A new street mural will be painted on San Pedro Street in downtown San Jose later this month, and hundreds of people will have a hand in creating it. It’s not too late to be part of it, either.
San Jose artist and graphic designer Jim Fonseca, who might be better known as Jimmy Paints, created the colorful design, titled “Threads Woven,” which will be applied to more than 12,000 square feet of the street that’s now closed to vehicles.
But that’s a lot of work for one person — or even a dozen — to cover. So Local Color, Adobe and the San Jose Downtown Association have teamed up on a plan to recruit hundreds of volunteers to help bring the asphalt mural to life. More than 500 people have signed up so far, and San Jose Downtown Association CEO Alex Stettinski thinks there’ll probably be more than 1,000 volunteers once the work starts in late May.
“This is going to be iconic. It’s going to be historic, not just the mural but the creation of the mural,” Stettinksi said. “It’s going to be amazing. So many people will take ownership of this and feel like they’re part of the revitalization of downtown.”
It’ll be done paint-by-numbers style under the guidance of Jimmy Paints and his assistants, so all the colors should end up in the right places. Work will take place during two-hour blocks between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. May 27-31, with 50 volunteer spots open for each block. You can get more information and sign up for a shift at tinyurl.com/spsmural.
PALO ALTO CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION: Hopefully Mother Nature is in a celebratory mood and stays as calm as possibly Saturday for the 100th May Fete Parade and Festival in Palo Alto.
Presented annually — save for a couple of COVID years — by the Kiwanis Club of Palo Alto, the parade will start at 10 a.m. University Avenue and Emerson Street, turning on Waverly and heading to Heritage Park. That’s where the main festivities will take place. More than two dozen community organizations will have booths, food trucks will provide the bites and there’ll by music by various school bands.
GALAXY OF CHOICES: It seems like something is going on for everyone this weekend. It’s Cinco de Mayo weekend, the Kentucky Derby and Free Comic Book Day are both happening Saturday, and there’s the aforementioned May Fete in Palo Alto. The South First Fridays art walk is also taking place this week in downtown San Jose and for “Star Wars” fans, it’s also time for May the Fourth Be With You festivities.
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If you observe, you can mix your fandom with a good brew by taking part in the “Star Wars”-themed Beer Walk on Saturday. From 2-5 p.m., beers from a dozen breweries will be poured at three locations — Jack’s, JTown Pizza and 7 Bamboo. Tickets are available at thebeerwalk.eventbrite.com for $55.
If you prefer a more traditional celebration, 3Below Theaters in downtown San Jose is screening “Star Wars” — known by the younger set these days as “Episode IV: A New Hope” — on Friday through Sunday. And Pruneyard Cinemas in Campbell is one of the many theaters bringing back 1999’s “Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace” for its 25th anniversary over the next week, but it may be the only one serving a Pod Racer cocktail or blue and red Lightsaber Churros.