By Khalida Sarwari
If you’ve been waiting for the brains behind Silicon Valley tech companies to create a time machine, you don’t have to wait much longer. But before you go putting a steel and metal contraption on your Christmas wish list, it’s worth knowing there’s an easier way to time travel: just show up to downtown Saratoga on Oct. 4.
The Saratoga Village Development Council is bringing Heritage Day, an annual event to celebrate the city’s more than 150-year-old history, to the Saratoga History Museum and Big Basin Way from noon to 4 p.m.
As part of the event, nearly two dozen people dressed up as various characters from Saratoga’s past will be stationed along Big Basin Way, and will be available to chat–in character–with people and have their photos taken. The historic characters selected range from the 1850s to the early 1900s and include Martin McCarty, Charles Blaney, Paul Masson and Sen. James Phelan.
At the Saratoga Historical Museum, there will be a number of activities planned in connection with Heritage Day, including bluegrass and folk music, lectures, craftspeople and skits.
“We’ve organized an afternoon of free fun, history and music that begins at noon and will be interesting to all ages,” Saratoga Historical Foundation president Annette Stransky said.
Portraits of the Past, a group from History San Jose, will provide a look at some of the key historic figures in Saratoga and Santa Clara Valley history. During the 1 p.m. event, actors costumed in period clothing will portray local history in vignettes.
At 1:30 p.m., Lisa Robinson, a writer and president of the San Lorenzo Historical Society, will speak about the timber industry. Saratoga was one of the many “lumber towns” in the 1850s, according to Stransky. Local author Robin Chapman will be on hand to sell and autograph her book, “California Apricots: The Lost Orchards of Silicon Valley.”
Then around 2:30 p.m., the California Youth Chinese Symphony will perform using traditional Chinese musical instruments. The all-volunteer symphony palys both Chinese and Western musical instruments for an integrated sound.
Musical entertainment will also be provided by the Wildcat Mountain Ramblers and Cindy Watkins, who will perform with a musical saw, an American folk musical instrument that got its start in the 1900s in the Appalachian Mountains, according to Stransky.
The Duan Art Studio will have a craft table where they’ll demonstrate flower arranging, calligraphy, brush painting and other traditional Chinese art. The Girl Scouts will also have many old time children’s activities including making button whizzers.
Other booths will feature lace and rag rug making, wood carving and soap making demonstrations. The Santa Clara Valley Water District will have an information table with water saving tips, and Friends of the Wineries will have an information table as well.
A free docent-led walking tour of the Village and its surroundings will be available, and costumed docents will give tours of the 1850s historic McWilliams house and the one-room schoolhouse on the premises.
Saratoga’s Heritage Day is free and takes place Oct. 4 from noon to 4 p.m.
Link: Figures from the past will come to life at Saratoga’s Heritage Day
