Circle May 15 and 16 on your calendar. That’s when downtown Los Altos comes alive with two big community events: the Kiwanis Pet Parade and the Los Altos Rotary Club’s Fine Art in the Park.
The pet parade is scheduled 10 a.m. May 15, with hundreds of pets and their owners strolling down Main and State streets. Los Altos School District Superintendent Tim Justus, retiring at the end of the school year, is grand marshal of this year’s parade.
Town Crier staff will collect names of parade participants at the start of the event to recognize marchers’ involvement in the parade. Those who plan to participate can notify us early by e-mailing your names, names of your pets and titles of entries, if there is one. E-mail Editor Bruce Barton at [email protected].
The paper will conduct two pet parade contests this year. First, the traditional parade contest, where judges select the most outstanding entrants and award prizes to the winners. Second, the Town Crier has announced a pet parade photo contest immediately following the parade, open to photos taken at the parade.
Entrants can submit no more than two digital photos to [email protected] by May 19. The best selections will be printed in the May 26 edition, and the winner will receive a $50 prize.
The Rotary Club’s Fine Art in the Park, scheduled 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 15 and 16, features exactly that and more. In addition to displays from artists local and afar, the event at Lincoln Park includes free entertainment, wine tasting and various food vendors.
The juried art show features 175 artists working in ceramics, glass, jewelry, leather, mixed media, painting, paper art, photography, sculpture, textiles, watercolor and wood.
The current and former mayors of Los Altos and Los Altos Hills award Mayors’ Choice blue ribbons to the piece of art each selects. The winning artists can display the awards throughout the remainder of the show and will be recognized at the artists’ reception Saturday.
The entertainment schedule follows. May 15: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Los Altos High School Jazz Band; 1-3 p.m., The Megatones; 3-5 p.m., Sam Rudin, boogie, blues and jazz. May 16: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., The Jazz ConneXion; 1-3 p.m., Georgi & The Rough Week; 3-5 p.m., Blues Cadillac.
Food vendors and offerings include Lucy’s Tamale Factory, Smoothie Queens, Casbah Exotic, Willow Street Pizza, Chef Chu’s Chicken Salad and Baskin Robbins. Face painting is available for children both days.
Proceeds support an array of Rotary causes, including scholarships for local students, international projects and local non-profit organizations.
Free parking and shuttle service are available at Los Altos High School, 201 Almond Ave.
For more information, visit www.rotaryartshow.com.
