To celebrate the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, a viewing party will be held this Friday night, August 8, at St. James Park in downtown San Jose. The festivities will kickoff starting at 5:00pm and will include a broadcast of the opening ceremonies on a big screen courtesy of NBC11. The opening ceremonies broadcast begins at 8:08 pm. Events at St. James Park will include special appearances by local Bay Area Olympians, an Olympic trivia contest, live music, and lots of other fun activities for the whole family. The viewing party at St. James Park is anticipated to be the largest viewing event in the Bay Area.

The Olympics viewing party is sponsored by San Jose Park & Recreation, San Jose Sports Authority, Bay Area Sports Organizing Committee, and NBC11.

Olympics Viewing Party
Friday, August 8, 2008
5:00 pm - 10:30 pm
St. James Park
Downtown San Jose

The sounds of jazz are about to fill the air in downtown San Jose as the 19th Annual Comcast San Jose Jazz Festival is set to kick off this weekend, August 8-10, 2008. The Jazz Festival is a fantastic summer event that’s fun and entertaining for the whole family. Over 80 performances on 10 different stages around downtown San Jose will entertain an expected 80,000 music lovers from around the world. In addition to the traditional jazz and blues, jazz is the basis for much of the modern music we listen to today, and all of it will be featured this weekend at the San Jose Jazz Festival. This includes salsa, Latin, electronica, and R&B. Musicians scheduled to perform at the San Jose Jazz Festival include The Manhattan Transfer, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, David Sanborn, Zakir Hussain, and many, many more. If you are a music lover, this is the event to be at!

For a schedule of performances, click here.

19th Annual Comcast San Jose Jazz Festival
August 8-10, 2008
Various Locations in Downtown San Jose

For more information or to purchase tickets for the 19th Annual Comcast San Jose Jazz Festival, call (408) 288-7557 or click here.

The annual National Night Out event will be held Tuesday, August 5, 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm, at St. James Park in downtown San Jose. National Night Out is an annual nationwide event billed as “America’s Night Out Against Crime” and is a unique crime and drug prevention event. The focus of National Night Out is heighten drug and crime prevention awareness, strengthen neighborhood spirit, and encourage police-community partnerships.

Events promoting National Night Out are held in various locations throughout the country. Locally in downtown San Jose, National Night out will be held at St. James Park and will include refreshements and food generously sponsored by Zanotto’s Downtown Market. Program events include updates about the Master Plan for St. James Park, live music, and raffle. Historic walking tours including visits to the Fallon House and Peralta Adobe will be conducted by History San Jose. In additon, representatives of the San Jose Police Department will also be on hand to discuss neighborhood safety issues.

National Night Out at St. James Park is sponsored by St. James Historic District Neighborhood Association (SJHDNA), San Jose Downtown Residents Association (SJDRA), and San Jose Police Department (SJPD).

National Night Out
St. James Park
August 5, 2008
6:00 pm to 8:30 pm

For additional information about National Night Out at St. James Park, contact Shirley Bell, SJHDNA President, at bellminnie@aol.com.