On a hike with my family last week at Villa Montalvo in Saratoga, we came across something that at a distance looked like flat mushrooms growing inside a circle of Bay laurel trees. Upon close inspection, it turns out the mushroom-looking shapes were actually stacks of old editions of the Mercury News, wet and pressed against each other — almost beyond recognition.
The layout looked like newspapers from the mid-2000s, and I racked my brain on how they wound up there off the Redwood Trail behind the Montalvo Arts Center’s amphitheater. This wasn’t some random dumping — and it had enough of a “Blair Witch” vibe to it that I was glad I didn’t make this discovery on my own.
It didn’t take long to find out that this was the remnant of a public art piece called “Nest,” which was created in 2005 by environmental artist Steven Siegel. It and another, larger piece called “Stories of Katrina” used more than 23,000 cubic yards — about 11 tons — of newspapers donated by the Mercury News as a memorial to the hurricane that devastated the Gulf Coast in August 2005. With the help of assistants and community volunteers, the 18-foot-high “Stories of Katrina” was built on Montalvo’s Great Lawn and de-installed in 2006.
“Nest,” however, has survived nearly 15 years, soaking in the elements and becoming part of its environment. And if you’re hiking around Montalvo, it’s a touching discovery to make.
SHADOWS OF MEMORIES: Playwright Cristal González Avila has produced a fascinating project for Teatro Visión called “Luz: A Shadow Play Inspired by Senior Stories” that has its world premiere Saturday at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in San Jose. With funding from Silicon Valley Creates’ X Factor grant, the project gathered stories from San Jose seniors during workshops and interviews, who talked about memories like marching with Cesar Chavez, watching a mother battle cancer and coming out as gay at age 60.
Their stories will be brought to life by actors Stephanie Ceja and Hector Ruela Sanchez, along with shadow puppets and projections. The performance takes place at the Mexican Heritage Plaza’s gallery at 8 p.m. A $20 ticket price is recommended, but you also can pay what you can between $10 and $40. Go to www.teatrovision.org/senior_stories for more information.
ROSY OUTLOOK FOR 2020: The San Jose Municipal Rose Garden, which is home to 189 varieties of the sweet-smelling flower, has its annual volunteer event on Saturday from 8:45 a.m. to noon. Regular volunteers and home gardeners can show up — no need to RSVP — and learn how to properly prune roses during the event.
The Rose Garden at the corner of Naglee and Dana avenues was named “America’s Best Rose Garden” in 2010 and much of the credit for its continued beauty goes to the volunteers who put in more than 30,000 hours every year.
SINGING IN THE NEW YEAR: If you know a boy who likes to sing, you might want to point them toward Redwood City, where the Ragazzi Boys Chorus is holding its annual SingFest on Saturday. The free, half-day mini-camp for boys ages 7 to 10 includes singing, games and a short performance for parents. It also serves as an introduction to the Peninsula choral group, which has more than 250 singers — ages 5 to 18 — from more than 100 schools in the Bay Area. SingFest starts at 9:30 a.m. at St. Peter’s Church in Redwood City, and more information is available at bit.ly/SINGFEST.
Meanwhile, Schola Cantorum is inviting singers of any age to its community singalong on Jan. 26 at Los Altos United Methodist Church. The 3 p.m. event, “My Favorite Things: The Songwriting Genius of Richard Rodgers,” will showcase hits from Broadway shows including “The Sound of Music,” “South Pacific,’” and “Oklahoma!” Dawn Reyen, Schola’s assistant director, will direct the singalong and accompany on piano — and don’t worry about the lyrics, as they’ll be projected on a screen. Admission is $15, and you can get more info at scholacantorum.org.