Light Up The Valley

Your Boulevardier and Mon Petit Chou caught a showing of the High Voltage Christmas last Sunday night. (He intended to write about it sooner, but various delights and pressures of the season have filled the days since.)

The synchronized light-and-music show, first launched in 2004 by teenager Jeff Stevens, is at 18199 Carmel Drive in Castro Valley. Showtimes are 7:00, 7:30, and 8:00 p.m. A new feature this year is projected cartoons, along with family photos and videos, on the garage door.

Your Boulevardier doesn't know how true this story is, so he posts it only as hearsay: A FOB -- a person who lives in the neighborhood of the High Voltage Christmas -- says that Mr. Stevens is away at college this year and was not planning to create a holiday display. Fortunately gentle pressure from friends and neighbors caused him to relent. (It's also interesting to note that Mr. Stevens is studying Civil Engineering, not Electrical.) Readers who can confirm or correct the veracity of this tale are encouraged to do so in the comments.

Whatever the story, the efforts are magnificent and well worth a trip. The synchronization and cleverness of the display are wonderful, the scale is impressive, and the spirit is heartwarming. Mr. Stevens personally supervises each show and is available to answer questions before and after.

A tip of the beret, and a merry Christmas to all.

Midnight Moon

Last night Your Boulevardier took BART to San Francisco to see the apocalyptic thriller 2012 with friend PF and his son JDF. After dinner and a 7:30 p.m. show -- and a lost phone that required our scouring the sticky floors of a few theater rows -- a Dublin-Pleasanton train was caught for the ride home.

Upon arriving at the Castro Valley station, and being on foot, Your Boulevardier decided to make a detour by the Chabot Cinema. He was curious whether the theater was hosting a midnight show of New Moon, the latest in the Twilight vampire saga. Sure enough, the marquee was lit and people, mostly young women, were assembling. Some were walking to the theater from surrounding parking lots, looking like moths moving toward a bright light or zombies stalking fresh brains.

The theater doors were already open when Your Boulevardier passed at around 11:40 p.m., so there wasn't the stereotypical line of fans that midnight "event" movies sometimes engender; however, there was a good-sized crowd inside, purchasing tickets -- and, perhaps, coffee. Some people were sighted in pajamas and slippers and carrying blankets. It seems that, to some in attendance, the midnight movie event evoked the feel of a teenage sleepover.

Your Boulevardier did not join the fun. He is not current on the Twilight phenomenon, and one supernatural movie was enough for the evening. He walked down Baker Road (past another place haunted by denizens of the night, Spanky's Lounge) and across the pedestrian overpass over I-580 and home.

Halloween on the Green

The Golden Tee (some of us cannot bring ourselves to say "GolfLand") has put out a display of straw bales, cornstalks, and scarecrows for Halloween. The photo does not do the display justice. It's a wonderful thing to have a mini-golf course in town.

As Autumn Arrives

Your Boulevardier made an after-dinner circuit of downtown Castro Valley this evening, walking first to the Chabot Cinema to view a truly bizarre movie, All About Steve, and then completing a few errands.

The warm evening air and the fingernail moon were, it seems, enticing to others as well. For a weeknight, the town was buzzing with people. Starbucks, Yogofina, and the Ice Creamery all had crowds; packs of teenagers wandered the streets (clumps of boys in their big shirts and cockeyed hats, trying to look hard, trailed by equally sized clumps of girls in tanks and flipflops, texting as they walked). Bicyclists practiced tricks in the parking lot by Blockbuster, while car buffs admired each others' vehicles near Safeway.

Among his errands: Your Boulevardier took a few cuttings (for rooting, even though this is the wrong time of year to do so) from the lantana in front of Chateau Fiebig. The building itself may be an architectural monstrosity, but the colors of the flowers in front of it are wonderful.

Festival Season

Festival Season in Castro Valley hits its stride in the next few weeks with:

The Fall Festival on September 12-13. Strangely enough, Your Boulevardier can't find a website for this annual event.

The Valley Blues Festival on September 19 at the Rowell Ranch Rodeo Grounds. Sponsored by the Rotary Club, tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door.

The Our Lady of Grace Festival on September 26-27. It has a Hawaiian theme this year. Among the entertainment: the Castro Valley Community Band will play on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. (Alas, Your Boulevardier can't make the gig ...)

Star-Spangled, Eardrum-Splitting Banner

Your Boulevardier has learned, through his youthful associate Neveu de Boulevardier, that a rendition of The Star Spangled Banner sung at Castro Valley High School in 2008 made it to a TIME Magazine's "10 Worst" list.

View the crazy video and read the article here.

Consolation may be found in the fact that the young singer is in good company: the now-secretary of state, several professional musicians, and a police officer are also represented in the complete list.

The Upcoming Jenny Lin Concert

One wishes the Jenny Lin Foundation, and the loss it represents, did not need to exist. But the sad event that led to the creation of the foundation is very real, and the good that the family has made of this tragedy is no less real.

One of Your Boulevardier's favorite projects of the Foundation is its summer youth music program. A free summer band, orchestra, and choir give our musical young people a chance to meet new people, have fun in a safe environment, and improve their artistic skills. A good friend of Your Boulevardier is conducting the orchestra.

The groups begin rehearsing on June 22, 2009 (twice a week) and will perform on Friday, July 31 at 7:00 p.m. at Redwood Chapel. The concet is always impressive, and Your Boulevardier encourages residents to support the program and attend the show.

Sundry Sunday

Your Boulevardier attended the Sunday evening showing of X-Men Origins Wolverine at the Chabot Cinema this evening. Some fifty or more people were in attendance and the movie was exciting and enjoyable. On the walk home, a few bits of information were collected.

First, Your Boulevardier must correct an earlier misstatement regarding next weekend's Rodeo Parade: the pre-parade Pancake Breakfast will be held from 7-10 a.m. at the fire station on San Miguel Avenue. (And Wudas: Your Boulevardier plays the baritone saxophone.)

Second, it was inexplicable but wonderful to see that the Ice Creamery was packed with patrons on Sunday evening at 9:00 p.m.

Third, the new McDonald's at Strobridge Avenue and Castro Valley Boulevard is now open. It is quite a fancy, even stylish, building from the outside -- with one small exception that will be pointed out later. When Your Boulevardier ventures inside, he will give a report on the interior.

Assert Your Independents!

Yes, Your Boulevardier can spell "independence." The headline is a play on words to alert readers that this Friday, May 1, is "Buy Indie Day" -- a day when we are encouraged to patronize our local independent bookseller.

This is an easier task in, say, New York City than it is here in the City of Lite. Still, we have Jordan's in the Village, which also carries scrapbooking supplies and has delightful window displays; and Avalon, which offers new age books.

If you're willing to cross the freeway, Your Boulevardier is partial to The Book Shop in Hayward. And he has information that changes are afoot at the shop.

Related: this Saturday is Free Comic Book Day, and Castro Valley's own Crush Comics is participating. From 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., local artist Justin Greenwood will be there.

Wonderful Show at PhotoCentral

Mon ami Kate reminded Your Boulevardier that a show of Bill Owens' photography opens this Friday at PhotoCentral in Hayward. Owens is quite a character and a true original; not only did he make a splash as a photojournalist documenting east bay suburban life the 1960s, but by some accounts he also virtually invented the brewpub in the United States. (Buffalo Bill's in Hayward was founded by Owens in 1983.)

Bill Owens: Five Decades of Photography

A look at the fun, eclectic, unexpected photographic work of a Hayward local and internationally known photographer.

Reception: Friday, April 17, 6:30-9:30 pm
Exhibition Dates: April 17 to June 18, 2009
Gallery Hours: Monday, 5:00-10:00 pm
Tuesday and Thursday, 10:00 am-1:00 pm
Saturday 12-3 pm and by appointment



Yes, this is a rather blatant bit of advertising for the Castro Valley Boulevardier. But this will be a terrific, even historic, show -- one not to be missed.

Neon Delight

The Chabot Theater is one of the true treasures of Castro Valley. In order to support our local movie house, Your Boulevardier endeavors to see all films that show there -- even when they don't exactly pique his interest. The prices are good, and the staff is friendly. Parking is a problem until one learns about the Bank of America lot behind Jack in the Box. (Of course, it's best to walk to the show.)

Inside, the theater is a funky mix of old and new, with plenty of good seating (particularly so for the first row of the balcony), a serviceable but tiny snack bar, and odd-sized bathrooms (one urinal in the men's room seems to run 24 hours a day). The real joy at the Chabot is outside, though, where its refurbished neon marquee beckons. Your Boulevardier shot this brief video of the sign on January 6, 2009.



Your Boulevardier is not alone in loving the Chabot. Yelpers give it 4.5 stars. Interesting historical information and links can be found in the comments at Cinema Treasures. And a photo of the marquee can be found here (part of pbo31's Flikr photostream that includes several other lovely Castro Valley shots).

A Visit to the New Cinema in Hayward

Heaven knows Your Boulevardier is loyal to Castro Valley, but he also enjoys visiting downtown Hayward. He is a fan of The Book Shop; he enjoys visiting Le Paradis and Buffalo Bill's; he is a regular patron of CopyMat. One of his professional clients is a downtown not-for-profit. So he spends a good bit of time walking B Street.

Last Tuesday, a visit was made to the new Century Cinema at the intersection of B Street and Foothill Boulevard. ("The Other Boulevard," as it is known to some. Or maybe just one.) The building is clean and bright, and the employees were friendly and enthusiastic. The young woman who sold the popcorn gladly filled Your Boulevardier's reusable water bottle, perhaps in defiance of company policy but in an exceptionally well-received gesture of goodwill. The bathroom was tidy. The seats were comfortable.

But show taken in, a late-afternoon showing of the new James Bond thriller, was not well attended; perhaps a dozen people sat in the 200-seat auditorium. Your Boulevardier spoke with the young man tasked with cleaning the salon after the show -- he didn't have much to do -- and was assured that the patronage was much higher on the weekends. In fact, Tuesday night is the best night to attend if one does not like crowds.

Mixed feelings are held regarding the new cinema. Your Boulevardier is among the Chabot Theater's biggest fans, but lately the local single-screen has not programmed selections suited to his taste. (High School Musical, Madagascar, and now Bolt.) He looks forward to the arrival of a film with a more adult appeal, at which time he will eagerly return to the Chabot. But it must be admitted, it is most pleasant to have a dozen screens within minutes of home. Your Boulevardier encourages all to visit the new cinema and inspect it for themselves.

By the way, all links above are to reviews at Yelp.com.