Saratoga News Village Briefs Seniors sought to work with children at Walden West Senior citizens who are creative and enjoy the outdoors are encouraged to sign up as volunteers with the Walden West Center, tucked away in the mountains at 15555 Sanborn Road in Saratoga. Formerly known as the Redwood Glen Program, Walden West is looking for seniors to work with elementary school age children in the areas of gardening, arts and crafts, storytelling, astronomy and other outdoor skills. Call 867-5950 for information on volunteering. 'Cycle of Songs' at Montalvo Gallery For its first exhibit of the new year, the Gallery at Montalvo features Cycle of Songs by South Bay artist, photographer, writer, poet and college professor Jacqueline Thurston. The exhibition runs Jan. 10 through Feb. 7. This body of work, which represents a nearly 10-year effort, consists of cibachrome photographs Thurston has taken of mixed media assemblages. Each "photo object" is accompanied by poetic text mounted in hand-crafted wooden boxes. On view are "Song of the Bear," "Song of the Sea," "Song of the Shaman," "Song of the Fire" and her latest "Song of the Moon." Among other things, Thurston addresses concerns of spirit, power and taboo in her works. A reception with the artist takes place Jan. 10 at 2 p.m. at the Gallery at Montalvo, 15400 Montalvo Road, Saratoga. For information, call 961-5813. WVC holds free job orientation People interested in starting or changing their career, West Valley College, at 14000 Fruitvale Ave. in Saratoga, offers a free career orientation event on Jan. 9 at 10 a.m. Faculty will be on hand to answer questions about career programs in fields including healthcare technology, fashion and interior design, park management, court reporting, the paralegal field, business careers, computer applications, desktop publishing and multi-media. Those attending can also find out about West Valley services such as financial aid, childcare, health services, equal opportunity programs and adult re-entry. To sign up for the event, or for more information, call 741-2098. [ Back to Contents Page | Saratoga News Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Saratoga News, January 6, 1999. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.