Saratoga Sampler

Sister City group sponsors trip to Thailand, Japan

By Mary Ann Cook

THAILAND & JAPAN: Saratoga's Sister City is sponsoring a trip to Thailand and Japan starting Oct. 30. The group will spend nine days in Thailand and seven days in Japan. Frank Riddle and John Tauchi are the planners par excellence.

Cost is $3,500 per person, plus a $100 donation to Saratoga Sister City. There is already a waiting list. If enough people sign up, another bus will be added. If a total of 65 isn't reached, those on the waiting list will be fully refunded. Participants must be paid-up members of Saratoga Sister City. Deadline for signing on is June 30. Call Frank Riddle at 408.245.7487 for more information.

In other SSC news, Tomoe Doss of Saratoga was awarded the Gomersall Scholarship for the year 2000. Doss will take West Valley College students to Japan for a cultural exchange that will introduce the students to a home stay, a drama workshop, a Buddhist temple, tea ceremony schools and study at Japan's broadcasting company.

Doss will finance her own trip and use the scholarship money for materials. She teaches Japanese language, literature and culture as well as classical and modern drama at San Jose State University. She has a master's degree in Japanese studies and one in fine arts.

New officers nominated to head Sister City for 2000-2001 are Joan Gomersall, president; Peter Marra, vice president; Phyllis Ballingall, secretary; and Don Morgan, treasurer.

PORCINE SIGHTING: The 4H Club wanted to establish a real relationship with residents at the Odd Fellows Home, not just make up baskets or gifts. A group of about 25 started going weekly to entertain and make friends with residents.

Some read, some play the piano and one 12-year old, Bianca Diaz, sings opera. "It was so beautiful we were in tears," says leader Deborah Lang about Bianca's performance. There was also Mexican dancing and Asian snacks. The snacks were courtesy of Jennifer Ku and her mother. All of this activity illustrates the leader's creed of celebrating the group's diversity.

But one wish was unfulfilled. Eva Hope, 97, a resident of the home, confided that she wanted to see a pig, up close and personal. Ever since, Lang's been on the lookout. Then she heard that some pigs had been born at the Santa Clara County Fair and asked if she could take Hope to the fair.

She got the O.K., so that's how that pig request was answered. Lang and a colleague escorted Mrs. Hope to the newborn litter, first by car and then by wheelchair. The longing for a last look at a pig was probably occasioned by nostalgia for a childhood sight, Lang conjectures.

LG YACHT CLUB: Dawn Riley, perhaps the foremost woman sailor in the land, spoke at a recent Los Gatos Yacht Club meeting to a packed room of 100 sailors and fans at the Toll House Hotel. Riley was skipper of America True, the San Francisco Yacht Club's challenge for America's Cup 2000. She is the first woman to lead an America's Cup team.

She has sailed in two Whitbread Round the World races. Her talk was punctuated by slides and videotapes taken by Tom Zinn of the America's Cup race. Zinn, a Saratoga High school grad, works as a videographer and computer consultant. He's also Riley's significant other.

The tape showed how close the entries come to each other. It's amazing there aren't more collisions. Riley learned to sail as a child. when her family cruised the Caribbean for a year. She was named Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year. The Whitbread courses through 33,000 miles under extreme conditions.

It was an all-woman team and "there were times I wanted to put a couple of girls overboard, but the irony was I was responsible for them," she says dryly. The Whitbread takes nine months to sail. The crew eats freeze-dried food and doesn't shower for the duration. Not everyone's idea of adventure, certainly.

AVA ART SHOW: Members of the Saratoga Contemporary Artists and the Los Gatos Art Association will show their works at the South Bay Fine Arts Festival on June 3 and 4, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. outside the Triton Museum in Santa Clara at 1505 Warburton Ave.

The event is sponsored by the Alliance of Visual Artists. Some 450-500 pieces of artwork will be on display. Judges were Dale Laitinen, Beth Van Hoesen and Mark Adams. One sculptor whose work elicits excitement is Phil Lange of the Mountain Art Guild, reports Marian Gault.

LITERARY AWARD: The Montserrat Review, edited by Calder Lowe, was one of two literary magazines cited for a significant contribution to American letters by National Public Radio. The Annual Award for Excellence is given by NPR's "The Poet and the Poem."

The award is presented to acknowledge publications that further established writers and present new literary voices. The local connection is the work of Saratogans, such as Mary Lou Taylor and Los Gatans, such as Parthenia Hicks that are showcased therein.

AT AEGIS: Realism in Pastel is the show at Aegis Gallery until June 25, featuring the work of Nick Umnajkykam.

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