Menlo Park artist Joseph Zirker was honored with a 90th birthday party at the Palo Alto Art Center, a celebration that also served as the opening reception for an exhibition of his work there this month.
More than 150 people — coming from Santa Cruz, San Francisco and as far away as Southern California, came to toast Zirker who has gained a reputation as an innovative printmaker. The celebration included a massive birthday cake, supplied by Paula Kirkeby of Smith Andersen Editions. The forward-looking inscription read: “Happy Birthday Joseph/ The Beginning of a New Decade.”
“At age 90, it’s undeniable and clear that Joe’s art and career continue to inspire,” said Palo Alto Art Center Lisa Ellsworth.
“Joseph Zirker: A Celebration of Prints, Collages, Sculptures” is on display at the Palo Alto Art Center at 1313 Newell Road through Aug. 24.
LEADERS GET GRILLED: The annual Silicon Valley Leadership Group CEO barbecue is a great throwback to the early days of the organization, which David Packard founded as the Santa Clara County Manufacturing Group with a few dozen valley CEOs back in 1978.
The gatherings were first held “on David Packard’s ranch, where he personally flipped the steaks on the grill,” Silicon Valley Leadership Group CEO Carl Guardino said.
Of course, the valley has come a long way since then. The group of about 300 business leaders and elected officials who attended this year’s gathering weren’t at a ranch but at the swanky 501 Club at the 49ers’ new home, Levi’s Stadium.
And most people were in business or cocktail attire, which isn’t your standard barbecue garb. But the spread provided by Centerplate, including stadium hot dogs and hamburgers, sure fit the bill.
ALL-NIGHTER AT CANDLESTICK: My wife and I were among the 50,000-strong crowd that helped Paul McCartney bid farewell to Candlestick Park on Thursday night. It took us about 2½ hours to get there from downtown San Jose and the post-show parking lot traffic jam meant we didn’t get home until 3 a.m. — but at least we made it in, unlike the unfortunate fans who were shut out, stuck in traffic and without parking.
And then there was NBC Bay Area’s Laura Garcia-Cannon, who was at the concert as well and had just as many delays getting back to the South Bay. Her solution was to head into the station’s North First Street studios without going home and in time for the 5 a.m. broadcast of “Today in the Bay” that she co-anchors. As the mother of triplets, Laura must already be a pro at operating without sleep.
STYLISH COUPLE: Congratulations to Gabriel and Lupe Gonzales, who are celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary Monday. Gabriel owned San Jose’s Bellarmine Barber Shop across the street from the prestigious Jesuit boys high school, where he trimmed the locks of many future Silicon Valley leaders before he retired. His daughter, Esther Faria, took over the shop and dad and daughter can be seen every year driving a classic car in the annual Rose, White & Blue Parade.
TALENTED YOUTH: Daniela Lee, a high school student at the Harker School in San Jose, is one of 15 global finalists in the Google Science Fair, competing to win a $50,000 college scholarship and a $10,000 technology grant for her school. She’ll be visiting the Google campus in Mountain View next month for final judging and the awards ceremony.
There’s also a voters choice award, and the public can begin voting Sept. 1 at www.googlesciencefair.com.
Meanwhile, Bryan Allen, a student at San Jose’s Santa Teresa High School, is in an entirely different kind of competition this summer. He’s a member of AcroArmy, a Los Angeles-based acrobatic gymnastics team that is a contestant on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent.” Allen is joined on the team by his regular gymnastics partner, Brennan Atsatt of Santa Cruz. The team continues its quest on the show this week, which airs Tuesday and Wednesday.
PUMPKIN POWER: The Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival is looking for this year’s logo and is inviting illustrators, artists and designers from around the country to enter their creations. The winner gets $1,000, and, of course, the logo will be plastered all over materials for the popular event, which takes place Oct. 18-19.
Accepted entries will be on display during October at Pasta Moon Restaurant’s Music Box Gallery, and visitors can vote for a People’s Choice Award that also carries a $250 prize. The submission deadline is Sept. 1, and all the details can be found at www.hmbartpumpkin.com.
Contact Sal Pizarro at spizarro@mercurynews.com. Follow him at Twitter.com/spizarro.
