Photograph by Aaron Suozzi
RZ DJ Systems sponsored a Macarena competition in which Madree Ramon (left), Maria Cruzat (right) and Marcela Ojorio (bottom) put forth their best efforts.
By Cecily Barnes
Thousands of people boogied up, down and across Big Basin Way Saturday night with heaping plates of food and glasses of wine from local wineries. The air was warm as the smiling faces drifted between the three separate bandstands trying a little swing, folk and good old rock-n-roll dancing. The braver Saratogans tried their luck at the Karoake stand, but mostly they were 12 and under.
"Most of the time the kids are less intimidated than the parents," said Eric Togami, who has brought Karoake Kids to Celebrate Saratoga for the last four years. "But later on in the night we usually get parents to sing."
But it was mostly the little people who took a turn at the mic, as the most popular song of the evening was "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."
At the DJ stand, spectators cleared a circle as Carole Francis and Juan Cabral took to the dance floor with a little West Coast swing. Others followed their lead and by 8 p.m., the audience-judged dance contest was in full force.
The rhythmically uninclined joined the party in another way, feasting on tasty snacks, from oysters and rack of lamb to pizza and cookies. There were enough booths to keep busy tasting stuff all night. Between the food, music, wine and multitudes of people ready to party, one had to try to not have fun.
While the crowd was large, it was under control and no arrests were made. The sheriff's department told Sheila Arthur, Saratoga Chamber of Commerce executive director, that their biggest problem was directing people to the buses.
"We had absolutely no problems, it went beautifully," said Sgt. Mike Van Leiden of the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department.
Arthur estimated the crowd at 18,000. She said she won't know the amount of money raised until later this week.
The bands and booths shut down at 10 p.m. and the streets were cleaned up by 1 a.m.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, October 2, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved