Since country music legend Dolly Parton died in August, she’s been remembered in all kinds of ways — concerts, TV specials and even a day in her honor. She also was celebrated Thursday at the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits’ 19th annual Be Our Guest luncheon, where three pumpkins paid tribute to Parton’s legacy.
My favorite of the trio saluted Parton’s Imagination Library — a nationwide program that gifts free books to kids 5 and under, including through the Santa Clara County Library System. A second depicted Parton as a pumpkin reading to kids, another nod to her literacy efforts, and the third featured both Parton and feminist trailblazer Gloria Steinem, who died in September, as champions of working women — playing off Parton’s popular hit song, “9 to 5,” from the movie of the same name.
When it came to getting into the spirit of the pre-Halloween event, you couldn’t top Santa Clara County Supervisor Sylvia Arenas. She not only brought a pumpkin display for the auction using Disney’s “Cinderella” as a theme, she even dressed up as Cinderella.
Santa Clara County Supervisor Sylvia Arenas, dressed as Cinderella, poses with her pumpkin display based on the Disney movie at Be Our Guest, the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits’ annual luncheon, held Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026 at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in San Jose. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)
The 50 pumpkins decorated by the table captains — elected officials, nonprofit and business leaders and occasionally lowly columnists — seem to be a good way to measure what’s resonating in the public consciousness, at least here in Santa Clara County. Last year, that meant pumpkins referencing Bad Bunny’s then-upcoming Super Bowl halftime show, the runaway hit movie “K-Pop Demon Hunters” and the Golden State Valkyries.
With an election coming up this year, some pumpkins touted measures on the Nov. 3 ballot while another used Rocky, the alien from the movie “Project Hail Mary,” to encourage people to vote. State Sen. Dave Cortese turned a pumpkin into a classic red pickup truck to celebrate the passage and this year’s signing of “Leno’s Law,” exempting certain classic cars from smog check rules.
The fundraiser was held at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in East San Jose for the second year, but even a midday rainstorm didn’t dampen anyone’s enthusiasm. The 500 or so attendees — especially those in costume — just donned clear ponchos that had been handed out.
The team at First 5 Santa Clara County put together a pumpkin village, including affordable housing, a Family Resource Center offering diaper distributions and a library to be auctioned at Be Our Guest, the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits’ annual luncheon, held Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026 at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in San Jose. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)
The alien Rocky from the movie “Project Hail Mary” encourages people to vote in a pumpkin display created by Elizabeth Slocum for Grace Meregillano of the Santa Clara County Public Health Department. It was auctioned at Be Our Guest, the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits’ annual luncheon, held Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026 at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in San Jose. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)
Santa Clara County Supervisor Sylvia Arenas donated a “Cinderella”-themed pumpkin display to be auctioned at Be Our Guest, the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits’ annual luncheon, held Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026 at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in San Jose. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)
Kids at the Palo Alto Community Child Care’s Downtown Children’s Center Preschool site helped paint the pumpkin aliens for this display, which was among the pumpkins auctioned at Be Our Guest, the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits’ annual luncheon, held Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026 at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in San Jose. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)
A pumpkin display featuring Dolly Parton and Gloria Steinem donated by Vicki Tung, director of government relations at Synopsys, was among the pumpkins auctioned at Be Our Guest, the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits’ annual luncheon, held Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026 at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in San Jose. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)
A pumpkin display donated by the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley celebrates “Dollyween” and features the country music legend reading “A Coat of Many Colors” to children. It was auctioned at Be Our Guest, the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits’ annual luncheon, held Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026 at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in San Jose. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)
“The Nightmare Before VTA,” with characters and scenes from the Tim Burton-produced film, was among the pumpkins auctioned at Be Our Guest, the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits’ annual luncheon, held Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026 at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in San Jose. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)
State Sen. Dave Cortese’s pumpkin display, featuring a red pickup truck, touts the recent passage of “Leno’s Law,” which exempts some classic cars from smog check requirements. The pumpkin was donated to be auctioned at Be Our Guest, the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits’ annual luncheon, held Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026 at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in San Jose. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)
Dora Beyer, vice president of community development for Excite Credit Union, donated “Pumpkin Spice Squishy Dumpling” to be auctioned at Be Our Guest, the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits’ annual luncheon, held Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026 at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in San Jose. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)
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The team at First 5 Santa Clara County put together a pumpkin village, including affordable housing, a Family Resource Center offering diaper distributions and a library to be auctioned at Be Our Guest, the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits’ annual luncheon, held Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026 at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in San Jose. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)
Of course, it wasn’t all just pumpkins and costumes as SCVN also presented its Nonprofit Impact Awards for the year. The Nonprofit Ally award was presented to Zulma Maciel, who retired this year as San Jose’s inaugural director of the Office of Racial and Social Equity; Kimberly Woo of Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network (SIREN) received the Emerging Nonprofit Leader award; food insecurity nonprofits Loaves & Fishes and Hunger at Home were given the Collaborative Impact Award; and Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action was awarded Nonprofit of the Year.
Lee Pfab, CEO of Palo Alto Community Child Care, received the Patricia A. Gardner Changemaker Award, and Lifetime Achievement Awards were presented to Rhonda Berry, who retired this year as founding executive director of Our City Forest, and Eva Terrazas, Chief Public Policy and Advocacy Officer at Pacific Clinics.
COMING ATTRACTIONS: As promised, Syufy Enterprises has announced more details in its plan to reopen the Century 16 Mountain View, which closed at the end of September when its lease expired. The revived theater on Shoreline Boulevard will be called the Mountain View Cinema when it reopens later this year “for the holidays,” though an exact date hasn’t been released.
“We are excited to welcome guests back as Mountain View Cinema,” Syufy Enterprises Vice President Nancy Crane said. “The Syufy family has been committed to delivering exceptional entertainment experiences for more than 80 years. This theater is an opportunity to reinvest in a cherished community asset while creating a modern destination where audiences can come together and enjoy the magic of the big screen.”
They’re not just turning the lights back on, either. Two auditoriums are getting pretty extensive upgrades that Syufy is calling the AXV Cinema Experience. Each will have a larger screen — though not IMAX — along with a Barco 4K laser projector and Barco AuroMax immersive sound, which uses more than 30 speakers including above the audience.
Crane said that every single seat is being replaced in every auditorium, and the new seats will finally include tray tables. No word if the “loveseat”-style seating layout at the Century 16 had will be maintained, though. The concessions stand will serve Orville Redenbacher popcorn, Nathan’s Famous hot dogs and pizza from Tomatina, a local favorite, which is definitely an upgrade.
SKATING THROUGH JAPANTOWN: Halloween in San Jose’s historic Japantown is always a fun event, but it will have a decidedly different vibe this year. That’s because there’s a Skate Day planned for Oct. 31 in addition to the regular trick-or-treat activities at Jtown merchants, which start at 4 p.m.
The Skate Day celebration, which runs from noon to 7 p.m., will include free admission to the opening of artist and skateboarder Judi Oyama’s exhibition “To Be Seen / Not Heard” at the Japanese American Museum of San Jose, 535 N. Fifth St.
Oyama and other skaters will provide a skateboarding demo at 1 p.m., GoGo Skateboarding will give skate lessons for beginners and there’ll be a lot of room to skateboard. Jackson Street will be closed between Third and Sixth streets (though Fourth Street will be open to allow vehicle traffic to pass), and Fifth Street will be closed between Taylor and Empire streets.
Get more information about the exhibition and Skate Day at jamsj.org.
ON POINTE: It was great to see the crowd at the Hammer Theatre Center on Wednesday night cheering for this year’s Leigh Weimers Emerging Artist award recipients. The five honorees — who received unrestricted grants of $7,500 each — were visual artist Leisar Garcia, opera singer Alex Delgado, theater performer and singer Matt Locke, violinist Yeonglee Kim and ballet dancer Delaney Ewert.
And if you wonder how much the grants can really help any of those artists, Ewert — who dances with New Ballet San Jose — shared with the audience that she plans to use her award to buy pointe shoes. The essential ballet footwear cost about $175 a pair, Ewert said, but she goes through a pair about every week, which puts her annual cost at around $8,800.