Los Altos and Los Altos Hills are combining forces to celebrate local veterans with a special event and a special offer for Veterans Day Thursday.
The program “Honoring Our Veterans” is scheduled 4-6 p.m. at Veterans Community Plaza, at the intersection of State and Main streets in downtown Los Altos.
Rotary Club of Los Altos members Ron Labetich and Jack Kelly will offer remarks, and a Girl Scout Daisy troop will lead the Pledge of Allegiance. Mariam Kubursi is slated to sing the National Anthem.
Veterans from the Veterans Resource Center at Foothill College will participate in the event, which will include food, cider and live entertainment.
Attendees are asked to bring canned food and warm clothing – new socks, underwear and warm coats are preferred – to donate to veterans.
• Several local businesses will offer free cups of coffee to veterans Thursday. Local residents are being asked to contribute to the businesses on behalf of the vets.
Participants include: Manresa Bread, 271 State St.; Red Berry Coffee Bar, 145 Main St.; Le Boulanger, 301 Main St.; Main Street Bagels, 666 Rancho Shopping Center; and Alotta’s Deli, 2249 Grant Road.
Los Altos Mayor Neysa Fligor recruited Los Altos Hills Mayor Kavita Tankha to help organize the events, with help from Los Altos Chamber of Commerce President Kim Mosley. Also co-sponsoring the efforts are the Rotary Club of Los Altos and the Town Crier.
Fligor and Tankha visited various businesses to solicit their participation in the coffee-for-vets promotion.
The idea for the Veterans Day event came from Fligor.
“Last year, we had a council meeting the day before Veterans Day. I had made a mental note that the city didn’t have anything planned for Veterans Day, and decided then that I would plan something this year,” she said. “We have many veterans in Los Altos, and I thought it was fitting for us to honor them – past, present and future – and thank them for their service, bravery and sacrifice in the name of freedom and democracy.”
Fligor said the idea to buy a vet a cup of coffee came from a summer family road trip in August.
“At a local coffee shop in Idaho, they had a jar with a ‘Buy a Vet a Coffee,’ and I thought that would be a wonderful thing to do here on Veterans Day,” she said.
For more information on the events, visit losaltosca.gov/veteranscelebration.
