Village Briefs

Eclectic illustrator comes to meeting

The Saratoga Contemporary Artists invites interested members of the public to attend its Sept. 13 meeting, which takes place at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 13601 Saratoga Ave., at 7 p.m. This month's guest is Jim Campbell, a book illustrator who was commissioned by the U.S. Postal Service to design 30 cachets for stamp collectors, including those commemorating the California Gold Rush and California statehood.

Campbell has also used pen and ink to draw images of sailing ships that were published in Seaways magazine and shown at the Maritime Museum in San Francisco and other venues. At the meeting, he will bring some of his original works and will discuss marketing opportunities for artists.

Refreshments will be served. Saratoga Contemporary Artists is a community organization that promotes the arts and lets artists of different levels and styles socialize, network, review each others' works and occasionally paint together. Call 408.866.1309.

Drama group plans a new musical

The Saratoga Drama Group is gearing up for its fall musical, A Little Night Music, written by Stephen Sondheim and based on a book by Hugh Wheeler. The opening night performance is Sept. 15 at 8 p.m. and includes a champagne gala; the show runs through Oct. 13. Local thespian C. Michael Traw is the director; co-producers are Roberta Savage and Tim Reynolds.

All performances take place at the Saratoga Civic Theater, 13777 Fruitvale Ave. Call 408.264.3110.

Hakone course to teach Japanese

Continuing in its tradition of offering a variety of arts, crafts and cultural programs, Hakone Gardens will offer a course called Basic Survival Japanese taught by native speaker Atsuko Ikebe. The course runs eight consecutive Tuesdays, beginning Sept. 4, and is designed as an introduction to the language. No previous knowledge of Japanese is required. The course also includes Japanese brush calligraphy lessons by Sumako Minato.

Cost is $160 per person. Hakone Gardens is at 21000 Big Basin Way in Saratoga. Call 408.253.1451.

Sheriff's Report

Local Home Sales and Property Listings

Wedding: Troy and Susie Quesnel

Saratoga Sampler

Sports Briefs

Pitcher Brian Stirm drafted by San Francisco Giants

Prospect High School football preview

SCVAL team wins national corporate track championship