Saratoga News

Sheila Arthur

Celebrate Saratoga does just what its name says

By Sarah Lombardo

The Celebrate Saratoga! Taste of Saratoga street dance, scheduled for Sat., Sept. 27, is bound to draw a large crowd again this year, and Big Basin Way businesses will benefit.

"It brings 20,000 potential customers in front of their stores," Sheila Arthur, executive director of Saratoga's Chamber of Commerce, said. "We suggest [store owners] put lots of specials in their windows for when they are open. A few of them stay open, and they say it's the best night that they have."

According to Arthur, last year's street dance attracted about 25,000 residents and visitors. "People make vacations around Celebrate," she said.

Last year's event also raised about $36,000, 72 percent of which was returned to local restaurants involved in the celebration. The money is a far cry from the event's first-year profits of about $7,000. But then again, business was different then, too.

The first Celebrate Saratoga! was designed to attract residents to the Saratoga Village and let them know the area was back up and running. Arthur said that extensive street work on Big Basin Way in 1988 made travel to and through the Village virtually impossible and affected the stores' sales dramatically.

"We actually lost about 13 businesses [in the Village] because it was horrible to get down the street," Arthur said. "It was a very sad time."

Arthur said Chamber members met after completion of the roadwork to discuss what they could do to tell residents the Village was back in business. "And it came out that we should be dancing in the street," she said. And the concept was born.

During the group's last meeting the week before the event, scheduled for October 1989, the Loma Prieta earthquake hit. It was decided that the celebration should go on, but that proceeds would go to the Los Gatos Earthquake Relief Fund, since the neighboring city had suffered more damage.

The Celebrate Saratoga! festivities begin with a spaghetti feed on Wednesday, Sept. 24 from 5 to7 p.m. at Our Lady of Fatima Villa. The cost is $4 for adults and $3 for children. The villa is located at 20400 Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road and reservations can be made by calling 741-2954.

The official kick-off will be held at a high tea at the Saratoga Senior Center, located at 19655 Allendale Ave. The tea will begin at 3 p.m., and costs $10. Residents are encouraged to dress in their finery and call 868-1257 for reservations.

Friday will see a children's carnival, to be held at the Saratoga Parent Nursery, located at 20490 Williams Ave., from 9:30 to11 a.m. For more information, call 867-9774.

Saturday's activities include:

* a tour of the Southwest YWCA facility, located at 13500 Quito Road. People who mention Celebrate Saratoga! will receive a family guest pass. For more information, call 408/370-1877;

* guided docent tours at Hakone Gardens on Saturday and Sunday at 1, 2 and 3 p.m. The gardens are located at 21000 Big Basin Way and parking is $5. More information is available by calling 741-4994;

*Celebrate the Taste of Saratoga! Street Dance on Big Basin Way from 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. Free parking and shuttle service will also be available from Saratoga High School, at the corner of Herriman Avenue and Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road. For more information, call 867-0753.

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