Cinequest!

Film Festival! San Jose is known for festivals, and starting this Wednesday, Cinequest comes back to San Jose. It's an annual independent film festival, with documentaries and shorts thrown in. I tried to go last year, but was unsuccessful, so get your tickets early and show up early. There are tons of amazing movies being shown around town. Find all the info here: http://www.cinequest.org/indexCQ.php

Unique culture of San Jose

Right now, most of the culture in San Jose revolves around art and music. If you're in to jazz or blues, opportunities for free and cheap concert abound. San Jose is also a serious rival for San Francisco in terms of art. There are almost countless art galleries to check out. (For a full listing go to: metroactive.com and click the arts in the upper right hand menu. Then go to search upcoming San Jose area arts events and click galleries on the front page. Really convoluted, but it's a very thourough list. Mertro Active used to make it a little easier to find, but still keeps a good list). On the first friday of each month, check out South First Fridays. An art gallery crawl on S. 1st st, the town and city council are trying to make this part of downtown an art district. The more people go, the better it will get. Take a look at the calendar here: http://www.southfirstfridays.com/

There is also a great culture around plays and other theater arts. There are numerous live theaters in San Jose and many of them are more affordable than big playhouses in other cities. I saw 1776, a musical about the signing of the Declaration if Independence, at the Montgomery Theater next to the tech museum. One of my new favorite plays, I was able to see it for under $25, and because the theater was small enough, there is no nosebleed section! (See their calendar here: http://www.sanjose.org/meetings/facilities/montgomery.php?x=eventcalender).

San Jose and Silicon Valley can also be noted for their festivals. The list includes the Jazz Festival, Italian Family Festa, Gay Pride, and a Chili Cook off with free samples all day in Palo Alto. Something that may be suprising to note about San Jose is the wine. Santa Clara and the surrounding cities have excellent wineries, and wine tasting can usually be found somwhere in the city on any given day. Area wineries are experienceing the effects of the economy, so if you love wine, support our local wineries!

Museums in Silicon Valley are turly amazing, and much cheaper than in other large cities. All of the best ones, including the Tech Museum of Innovation, The SJ Museum of Art, The Children's Museum and the Egyptian Museum are all under $10, and some offer sliding scales or library card and student discounts. There are also some you can see for free.

San Jose is also a great place to raise kids. The Children's Museum has fun and interacitve exhibits, and there are always children's activities going on.

There aren't as many free events in San Jose and the Silicon Valley as there are in San Francisco, but if you're a resident or a visitor, there are so many quality opportunities for low cost outings, San Jose shouldn't be a town to pass by.

Books!

Love reading. If you feel the same, check out Recycle Bookstore.

You can buy or sell your books here, so you can make or spend money. Recycle Books has two locations, 1066 The Alameda, San Jose, and another on E Campbell Ave, Campbell. Both streets are fun to explore, so after you buy or sell your books, you can read and wander around checking out the avenues.

Each store has a unique collection, but the Campbell store is the one I photographed. Here, I found pretty good discounts on new books, and great discounts on hardcovers. You can also take a trip back in time to your childhood in the kids section with Babar and Richard Scary, if you grew up in the 80s and 90s. Or even a little bit earlier if you look closely.

On the way out I got the book for Silicon Valley Reads, "Not a Genuine Black Man". (A really great bio about a black man growing up in then all white San Leandro, go locals!) SV reads is an annual event put on by the city libraries, office of education and county libraries. They've got book discussions and meet the author events through April. Check out their site here:

http://www.siliconvalleyreads.org/2009-10/aboutsvr.asp

The bookstore in Campbell has a kitty, so if you're allergic, try the one in San Jose. If not, pet away!

Fremont, India Good food and good films

Have you ever seem a 3 - 4 hour epic move that kept your attention the whole time? If you haven't, check out Bollywood, India's Hollywood. The films range from serious like Raaz to something truly strange (but good!) like Main Hoon Na with Slumdog Millionaire somewhere in the middle. An easy to get to place to see these awesome films is the Naz 8 in Fremont.

Located literally across the street from the Bart station, you can make a day of the nearby shopping. Take in a flick at the Naz 8, shop at the Indian hair salon/clothing store next door and have dinner at the Indian place all in one spot. The Naz 8 is cash only, so bring your wallet! In addition to the regular crazy overpriced movie foods, you can get really good samosas in the lobby. Movies are usually $8 - 10 dollars, but on Tuesdays they offer them for only $5!

The Indian restaurant near by offers some great food. The service isn't the best, but it isn't too expensive, and if you're hungry for more Indian media, they show movies in the seating area.

Check out the show times and film descriptions here:

http://naz8.com/

Yes you can has cheezberger

It might be a chain, but it's good. Johnny Rockets in downtown San Jose is a far out place to get a great burger. They're a 50's diner type place, with glittery chairs and booths, and all the great oldies on the radio. You can sing along while you eat! Once again, this post is the victim of computer crashes, otherwise, there's be some great interior shots, but if you like diners, this is a place to try.

The waiters are friendly, and if you're vegetarian, they serve one of the best gardenburgers of all the restaurants that serve them! They also have a kids menu where you can get cheap food, like PB&J or grilled cheese. Mmmm.

http://www.johnnyrockets.com/index2.php



Locations:

105 S 1st St
San Jose

840 Blossom Hill Rd
San Jose

1600 Saratoga Ave
San Jose

Photo Credit: Katie