and paramedic personnel for serving the south valley community."

<name redacted>, minister of <name redacted>, said, "I do events occasionally, but mostly larger ones. I produced the 911 tribute in 2002 in Washington DC, titled 'Washington DC Honors America's Heroes of Freedom.' We honored the Pentagon families with a star-studded show for the one-year anniversary after the terrorist attacks. The orphans, widows and families of the Pentagon families were blessed and so happy that they were not forgotten a year later."

Both Lopez and <name redacted> know it takes hard work to create a successful production.

"It takes time, creativity and allot of volunteers who share the vision. Steven and a volunteer team from Acts Revival Center worked together tirelessly on the project. Steven really used his experience to make it happen quickly and I support his efforts and the volunteers with our resources and creativity.

Lopez added, "I thank God for the many volunteers I had over the past 25 years, without them I would not have been able to make events happen. Volunteers are the true backbone of any event."

<name redacted> concluded, "Join us in acknowledging God's rich blessing upon our nation as we give thanks in hope for a better future during these challenging times."

The Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center, nestled in Santa Rosa's downtown district is a haven for the kid-at-heart. It's a place where the never-ending story of Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang continue to delight fans worldwide.

Life would be dull without Snoopy the energetic dancing dog, Lucy Van Pelt the lovable control freak and Pig Pen, the unflappable kid perpetually shrouded in a dust cloud wherever he goes. 

A new animated special "Happiness is a Warm Blanket Charlie Brown" is available on Warner Brothers Home Video thanks to Schulz son, Craig who maintains his father's cartoon legacy as executive producer and writer. He along with Stephan Pastis creator of "Pearls Before Swine" comic strip co-wrote the script for the original Peanuts special. Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo composed the score for the flick.

The story is about Linus who is faced with the dilemma of his grandmother coming to visit and warns ahead of time that he ditch his blanket. His older sister Lucy doesn't help matters with her over-bearing methods of persuasion. Then the whole Peanuts gang tries to help Linus kick his blanket habit, which you know always spells T-R-O-U-B-L-E. To find out the rest of the story get the DVD or graphic novel.

In late March, the museum featured a fundraiser for its educational programs in cartooning and art for children and teens. Prior to showing the animated special in the museum's theater, donors mingled with the Schulz Family and Bravo Television's Andy Cohen.

"As Snoopy's number-one fan, it was a great privilege for me to help launch a new Peanuts special," Cohen gushed. "Seeing all my Peanuts friends gathered on screen again made me feel like I was kid watching 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' for the first time."

Executive producer, Paige Braddock and animation director Andy Beall were among the folks to meet at the gala. Beall worked for Disney-Pixar Studios on "Up, and Ratatouille." While he was the animation lead on "Up", another production person on the project discovered his Peanuts collection in his office one day.

Beall recalled, "She said, 'you know my friend Paige, she's the creative director for Charles Schulz's studio. When we finish up, why not you and I take a day, it's like a celebration-our little wrap up party, and we'll go up and meet Paige and you can see Charles Schulz's studio where he drew his comic strip.' I said yeah, let's do it!"

After finishing with Up, Beall met with Braddock and eventually he began working for them.

"I started in May 2009, the script had been written by Stephan Pastis and Craig Schulz. I was still working at Pixar at the time and for a while I was working part time on the side. I would work full day at Pixar and then come home at night and worked about 2am on Peanuts stuff. We tried to define what the visual look of the show was going to be. Essentially we were trying to take it back to what it looked like in the 1960s," Beall said passionately. "We wanted to make it <the film> feel handmade. Made by people. We didn't want to have a computer feel to it." He left Disney-Pixar and joined the Peanuts legacy.

"We are glad to have Andy full time and we hope he sticks around for a while," Schulz said proudly before the screening of the film. He also talked about his father creating the character Pig Pen after him because no matter what he did when he was a kid, he couldn't keep his fingernails clean, especially around dinnertime.

Then directing the attention to the young voice actress nearby, Schulz said, "In this room today we have Gracie Rolek, front-row center, the voice of Lucy. She was terrific; you're about to find out. Gracie you did remind me of my sister. I'm not supposed to say who was Lucy in my family because if my sister finds out then I'm in trouble. We're not going to mention anything about who is the real Lucy," Schulz said playfully.

Aliens, monsters, zombies, soldiers in combat armor, scientists, artists, actors, writers, elves, freaks, beasts and geeks invaded San Francisco and it wasn't for Bay to Breakers or Halloween.

What compelled close to 40 thousand, roughly the population of Morgan Hill, to swarm the Moscone Center in downtown? Okay, you got me. WonderCon. A fast growing, west coast marvel held every spring for the masses despite the topsy-turvy economy.

Kaboom Studios hosted a booth at WonderCon. Artists Bob and Vicki Scott signed copies of their graphic novel Happiness is a Warm Blanket Charlie Brown based on the story by Craig Schulz and Stephan Pastis, who is the creator of Pearls Before Swine strip.

Pulitzer Prize winner Berkeley Breathed came to San Francisco to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his famous comic strip Bloom County. He signed copies of his book, From Bloom County To Mars, The Imagination of Berkeley Breathed. He also gave a hilarious presentation about his days in the comics industry. He shared about Nancy Reagan's Xerox photo in the background in one Bloom County strip.

"The next morning I get a call, I just gotten out of the shower . . . the White House was on the phone. And they said, 'Please hold for Ronald Reagan.' Which of course you think it's one of your friends calling you up with a joke saying 'hello.' Sure enough he gets on the line . . . it's just as if it was a Saturday Night Live skit about the President calling me, " Breathed said. "He was so tickled . . . of seeing a drawing of his beloved in my comic that's normally savaging him all day long."

President Reagan loved it but Breathed didn't believe it at first.

The Reagan Diaries, posted on http://www.FreeRepublic.com tells the President's version, " . . . In 1985, he writes: "I phoned Berke Breathed - cartoonist who does Bloom County. He obviously thought I was calling to bitch about something; I called to thank him for the Sunday strip where he had Nancy in the strip looking lovely."

Subsequently, Breathed was invited to the White House for dinner.

"Nancy Reagan loved throwing parties. They had steak dinner every single Friday night."

Fox's Breaking In a TV comedy about a hi-tech security firm written by Adam Goldberg and BBC America's Dr. Who delighted everyone at WonderCon. Dr. Who is about a Time Lord who travels in dimensions, time and space in a blue police box called the TARDIS. Actor Mark Sheppard who works on Supernatural came with director Toby Haynes and writer Neil Gaiman. Working on Dr. Who is special to Sheppard.

"It's a dream of a lifetime. It's a show I grew up with as many of its incarnations primarily Pertwee and Baker and now, you know, Matt Smith is my doctor. That's the bottom line. They are all fantastic," Sheppard said.

Christian Slater who plays the main character Oz in Breaking In is a fan of Star Trek.

"The fact that I was sort of over the moon at the opportunity to meet and shake the hand of the guy who played the Gorn in Star Trek 'Arena' episode. It was a big deal for me to get that signature. They charged me $20." Slater said with a smile.

"I'm a nerd," announced Alphonso McAuley who is the fanboy Cash in the series. "If I'm a minimal fanboy then he's <Cash> is like Defcon 5 fanboy. He is definitely like a Stars Wars dude; he knows it back and forth. He can even speak Jabba The Hutt's language Odi ba ha!"

Meeting vibrant folks stationed at their tables were entertaining and insightful.

"My great father was Massy Thomas and they named a road after him in Gilroy. Apparently, Wendy Pini who is a really famous comic book artist in the 80s and me share a great grandfather, I didn't find about this until recently. Interestingly enough, it was Elf Quest <that got him into comics> because I grew up in Gilroy and Wendy Pini was from Gilroy. So they had, in the library, all the Elf Quest books. Everyone always tell me she was from Gilroy. I'm from Gilroy maybe I could do comic books," said Chris Perguidi co-collaborator with Allen Angel of Hero Town. 

Wendy Pini, world-renowned creator of Elf Quest talked about her days as an artist in Gilroy1969.

"It was tough; it was a trial by fire because I was one of the weirdos, one of the different ones, artistic, imaginative. The school system was very conservative, very oriented toward sports and not that encouraging of the arts. It made me tougher and made me stand up to criticism. I left Gilroy as quickly as I could to get into the world. Now, I take every opportunity I can to encourage young women who want to get into the business. But I always let them know this is going to be tough. You can't expect the world to take care of your feelings and emotions. It's going to be as hard on you as it is on the guys."

Pini lives in New York and Los Angeles, however she is willing to visit Gilroy to give the city another chance. "I would be delighted to come back to talk to high students and answer any questions and encourage them in any way I can."

When you think of comic books and graphic novels, what comes to mind? A nerdy single male sequestered in his bedroom reading Superman? Hardly. That stereotype died with the dinosaurs.

I remember when I was a kid; I couldn’t find decent science fiction or comic genre shows on prime time television. Only on early Saturday mornings when the networks aired less than a handful of superhero cartoons.

Actually, I read Archie comics, Little LuLu, Ritchie Rich, Crazy, Cracked and Mad magazine.

Now, the comic book genre is more mainstream. It garnered respect in the entertainment industry where anyone can watch comic-related material at the movie theater, television or on the Internet. Public venues where many like-minded individuals with a passion for comics are able to meet at one of the fastest growing media conventions in the United States.

Wonder Con in San Francisco is the perfect place to interface from April 1st to the 3rd at the Moscone Center. Last year close to forty thousand people got to see Iron Man 2 and notables such as Sergio Aragones, creator of Groo The Wanderer and Michael Chiklis actor, producer, and creator of The Shield.

If you’re a fan of BBC America they will show parts of the new Dr. Who season on Sunday, April 3rd. Anime, gaming, a masquerade competition on Saturday evening, movies, panels with Hollywood professionals, and artist alley await convention goers. Another cool thing is Comic Creator Connection where artists and writers can build creative teams.

Special guest Berkeley Breathed will be in San Francisco this year. He’s famous for the comic strip Bloom County, which won a Pulitzer Prize. One of his children’s books Mars Needs Moms was made into a Disney movie, which is currently in theaters.

However, Wonder Con wasn’t always this large. Comic retailers John Barrett and Bob Borden and Rory Root with comics writer Mike Friedrich formed the small but intimate The Wonderful World of Comics back in 1986. They met in Oakland moved over to San Francisco in 2002 and changed the name to Wonder Con.

Tery Karvonen, from Oakland, attended many Wonder Cons in the past as a professional in small press, self-published comics and illustration along with her husband Kevin. She noticed the stratospheric rise of the 3-day event over the years.

“Comics is the foundation of Wonder Con, but it also pulls in consumers of mass media, television and movies. When Wonder Con started, it was a small local, event, and lot of us who attended knew each other. It was a nice, low-key local alternative. Over time, of course, it kept growing,” Karvonen said.

“I've enjoyed alternative and science fiction ever since I was a teenager, and always loved to draw . . . I came into comics rather late, and became interested in them as a vehicle for serious story telling. My favorite is Maus by Art Spiegelman, which I think should be required reading for anyone who thinks comics are just for kids and sci-fi nerds.”

Like most musicians, the members of Mushroom Town’s wind symphony are driven to produce harmonious sounds to delight the ears of young and old alike. They don’t do it for the money, as most of their gigs are unpaid ones, unless some special occasion or arrangement is made in advance. Just because they play for the pure enjoyment of creating light-hearted classical renditions or pops for the masses, doesn’t mean they lack talent. What makes the Morgan Hill Wind Symphony (MHWS) stand apart from other bands is the fact that they welcome youth to be part of the ensemble and play alongside them at concerts. You’ll notice family members performing side by side, moms, dads, their children or siblings at gigs. MHWS is a family-friendly lot in the south valley.

“From the very beginning, the Morgan Hill Wind Symphony mentored middle and high school students who are proficient at playing their instruments. We let them try out,” Tuba player Don Jensen said. MHWS gleans musical talent from within the ranks at schools or from the community. They have more junior high kids trying out instead of high school teens because everyone understands the demanding schedule the poor students must endure throughout the four years.

“We want the kids to enjoy the experience <of playing music> for life and not get burnt out,” Jensen said. He probably knew of potential recruits who put down their clarinet or trumpet for good to pursue sports or something entirely different because they were forced to practice everyday and not have a normal life like most other children their age. Another segment of MHWS is the ringers; these part-time performers are similar to auxiliary help whenever there is a gap in the orchestra. They come in and fill the void where a certain player or section is absent. The ringers aren’t committed full-time to the symphony and are delegated to temporary status, yet these guys are extremely helpful and valuable when drafted for musical duty.

Back in the mid-1980’s south valley residents Steve Potter, who held a Masters in Trumpet, and Jensen decided to form an instrumental band for kicks. At the time, they attended Morgan Hill Presbyterian Church on the corner of Dunne and De Witt avenues and the two formed a part-time orchestral group aptly dubbed The Morgan Hill Wind Symphony (MHWS). Their modest beginnings didn’t deter them from recruiting others in the city to partake in this new adventure, the process was painstakingly slow and the numbers were small. Over the years membership grew and remained steady at fifty-five in the summer and slimmed down to thirty-five in the winter. This pattern repeats itself annually. 

Anyone wishing to be part of this group must know how to read music, play any wind or percussion instrument well, and attend rehearsals. MHWS is strict about rehearsals; they’ve been having them every Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. on the property of the Morgan Hill Presbyterian Church ever since. Because the symphony comprises of volunteers and the outfit being a nonprofit, potential applicants are required to dole out thirty bucks to join the band. This will cover expenses for music, instruments or concert fees for the year.

You may think these are bunch of rank amateurs with little promise but that isn’t the case at all.  Several professional musicians are members too who lovingly share their passion for the classics, including the conductor, Vernon Miyata. He hails from the east bay and is the musical director of San Lorenzo High School. His brother Howard is part of the High Sierra Jazz group that regularly performs at paid gigs. Tom Brozene Sr. another professional, posses a Master’s Degree in Trumpet and mentors the youth like his peers.

Jensen summed up MHWS’s philosophy on their laid-back approach to life and the stressful demand of higher levels of musical complexity. “We don’t want the wind symphony to be a job. We already have jobs. We want to relax when we play.” To get more information on the Morgan Hill Wind Symphony, please go online to www.morganhillwindsymphony.org.

The South Valley is a treasure trove of artistic talent, however most of these gifted individuals or groups are hidden among the bucolic setting and unfortunately are often overlooked by the masses in our cities. Unless the artists themselves advertise and market their wares, whether it is visual expression, dance, music, literary works, or theater, hardly anyone will experience the pleasure of meeting them. My contribution of representing the arts in the south county and beyond via my column hopefully has enlightened, entertained and boost the public awareness of the talent among us. With the recent changes in the paper this will be my last piece for the Arts In Motion series and I choose to honor Morgan Hill artist Tom King.  His simple yet provocative pastel paintings of wild animals, abstracts, landscapes and still lifes captured many an eye with his moody depictions.

King’s rugged exterior belies his gentle thoughtful demeanor and his ability to create living beings on paper in vivid hues in soft pastel. Like most artisans, he unleashed his creative side in grammar school, taking his first art class in junior high, which included clay sculpting, ceramics, wood block carving, paper Mache, and of course drawing.  Later on King took it a step further and enrolled at Central Missouri University, taking commercial art for a year. Down the road the sense of duty prevailed in his heart and he enlisted in the army to help our country fight the Vietnam War. The Mid West native traveled the world and subsequently married Leesa an emergency room nurse and avid runner who he met in Missouri. He is now retired from the military and devotes his time in developing his latest painting or photographic techniques.

When King isn’t painting he is molding or shaping recycled materials into interesting abstract figures. “It helps me to interpret things by which I am influenced though images. This is why I’m doing this after thirty years of putting art on hold,” he said. Customers who purchase his artwork are visibly moved by his portrayal of cats, turkeys or nature working in synergistic harmony.  The influential artist behind King’s works is an oldie but goodie from the 18th Century. “Vermeer is one of my favorite painters for his mastery of light to convey mood,” King said, which explains the luminescence of the animals in his pastel renderings and by contrast the absence of light in his brooding landscapes. The drawings themselves are 3D in quality simply because King is skillful in placing the lights and darks in proper perspective yet arranging them in a stimulating fashion that’s out of the proverbial box.

The Morgan Hill resident has a wide range of style in expressing his ideals, feelings at which point some may not realize the colorful abstract is from the same person who painted the illuminated majestic lion piece. Why abstracts? King replied, “Abstractions are from my sub consciousness. There are no rules.”  These deeply thought out pieces are freeing for King who enjoys painting them and are among his favorites.

As for marketing his work, King is branching out into the community. He is current solo art exhibit and sale will be on for another two weeks at the Buzz Stop (formerly Good Life Café) in downtown Morgan Hill on Monterey Road. His passion for wildlife and domestic animals is such that he is donating 20 percent of the profits from his art sales to the International Humane Society and SPCA. “I sell mostly animal portraitures because of my empathy with them as co-existent beings of our planet. My emotions are expressed in each piece.” Regarding future plans, King said, “I hope to firm up a marketing strategy this year and in five years have my art support me rather than I support it . . . I had much encouragement from family and peers. Leesa continues to be the greatest supporter of my career.”

To find out more about Tom King’s solo exhibit at the Buzz Stop or to purchase any of King’s art please contact the artist at Kingshot2@aol.com or call him at 408-846-5323.

South County is known for its distinctive bedroom communities, bucolic hillsides and agricultural crops such as garlic and mushrooms, for example. What about best-selling authors? San Martin resident Karen Beaumont is a children’s book writer with a New York Times bestselling title to her credit—I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More!. She has sold thirteen books to publishing houses such as Harcourt, Harper, Dial and Holt. Her seventh title, Move Over, Rover! Was released by Harcourt this fall. Beaumont is dedicated to writing quality picture books for kids starting from infants to seven years of age. She’s a rare find in our society of someone who loves her career.

How did she find her dream job? Although she always loved writing, she seriously considered pursuing it as a career while studying on the French Riviera on a graduate fellowship. In 1985, she took a course in writing children's books and slowly dabbled in sending out her manuscripts in subsequent years.  “I thought it was easy to write picture books . . . it’s a humbling experience. You can’t be ego-driven. If you’re ego bound you can’t have people slicing your work apart. This is not for the faint of heart,”

Beaumont said, referring to her earlier submissions to publishers and receiving over a hundred rejection slips.

Beaumont sold her first book in 1994.  By 1997, she realized she needed an agent (many publishers do not accept un-agented work).  An editor at the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators national conference in Los Angeles told her about a top agent with a tough reputation in New York City. Subsequently she submitted numerous manuscripts to the agency and was finally asked to come to New York for an interview. As a single mother on a limited income, she didn’t have the money to fly back east, so she borrowed $1,000 from her parents.

One thing about Beaumont is that she's tenacious and won't give up on anything once her sights are set on a specific goal. Beaumont endured an 8-hour interview with the owner of the agency, all the while he was probing her to find out if she had what it took to make it as a children’s author. Beaumont added, “He shot holes in my story ideas and wanted to know how I felt about his critical remarks and I didn’t let them bother me. I was determined to make it no matter what. He didn’t indicate that he was signing me on until the very end of the interview." Her eighth book entitled, Who Ate All The Cookie Dough? is coming out in the Spring of 2008.

She has plenty to do in the meanwhile including book signings, author presentations at schools, and completing various other writing projects. “The extraneous activities in the business take a lot of energy. I’d rather be writing the next book,” Beaumont said, her azure eyes sparkled knowingly. “I have friends that I'm sure think I don’t work . . . I’m at Starbucks writing or somewhere else. They don’t see when I’m hunkered down at my home writing at all hours of the night or non-stop through the weekend.” Unlike traditional full-time jobs, Beaumont has the flexibility to move her hours around.

Becoming a professional author requires persistence, confidence, skill and talent. The industry is brutally honest with what they expect from writers and it’s a business like anything else so the prospective author should learn the basics in the field and keep pressing on no matter what happens. Beaumont emphasized her point further, “At a reading, I asked children if they would keep knocking on doors for trick or treating if the first five or six houses didn’t respond. How many would keep going? Not many raised their hands. I then said what if the seventh house had the bag of candy? You missed out because you gave up too soon.”

She may at times feel discouraged. However, she knows what she desires and doggedly pursues her dreams. She works hard at the business aspects of the craft and constantly digs into her creativity for a fresh story in rhyme for her young fans. When she’s not snuggled up on the couch with her pad of paper and her faithful cat Jake by her side, she’s writing at Starbucks, teaching night classes at the Adult school in Morgan Hill or working at her friend’s shop, Lady Jane's Antiques. Beaumont is scheduled to read and sign books at Barnes and Noble in Gilroy on November 14 and December 5 at 10:00 a.m.

Like most musicians, the members of Mushroom Town’s wind symphony are driven to produce harmonious sounds to delight the ears of young and old alike. They don’t do it for the money, as most of their gigs are unpaid ones, unless some special occasion or arrangement is made in advance. Just because they play for the pure enjoyment of creating light-hearted classical renditions or pops for the masses, doesn’t mean they lack talent. What makes the Morgan Hill Wind Symphony (MHWS) stand apart from other bands is the fact that they welcome youth to be part of the ensemble and play alongside them at concerts. You’ll notice family members performing side by side, moms, dads, their children or siblings at gigs. MHWS is a family-friendly lot in the south valley.

“From the very beginning, the Morgan Hill Wind Symphony mentored middle and high school students who are proficient at playing their instruments. We let them try out,” Tuba player Don Jensen said. MHWS gleans musical talent from within the ranks at schools or from the community. They have more junior high kids trying out instead of high school teens because everyone understands the demanding schedule the poor students must endure throughout the four years.

“We want the kids to enjoy the experience <of playing music> for life and not get burnt out,” Jensen said. He probably knew of potential recruits who put down their clarinet or trumpet for good to pursue sports or something entirely different because they were forced to practice everyday and not have a normal life like most other children their age. Another segment of MHWS is the ringers; these part-time performers are similar to auxiliary help whenever there is a gap in the orchestra. They come in and fill the void where a certain player or section is absent. The ringers aren’t committed full-time to the symphony and are delegated to temporary status, yet these guys are extremely helpful and valuable when drafted for musical duty.

Back in the mid-1980’s south valley residents Steve Potter, who held a Masters in Trumpet, and Jensen decided to form an instrumental band for kicks. At the time, they attended Morgan Hill Presbyterian Church on the corner of Dunne and De Witt avenues and the two formed a part-time orchestral group aptly dubbed The Morgan Hill Wind Symphony (MHWS). Their modest beginnings didn’t deter them from recruiting others in the city to partake in this new adventure, the process was painstakingly slow and the numbers were small. Over the years membership grew and remained steady at fifty-five in the summer and slimmed down to thirty-five in the winter. This pattern repeats itself annually. 

Anyone wishing to be part of this group must know how to read music, play any wind or percussion instrument well, and attend rehearsals. MHWS is strict about rehearsals; they’ve been having them every Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. on the property of the Morgan Hill Presbyterian Church ever since. Because the symphony comprises of volunteers and the outfit being a nonprofit, potential applicants are required to dole out thirty bucks to join the band. This will cover expenses for music, instruments or concert fees for the year.

You may think these are bunch of rank amateurs with little promise but that isn’t the case at all.  Several professional musicians are members too who lovingly share their passion for the classics, including the conductor, Vernon Miyata. He hails from the east bay and is the musical director of San Lorenzo High School. His brother Howard is part of the High Sierra Jazz group that regularly performs at paid gigs. Tom Brozene Sr. another professional, posses a Master’s Degree in Trumpet and mentors the youth like his peers.

Jensen summed up MHWS’s philosophy on their laid-back approach to life and the stressful demand of higher levels of musical complexity. “We don’t want the wind symphony to be a job. We already have jobs. We want to relax when we play.” To get more information on the Morgan Hill Wind Symphony, please go online to www.morganhillwindsymphony.org.

Visual artist Marie Christine Briot-Connolly, a French resident in California, continually leaves an indelible impression in the South Valley with her colorful paintings of the area for several years now. In 2005, the Parisian entered Morgan Hill’s Centennial Poster Art contest and blew the competition away with her vibrant depiction of a sultry August afternoon along the main drag of the city’s downtown. Her award-winning piece demonstrates plainly that she’s an accomplished artist. Briot-Connolly studied Arts in France and Interior Design in the Dublin Institute of Design in Ireland. She pursued her passion for modern literature, which led to a Masters degree in American Literature. This explains why she can speak English fluently despite being on US soil for only a short time. She emigrated from Europe over four years ago, following her husband Peter Connolly, an Irish native. The transition was interesting, as expected for anyone who is diving into an unfamiliar culture. However, she tackled the chore of integrating into the American mainstream with noticeable results.

Not only are her rich representations of the California coastline or the South Valley hanging at various restaurants, public venues or at an exhibition, but also many of her pieces are in the homes of private collectors. How Briot-Connolly got here is by old-fashioned hard work, perseverance and believing in herself that she can pull it off by marketing her stuff to the community. Everyone who ever thought of jumping into visual art knows the road to success is tough, requiring years of training and practice. You keep on learning and creating and practicing until you stop being a painter. There aren’t any shortcuts in this business. Anyone should seriously consider the cost of becoming a professional painter, sculptor or animator before launching into the profession. Whether it is full time or part-time artist.

Learn from Briot-Connolly, she throws herself into everything she does,

Including painting. “I have passion and I’m intense about my work. I’m

intense and passionate about everything I do,” she said. Whenever stormy clouds might gather in the world around her, she finds solace in her creativity and infuses her French personality into each vivid emotional piece, sharing her love of beauty to everyone. She isn’t afraid of color and jumps right into a task always painting something new and not allowing herself to rest in yesterday’s achievements. Briot-Connolly spends long days in her studio, just like any typical full-time job. She has focus and diligence; two key ingredients in success.

Her next body of work is morphing into what she calls French Classical

 Style, subtle pastels and elegant forms inspired from France’s 18th Century, a different path from her whimsical imagery. Not only has her art evolved into another mode altogether but increased in size as well. “I’m going back to more

classical avenues in my paintings—creating a series of murals on canvas . . . 

to open deep perspectives and larger windows in the viewer’s home,” Briot-Connolly said, referring to an eight feet by six Tuscan commissioned piece, she’s working on at the moment. There will be more larger than life paintings from this charming Parisian in the near future.

And when she isn’t in her studio painting, she is out in the community

motivating people to explore the arts through the nonprofit art group Valle Del Sur Art Guild and the Morgan Hill Library Art and Culture Commission. The other love of her life is passing down the knowledge she gained over the years to others in the South Valley who wish to pick up the brush and paint. Although Briot-Connolly is happily fashioning masterpieces and instructing folks here, she still longs for her cherished French and Irish university students. Despite this, she is now dedicating more time to her own art.  Briot-Connolly offers three painting workshops in Morgan Hill throughout the year; her next workshop will be at Karen’s Art Zone in downtown Morgan Hill on September 14th, 15th and 16th.

If you would like to pick up valuable skills from this award-winning artist and add them to your artistic tool chest then sign up today by contacting Karen Hegglin of Karen’s Art Zone at 408-779-7871 or Marie Christine Briot-Connolly at MarieChristine123@Yahoo.com.

Saturday’s meeting with civic, industrial and nonprofit groups was the capstone event for the community conversations series at the Morgan Hill Community and Cultural Center. Consultant Viewpoint Learning Inc., and city officials gathered the public’s views on how money should be spent per fiscal year for Morgan Hill. These discussions began in February where people expressed their opinions in a myriad of ways of how to deal with the 1.5 million-dollar budget deficit. On April 29th, thirty leaders, including Mayor Kennedy and all five council members, poured over the same issues that the public had discussed. The diverse groups were split up in three segments and met in different rooms. Three members of Viewpoint Learning, Inc., were on hand. They had trained some of the city staff to facilitate the meetings and were also present as consultants.

City Attorney, Janet Kern seemed pleased with how things were turning out. “This is a very good way to get the community to face the issues and make hard choices,” She said. Although, the process of gathering information from residents was time-consuming, it was worth it.

“We get to participate and we’re excited to get input from the community,” Council member, Greg Sellers said. Overall the mood at Saturday’s meeting was optimistic. It was evident the policy makers were glad to hear what people had to say.

The city of Morgan Hill spends $15 million per year. Over 80% of that is for police and fire. The city only takes in $13.5 million, leaving a $1.5 million shortfall. Because the city has already cut everything it can without obvious loss of services, the city asked its residents what was important to them. Over 330 residents participated, and their demographics closely matched the voting population. Almost all of them were willing to accept a tax increase to maintain the existing services. Very few wanted police or fire service reduced to save money. Since 80% of the budget is spent on police and fire, increasing revenue is the only alternative. Two thirds of them supported a tax on development, and over half wanted more retail development to bring in sales taxes. A third of the participants were willing to accept higher taxes yet, mostly for enhanced police services.

Jack Dilles, Director of Finance, felt the series were fruitful in terms of the staff hearing what the general consensus on the budget is so far. And what’s the outcome of these roundtable talks?  “The council will have an all-day workshop on May 19th to see what common ground people have,” Dilles said. On that day, the deliberations with the council will begin on making decisions based on research gathered from the meetings.

Besides Morgan Hill, the only other city in the bay area to host community conversations is Menlo Park. Hopefully, that won’t always be the case, thanks to our south valley municipality leading the way. Community conversations aren’t strictly limited to fiscal topics and can cover gridlock issues such as traffic, growth and education.

Mayor Gavin Newsom shared the stage with the 11 elderly survivors, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, recording artist Tim Murphy, Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White, Police Chief Heather Fong, Annemarie Conroy, Executive Director of Office of Emergency Services, and many other dignitaries. A huge clock nearby announced 5 a.m.; everyone watched it with apprehension, knowing that a hundred years ago the earth shook violently at precisely 5:12 a.m. sending shock waves of destruction throughout Northern California.

Murphy sang the National Anthem to the throngs in the crisp morning air while people jostled to get a better view.  Organizer, Taren Sapienza, gave her opening remarks and introduced her special guests. Ten seconds before the black hands reached the 12-minute mark, everyone chimed in as they counted down the seconds much like a typical New Year’s Eve party.

Rumblings broke forth at the appointed time, but not from the earth.  Thousands of voices rocked the streets with their cheers as the clock read 12 after 5. The mood at the celebration was light-hearted and not foreboding. But this is San Francisco and anything goes. A moment of silence then followed, commemorating those who lost their lives during the massive shaker and fire.  A wreath was placed respectfully on the fountain.

People strained to see the raising of the ladder by the San Francisco Fire Department. Ringing of the church bells and sirens added to the cacophony as everyone watched with admiration as firefighters raced down the street in vintage fire trucks with riders decked out in period costume for the show.

Mayor Gavin Newsom then greeted everyone on national television, proudly speaking of how San Francisco built itself from the ashes. The words San Francisco Rising, with the image of the Phoenix ascending above the Golden Gate Bridge on an enormous billboard behind him summed it up best.

He then interviewed the survivors one-by-one on bended knee with hilarious, unpredictable results. When he asked the youngest of the survivors, Norma Norwood, 99 the question, “How are you?” Norwood quipped, “Cold . . . I have Gavin Newsom here to keep me warm.” The crowd applauded and the Mayor was caught off guard but quickly recovered. Norwood continued, “I was the best of the earthquake. I was conceived and born inside a tent in Golden Gate Park. My parents had to snuggle to keep warm and when you snuggle you have a baby.” She then added, “I was raised by prostitutes . . . I was called the earthquake baby but when I was 17 I didn’t want to be called that anymore.”

The eldest of the group, Chrissie Mortensen 109, shared her memories of the temblor and ensuing fire on that fateful morning in 1906, “I remember the smell of smoke and seeing a cow running down California Street with its tail in the air.”  Another survivor, Harold Hamrol, 103 told everyone the secret of longevity by working at a job for at least two days a week. The charming Hamrol, attired in a dapper Navy Blue suit, works part-time at Adronicos’ grocery store in town.  Donna and Chuck Huggins wrapped up the tribute at Lotta’s Fountain, leading the sleep-deprived but happy bunch with a heartfelt rendition of San Francisco based on the 1936 movie classic with the same name.

San Franciscans Mark Tweedie, 42 and his friend Leo Carew III, 39, always attend the major events in the City and were thrilled to be part of the 1906 earthquake and fire commemoration. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Tweedie said and disclosed information behind the destructive blaze that raged for three days in the beloved port city. “My grandmother Edna G. Steele (formerly Barney) was the youngest of five and was born in 1912, her older siblings told stories of how the family had to stay in tents in Golden Gate Park. They moved from upper Market Street,” he said. “People were torching their homes to collect insurance because the insurance companies didn’t cover earthquake damage . . . that’s what burnt San Francisco to the ground.”

The sun’s rays peeked over the horizon, casting a luminous turquoise hue in the morning sky. OES Annemarie Conroy’s invitation rang out to the thousands, her words painting the celebratory attitude of a city that overcame the worst. “Go out and have some fun! The bars open at 6. Raise a toast to the incredible city of San Francisco!”

Imagine if dead bodies were found partially buried in the backyards throughout the south valley neighborhoods—even on your property.  The grisly discovery would cause a panic, but has anyone ever blinked an eye regarding the barrage of botanical murders and assaults taking place in our gardens every day?

Solving these cases require basic knowledge in horticulture and being keenly observant of what’s happening in peoples’ yards. If Rosemary Rosales wants to create award-winning fruit pies for the San Benito County Fair and she walks outside and finds her Elberta peach tree’s leaves shriveling up or the fruit rotting, she’d want to know why.

That’s the job for the garden detective. These sleuths come in the guise of master gardeners and trained professionals in retail nurseries; they are available to help consumers with their botanical woes.

Dennis Roath, a master gardener who works in Morgan Hill, believes in conventional wisdom when it comes to taking care of plants. “Insects seldom kill plants; it’s over watering, neglect, and planting in the wrong location,” he said. He recommends bringing infected plants to a reputable nursery for diagnosis and treatment or calling the master gardener hotline.

Unanimous consent among the garden detectives is that most common pests afflicting gardens in the south valley are aphids and snails. Ants are baddies too, according to master gardeners in Santa Clara and San Benito Counties. They harvest aphids like dairy cows and transport them throughout the garden. Judi from Orchard Supply Hardware in Gilroy recommend Tangle-Foot Goo to combat the ants.  This sticky substance traps the insects and keeps them from traveling. She also suggests spraying the tree with non-toxic horticultural oil to kill the aphids.

Randy Linke from Red Roots Garden Company in Morgan Hill talked about snails devouring young plants. He favors snail bait to poison the troublesome mollusks and said to apply sparingly on soil. Stomping on snails is another way for the sheer joy of squishing the offending hordes.

Judi and Joe from Orchard Supply Hardware advise checking the contents of potting soil purchased from nurseries because the dirt may be infected with snail eggs. Fighting off snails or slugs is a major battle for many in this area and it’s best to examine newly bought plants before putting them into the ground.

“A lady came into the store with a type of potting soil with round, gel-like eggs throughout the bag,” Joe said. “OSH gave her two bags of comparable potting soil because we aim for customer satisfaction and want to take good care of them.”

Most customers walk into Paidl Gardens in Hollister with yellow citrus leaves assuming the condition is caused by not using enough fertilizer. The owner, Caryn Paidl, points out the true culprit.  “Scale causes yellowing of the tree leaves. Check the tree bark for little brown bumps, which are Scale. These can weaken plants because they suck out the sap.” Applying Volk Oil directly onto these parasites will drown them. Non-toxic sprays may work too.

Another pest found in the spring is the Spittlebug. These are the larval form of the Leaf Hopper and are encased in a sudsy mass on the stems of plants. Spittlebugs are considered harmless although their dwelling places are grotesque. Spraying them off with water does the trick and is environment friendly.

To catch the criminals in the act, step outside with a flashlight to find the source of the problem. This is true about other pests like Earwigs, slugs or suckling insects. San Juan Bautista’s Jim Sleznick said it best. “Be alert on what’s in your garden . . . get out there and see what’s going on. Look in the early morning or late evening.”

For those of you who are stumped please call the University of California Cooperative Extension of Santa Clara County Master Gardener Hotline for questions at 408-299-2638 or go online at www.mastergardeners.org.

What keeps a priceless piece of art intact for decades? Finding an answer to this challenge is the quest of any artist, gallery or museum. Art institutions know how to preserve their investments by protecting them from the harmful effects of the sun and the environment. However, the average consumer may not; therefore, it is a matter of educating the public to protect their art pieces. You may wish for the Picasso hanging your living room wall to outlast your grandchildren. It can, too—thanks to technology’s latest trend in protective art ware.

Several galleries and framing shops in the South Valley face the decision of how to preserve photographs and paintings from a variety of ways. For example, Mission Gallery in San Juan Bautista switched over to Museum glass from Conservation Clear for hanging art in the gallery. Even though both Museum and Conservation filter out ultra-violet rays (about 95-97%), there are a couple of stark contrasts between the two. When you visit the gallery, gaze at the artwork on the walls and see if there is any glare on the panes from the lighting in the room, Museum glass is less reflective. However, don’t confuse this product with non-glare glass, which leaves the image distorted when viewing from far away.

Another difference between them is pricing. Behind this is the time-consuming melting process under stringent conditions. Each process is closely monitored to insure the absence of bubbles and imperfections found in standard glass. Let’s say you want to prevent your prized watercolor from fading from sunlight or becoming damaged by fluorescent lighting. The bill for a 9x12 sheet of Conservation glass will be $10. Museum Glass will cost $43 for the same size. The frugal-minded consumer may wish to go with Conservation Clear. Museum is an excellent choice for anyone who wants the anti-reflective qualities. 

Mission Gallery owners, Piper Jaramillo and Boykin Sellers, believe in presenting the conservation package in the best fashion possible. This includes the frame, glass, backing, acid-free matting, hinge tape, and plastic corners to prevent the art from touching the glass. High-end packaging along with well-executed artwork gives the piece more value. Piper Jaramillo explained how some artists have harmed their work by using poorly packaged frames or not using the proper preservation techniques.

What are these framing techniques? Artists and photographers want to preserve their award-winning work so they have the frame shop/gallery select the museum grade matting and back board (acid/Lignin free) and mount the art with removable hinges or Mylar corners. If it is pastel work, then separators may be placed between the mat and the backing board to allow dislodged flakes to fall behind the mat.

Mission Gallery, Leedo Gallery in Gilroy, and the Art Scene in Morgan Hill avoid framing with products that contain wood pulp or Lignin because these contain acid, which discolor, burn and damage photographs and paintings. Using proper mat, backboard, and hinging tape enables the professional to remove the artwork from the frame without damaging the piece. This is what is known in the industry as reversible mounting technique.

As expected these framing techniques will cost the consumer because of the laborious efforts custom-fitting the print or artwork into the frame and conservation “sandwich.” Again, there are choices and if the would be shopper has something in mind for that special Erte or family heirloom, then going the cheap route by buying pre-made frames with standard glass won’t work.

Another interesting item to add to the preservation mix is non-glass alternatives. These aren’t heavy as glass and they don’t shatter. The downside is acrylic pieces may bend or warp and collect lint, hair or fur like Velcro and they scratch easily due to their soft surfaces. If the consumer wants the kind with scratching resistant coating then he or she must shell out more money for the privilege. The same goes for the clear, 95% UV protection type.

Leedo Gallery & Frame uses Conservation Clear for their inventory and framing purposes. They use a variety of Plexiglas products too and will be more than happy to explain the benefits to consumers. Charles Clark, owner of Leedo Gallery & Frame, understands most artists or consumers are budget-conscious these days. However, he’ll use Museum Glass if a customer requests it. Prices in the framing industry will continue to go down and eventually most people will be able to enjoy the high-end qualities of Museum Glass.

For more information on framing techniques or what type of glass to use please contact the following: San Juan Bautista’s Mission Gallery at www.missiongalleryart.com or call Piper Jaramillo at 831-623-2960. For those in Gilroy, check out Leedo Gallery at www.leedoart.com or by phone 408-842-8118. The Art Scene in Morgan Hill offers framing services; call Stacy at 408-779-4306.