Saratoga News

Photograph by Scott Lechner

Spinning their partners around, the "Country in Motion" dancers draw a large crowd during their dance routines Saturday night at the Celebrate Saratoga! street fair. Following their performances, the corps of dancers gave lessons to the party crowd.

Spirits soar even as rain falls on the Celebrate Saratoga! festival

Annual event focuses on restaurants, wineries

By Sarah Lombardo

For the first time in 10 years, rain fell on Big Basin Way during Celebrate Saratoga! activities. But the unusual weather didn't seem to dampen the usually high spirits of the Celebrate Saratoga! festival-goers, who braved the rain and partied anyway.

"It really scared us for about half an hour," Sheila Arthur, executive director of the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce said. "It slowed the crowd down a bit, but we were really astonished."

According to Arthur, "the crowd kept coming. We had less than previous years, but still a lot of people," she said.

In past years, Celebrate Saratoga! activities have drawn upwards of 20,000 people to Saratoga Village for the evening of live music and food. Exact figures for the number of attendees for this year's street dance were not available at press time. And officials from the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department's Westside Substation said there were no major incidents during the festivities.

One band did find itself too soggy to play, however. The Bridge band, Karaoke Kid, Country Line Trio and Country in Motion all stuck it out, but the rock and blues band Sliders had to pack up its gear and go home. But, Arthur said, "The others dried up and continued on."

But the Fourth Street stage was not long empty. Late into the night, a group of teens--drum set and guitar in hand--claimed the stage. Arthur said she and other Chamber officials have yet to find out who the mystery band was but, "We were very pleased. They saw a need and they filled it. How they got that drum set in, I don't know. ..."

The annual Celebrate Saratoga! provides a showcase for local restaurants, wineries and shops. Originally created to celebrate the reopening of Big Basin Way after massive road work--and to announce the survival of Village stores during the lengthy project that caused the demise of some 13 other businesses--the street dance now caps a week of community activities, including exhibits at the Saratoga Community Library and a spaghetti dinner at Our Lady of Fatima Villa.

This year's Celebrate Saratoga! also heralded the 75th anniversary of the Saratoga Fire District, which held an open house inviting residents and festival-goers to pore over old pictures of the department's early days and view architectural drawings for the building's future renovation.

Arthur said she and other Chamber members will tally up tickets stubs by the end of the week and determine how much money the festival made.

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