Historic San Jose Scavenger Hunt

Two months ago I started planning a scavenger hunt in historic areas of San Jose. After blogging about local neighborhoods I started to brainstorm on what area of the Silicon Valley that I wanted to host the hunt. I was originally inspired by some hunts and walks that I did in San Francisco. First was the Color Factory Neighborhood Map from their pop up museum and then the Walk of Happiness by German graphic designer Rosa Kammermeier.  Each of these had a map to follow around different areas of the city. These walks really introduced me to different street art and businesses that I did not know much about. I wanted to do the same for locals in San Jose. I decided to choose more "Mom and Pop" type of businesses that I love to go to in more artsy and eclectic parts of San Jose. So I decided to host the event in Japantown, The Rose Garden on The Alameda, and in Little Italy. All of these places have been included in my past blogs. Since I have an Etsy shop with party items I decided to have give aways at every stop in the the theme of Historic San Jose with a map of those areas along with a picture of a rose that I took at the Municipal Rose Garden. I called the hunt "Eat and Shop Your Way Through Historic San Jose Scavenger Hunt." I thought that was a fitting name since it goes with my business name Event Shop Design and the hunt was about eating and shopping your way through each neighborhood. 

On Saturday August 25th the Historic San Jose Scavenger Hunt's starting point was at Roy's Station in Japantown. This a coffee place that I have always loved.  It's a great vibe for hanging out while enjoying the wonderful coffee and pastries along with the fact that it used to be a gas station a long time ago. Jasmine, the owner of Roy's, was great and was really nice to let me rope off a section on the patio outside for my hunters to hang and have coffee and food while they picked up their scavenger hunt maps, street art guides, and gift bags for all their loot from the hunt.

Second on the scavenger hunt map was Kogura Company. This a long time business since Japantown first started. They sell wonderful Japanese pottery, gift items, and stationary. The owner Carolyn Kogura is so nice. I had spoken to her before when I had blogged about the store and the history of Japantown. She was excited to be part of the scavenger hunt. Along with giving out little matchbook notepads that I put together she also made little origami cranes to give out. It seemed like my hunters really enjoyed going into this store and finding fun little gifts. 

Third on the scavenger hunt map was Petite Galleria. This is a small little boutique and art gallery in Japantown. The owner April Gee is wonderful. She is an artist, composer, and musician. I had met her before when I had blogged about her store. When I told her about the hunt she was totally on board. She hung up a flag banner for me that I had made to go with the theme of the hunt, gave out button pins with business cards, and even posted a flyer on Instagram about the event to help get more hype. 

After planning the scavenger hunt I decided that it would be fun to include an additional mural and street art guide, since Japantown is full of so much art and creativity. The guide started with the fun mural of a Cat in front of the fun boutique store Classic Loot by McClure. 

Utility Box painted with Daruma by Orly Loquiao on 4th and Jackson St.

Voltron vs. Godzilla Mural by Francisco Ramirez from Local Color on 4th and Jackson St.

"Little Moment" Mural by Nosego

"Reason to Stay" Mural by Roan Victor

Another long standing business in Japantown which I have blogged about is Nichi Bei Bussan. On the back of their museum and store is a beautiful mural called "Little Moment" by Nosego produced by Empire Seven Studios. When you go around the corner from this mural there is another surprise mural with a women and a cat called "Reason to Stay" by artist Roan Victor, which is also produced by Empire Seven Studios. I really love this mural's beauty and peace. 

The last mural on the map for Japantown is also produced by Empire Seven Studio.  It is on the back wall of the A&E Grocery on 2nd and Taylor St.

The day after my scavenger hunt I took my husband and son back over to Japantown to take them on a post-hunt. After showing them all the fabulous murals we went over to 7th and Empire and checked out the outside of Empire Seven Studios. My son took pictures of the murals that were outside. Since the door was open I popped in and introduced myself to the owners Juan Carlos and Jen De Araujo. They had mentioned meeting some of my hunters the day of the scavenger hunt and liked that I had put their art on my mural guide. They said that they would love to be part of the next scavenger hunt that I host which is exciting! They also handed me a passport book from the past Pow Wow festival they had and some button pins. I think it would be fun on my next scavenger hunt to have a passport book for each business to stamp. 

After we hit Japantown we moved on to The Rose Garden neighborhood on The Alameda. We started with a VIP lunch gathering at Zona Rosa. The manager of Zona Rosa Anna Pizzo was so nice. She reserved the whole patio area for the event. We had so much fun at the lunch gathering! The food and drinks were amazing as always. I had a delicious margarita and my favorite appetizer on the menu, their Crab Ceviche Tostadas, which has dungeness crab and shrimp, cucumbers, cilantro, jalapeño, avocado, and chipotle cream. 

Continuing on from the fabulous lunch at Zona Rosa the next stop on the map was the fun photo spot on Hanchett and The Alameda on the wall of Peet's Coffee.  The photo spot was a bicycle mural by the very talented artist Lila Gemellos.  The whole group had fun taking photos with the bicycle. 

The next map stop was Recycle Bookstore. I think everyone really loved this stop. This place is a San Jose institution. There is a Recycle Bookstore in the Rose Garden neighborhood and in downtown Campbell. We all spent a lot of time in the bookstore browsing and even had an Emma The Cat sitting. Ender The Cat did not make an appearance that day. The owner Eric Johnson was really nice about participating in the event and gave out my business cards with the button pins. All of us left the store purchasing a book and then took photos with the cat sign in front of the store. 

Our last stop stop in the Rose Garden neighborhood on The Alameda was at Greenlee's Bakery. The owner Rosalina Geldner was so wonderful! She had baked 60 cupcakes all in different flavors for our event and placed the flag cupcake toppers that I made in the cupcakes. She even made a cute chalkboard sign welcoming us and put the cupcakes on a beautiful tray for display. I was so happy for all the support that I got from each business that participated in the event. It made things so much more special and exciting! 

The last to final stop on the scavenger hunt was in Little Italy at Bel Bacio Italian Cafe. When I first started planning my hunt I had talked to the owners Gary and Judy Sunseri. They were excited about the idea of being part of this fun event. My friends and I enjoyed sitting outside on the little porch having some delicious Italian coffee and cookies. The few times that I have been to this charming cafe the coffee and food has always been amazing!

The final stop for our scavenger hunt was a VIP wine and food gathering at Enoteca La Storia in Litte Italy. The manager Miyuki One Bear was so helpful with making reservations for this special event. She even had an event menu printed for each of us saying "Historic San Jose Scavenger Hunt"at the top of the menu. It really was a nice extra touch for my guests. We all enjoyed the delicious wines and out of this world Buratta Mozzarella. It is flown in weekly from Italy and paired with their fresh grown tomatoes and crostini. It was my first time at this restaurant and it was out of this world! I think all of my hunters had a fabulous time. They all enjoyed the variety of things I had to offer for the scavenger hunt and discovering new places in San Jose that they have never been to. Since I have had such a great response to this event I have decided to have another one in the San Jose area, before the holiday's or near Valentines Day in 2019, stay tuned! 

LA Fun - For The Young At Heart

Recently I made a solo trip to LA to hang out with friends in my old stomping grounds. It is hard to believe that I moved from LA 16 years ago. Even though I am now a Northern Californian there is still an LA girl inside of me that is in her 20's. We decided to go see some fun and trendy things in the city to be young at heart again. We first went to the Sparrow Market, an art instillation pop up shop at the Standard Hotel in Downtown LA. It opened up on August 1st and closes August 31st. This "market" sells food and beverages that are all handmade from felt. The whole instillation is incredible! In the past I have gone to the Standard Hotel for the rooftop bar with the trendy crowd. It was fun to come back here for this unique experience,  good for both young and old. 

The British artist who handmade every food item in the store is Lucy Sparrow whom we got to meet in the market. She works there everyday and has made 31,000 felt items including cute little apples, watermelon, Ramen Noodles, Hostess Treats etc... This is her fifth felt art insulation with others put in London, Montreal, Manhattan, and Miami. She took the art world by storm in 2014 when she opened a fully stocked corner shop installation in London's East End. In 2016 the BBC commissioned her to recreate the Crown Jewels for Queen Elizabeth's 90th birthday. In 2017 she opened her first convenience store in the United States in a New York bodega stocked with 9,000 felted artworks. Her work has also been shown in galleries from London to Los Angeles and at international art fairs including Art Basel, Scope Miami, and the New York Affordable Art Fair. She truly is unique and amazing!

After my trip to Los Angeles I was excited to bring back a souvenir for my son from the Sparrow Market. He loves his little watermelon. It was a super fun art installation that I will never forget! Hopefully she will bring one up here to the Bay Area. I know it would be a hit with the artist community and a certain watermelon lover! 

On my last day in LA we went to check out the Milk Tavern Dessert Lounge located in the heart of Koreatown. After all the years living in LA I never had visited Koreatown until my visit. The Milk Tavern Cafe is the ultimate playground for people of all ages. Most of Koreatown is BBQ restaurants and pubs. The Milk Tavern has brought something new, fun, and innovative to this neighborhood by having the first major cereal bar in the West Coast. The Milk Tavern offers 18 different choices of cereals and toppings to put in a regular cereal bowl, milk shake or even and ice cream swirl, with their specialty ice creams. 

Milk Tavern also offers small batch, handmade liquor infused ice creams and some great selections of craft beer, wine, and bubbles to play around with. The cafe also offers Stumptown Coffee, tea and unique cakes made from scratch in house daily. Their most famous cake is the "Unicorn Cake" made with layers of colorful crepes with fruity peoples and chocolate drizzle. 

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The Milk Tavern is a perfect place for a chill night out with friends, a date night, or to host a private party. They have great sweet treats along with fun entertainment. They offer classic video games, ping pong, movie and Karaoke nights. 

Not only is the food entertainment fun but so is the colorful space to hang in. I especially loved the  graphic 80's style mural by the ping pong table. So much fun with an inspiring color story! I sure hope they come to the Bay Area. Currently the are looking to partner with someone in San Francisco. One could only hope. This truly is an adult playground for the young at heart!