Halloween is fast approaching, but there are still a few more events in and near Los Gatos to get you into the spirit!

At Oak Meadow Park, once again the Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce is putting on the Haunted Halloween Forest and Goblyn's Glen (to benefit the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad and more). For tickets and more information, please call 408-395-7433 or visit Website.  Next two events are Friday and Saturday of this week, from 7 - 10pm.

There are many, many more Halloween events the rest of this week posted on Craigslist. If you click on the link below, it will take you to an extensive collection of Halloween events in Siicon Valley.  Scroll down to

October 26 - 31
 

South Bay:

and there you'll find 22 items listed in San Jose, Saratoga, Sunnyvale, Los Altos and all over the south bay.

Happy Halloween!



 

The gorgeous W.E. (Bill) Mason Carousel at Oak Meadow Park in Los Gatos is as historically interesting as it is beautiful. It conceals more than a surprise to two.

Built in 1915 in England, the carousel was made of horses from England and Germany (some horses made by a Frenchman too). It was a long voyage to California - it had to be shipped around the horn (the Panama Canal did not yet exist) and then it debuted at the Panama Pacific Expo in San Francisco (which began in 1915).  Following the exposition, it  toured around with a circus beginning in the 30s for awhile before finding itself in storage in Redwood City for an untold number of years. 

Happily, though, the story doesn't end there. In 1980 the ride was purchased by the town with $50,000 in collected donations, and then it resettled in this sweet spot among Siicon Valley parks.  The wooden horses, all hand painted, were lovingly restored over several years by volunteers.  Additionally, upgrades were made to the mechanical side too, bringing it up to date. The ride was name after the late Bill Mason, Sr., of the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad fame, and dedicated in 1990.

The carosoul is a great compliment to the park with its train, airplane, open space and play structures, and it's a huge hit with kids and parents alike. Is is truly "living history" right in our own backyard.

But wait, there's more!

The lovely merry-go-round is also haunted.

Not to worry, parents, the ghost is benign - in fact, benevolent.  Nothing scary happens here and it appears that the ghost simply loves the attraction.  Some employees have experienced minor events such as noises without explanation and safety belts all mysteriously appearing latched when they should have been loose, and of course, that sense that someone's there or someone's watching when no one is visible.

I was at the park yesterday with Annette Martin, who asked me to introduce her to some of the haunted places in Los Gatos, and this was our last stop.  Later this year she'll share her experiences of this visit in an article or book.  Not to spoil her story, I'll let her tell "the rest of the story" at that time.  (But be assured, she didn't find anything for children or parents to fear.)

Starting October 16th, Oak Meadow Park in Los Gatos will be transformed into a fantabulous Haunted Harvest Festival. Take a self-guided tour along the Goblin’s Glen. The 102 year old Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad will be riding and the hand-painted carosoul will be cruising. Trick or treating is available for the young ones.Tickets are $2 - $8, depending on how much you do. 

Open from sunset to 10pm on these dates: October 16, 17, 18, 19, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29 ,30, 31

For more information, please see  www.experienceshadowhills.com or call 408-395-7433. if you'd like to volunteer, please contact skeletoncoast@hauntedmansion.com.

Oak Meadow Park is located at  200 Blossom Hill Road  (at University Avenue), Los Gatos, CA 95032.

This is a fundraiser which supports several very good local causes: according to the Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce, these fun Halloween events  "Benefit The Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad, The Los Gatos Police Foundation, and The Los Gatos Disaster Aid Response Team (D.A.R.T.)."

This Saturday, June 9th, the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad (runs from Oak Meadow Park through part of Vasona Lake County Park in Los Gatos) is hosting a fun event for kids from 8-11am, involving breakfast, rides and tours. For more information and details, please read this article from Metroactive.

At the Heart of Los Gatos: Vasona and Oak Meadow Parks

Something is always happening at the big and beautiful, 150 acre Vasona Lake County Park and adjacent 12 acre Oak Meadow Park (belonging to the Town).  These sister parks are connected and share the Los Gatos Creek, meandering trails, the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad, and visitors to the Carousel at Oak Meadow. The parks enjoy beautiful scenery, both within the many acres and also looking up at the coastal range that separates this valley from the Monterey Bay and the Pacific Ocean.

It's a wonderful place for a family or company picnic and is often the site for beginning races, walk-a-thons, and other charitable causes, and it's also the location for many cultural festivals throughtout the year.   Most recently, there was an enormous, two day Iranian/Persian New Year's Festival called Norouz that drew several thousand people from all over Silicon Valley. The San Jose Mercury News covered it and had a great little video on their website on this event, take a look!  As you can see, Vasona and Oak Meadow aren't just a couple of nice parks, they're places for the community to gather, enjoy themselves and nature and to do it in a gorgeous spot.

Here are some of the regularly scheduled, annual events at Oak Meadow and Vasona that invite us to enjoy some recreation time there:

June & July: Vasona Vibrations (free concerts Saturdays 5-7pm)
July & August: Shakespeare in the Park
August: In the Park After Dark Movie Week
September: Screen on the Green
October: Halloween Train Rides (Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad)
December: Fantasy of Lights

And because these are parks, there are great learning opportunities and classes available there too.  The Parks and Recreation Department offers sailing lessons - as you can see from the pic, my kids enjoyed these a few years ago (and may teach there this summer too).   Paddleboats can be rented in summer as well.  A hands-on approach to introducing kids to nature is provided by the extremely popular Youth Science Institute, which recently enjoyed an expansion at Vasona.

Historically, these parks are interesting too and there are some things you might not know about them. 

(1) Vasona and the Founding of Los Gatos:  The founders of this town were two brothers-in-law, Sebastian Hernandez and Jose Peralta. In 1839, they were near or in present-day Vasona Park, trying to find the right spot to claim when they heard two moutain lions fighting.  The sound of the cats alerted them that water had to be nearby (it was - the LG Creek).  They found the creek by following the cougar screetches and hence they determined that the location was good. Having heard the puma fighting, Hernandez and Peralta named their land grant La Rinconada de los Gatos, the Corner of the Cats. These gentleman received 6631 acres of land and in exchange, they did not need to pay any money at all. They only needed to agree to live on the land!  You can read about the founding of Los Gatos on Wikipedia, which explains that the founders' first adobe house was located where Vasona Park is today.

(2) How Did Vasona Get Its Name?  In 1887, the town  was incorporated and a gentleman named Albert August Vollmer (a descendant of the Donner Party) settled on a prune ranch at the Vasona Park location. It was not yet called Vasona, though.   When he was able to get the Southern Pacific Railroad to make a flag stop at his ranch so that his daughter, Agnes, could commute to downtown San Jose for work (without having to take a buggy ride to the downtown LG train station to catch a ride), he named it Vasona, after a pony he'd had as a child.  And the name stuck.  I think it's a funny irony that the train stop was named Vasona, after a pony, and today (after so many changes), there's still a train at Vasona (though for fun) and that there's a carousel full of beautifully painted wooden horses there too.  The 57 acre lake is fun for kids on paddleboats or sailboats as well. So what started as probably something of a lark actually comes full circle - named after a childhood attachment, today the park is making childhood attachments of its own.

(3) You'd Probably Rather Not Know This, But... Oak Meadow's got a bit of a stinky background.  Are you aware of what the land was used for before the it became locally known as The Airplane Park by children (on account of the fighter jet, a USAF T-33 Jet that kids can climb on)?  Oak Meadow was actually a sewer farm. No, I'm not kidding. There are fabulous stories in the link about the history, so take a moment to read it!

Vasona and Oak Meadow Parks are a great place to visit year round, whether you are looking to appreciate history, science, nature, music, theater, companionship, scenic beauty, cutural events, or just a quiet place to be alone or alone with your loved ones.  See you there!