Photograph by Douglas Rider
Boogieing to the Music: Fernando Cesar Gallardo dances along belly dancer Maia to Fontain's M.U.S.E.'s tunes in front of the Willow Glen Roasting Company Saturday during the Dancing on the Avenue festival.
Dancing on the Avenue festival swings through Willow Glen
Balmy summer night brings out 35,000 to Lincoln Avenue
By Kate Carter
Approximately 35,000 people descended on Lincoln Avenue June 16 to celebrate Willow Glen's Dancing on the Avenue festival.
"To me, it was the largest Dancing on the Avenue crowd I've seen," said veteran event promoter Reed Zaro, of the sixth annual Willow Glen festival that has drawn crowds between 20,000 and 30,000 in past years. "It was very thick on that street."
The event, sponsored by the Willow Glen Business and Professional Association, "was relatively smooth," said association vice president Chris Carris. He said association sales of water, beer and wine brought in more than $40,000 before expenses, even though they did sell out of water.
"It might be close to a record, if it's not a new record," he said.
Photograph by Douglas Rider
Dancing the Night Away: Beverly Windland and Joe Bene of Palo Alto dance on the second stage, headlined by the band FlashBack, during the Dancing on the Avenue festival on Lincoln Avenue June 16.
San Jose Police Department Sgt. Larry Weir, who has helped with security at the event for the past five years, agreed that this year's festival was well-attended and well-behaved.
"Based on the past, I thought there were more people than usual this time," he said. "Families were there almost to the very end. And parking was the pits for blocks and blocks around" with cars parked as far as Broadway, Pine, Cherry and Bird avenues.
Weir said police made only one arrest of an intoxicated person, who came to the event with alcohol not available on the avenue. There was only one medical emergency, involving a diabetic person and there were no lost children.
Photograph by Douglas Rider
Magic Trick: Gary Nelson checks the lock on Majinga the magician as part of a magic trick in front of the Willow Glen Roasting Company at the Dancing on the Avenue festival June 16.
About 100 volunteers from a variety of Willow Glen businesses and organizations staffed the association's booths, Carris said. More than 30 businesses and organizations also manned booths of their own, including nine restaurants, Twist 'n Shout with children's activities and District 6 Councilman Ken Yeager's office distributing magnets with city phone numbers.
Bands at four stages kept the crowd tapping their feet. Fontain's M.U.S.E., hosted by the Willow Glen Coffee Roasting Company, Vin Santo restaurant and Violet Johnson's Wellness Spa, played near Minnesota Avenue from 5 to 7 p.m. Liquid Audio, hosted by Art Made to Match, played from 4 to 7 p.m. near Willow Street. Headliners FlashBack and the Joe Sharino Band closed out the evening, playing from about 6 to 10 p.m.
Police closed the busy thoroughfare from Minnesota Avenue to Willow Street at 3 p.m., so vendors could set up their booths and bands could prepare for their gigs. The street was cleaned up and reopened by midnight, Carris said.
Twist and Shout: Belly dancer Maia, shimmys to Fontain's M.U.S.E., in front of the Willow Glen Roasting Company, during the Dancing on the Avenue festival on Lincoln Avenue June 16.
Photograph by Douglas Rider
Unfortunately, for families with youngsters, some of the planned children's activities didn't happen. Austin Powers, scheduled to appear outside L'Daisy Patch to accompany the shop's employees, dressed in wild '70s garb, was a no-show, business association president Karen Naegeli said.
And the association opted out of having an inflatable jump apparatus because of liability concerns, Zaro said. Children, however, enjoyed a cake walk and face painting.
One booth had children's education, as well as fun, in mind. The Book for Treats program, led by Willow Glen resident Rebecca Morgan, had two volunteers to encourage people to give books, instead of candy as Halloween treats. The pilot program is based on Morgan's own practice over the past several years, volunteer and Willow Glen resident Michelle Caplette-Shaw said.
"It was the first 'going public,' so to speak," Caplette-Shaw said of their presence. "We're trying to expand it into the community. People like the idea, and a lot of kids love it," including her two children, who enjoyed receiving the "gently used" books at the Morgan home.
Photograph by Douglas Rider
Literary Effort: 'Books for Treats' booth volunteers Michelle Caplette-Shaw, left, and Linda Bickham, wait for donations during the Dancing on the Avenue festival on Lincoln Avenue June 16.
Although she and her co-volunteer, Linda Bickham of Palo Alto, went home with only a boxful of books, Caplette-Shaw said she is pleased with the interest she received from people, wanting to know how to donate books and how to buy a box of 50 books for their own distribution this year.
She added that books can be donated at the Willow Glen Farmer's Market, Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Willow Glen Elementary School parking lot, corner of Lincoln and Minnesota avenues. Books can also be donated at children's clothing store Little Things at 1337 Lincoln Ave.
Naegeli said the event was a success and that the few glitches would help the association be better prepared for the upcoming Founders Day event Sept. 8.
"I think Dancing on the Avenue did bring the community together," she said, "businesses and neighbors."
For more information about Books for Treats, call Morgan at 408.998.7977, or email rebecca@RebeccaMorgan.com.
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
