There are several eye-catching items on display at “V is for Victory in the Valley: Stories from World War II,” a new exhibition that opened last weekend at History Park in San Jose, but three really stood out to me.
The first is an olive-green blanket that serves as the centerpiece of the exhibition, which opened last weekend and runs through October in the Leonard McKay Gallery at the Pasetta House. It’s covered with military patches — collected by a young Janice Paull — from soldiers coming through San Jose who stopped at the post office her father ran. Some — like the emblem of the 101st Airborne and the 1st Cavalry — are easily recognizable but others are more obscure.
History San Jose CEO Bill Schroh said he and Collections Curator Katrina Anderson have been using Google Lens to identify some of them. Possibly the most interesting one is the blanket’s center: a “blood chit” that was carried by airmen identifying them as Americans fighting to help China against the Japanese.
The other is the flight jacket and other items, including a Distinguished Flying Cross, Silver Star and Flying Medal earned by Capt. Samuel L. Washington, a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, an all Black air squadron. Washington was from Cleveland but eventually settled in San Jose after the war.
The third is a photograph taken on South First Street in downtown San Jose after the war’s end was announced in August 1945. There’s a lot of jubilation on display, but as Schroh points out, the people in the photo are more diverse — both in ethnicity and social status — than modern viewers might have expected from a smaller agricultural city 80 years ago. (The theater in the photo’s background is the long-gone Mission, close to where Urban Putt is now.)
Of course, this Saturday would be a perfect time to visit the exhibition as the Spirit of ’45 Living History Day and Swing Dance will be taking place, starting at 2 p.m. The annual celebration includes a fashion show, a victory parade, vintage cars and military vehicles and lots of family-friendly activities that tie back to World War II. The Chinese Historical and Cultural Project’s museum will be among the park’s historic buildings open Saturday, and it also has a new exhibit on the contributions of Chinese Americans to the war effort.
The whole day culminates in an evening swing dance accompanied by the Big Band music of Swing Solution. Admission varies from $10-$25 depending on whether you want to just go to the daytime portion, the evening festivities or the whole thing. Get more details and tickets at www.historysanjose.org.
ART IN THE SKY: There was a lot to take in at last weekend’s San Jose Jazz Summer Fest — from a rousing set by the Pacific Mambo Orchestra to a soulful finale on the main stage delivered by 86-year-old legend Mavis Staples — so it’s almost hard to believe there was a drone show on Saturday night, too.
The 13-minute show featured over 250 drones creating colorful animations in the sky over Park Avenue in downtown San Jose. Half of it celebrated Summer Fest, depicting jazz legends who’ve played the fest like Etta James and Herbie Hancock, while the second half brought the “Alebrijes en San Jose” Mexican art exhibition to life.
Unfortunately, a lot of festival attendees missed the 9:15 p.m. show entirely because main stage headliner P.J. Morton’s set was still going on. And the music from the stage mostly drowned out the drone show soundtrack, curated by local DJ The CME. But if you did miss it, you’ve got another chance to catch the drone show on Sept. 6 during Ritmo y Colores, a cultural festival at Plaza de Cesar Chavez.
PARTY WITH A PURPOSE: Bandleader Tito Puente Jr. will headline this Saturday’s Tres Vinos fundraiser for the School of Arts and Culture at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in downtown San Jose. Tickets for the dinner event, which includes a wine tasting, are available at www.schoolofartsandculture.org.