2021: Reconnect Premium Edition

CREDITS

SECTION EDITOR

Sandra Gonzales

DESIGN

David Jack Browning

Chris Gotsill

PHOTO EDITING

Laura Oda

Mark DuFrene

COPY EDITING

Sue Gilmore

COVER ILLUSTRATION BY DAVIDE BARCO

Opposite: Santa Clara University students Angel Lin and Maddy Javier take some time off from their studies to revel in the brilliant buttercup beauty that blankets fields along Highway 1 south of Davenport.

SHMUEL THALER/ SANTA CRUZ SENTINEL

Rediscovering old places, delighting in new ones and reconnecting with friends and family as we enter summer 2021 with a greater appreciation — and the hope of recapturing time lost.

Hearts swell with hope as families plan to regather

STORY BY JULIA PRODIS SULEK

ILLUSTRATION BY JEFF DURHAM

Coronavirus stole my Thanksgiving. When my son tested positive, my extended family members canceled their trips. It robbed my Christmas. My husband’s parents couldn’t consider setting foot on a plane.

Even Easter, which held so much hope with increasing vaccinations, ended up a bust, with my nephew stranded abroad in mandatory quarantine and me stuck with a brimming basket of See’s chocolate eggs, unhidden.

Let me just say, this soul-crushing pandemic better not destroy my Fourth of July.

I know I’m tempting fate here. But is it too much to ask, after so much collective loss, so much sacrifice, so much isolation, that, finally, we can celebrate a holiday together?

I’m pinning all my yearning, pleading, pent-up hopes on it.

I have it all planned.

My brother Geordie and his family are flying in from Colorado. My sister Suzanne and hers are driving up from Southern California. My brother Peter and his family live nearby. We will load up the station wagon and, with 90-year-old mother in the back seat, head down to Monterey County, up a winding road into the Santa Lucia mountains, through the light and shadows of a redwood-studded canyon and, with groceries to last a week, navigate a rickety footbridge to the family cabin.

It’s barely 650 square feet, perched on the edge of a creek that spills into a little lake stocked with fish, canoes and a swimming platform. My parents bought this place 20 years ago, when my two brothers and sister and I were just starting our families. It’s part of

PHOTOS

Right: Julia Sulek's two children, Daniel on the left and Claire on the right, jump into Trout Lake with friends around 2006.

COURTESY OF SULEK FAMILY

a 100-cabin community called San Clemente Rancho owned by the Dormody family, who clear the roads, maintain the hiking trails and keep a stash of life jackets at the lake.

My mom likes to describe it here as “one step above camping.” My dad wanted it to be our together place.

He and my oldest brother, Peter, rebuilt and shingled the 1960s-era cabin, expanding the loft to fit an extra bed and pushing out a wall to make more room at the dining table. It still has just one bedroom and one bathroom with an old tin shower. When the eight cousins were little, we somehow managed to sleep all 18 of us in here, wall to wall. Sleeping bags rolled out on the living room floor. Two of the cousins slept end-to-end on the window seat; another claimed the spot under the dining room table; at least one pair of adults hunkered down in the screened gazebo, where the wildlife sounds of slithering, creeping, and burrowing kept you up at night.

My dad was always the first up, making coffee and his special, creamy scrambled eggs. Standing in the kitchen, holding a spatula, he waited for everyone to rise.

How we managed to squeeze everyone in became a point of pride, a bragging rite and in many ways, a testament to our closeness.

All that is impossible while six feet apart.

With Memorial Day upon us and pandemic restrictions being lifted, many are anxious to re-embrace their summer traditions. Family reunions on the beach. Backyard barbecues. Block parties. Maybe even a parade.

In Palo Alto, Joyce and Hillard Tavrow, both in their early 90s and living in a retirement community, haven’t seen some of their children and grandchildren since the pandemic began “except on Zoom,” Joyce said.

Top: Six of the eight cousins ham it up at the dinner table at the family cabin around 2019.

Below: Max Prodis and Daniel Sulek catch bullfrogs at Trout Lake near the family cabin around 2004.

They had to cancel last year’s family reunion — which would have been their 25th — and have rescheduled it for this July.

“We’re big bocce ball players, and at night, it’s bridge or another card game,” she said of the 15 family members who gather each year. “It’s simple stuff that we all enjoy. None of the grandchildren has said they don’t want to go.”

Cheryllyn Romero of Sunnyvale missed the births of her first two grandchildren because of the pandemic but “snuck out of California” last summer to travel to Oregon a couple of months later to see her infant granddaughter. Waiting that long “almost killed me,” she said. “COVID makes you

lonely in ways you don’t really know.”

The Romeros are making plans to return for Fourth of July and again in November, when their third grandchild is due.

“We’re all going to be together,” she said, “no matter what.”

Rod Reyes is looking forward to his extended family meeting his new girlfriend this summer — a delay that has worried him, especially since his grandmother is in her late 90s.

“With every celebration, whether it be a graduation or a job promotion or holiday, we usually have barbecues and large family gatherings that involve food,” said Reyes, 37, the chef and owner of

Left: The family pet, Buddy, makes his way across the footbridge to the cabin in the Santa Lucia Mountains.

Below: Three of the cousins, including Daniel Sulek in the foreground, sleep on the living room floor of the family cabin around 2016.

Barya Kitchen in San Jose, who is often on tap for arriving with Filipino staples like adobo or lumpia that feed 50 or more. “We haven’t had that. I want her to meet everyone.”

Not everyone is anxious for a return to their pre-pandemic parties.

Miguel Enriquez and his wife, Anita Enriquez Rexinger, have committed to downsizing. For years, they’ve been known for

their huge theme parties attracting up to 60 people each: the “turkey and Scotch” party at Christmas, the St. Patrick’s Day party in March and a Labor Day party where Miguel pulls out his 20-gallon sous vide water cooker for tri tip and brisket. Going forward, they plan to invite no more than six or eight.

After the death of a close friend this past year, Miguel said, “I got to evaluate what’s important and

who’s important and whom I want to spend more time with.

“We’re seeking deeper connections.”

It’s a sentiment that can get lost in the pending pell-mell rush to gather.

High expectations can also be dangerous. Maybe this year of isolation has warped our memories, built up our fantasies of how things used to be, helped us forget that smoldering “family dynamic”

that can send you storming out of a room or breaking down in tears. Perhaps it’s the kind of longing that is destined for disappointment.

I’m plowing ahead anyway. Like most families, mine has had to adjust to heartbreaking change. Our extended family of 18 that somehow fit into the cabin dropped to 17 when my dad died of cancer at the start of Memorial Day weekend three years ago. His

Above: The Tavrow family in a 2014 bocce ball competition while in Pacific Grove for a family reunion.

COURTESY OF TAVROW FAMILY

imprint is everywhere — every shingle he hung, every martini glass he swirled. His list of closing-up instructions is still taped inside the cabinet door (“leave it better than you found it!”), and his voice still echoes from the answering machine.

A sense of melancholy and loss still wells up here, but memories of the eight cousins — now all in their early 20s — embarking on river walks and waterfall hikes,

stargazing and S’Mores-making keep me going. It’s drawing every one of them back for Fourth of July, too.

“I’m in!” my nephew Anthony responded to a text confirming plans.

A year after my dad died, Anthony stood at the head of the cabin dining table and presented my mom with a gift, a folk-art poster of a large family gathered for a picnic in a forest. It remind-

ed him, he said, of the “blissful nostalgia” of our family summers here. We hung it right there.

If all goes according to plan on Fourth of July, cabin families will gather like they do every year at the top of the road and decorate bikes, wagons and pets in red, white and blue. Then Bruce Dormody — who with his brothers Hank and Erik dug fire lines around the rancho during the 2016 wildfires and saved the cab-

ins and the summer friendships that go along with them — will fire up one of the bulldozers. His 87-year-old mother, Donna, will climb into the front bucket and will lead the home-spun parade. We will wave American flags and sing, “Three cheers for the red, white and blue” as we go. Then we will gather here in this forest — all 17 of us — for a picnic. After all we’ve been through, that shouldn’t be too much to ask.

Above: The Reyes large family got together for a day of prayer in memory of Rod Reyes’ mother.

COURTESY OF THE REYES FAMILY

STORY BY MARTHA ROSS

ILLUSTRATION BY DAVIDE BARCO

The qualms after the storm

Some social anxiety lingers as the pandemic slowly ebbs

More than anything, Michelle Soon would love to see friends for brunch and give them hugs. Her husband, Billy Liang, an ER doctor, longs to bond with his sister’s new baby, cook dinner for friends and jam with the guys in his band.

The Cupertino couple may have a special impetus for jumping back into some semblance of a pre-COVID-19 social life: They had to cancel their dream Napa Valley wedding in October and missed seeing loved ones, who had planned to fly in from Asia and out of state.

But Soon and Liang said they’re still going to move slowly when it comes to being with people again, even with everyone they know getting vaccines and Gov. Gavin Newsom saying restaurants, clubs and other gathering spots are on track to fully reopen June 15.

“One of the things my friends and I are talking about is we’re not sure we’re even going to be able see other people again without thinking it’s a little weird,” Soon says. “Normally, when we’d see each other, we’d hug, share food. Now there’s definitely a new normal.”

They’re hardly alone. Sociologists and psychologists alike say this social anxiety makes sense: We’ve all lived through a traumatic global event. As a lethal virus raced through the

population, we quickly rearranged our lives and adopted new daily habits. We became accustomed to wearing masks in public and not shaking hands — pandemic habits many believe could become new social norms. And we got used to not being with other human beings, as book clubs, parties, proms, first dates, 12-step meetings and holiday celebrations moved online.

Right now, people are going through what Yale physician and sociologist Nicholas A. Christakis calls the “immediate post-pandemic period,” which he says will continue at least until vaccines become widely available or we achieve herd immunity.

People are recovering from “the overall clinical, psychological, social and economic shock of the pandemic and the adjustments it required,” Christakis writes in his book “Apollo’s Arrow: The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live” (Little, Brown Spark, $29).

“I don’t think there’s ever going to be a normal anymore,” says Toni Rachelle Baker, a Walnut Creek mother of two, who lost a best friend, grandfather and aunt to COVID-19. After her mother got the vaccine, Baker says she finally felt safe spending significant time with her and going to Easter services with her in Oakland.

“It’s not that I’m not praying for normalcy, but I don’t see that happening anytime soon,” Baker says. “We have so many uncertainties

about vaccinations and COVID variants. Period.”

Being around people again means facing myriad awkward social situations. We won’t necessarily know who’s vaccinated, whether it’s OK to get close or how to navigate people’s varying ideas about the vaccine or continued mask wearing, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Christina Johnson of San Jose said she had to convince her 63-year-old Vietnamese mother, who lives with her, her husband and 1-year-old son, to schedule a vaccine appointment.

“There was so much misinformation out there, especially in the Vietnanese community,” Johnson says, “but once she saw my husband get the vaccine and some of her friends, she felt more comfortable.”

But Johnson has had more “difficult conversations” with relatives who haven’t taken safety as seriously as she does. “We’ve had to turn down a few family parties, or they’ve stopped inviting us on the theory that they think we’re going to say ‘no’ anyway,” she says.

Walnut Creek therapist and author Margie Ryerson has worked with parents who still feel deeply hurt by relatives who wouldn’t wear a mask around their 7-yearold, cancer-stricken daughter. “Everyone is getting vaccines, but they still feel so much hurt and resentment, because there were relatives who thought they were overreacting,” Ryerson says.

Above: Michelle Soon and Billy Liang worked with an entertainment company to livestream their April 14 wedding ceremony in San Jose so they could chat with friends and family via Zoom.

PHOTO BY GEOFF BARDOT/ THE GOODNESS

Left: Soon Liang relax in their backyard, where they held their wedding last October.

DAI SUGANO/STAFF

Rebecca Mildwurm of San Ramon feels fortunate she’s been able to avoid those conflicts in her family. She could count on her parents being OK with only seeing their grandsons, Elliott, 3, and Leo, 1, through a glass door during the first few months of the pandemic, though her mother, Ruth Mildwurm, says, “I think it was really confusing for Elliott.”

But Mildwurm, her brother and sister soon formed a family “bubble” that allowed her sons to see her parents and have backyard playdates with cousins. Getting vaccines finally allowed everyone to drop their masks around one another, but Mildwurm still worries about another wave of coronavirus cases when it comes to widening their bubble.

“I think it’s going to be another two years until we get this under control,” she says.

An understandable level of anxiety remains among Ruben Abrica’s neighbors in East Palo Alto. With a significant population of residents who are Black, Latino or essential workers, his town was hard hit by the virus.

“We’re a small community, and everyone knows someone who has been sick and died,” says Abrica, a city councilman. He hopes people will start to feel more comfortable socializing by July 4, but organizers planned a virtual Cinco de Mayo, and the Juneteenth festival will be remote as well.

But teenagers and college students, who are at an age when being with peers is a crucial part of becoming independent, are particularly eager to be with friends again.

“Most people here are ready to get back to a normal life,” says Ellen Maita, of Danville, a freshman at Santa Barbara City College. Classes have been taught

online, and she had to quarantine with roommates in Isla Vista when they all caught mild cases of COVID. “We want our college experience back.”

There’s also pent-up desire among many single adults to date again. Emyli Lovz, co-founder of the San Francisco-based matchmaking service emlovz, says men and women have begun including their vaccine status in their online profiles, and she foresees many clients will continue to do much more initial vetting via Zoom.

One of Lovz’s clients, 47-yearold Luke, worries that knowing someone’s vaccine status could give people a false sense of security about rushing back into intimate encounters. The San Francisco resident, who asked that his full name not be used to protect his privacy, also wonders

Above: Family members watch as Aria Fraga, 8, left, makes a bubble during a family gathering in San Ramon in April. Below: Rhydian Fraga, 2, center, plays with balloons next to mother Jessica Mildwurm, right. RANDY VAZQUEZ/STAFF

if COVID has permanently altered expectations around dating.

Luke went on a lot of “socially distanced walking dates” during the pandemic. And just as in a “Jane Austen novel,” he says, it took much longer to hold hands or make a physical connection.

“But once that happened, it was always gas on fire,” Luke says. People would suddenly spend all their free time together. By the third date, they’d feel they already needed to have “the talk” about exclusivity.

As hard as lockdowns have

been, many people said their efforts to adapt prompted them to touch base with friends and family more than usual and to connect in new and meaningful ways.

Soon and Liang ended up having their dream wedding — in their backyard with immediate family. They worked with an entertainment company to livestream the ceremony and chat with friends and family via Zoom. And they said their wedding took on added meaning because they had to focus on what was really important.

“I have always wanted a small wedding,” Soon says. “It would have been nice to have a few friends, but we also felt it was important to keep everyone safe. Seeing everyone on Zoom, we still felt the love and connected in a way.”

Before Newsom announced that California’s economy could reopen June 15, planning for summer gatherings continued to be scaled down, says Sue Doyle, co-owner of Denon and Doyle, the entertainment company Soon and Liang hired for their wedding.

But requests for livestreaming for bar and bat mitzvahs and funerals grew.

“I don’t think the livestreaming is going to go away,” Doyle says.

Indeed, Benicia writer Sheri Hoffmann says she attended several “stunning” memorials on Zoom, where people from all over the world, who probably wouldn’t have attended in pre-COVID times, shared testimonials or joined smaller chat rooms to say hello. “It was different than being in person,” she says, “but it was just as rich.”

Aria Fraga, 8, plays with bubbles during a family gathering in San Ramon in April.

RANDY VAZQUEZ/ STAFF

Let safety first and courtesy always guide our post-lockdown behavior

BY MARTHA ROSS

As Bay Area residents emerge from more than a year of COVID-19 lockdown, they’re considering how to reconnect safely with family and friends. As one might expect, diverging views on vaccines and safety are already leading to fraught conversations and awkward social situations.

Experts in etiquette, mental health and interpersonal communications say there’s no need to get too stressed out or expect conflict. Rely instead on the core principles of etiquette and self-care to help navigate sensitive situations. Here’s how to apply those principles.

BE PATIENT WITH YOURSELF AND OTHERS

We’ve gone through “a traumatic period,” and there is going to be residual stress and uncertainty as people readjust, given the new social norms they adopted during lockdowns, says Emiliana Simon-Thomas, science director at UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center. While it’s good to rediscover “the intrinsic joy of being together,” don’t jump back into pre-pandemic socializing before it’s safe or expect others to move at your pace.

“I think this time presents a wonderful opportunity for practicing patience,” Simon-Thomas says. “We are on a promising trajectory, and there is much to look forward to that will be well worth the wait.”

SAFETY FIRST

Simon-Thomas and Nick Leighton, a Bay Area native and New Yorkbased co-host of the “Were You Raised By Wolves?” podcast, emphasized that people should always prioritize their health and safety.

“Never put yourself or others in harm’s way by being quote-unquote ‘polite,’” says Leighton. “If you need to wear a mask, or you need to decline an invitation or not see a friend because it makes you feel unsafe, that’s what it is.”

REMEMBER ETIQUETTE BASICS

“Etiquette is all about being mindful of people’s time, feelings and space,” Leighton says.

Certain practices may come and go, including hand-shaking, which has long been seen in Western culture as not just a greeting but a way to show trust. “But during the pandemic, hand-shaking became a no,” he said, “because it violates the principle of being mindful of other people, and making other people uncomfortable is bad etiquette.”

Being mindful of safety and other people’s comfort applies to many current situations, including the potential first gathering of your loved ones in more than a year.

“If you’re a host, you should design an event that makes your guests comfortable,” Leighton says.

As a good host, you also shouldn’t grill people if they decline your invitation. Respect the fact that everyone has experienced the pandemic in different ways: “Some people lost loved ones, and some lost jobs, and everyone has a different tolerance for risk.”

IT’S OK TO JUST SAY NO

Just saying, “I’m sorry, I’m unable to attend,” should suffice in most cases, Leighton says. “You don’t say, ‘I’m unable to come to your barbecue, because I want to make comments about your behavior.’ Just leave it at ‘I hope you have a beautiful day.’”

EXPLAIN SOMETIMES — BUT USE “I” STATEMENTS

There are cases when it’s kind to say more, such as why you keep turning someone down, says Margie Ryerson, a Walnut Creek marriage and family therapist and author of the new book, “Family Focus: A Therapist’s Tips for Happier Families.”

Close relationships often benefit from having an honest conversation, but always frame what you say around “I” statements – as in “I’d love to be with you but I don’t feel comfortable,” Ryerson said. “Use the gentle approach and make it about how you’re not ready. In that way, you’ve said your piece and been upfront.”

Above all, speak up for what’s right for you and accept that you can’t make everyone happy. “People shouldn’t feel guilty or bad for other people’s reactions, especially any irrational reactions,” Ryerson says.

Let the good times roll again

PARKS, PLAYHOUSES AND CONCERT HALLS REOPEN FOR SLIGHTLY AMENDED LIVE FUN

STORY BY JIM HARRINGTON

No roller coaster rides and no waterslides. There were no theater picnics and no concert tickets — and definitely no hugging the person you’d just met while dancing at the big music festival in the park.

Let’s face it: Summer 2020 left a lot to be desired. But things are looking up for Summer 2021. If all goes well, we’re hoping to party like it’s, well, 2019.

Vaccines are rolling out and venues reopening as we progress down the multi-hued COVID-19 tier ladder. Bay Area residents — many of them downright starved for in-person entertainment — can begin returning to amusement parks, theaters and other venues. But the experience will be different.

Among the pandemic-related precautions folks will need to deal with: reduced capacity limits, timed-entry tickets, advance booking requirements and social-distancing measures that limit interaction between parties.

After more than a year at home, it will all be worth it, if it means we can once again safely enjoy live, in-person entertainment and fun.

RIDE THE ROLLER COASTERS

Nothing says summer quite like the cinnamon-sugar taste of a churro, chased down with 40 ounces of neon-hued Mountain Dew, slurped between thrill rides at a local amusement park. Get ready for the sugar-and-adrenaline rush to return this summer.

In Santa Clara, California’s Great America — which missed the entire 2020 season, due to the pandemic shutdown — was scheduled to begin welcoming guests this weekend, with extensive new health and safety plans firmly in place. Park communications manager Danny Messinger said the theme park’s staff is just “thrilled to reopen Great America and provide the Bay Area a much-needed return to fun.”

Left: People take in the thrill of a ride at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk in Santa Cruz on April 1.

RANDY VAZQUEZ/STAFF

Face coverings are required — including while riding the rides. Ticket sales are limited to ensure space for safe social distancing, and you can expect to see hand sanitization stations at high-touch areas, such as rides and restrooms and other spots around the park.

If you bought Great America season tickets last year, they’re good for the 2021 season, and any individual tickets purchased for 2020 are valid through Sept. 6.

Vallejo’s Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, by contrast, didn’t miss the entire 2020 summer season. The park resumed limited operations only a few months after the shutdowns began in March, thanks to its hybrid nature. It’s part wildlife park.

“Fortunately for our park, we had the opportunity to open to guests back in July of 2020 without rides (by) featuring the animals in our care,” says Discovery Kingdom public relations manager Marc Merino. That limited reopening meant the park staff had a chance to test out its safety measures, including health screenings at entry, sanitizer stations, social distancing and mask enforcement early on.

Discovery Kingdom’s thrill rides began rolling again last month.

“Guests will find the ride experience very much the same as they have in the past,” Merino says, with the addition of measures “currently commonplace in other areas of everyday life, like mask wearing, social distancing markers in the queue line, not filling every available seat to allow for social distancing on the ride itself and regular sanitizing of the ride vehicle by our team members.”

The iconic Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, which shuttered for only the second time in its long history when the pandemic hit, began operating rides again at limited capacity last month. Gilroy Gardens, which is aimed at families with younger thrill-seekers, was scheduled to reopen this weekend.

SEE A SHOW

Theater was hit hard by the pandemic, which shuttered performance venues around the world. But the show went on — online, that is — as theater troupes quickly figured out ways to stream productions to fans at home.

Streaming will remain a major avenue for most theater companies to reach their audiences this summer. It was welcome news when restrictions on indoor theaters began lifting in mid-April, with venue capacity capped according to COVID-19 tier and degree of audience vaccination, but it didn’t give troupes much time to plan and mount summer productions. Look for a broader return to indoor theater this fall.

But outdoor venues, including the California Shakespeare Theater’s popular Bruns Amphitheater in Orinda, will be hosting live theater this summer. Cal Shakes will host one production, Shakespeare’s

Right: Visitors view projected images by Van Gogh at the Immersive Van Gogh exhibit at SVN West in San Francisco in early April.

NHAT V. MEYER/STAFF

“The Winter’s Tale,” and then share its coveted stage with other arts organizations throughout the summer during what has been dubbed the 2021 “Season of Shared Light.” West Edge Opera, for example, kicks off a threeweek opera festival at the amphitheater on July 24.

Meanwhile, other organizations continue to find creative solutions for hosting shows. The Oakland Theater Project, for example, is staging drive-in productions.

“Audiences were thrilled to experience a live theatrical production from the safety of their car,” says Colin Mandlin, the theater company’s managing director. “It has been a profound experience to gather together again as a community and to participate in a season of shows that attempt to speak to the urgent crises facing our society and find renewal as we all learn how we move forward in this new world.”

San Francisco’s “Immersive Van Gogh,” a touring multimedia exhibition and global sensation, made its West Coast premiere at SVN West back in March. Co-producer

Corey Ross said the organizers were “really excited to bring one of the first things for people to do, in a safe way, during COVID.”

The show uses light, music and other elements to illuminate the life and art of Vincent Van Gogh, immersing viewers in the great 19th-century post-Impressionist painter’s world from the safety of their clearly marked social bubbles. The smash production has been extended through Sept. 6.

San Francisco Shakespeare Festival will take its summer production — “Pericles, Prince of Tyre” — online this year. Other summer theater companies — the annual Mountain Play on Mount Tamalpais, Livermore Shakespeare Fes-

Right: Six Flags Discovery Kingdom reopened for rides on April 1, the first time since the pandemic closed it last March.

KARL MONDON/STAFF

tival, San Francisco Mime Troupe — had yet to announce summer plans at press time. Woodminster Theatre in Oakland is hoping to present live shows this summer, with its seating cut from 1,200 to 400 to accommodate social distancing.

As for the fall, both Broadway San Jose and TheatreWorks Silicon Valley are eyeing live shows in October. Broadway San Jose’s 2021-22 schedule of all live shows is slated to kick off Oct. 13 with the blockbuster of blockbusters, “Hamilton.” TheatreWorks will open Oct. 6 at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts with a new indie-rock musical

comedy, “Lizard Boy.” Berkeley Rep is eyeing a fall reopening but has not announced dates yet, while American Conservatory Theater will pivot to live productions in January.

Live music, on the other hand, is having a harder time regaining its footing. Most major promoters are reluctant to host limited-capacity concerts. The reason? Simple economics: Promoters need to fill vast numbers of seats to offset the costs associated with putting on a Taylor Swift, Phish or Travis Scott gig.

There have been some encouraging developments, as Bay Area counties move to less-re-

strictive COVID-19 tiers, but it’s hard to imagine many major concerts taking place at the big venues this summer. Organizers have already postponed three of Northern California’s biggest music festivals. BottleRock Napa was pushed back from May to Labor Day weekend, Sept. 3-5. Santa Rosa’s Country Summer was postponed a year; it’s now set for June 17-19, 2022. And San Francisco’s Outside Lands was moved from its typical August dates to Halloween weekend, Oct. 29-31.

But you can expect to see some smaller shows mounted at outdoor venues around the Bay. One

of the more intriguing offerings is an outdoor concert series in Napa.

“We are planning on opening the Blue Note Napa outdoors in a socially distanced, COVID-responsible manner at Charles Krug Winery,” says Blue Note managing director Ken Tesler. Among the shows on sale now: Pink Martini, Chris Botti, Brian McKnight, Los Lobos and Kenny G.

“The response has been huge,” Tesler says. “We are definitely feeling a significant pent-up demand for live music. There is no doubt the experience will be different, yet in its own way, very fun and special.”

We’ll take that. Gladly.

Above: Barry Sharpe holds his daughter Ava, 4, during an outing at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk in Santa Cruz on April 1.

RANDY VAZQUEZ/ STAFF

HERE COMES THE SUMMERTIME FUN

BY JIM HARRINGTON

Looking for a few fun things to add to your summer calendar? Here are five events/ activities happening in the Bay Area that should be well worth your time.

SOUTH BAY SHORES

There are plenty of reasons to be excited about the reopening of California’s Great America, which was closed for all of 2020 due to COVID-19 precautions. Yet No. 1 on the list is the debut of the park’s greatly updated and expanded waterpark area — now known as South Bay Shores — which features seven new water attractions. That number includes the massive Pacific Surge, a sixstory-tall tower that features four trap-door freefall slides and two innertube slides.

Details: California’s Great America season runs May 22-Aug. 29; South Bay Shores is expected to open in early summer; 4701 Great America Pkwy, Santa Clara; single-day tickets start at $35, season passes start at $66.99; cagreatamerica.com.

SEASON OF SHARED LIGHT

California Shakespeare Theater only plans to host one production of its own — Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale,” directed by artistic director Eric Ting — during what’s dubbed the 2021 “Season of Shared Light.” Otherwise, the acclaimed East Bay theater company plans to share its beautiful Bruns Amphitheater with other community and arts groups — such as Berkeley’s West Edge Opera — looking for precious outdoor space to mount shows this summer.

Details: Bruns Amphitheater, 100 California Shakespeare Theater Way, Orinda; visit calshakes.org for details on “Season of Shared Light” schedule.

OAKLAND THEATER PROJECT

Still feeling a little apprehensive about sitting or standing next to someone at a show? Well, a great socially distanced solution is to attend one of the Oakland Theater Project’s drive-in theater productions, where you watch the show from the comfort of your own car. (Think drive-in movies, only you’ll be watching a play instead of a film.) The company is hosting two world premieres

this summer — filmmaker/playwright Kathleen Collins’ “Begin the Beguine: A Quartet of One Acts” and “The Dream Life of Malcolm X,” which was co-created by Oakland Theater Project’s own John Wilkins, William Hodgson and Dawn L. Troupe

Details: 7:30 p.m. Thurs-Sun, May 28-July

3 (“Begin the Beguine”), July 23-Aug. 29 (“Malcolm X”); parking lot for the Oakland Theater at FLAX art & design, 1501 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland; $25-$50 per vehicle;https://oaklandtheaterproject.org/

“IMMERSIVE VAN GOGH”

The popular touring exhibition, which opened at San Francisco’s SVN West back in March, invites patrons to explore the life and art of Vincent van Gogh from a whole new perspective. Far from being a typical exhibition, “Immersive Van Gogh” is a multimedia, multisensory show that uses light, music, movement, imagination and other elements to allow people to “step inside” such iconic van Gogh paintings as “Nuit étoilée” (Starry Night, 1889) from the safety and comfort of their own clearly marked social bubbles.

Details: Through Sept. 6; SVN West, Market Street and South Van Ness, San Francisco; timed entry tickets start at $39.99-$49.99 ($24.99 for children 16 or younger); vangoghsf.com.

CHILDREN’S MUSIC THEATRE SAN JOSE

CMT has been putting on family-friendly theater productions in San Jose for more than a half century. This summer, however, they’ll be doing so at their brand new CMT Creative Arts Center. The organization is mounting three productions — “Snoopy the Musical,” “Starlight Express” and “American Idiot” — which will run concurrently, summer repertoire style, July 8-25 at an outdoor space created in the side parking lot of the building. CMT is expected to return to its longtime performance venue, the Montgomery Theater, later in the year.

Details: July 8-25; Creative Arts Center, 1545 Parkmoor Avenue, San Jose; cmtsj.org.

The “Pacific Surge” slide complex, part of California’s Great America’s “South Bay Shores” waterpark in Santa Clara, will open in May.

NHAT V. MEYER/STAFF

a breath of fresh air

Outdoor dining appears here to stay, but menus, hours may see limits

BY LINDA ZAVORAL

The upstairs dining room of Oakland’s Oliveto invites quiet conversation, thanks to a sophisticated acoustic system, and owners Bob and Maggie Klein have been thrilled to welcome their longtime regulars back inside.

But they’re not giving up their parklet on busy College Avenue below.

“There are still some people who feel more comfortable outside,” said Bob Klein, who caters to all comers by offering sidewalk guests both chef Peter Jackson’s refined menu and a casual bill of fare. “The parklets are actually really nice. It’s great sitting outside.”

Such is the Balancing Act of 2021 for the restaurant industry, which follows the Alfresco Summer of 2020. After a year of dealing with the unprecedented changes in staffing, safety, menus, hours and business models necessitated by COVID-19 rules, Bay Area chefs and restaurateurs find themselves straddling the pandemic and post-pandemic eras.

“Though there is still a bit of uncertainty in the air, I am optimistic about moving forward in the summer,” said chef David Kinch, owner of The Bywater and Michelin-starred Manresa, both in Los Gatos, and Mentone in Aptos. “I feel the public is craving social interaction and coming to terms with how restaurants and hospitality in general are such an important part of our culture.”

Chef-owner Jesse Cool sees the same enthusiasm

RANDY VAZQUEZ/STAFF

Left: Oyo restaurant in Pleasanton offers diners a half jerk chicken plate as part of its Caribbean cuisine.

among her clientele at Flea Street Cafe in Menlo Park, enthusiasm that also represents a challenge. “It is up to us to manage — with less staff and still feeling the effects of this brutal year — the many people so happy, so excited to get out finally.”

Barring changes in pandemic protocol, here’s what the season ahead looks like for restaurantgoers:

TAKING IT TO THE STREETS

Whether your local restaurant row will become a closed-street, walkable feast this summer depends largely on how successful the merchants and customers found this solution last year. Some cities are keeping streets or blocks closed to accommodate alfresco dining, some have adopted seasonal closures, and some have encouraged parklets instead.

For example, San Jose’s “Al Fresco” experiment at San Pedro Square has been extended well beyond summer, keeping San Pedro Street filled with tent-covered tables — and free of cars — until Dec. 31. Owners of restaurants including Sushi Confidential, Farmers Union, District and O’Flaherty’s are lobbying city officials to make the change permanent.

In Pleasanton — where restaurants dominate the city’s prominent downtown thoroughfare — a different model was approved. As in 2020, the city and the Pleasanton Downtown Association have partnered on a plan to close Main Street to vehicular traffic every week from Friday afternoon through Sunday evening

(plus Memorial Day and Labor Day). Live musical entertainment is planned.

Maurice Dissels, chef-owner of the Caribbean restaurant Oyo, got a huge boost from the Pleasanton street shutdown last year and is happy to “increase our footprint” once more. “We are anticipating a busier-than-usual summer business, given the increased seating capacity.”

PARKLETS AND PATIOS

Cascal, a pan-Latin tapas restaurant in Mountain View, has invested in patio seating for up to 140 diners. “Outdoor dining will still be a big part of the dining future,” predicts longtime Bay Area restaurateur Don Durante, Cascal’s founder and co-owner.

The Walnut Creek Yacht Club — the restaurant’s

“Outdoor dining will still be a big part of the dining future.”

Restaurateur Don Durante

JANE TYSKA/STAFF

owners wanted to bring the feel of a “day on the Bay” to a landlocked city — offers three alfresco solutions: their permanent patio, aka the Aft Deck, a covered pavilion in the parking lot and a city-permitted parklet.

“We plan on seating it all summer,” co-owner and chef Kevin Weinberg said of the maritime flag-festooned parklet.

In San Francisco, Boudin Bakery — a huge indoor venue at Fisherman’s Wharf that drew hundreds of tourists and visitors a day to eat and watch the sourdough bread-making process in pre-pandemic times — has converted a good portion of its parking lot into a pop-up outdoor dining experience, Summer Grill & Crab Fest, with seafood, pizza, burgers and more served under red umbrellas.

When its Bistro Boudin opens indoors this summer, the pop-up will remain open daily for customers who might prefer staying outside, said Dan Giraudo, chairman of Boudin Bakery.

Looking to grab a bite on a late Tuesday night? Beyond bars and fast-food drive-throughs, you may find restaurant hours more limited than in years past. That’s not because restaurants don’t want to feed you and boost the bottom line. Many owners are still looking for more cooks and servers to hire. And they want to take care of their staffers, who were so devoted throughout 2020.

“Think about it. They work nights and weekends,” said Flea Street Cafe’s Cool, who is planning to keep

Chef David Kinch

her restaurant open just five nights a week. She may extend hours slightly, “but not so (employees) can’t get home and sleep well.”

Durante sees the limited hours trend in Mountain View, with many Castro Street places open only for dinner. “We’re doing both lunch and dinner at Cascal but are closed on Mondays. Previously we were a seven-day-a-week lunch and dinner operation,” he said. “We are also closing earlier on weeknights, at 8:30, with the exception of Friday and Saturday nights.”

Staffing shortages kept Mike Messinger’s Olla Cocina restaurant closed for many months during the

“

Though there is still a bit of uncertainty in the air, I am optimistic about moving forward in the summer.”

Left: A drone’s eye view shows the outdoor dining areas that sprang up along Walnut Creek’s Locust Street in March.

pandemic, with the contemporary Mexican restaurant at San Jose’s San Pedro Square reopening only recently. His Farmers Union restaurant next door has been open for months, but Messinger won’t expand hours there until more workers return.

Overall, diners shouldn’t be surprised to see limited menu offerings along with the limited hours. “With the current poor state of being able to hire qualified personnel, I think there will be no expansion of menus,” Manresa’s Kinch said. “I expect shortened, more concise menus until all restaurants become fully staffed. A shame, but it is the reality of the current situation.”

... WITH SOME EXCEPTIONS (HELLO, BRUNCH!)

Some restaurants have managed to buck the trend.

Luna Mexican Kitchen in Campbell and San Jose, for example, has been able to bring back staff and resume serving long hours, including 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily brunches and dinner hours until 9 p.m. weekdays, Fridays and Saturdays, until 10.

Owner Jo Lerma-Lopez sees the 40 outside tables at her Pruneyard location filling up regularly throughout the warm weather. “I feel like summer has already started for us,” she said. “People have much more of an appreciation for hospitality” after months cooped up at home.

In Pleasanton, Dissels has relaunched weekend brunch and extended Oyo’s hours not once but twice. Closing time on Friday and Saturday was first changed from 8:30 to 10 p.m. and then, for the warm-weather street closure, till 11 p.m.

And in downtown San Jose, the owner of Devine Cheese & Wine is offering Sunday brunch for the first time to supplement her cheese classes and dinner offerings.

“Never thought I would do

brunch, but I have been looking for opportunities to still get our name out there, as I feel like we are starting all over again,” said Liana Ryan, who launched the venture near St. James Park about a month before the pandemic restrictions started in 2020 and has been pivoting ever since.

COCKTAILS TO GO

Early in the pandemic, California’s ABC — the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control — threw a lifeline to the state’s bars and restaurants by allowing them to sell alcoholic drinks togo, including the sipping of same within sidewalk/street dining areas.

This has been a boost both for their bottom line and for customers who love a well-made drink but may not have a well-stocked liquor cabinet at home.

Bartenders at chef Nelson German’s alaMar Kitchen and Sobre Mesa, both in Oakland, have been mixing and packing plenty of Spiced Mango Margaritas and Passionfruit Palomas with the Afro-Latin takeout meals.

“It has definitely made a huge difference in terms of helping us increase revenue when indoor dining wasn’t permitted and more so when outdoor dining wasn’t permitted, the complete shutdown,” co-owner May German said.

Not surprisingly, there’s strong interest in allowing these sales to continue after the pandemic emergency ends, with a number of bills winding their way through the California Legislature.

Besides helping financially, the sales extend the French dining experience, said Laura Magu of Rêve Bistro in Lafayette, where she and chef husband Paul have set up a pop-up wine shop, with most of their bottles available for the takeout price of 50 percent off.

“This allows guests to enjoy a Châteauneuf du Pape at the restaurant,” she said, “and then take a bottle home.”

Left: Chef-owner Maurice Dissels proudly mounted a mural portrait of his grandmother Oyo at his restaurant named for her in Pleasanton.

RANDY VAZQUEZ/STAFF

WITH RUDABEH PAKRAVAN

Parklets come to the restaurateur’s rescue, many times over

BY JESSICA YADEGARAN

Diners and restaurant owners agree: Parklets are the silver lining of pandemic dining. But they certainly don’t build themselves. And while some Bay Area restaurateurs may be handy with a hammer, building a structure in a public space can be a long and complicated process involving permits, safety regulations and $10,000 or more in labor and materials.

Early on in the pandemic, architects, contractors and artists from Oakland’s ArcSine, San Jose’s Local Color and other agencies were looking for ways to lend their skills, often working for free to erect these parklets quickly.

In Berkeley, architects Rudabeh Pakravan and Kristen Sidell of Sidell Pakravan Architects worked with the city of Berkeley to create a free guide simplifying code criteria, permitting process and construction strategies. They created a webinar and offered their services pro bono, averaging 30 to 80 hours per parklet to help with everything from construction plans to string lights and murals — an ocean-evoking blue and white design for Elmwood’s La Mediterranee, for example.

QWhat are the basic elements of a parklet?

Pakravan: City regulations vary, but basically a parklet is a way of legally occupying a public parking space. It’s a partnership between the city and private business to allow them to use this space. It must have a street enclosure, seating and tables and a base, although some parklets just put their tables on the ground.

QWhat are the biggest challenges?

AThe biggest challenge is that streets are not even. They are actually curved and have really complex shapes to deal with water runoff. So unlike creating a deck in your backyard, where you start with a level surface, creating a parklet is trickier. There is also the varying width of the sidewalk to consider, parking meters, trees, lights, post boxes and driveway curb cuts.

QTell us about the variety of parklets you’ve worked on. How are they different?

AThese parklets are really a reflection of the restaurant owner’s vision, effort and skill. If a restaurateur or someone on staff is handy, they may just need a design from us and be able to build it on their own. Other parklets become these huge community efforts and draw upon experts across a range of professions.

With La Mediterranee, owner Trevor Ledergerber told us he and his staff were super handy. We sketched it out, and they built it in three days. We also designed the graphics on the enclosure — a sweeping blue M based on the restaurant’s logo — and came out and painted it for him.

Vanessa’s Bistro was different. Owner Vi Nguyen was close to going out of business and had no money for a parklet. We were able to find her a contractor, graphic designer and muralist to work pro bono on the parklet, which takes up three parking spots and has four tables. One of her customers helped, too. The materials alone cost $3,000-$4,000. And the labor was close to $10,000. At the end, she held a big thank you dinner for all of us in the parklet.

QDo you think parklets are here to stay?

AThat’s up to each city, but once something is there, it’s a lot harder to take away. If they are durable, they have longevity. I think people are seeing their value. They see how much they enliven the street and add to the cityscape. We foresee a future where the convenience of cars is not the first priority. We believe that the public realm should contribute positively to our social, cultural and economic experience.

QAny upcoming parklets that you are particularly excited about?

AWe are really excited about a parklet for Fellini Coffeebar, a cafe on University Avenue. It ended up turning into a large, fun project with a special canopy that attaches to one edge of the restaurant and lets in partial light. Plus, according to the owner, we get free coffee for life.

Customers dine at the La Mediterranee restaurant parklet on April 20 in Berkeley. Throughout the pandemic, many architecture firms have provided free guides to restaurants on how to build their own parklets. ARIC CRABB/STAFF

Silver linings for shoppers

Loyalty to local stores, online options and curbside pickups likely to remain

BY MARISA KENDALL

After an excruciating year, we could all use a little retail therapy. So what exactly can we expect shopping to look like now that COVID has turned everything upside down?

Well, it’s going to be different for sure. But that’s not necessarily bad. Hand sanitizer, plexiglass between customers and employees and face masks likely are here to stay, but so are improved online ordering platforms and customers’ newfound commitment to shopping local. Some retailers have become downright creative — taking ideas that started as pandemic safety precautions, such as curbside pickup, and rebranding them as an ongoing customer convenience. Many remain focused on outdoor spaces, realizing the open-air venues that prevented the spread of germs early in the pandemic can make fun and festive gathering spaces, even after COVID recedes.

Alas, the outlook isn’t all rosy — we’ve lost many stores as a result of the pandemic and are likely to lose more. But those that survived are eager to welcome customers with new products and, in some cases, new attractions and events.

Keep Oakland Alive employee Emmanuel Golla picks up an order from Ami Patel at Adventure Toys on Lakeshore Avenue in Oakland on April 14. Shoppers can visit one website to order items from dozens of local small retailers and then have them delivered.

JANE TYSKA/STAFF

“Most retailers are quite excited about reopening,” said Kirthi Kalyanam, executive director of Santa Clara University’s Retail Management Institute. “The tone is going to be alright, let’s live life. So I think you’re going to see a lot of positive enthusiasm from retailers. And you’re going to see that in their merchandise.”

Expect to see “back to work” displays and promotions in clothing stores, as more offices reopen and people start shopping for work-appropriate wardrobes. Check your email and social media for updates from your favorite brands, as stores that started or expanded online ordering during the pandemic are likely to continue finding new ways to connect with you online. And don’t forget to look for creative new attractions from malls and shopping centers.

Westfield Valley Fair in Santa Clara will continue to host pop-up open-air markets — a new feature that started last year when indoor malls were forced to close but ended up being “extremely popular,” said marketing director Kate Diefenderfer.

Westfield San Francisco Centre has been offering weekly fitness bootcamps on its outdoor rooftop terrace since January. And in April, the mall launched a bimonthly artisan market, where customers can browse skincare products, craft jewelry and succulent arrangements near Bloomingdale’s.

Bay Street in Emeryville has “a lot of things in the works” for this summer, said senior general manager Lucas Heller, without disclosing specifics.

But despite these new offerings, experts say that in many stores, the availability of actual items to buy has dropped. COVID disrupted manufacturing and shipping, and some stores are choosing to stock fewer products, due to uncertainty about the economy, customer behavior and pandemic

Seven-year-old Stella Ramos tries out the new bicycles at Chain Reaction Bicycles in April in Redwood City.

KARL MONDON/STAFF

restrictions. That means more limited options for consumers.

“I’m hoping within the next couple months, we’ll have more variety in the stores,” said Lili Henry, a San Francisco-based personal stylist and image consultant.

While the days of panic-buying toilet paper are over, shortages remain in certain areas. Demand for all things bicycle-related skyrocketed during the pandemic, and suppliers haven’t been able to keep up, leading to a scarcity of various bikes and bike parts, said Michael Jacoubowsky of Chain Reaction Bicycles in Redwood City. Just recently, the store had trouble even finding disc brake pads for road bikes — a problem Jacoubowsky expects could last through the summer.

But if you’re not quite ready to ditch your PJs and start shopping in person for brake pads or anything else, don’t worry — it’s likely you’re not alone.

Online shopping soared during the pandemic, and mom-andpop shops that had never offered online ordering rushed to start up new, user-friendly websites. Now, many customers have grown accustomed to that convenience.

“We’ve spent a year, 13 months really, retraining every consumer how to buy,” said Gary Castro, director of the Bay Area Retail Leadership Center at San Jose State University. “And that’s not going away.”

And now, you can replicate the mall food court from the comfort of your own home. In February, Westfield Valley Fair launched a new online platform called MIX, which lets users order everything from Pizza My Heart to mall staples, including Auntie Anne’s Pretzels, Mrs. Fields cookies and Cinnabon without stepping foot in a food court. Customers can pick up their orders from lockers located near the mall parking garages or opt for home delivery. Even small shops got into

the act. Maison d’Etre, an Oakland boutique selling household goods, clothing and accessories, beefed up its web presence and launched online ordering during the pandemic. Those new platforms aren’t likely to disappear just because in-person shopping is picking back up.

“Definitely, the website is here to stay,” said Maison d’Etre co-owner Patty Brunn. “I think that’s part of our future.”

Brunn and other retailers said they would also likely keep offering curbside pickup. Pandemic or no, it may become a handy option during the holidays, when parking around the store is tough, Brunn said.

Rockridge Market Hall, which houses a collection of specialty food vendors in Oakland, closed the street during the holiday season to give customers space to form a socially distanced line outside the building. This year, management would like to do that again — but make it a fun festival rather than a safety precaution.

“You could imagine hay bales and that type of thing and mulled wine,” said Marshka Kiera, marketing manager for Market Hall Foods.

While the pandemic was brutally hard on small retailers, experts say it came with a silver lining: a widespread push to shop local. Bay Area customers, worried their neighborhood stores would be the next to close, rallied around their favorite shops. And new platforms are making it easier than ever for people to support local businesses.

In September, Oakland dad Brett Rounsaville helped launch Keep Oakland Alive, an online platform that aggregates products from dozens of neighborhood retailers. It’s like Amazon, in that customers can buy a wide variety of products from different brands in one place — but it’s all local. After a customer places an order, Rounsaville and his team go to each of the retailers and pick up the items that were ordered, package them up together and then hand-deliver them to the customer. Delivery is free in Oakland, $5 in Berkeley and Alameda, and $10 if the team has to ship it somewhere else in the U.S.

The platform hosted about 40 different retailers as of April, and another 50 were waiting to be integrated. From October through Christmas, Keep Oakland Alive fielded about $100,000 in sales, Rounsaville said.

The platform is run by a company called Nearby, which plans to replicate the model in other cities. Though it was inspired by the pandemic, Rounsaville views Keep Oakland Alive not just as a way for small businesses to fight the virus, but also as a way for them to compete against corporate retailers. That’s why it will outlast COVID, he said.

“The bottom line is there’s no vaccine for Amazon,” Rounsaville said.

For some, there’s also no replacing the experience of going shopping. As 24-year-old Bany Jauregui strolled Bay Street shopping center in Emeryville on a recent morning, she lamented the shuttered stores, reduced hours and the quiet, somber atmosphere. She hopes things liven up by this summer.

“What I hope it looks like,” she said, “is people coming out, obviously buying things to help the economy.”

Emmanuel Golla prepares orders for delivery at the Keep Oakland Alive headquarters in Oakland on Wednesday in April. Shoppers can visit one website to order items from dozens of local small retailers and then have them delivered.

JANE TYSKA/STAFF

A buyer’s guide to the emerging shopping scene

BY MARISA KENDALL

Shopping is going to feel a little different this summer. Here’s a guide to some of the things you’ll see as you window shop, bargain hunt or treat yourself – and some of what you won’t.

What’s in SNEAKERS AND JEANS

Denim and comfy footwear is the wardrobe of the day, said local personal shopper and image consultant Micki Turner. Pair that with a sweater or puffy jacket on those cold Bay Area evenings, and you’re ready for outdoor dining or a walk with friends.

Retailers are taking note. Lately, when Turner peruses the shoe departments of her favorite high-end department stores, “the whole selling floor is sneakers,” she said. Dressy heels? Not so much.

OUTDOOR SPACES

Outdoors is the place to be this season, and more retailers – from mom-and-pop shops to large malls –are finding creative ways to use their outside space. Whether it’s Hillsdale’s North Block outdoor plaza, Westfield San Francisco Centre’s rooftop fitness classes or Valley Fair bringing live music back to the plaza, you can expect to see a lot of open-air events this summer.

BEING KIND

As we all adjust to shopping within 6 feet of each other, local small business owners are asking for one thing from their customers: understanding.

“Have patience, and let’s all be kind to one another,” said Mary Elias, store manager at Cole Hardware in Oakland. “We’re looking forward to having customers back in the store. And this has been a learning experience and a trying experience for a lot of us.”

At the same time, now is the time for retailers to go all out with their customer service, said Gary Castro, director of the Bay Area Retail Leadership Center at San Jose State University. Creating great personal interactions with shoppers is the best way to lure them back and combat the draw of online shopping, he said.

GENEROUS RETURN POLICIES

The outfit you ordered online isn’t as snazzy as you had hoped? As online shopping increased and some stores closed their fitting rooms, many retailers have become more generous with their return policies, said Rachel Michelin, president and CEO of the California Retailers Association. She expects those changes to stick around, even after the threat of COVID decreases.

What’s out

SAMPLE/ TESTER PRODUCTS

Want to sniff a lip balm or try out a lotion before you buy it? You may be out of luck. Many stores removed “tester” products from their bath and beauty sections, concerned about spreading germs. It’s unclear when they will return.

“I hate that, frankly, because you can’t smell what you’re going to buy,” said Patty Brunn, co-owner of Maison d’Etre in Oakland. “So sales have decreased in things like that.”

CORPORATE RETAILERS

The pandemic fueled a major push to shop local – people rushed to support their beloved stores and help them survive COVID restrictions. Retail experts expect that trend to outlast the pandemic.

“I think it really opened folks’ eyes to what’s at stake,” said Brett Rounsaville, one of the founders of Keep Oakland Alive, an online platform that aggregates products from small Oakland retailers. “As much as there is a pro-local-shopping sentiment, there’s also kind of an anti-Amazon sentiment. Everyone knows those are dollars that could be spent locally and could be circulated here in our own community.”

CLUTTERED, CROWDED STORES

Many retailers have reorganized their stores to provide more space for social distancing, said Kirthi Kalyanam, executive director of Santa Clara University’s Retail Management Institute. They’re also being cautious about purchases. They’re buying less inventory, wary of being stuck with it if business remains sluggish.

“(Customers) should expect to see cleaner, more roomy store models,” Kalyanam said, “as opposed to the past, where (retailers) would jam them up with goods.”

Receding pandemic puts our focus on fitness — physical, mental and emotional

BY EMILY DERUY

Before the pandemic hit, Kim Krause got her daily workouts at the Temescal Pool in Oakland. Then the coronavirus arrived and shuttered swimming pools like everything else.

As most of humanity hunkered down with sourdough starters and puzzles, the 58-year-old took to jogging. But it just wasn’t the same. By the end of April, Krause was ready for something she’d never done before and soon found herself plunging into the salty, choppy, open waters of the San Francisco Bay.

“I absolutely loved it,” the Alameda resident gushed recently. “The water was cold. It was a bit rough. It was just wonderful.”

Across the Bay Area, the pandemic has reshaped

ARIC CRABB/STAFF

Left: Kim Krause swims from the Encinal Beach boat launch in Alameda. Krause is an avid swimmer who took to the Bay when the Temescal Pool closed because of COVID-19 restrictions.

our attitudes toward both physical and mental health — fostering new habits we plan to keep as a semblance of normal returns this summer and prompting some of us to re-examine how we cope in a chaotic world.

“It’s going to take a while for us to kind of re-acclimatize to an actual real reality and not a virtual reality world,” said David Spiegel, associate chair of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University and director of the Center on Stress and Health.

While the pandemic stripped gym rats of sweating profusely on television-equipped treadmills within spitting distance of others, it reinvigorated in some a love for the outdoors that stands to endure beyond mask mandates and gathering bans.

Mike Fleming joined the YMCA in San Francisco more than two decades ago and was a regular at weight training and spin classes at the Presidio location before the pandemic. And while virtual classes have been a lifeline for some members, Fleming wasn’t all that interested.

“The community is what I love about it,” the 72-yearold said. “I perform better when I’m with a group.”

So last summer, when the Y started offering small outdoor classes in the parking lot, he and his wife lunged at the opportunity — a chance to fill some of the void left by the absence of family time and holiday gatherings.

“What saved us when we couldn’t do those things was going to the gym and looking forward to that and the safe environment,” he said. “That got us through COVID.”

Now, months in, he and others are wondering: Why did we ever do these indoors?

Lauren Clapperton, who leads the association’s health and wellness programs, and her team are paying attention to those comments — surveying members and tweaking offerings to meet people where they’re comfortable.

“We’re always going to adapt to the community’s needs,” she said.

Clapperton said the Y is also seeing a “strong response” to offerings aimed at helping people get on track after some less-than-healthy pandemic behavior, from nutrition to socialization (especially among seniors) and sleep. “It’s not just getting on a treadmill and moving your legs.”

The pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing mental health issues like depression and anxiety, said Spiegel, the Stanford psychiatrist. And people aren’t just worrying about pandemic life: They’re stressed about entering the post-pandemic world, too.

But, he continued, re-engaging with family, friends and co-workers “is a good thing to do,” once health experts say it’s safe, because social connections are a major healing force for people who are anxious or lonely or depressed. However, people may need to start

DAI SUGANO/STAFF

Left: Mike Fleming of San Francisco lifts weights during an outdoor fitness class in the parking lot of the YMCA Presidio location in San Francisco.

by taking small steps, such as a quick coffee date with friends, after so much isolation. In other words: It’s OK if the thought of attending a big party at your friend’s house right out of the gate makes you a little queasy.

“I think people will feel somewhat uneasy about resuming normal life, even if they’re excited about it,” he said, adding that his team has been especially busy with the pandemic dragging on. “A lot of people are newly seeking therapy, and a lot of people are coming back. For a good while, I think there’s going to be advanced demand for mental health services.”

There has been a silver lining, though. Spiegel said some of his clients who have long struggled with the mental health challenges that more people are experiencing these days are finding that the pandemic has actually made them feel less alone. “Now the rest of the world knows what I feel like,” some patients tell him.

Children, in particular, need a little extra patience and attention. Kids may not be able to easily identify and express the fact that they’re anxious, Spiegel said, and might talk about a stomach ache or appear tired instead. And when things do finally return to normal, youngsters who have been with their parents 24/7 for months on end are going to need a little time — and maybe some extra hugs — to adjust.

during the pandemic. “When you’re in the water, you have to be so present and in your body. It’s such a visceral experience.”

“I have these moments where I’ll just kind of start swimming and kind of break down in grief at what everybody is going through,” Jones continued. “Swimming in the Bay was like this huge emotional release.”

Despite the lockdowns and isolation, the health care community found a way to connect with those of us suffering from grief, heartbreaking death, mental havoc and common physical ailments through virtual doctor visits, which both providers and patients say they plan to rely on well after the last restrictions are lifted.

“It has been somewhat of a silver lining that we were able to leverage the preparation that we did in telemedicine during this year, and it has absolutely exploded,” said Craig Wargon, a physician at Kaiser Permanente in Santa Clara and medical director of The Technology Group, a regional department working on the issue.

Wargon thinks many people will continue to prefer video visits and believes digital information sharing will grow. That could mean data from monitoring glucose at home goes straight into a patient’s file, along with cellphone photos of rashes or other maladies.

Howard Knoles, a Kaiser patient in his early 70s who lives south of downtown Gilroy, is happy he can continue to avoid trekking north to San Jose for some appointments.

“Going forward, even when I could go in, if I don’t really need any physical contact and I don’t want to leave the house, the video conferencing is very convenient,” he said.

For some people, the end of the pandemic is a time for new beginnings and new goals, including weight loss. Gary Foster, a clinical psychologist and chief scientific officer for WW, formerly known as Weight Watchers, said the pandemic disrupted daily routines that often involved physical activity, from commuting to shopping, and also put a lot of people newly working from home really close to their refrigerators.

“Those things seem pretty trivial,” Foster said, “but they turn out to be quite significant in terms of establishing new, not-so-healthy habits.”

“That’s lovely for kids, and they’re going to miss them,” Spiegel, himself a grandfather, said. “Don’t be judgmental about it.”

Katt Jones, who prefers they/them pronouns, has found that maintaining physical health during the pandemic has helped them stay mentally strong, too. Like Krause, Jones began swimming in the Bay after pools closed and has found the experience rejuvenating.

“So much of being in the pandemic is being in anxiety, and all this unknown and kind of spiraling,” said Jones, who has also picked up geocaching as a hobby

Now that post-pandemic life is on the horizon, people are looking to shed the pounds they packed on at the start of lockdown, which in some cases have brought on feelings of shame or guilt.

Let those go, Foster said, and be kind to yourself. Set realistic goals that don’t involve the words “never” or “always” and expect setbacks. You’re not the perfect employee or the perfect partner, so don’t expect to be perfect at getting healthy, either.

“The more you treat yourself with self-compassion rather than self-criticism,” Foster said, “the more successful you’ll be on your journey.”

Good advice for weight loss, perhaps, but also for post-pandemic life in general.

“I think people will feel somewhat uneasy about resuming normal life, even if they’re excited about it. A lot of people are newly seeking therapy, and a lot of people are coming back. For a good while, I think there’s going to be advanced demand for mental health services.”

David Spiegel,

associate chair of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford

University

and director of the Center on

Stress and Health.

Right: Kim Krause takes a breather after a swim at Alameda’s Encinal Beach. ARIC CRABB/STAFF

Q&A

WITH CARISA HARRIS-ADAMSON

Setting Up for Safety

Itseems like just yesterday, millions of employees across the world saw their workplaces change overnight. They went from cubicles and private offices with equipment designed for a long day’s work to hard kitchen tables and makeshift setups in their bedrooms, as many began working from home.

Now more than a year later, healthcare providers and experts want to make sure that an uptick in injuries unique to the home reported since the start of the pandemic is not exacerbated.

Many problems can be prevented or alleviated by taking simple measures to improve your at-home work environment, according to Carisa Harris-Adamson, director of the University of California Berkeley and UC San Francisco Ergonomics Laboratory. Working from home, she finds, can actually benefit our bodies and mental well-being, so long as we maintain good work practices.

BY MAGGIE ANGST

so that they can at least prop up a laptop monitor on some books to make it the right level for their vision and have a nice option for mousing and keyboarding that’s set up a little bit better than the laptop.

Q Is it too late for people who still may not have an ideal work-from-home setup?

A There are certainly some good habits that people can still adopt while they’re working from home. And the good news is there are a lot of cheap and easy options that you can use to make your working situation at home healthier.

For example, one of the things I think is important is getting people to move more, whether they’re in the office or at home. Preventing that two or four-hour stint of sitting in front of your computer static and getting up and moving for periods of time is really important.

QWhat issues have you seen exacerbated by more people working from home?

AIt really depends on their setup. When people were all of a sudden working from home, there were so many problems right off the bat. Not everyone has a place to work at home that has a desk set up with monitors or external keyboards like you would in the workplace. And if they did have it, it oftentimes wasn’t a chair that was designed for a full day of sitting.

If people are working from a bed or soft couch, we tend to expect some back or neck problems. When people are working for long periods of time from hard kitchen chairs or stools without back or forearm support, you tend to expect either back pain or neck and shoulder pain. Forearm rests and back support not only reduce the amount of muscle activity that your body has to generate to keep you upright but also have an impact on the compression forces in your spine.

In terms of laptops, they are great for on-the-go, but they’re just not designed for working off of for long periods of time. We try as much as possible for people with laptops to get an external keyboard and mouse

We try to help people identify a couple of good sitting positions that they can work in, as well as a standing position. We’ve taught people how to use an ironing table against a wall, which actually works quite well for a standing workstation, and we’ve been coaching people to try and schedule certain meetings that they can take on the phone while they’re walking around their neighborhood.

QFor those who are considering a transition back into the office, what would you tell them?

AThere’s a phrase that we use — your best posture is your next posture — and I think that’s something that people can really apply, regardless of whether they’re in the office or at home.

When you go from sitting to standing to walking, you’re changing which muscles are activated and the way gravity is interacting with your body. Those are really good things for preventing fatigue and for preventing discomfort. People had an opportunity to really be in charge of their positions and postures and moving around while they were working from home, and hopefully, we can continue that.

How to stay healthy while working from home

Staying on the safe side

TAKE SOME SIMPLE PRECAUTIONS FOR GETTING OUT AND ABOUT

BY LISA KRIEGER

The advice from federal health officials remains insistent: Please stay home this summer unless it’s absolutely necessary – even if you’re vaccinated.

But travel is still legal, and millions of Californians yearn for a change of scene. While vaccines don’t guarantee protection from mild disease, we’re free from the overwhelming fear of becoming seriously ill or dying.

With thousands of new cases daily, traveling can fuel the pandemic, warns the U.S. Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention. There’s particular concern about the spread of more dangerous viral variants, which are thought to be driving the nation’s disease hotspots. If you journey, how can you mitigate the risk to yourself and others? Experts offer this advice.

CARS VS. PLANES, TRAINS AND BUSES

Cars and private RVs are still recommended for the unvaccinated. But if you are fully vaccinated, it’s fine to take public transit, such as buses, trains and airplanes.

Don’t count on adjacent seats being open; those days are over. If possible, sit by a window and put on the ventilation. Wear a mask – not just to be polite, but because you’re surrounded by people from all over, who may not have had access to vaccines.

If you’re traveling during meal times, consider waiting to eat until everyone else finishes and puts their masks back on. Avoid waiting in long lines while boarding or going to the restroom.

WHERE TO GO

Our Instagram feeds are full of friends heading to exotic places. But you might have to offer proof of a vaccine – or be tested or be quarantined – before your destination will admit you.

The U.S. State Department has expanded its “do not travel” warnings to include the majority of countries worldwide. If you get sick or stuck, there’s little that our government will do to help. So if you decide to travel right now, consider all the potential risks. To learn more about individual countries, go to https://

travelmaps.state.gov/TSGMap/.

For domestic travel, pay attention to the conditions in the place that you’re visiting. If they’re a “hotspot’ of viral infection, try to choose activities where there are fewer people. Or wear a better quality mask.

Because COVID-19 risks can shift quickly, think about paying a little more for an airline ticket that offers refunds and greater cancellation flexibility. Consider travel insurance that includes pandemic coverage.

HOTELS

Hotels have stepped up their cleaning protocols for rooms, and the risk from previous occupants is quite low. The greater risk comes from crowded lobbies or elevators.

Again: location, location, location. A hotel or indoor restaurant in San Francisco or Hawaii will be safer than places in “hotspot” states in the Upper Midwest or Great Lakes states.

TRAVELING WITH KIDS

Children can become infected and transmit the virus among themselves, because they’re not yet vaccinated. So if your kids are toddlers and hate wearing

masks, traveling will pose a risk – especially if there are crowds.

The danger isn’t great for them, because children rarely get severely sick. But they can spread it to anyone who isn’t protected.

This complicates events like weddings, where you don’t know everyone’s vaccine status. And you might want to rethink travel to geographic hotspots of infection; in contrast, someplace like a Hawaiian beach, where infection rates are quite low, is much safer.

If grandma and grandpa are vaccinated, feel free to visit.

WATER PARKS, POOLS AND CAMPS

Beaches and pools are relatively safe places to enjoy the warm weather. But be careful in locker rooms, at long lines for diving boards or in crowds around waterslides.

Summer camps are a lot like school – but they’re outdoors, so they’re safer. The important thing is for counselors and other adults to be vaccinated.

CONCERTS AND KISSING

Assuming you are fully vaccinated, the average concert doesn’t pose a great risk. But experts still get queasy about big venues packed with thousands of strangers — especially if they’re screaming and singing, with lots of alcohol and few masks. The larger the crowd, the more nervous they get.

But it’s a personal decision: How much is it worth to you? If you’ve waited all pandemic to dance in a mosh pit, go for it.

Kissing is fine if you’re both vaccinated, of course. What if they’re not vaccinated, but you are? They’re at risk, not you. Consider a conversation: Tell them you’re worried about their safety.

Sources: Bob Wachter, M.D., UCSF; Caitlin Rivers, M.D., Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security; Farzad Mostashari, M.D., CEO of Aledade; Monica Gandhi, M.D., UCSF and Peter Chin-Hong, M.D., UCSF.

Cotton candy and caution

As summer’s festivals make their return, many will blend live events with virtual

STORY BY SAL PIZARRO ILLUSTRATION BY JUI ISHIDA

With its beautiful weather and bountiful wide-open spaces, the Bay Area has long been known as a hotspot for big, splashy outdoor festivals during the summer. Calendars from May through September would be dotted with events crisscrossing the region. At least until last year.

The COVID-19 pandemic hit, and everyone pretty much stayed home, as region-wide restrictions on large gatherings knocked fairs and festivals off the calendar like dominoes. Some optimistically called it a postponement, while others straight out canceled.

As this summer approaches, however, hope appears on the horizon, with coronavirus cases on the decline, more Bay Area residents getting vaccinated and the state gearing up to lift all restrictions.

So all our favorite events can come back, right? Not so fast.

The uncertainty of the past few months kept many of the bigger events from being able to plan, book artists or musicians or get city permits lined up in time for their traditional time slots. So it’s unclear if you’ll be able to bask in the sun at San Francisco’s Union Street Fair or take your dad to Palo Alto’s World Music Day on Father’s Day weekend.

In some cases, “summer” is getting stretched for events such as the Bay Area KidFest, normally held in downtown Concord over Memorial Day weekend but moving this year to Labor Day weekend. The Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton is pulling up stakes from its regular mid-June time frame and coming back Oct. 22-31.

Above: Model Jessica Yurash performs with Art Live during the 4th Annual SubZero Festival in downtown San Jose in 2011. Organizers plan a 2022 return.

JOSIE LEPE/STAFF ARCHIVES

“The Fair may look a little different in 2021, but we assure you, it’s the same good time where you can build memories that last a lifetime,” Alameda County Fair CEO Jerome Hoban said. And while the main chunk of the fair has been pushed from summer to fall, horse racing and the junior livestock competition and auction will still happen this summer.

One late-summer mainstay is returning — the Sausalito Art Festival. The long standing threeday event will take place at its traditional waterfront spot in its usual Labor Day weekend slot, Sept. 4-6, albeit at a smaller scale with less crowded sections.

COUNTY FAIRS TAKE DIFFERENT PATHS

Fair fans on the Peninsula won’t have to wait, though, as the San Mateo County Fair — which was canceled last year for just the second time in its 87-year history — will be returning as an in-person event June 5-13 at the San Mateo County Event Center.

“The theme of the San Mateo County Fair is ‘Where Tradition Meets Innovation,’ and we will certainly bring the favorite traditions of animals, pig races, BBQ, funnel cakes, carnival rides, and the Ferris wheel back, with the innovations that provide a healthy and safe space for our community,” San Mateo County Event

Above: Pigs named “Sloppy Joe” and “Strawberry” round the corner during the “All Alaskan Racing Pigs” races at the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton in 2019. The fair will return on Oct. 22-31.

Center CEO Dana Stoehr said. Among those innovations is a scheduled timed entry for mask-wearing visitors — which will help meet capacity limits — with tickets sold online only and scanned digitally at the gate.

The Santa Clara County Fair is going a safer route, announcing plans for a drive-through edition in late July and early August, with guests able to buy fair food favorites like corn dogs and kettle corn and see displays that take them on a trip through California. And the Marin County Fair is coupling a virtual event July 2-4 with a drivethrough fair food happening.

BIG QUESTION MARK FOR BIG FESTIVALS

Some organizers already have decided against in-person events. Mountain View’s A La Carte & Art, which traditionally opens Silicon Valley’s summer festival season in early May, will go dark for a second year in a row, as the city’s Chamber of Commerce couldn’t reliably plan for the event in keeping with Santa Clara County guidelines and instead is looking ahead to 2022.

Fans of SubZERO, the popular summer DIY/art mash-up in downtown San Jose, also will have to wait until next year.

“We were really looking forward to SubZERO Festival 2021, but we’re going to have to just

DOUG DURAN/STAFF ARCHIVES

plan on 2022,” said Cherri Lakey of Anno Domini gallery, who organizes the event. “This June/July feels like it’s going to be a very crucial time of being diligent towards post-pandemic progress, and in the interest of keeping our artists and community safe, we feel the timing isn’t right for thousands of people to gather yet.”

But for many, the biggest disappointment will be hearing that Art+Soul Oakland — a beloved Bay Area

tradition that has filled Frank Ogawa Plaza with music, art and other entertainment for two decades — is pushing back its 20th annual event for the second year. A smaller or virtual event just wouldn’t be the same, said Sammee Roberts, Art+Soul’s executive producer.

“The sights, sounds, aromas, and energy from our wonderfully diverse crowd all contribute to the festival vibe. It is because of this that we want our 20th to be in person,” Roberts said, adding that plans are

cooking for a free event on Facebook in late summer or early fall to show the festival’s love for its supporters and launch a countdown to the milestone return.

Both San Jose Jazz and the Gilroy Garlic Festival — two midsummer events that draw more than 100,000 people apiece during their weekend runs — are working on comebacks, but they will probably be different than what festivalgoers are used to.

San Jose Jazz executive director Brendan Rawson

Visitors enjoy an amusement ride at the San Mateo County Fair in 2015. The fair is scheduled to return June 5-13.

says the nonprofit, which canceled both last year’s SummerFest and this year’s WinterFest, is hoping for a slimmed-down version of the festival this August.

The Gilroy Garlic Festival will be “reimagining” its annual celebration of the Stinking Rose with socially distanced and virtual events July 23-Aug. 1. Plans include a series of drive-through events at Gilroy Presbyterian Church that will showcase favorites from Gourmet Alley, a farm-to-table dinner at Fortino’s Winery and a golf tournament at Gilroy Golf Course. If any festival could successfully pull off social distancing, it would be one with garlic on everyone’s breath.

And while President Joe Biden is hopeful the Fourth of July will be an independence day from coronavirus, patriotic revelers should expect a different holiday this year. There’s no word yet if fireworks will be bursting over Pier 39 in San Francisco — an event that annually draws about 200,000 spectators — but the skies over downtown San Jose will be dark with no fireworks at Discovery Meadow Park for the second year in a row.

THE VIRTUES OF STAYING VIRTUAL

Still other event planners have turned the challenges of 2020 into a positive by repositioning their events as virtual or hybrid affairs.

The Bay Area Book Festival in Berkeley is one example, having gone with an entirely virtual event in May.

Founder and executive director Cherilyn Parsons said the decision was largely forced, because the authors fans would normally come to see in person aren’t touring right now and may not be until later this fall. But she said having held virtual events for the past year has shown a few upsides, such as engaging with a much larger audience that stretches well beyond Berkeley, allowing the festival to grow in an unexpected way.

“The annual festival is normally on weekends, but now it’s nine days and totally virtual,” she said. “I think that’s something that is going to continue, and long term, I think people will expect events to be both in-person and virtual.”

The SoFA Music Festival in San Jose over Memorial Day weekend is following a hybrid format with in-person audiences in downtown’s arty South First Street district as well as livestreaming bands to viewers watching from home. Fil Maresca, a longtime San Jose event planner who produces the street fair twice a year along with other events, said streaming technology seems to be going in a more interactive direction, allowing remote audiences to actively participate and not just watch a show on a screen.

“You’re going to be seeing a lot of hybrid events,” he predicted. “Events are going to have virtual components, because some people still aren’t going to be comfortable being in crowds.”

For people who missed an entire summer of fairs and festivals, the idea of having both is better than having none.

Above: Sona Banerjee, of San Jose, dances as Red Baraat performs during the San Jose Jazz Festival in San Jose in 2016. Organizers are planning a scaled-down festival in August. JIM GENSHEIMER/STAFF ARCHIVES

Above: Kashika Singh, 5, of Antioch, gives a big hug to SpongeBob SquarePants during Kidfest at Mount Diablo High School in Concord in 2015. DAN ROSENSTRAUCH/STAFF ARCHIVES

DAI SUGANO/STAFF ARCHIVES

Mark your calendars, some in ink, some in pencil

BY SAL PIZARRO

After a difficult year when most of us were stuck at home instead of being out at our favorite fairs and festivals, things are looking much better for the summer of 2021. But not every outdoor gathering will be coming back this year, and those that are may require masks, have capacity limits or other changes. And a lot can change throughout the summer, so check with the events’ websites for updates.

What’s On

SoFA Music Festival: A hybrid version of the music-filled event in downtown San Jose will take place May 29-30, with in-person audiences watching band performances that will also be streamed. www. sofamusicfestival.com.

San Mateo County Fair: Ferris wheel rides, animal exhibits and more will be returning for the in-person event scheduled for June 5-13 at the San Mateo Event Center. Masks must be worn, and online reservations are required for specific time slots. www.sanmateocountyfair.com.

Gilroy Garlic Festival: The annual tribute to the Stinking Rose will feature virtual and socially distanced events July 23-Aug. 1, with music, wine and Gourmet Alley favorites. www.gilroygarlicfestival.com.

Marin County Fair: Taking place virtually July 2-4, with a drive-through fair food event. www.marinfair.org.

Santa Clara County Fair: This year’s fair will be a drive-through event, with favorite fair foods and displays of iconic California sights on weekends, July 29-Aug. 8. www.thefair.org.

Hot San Jose Nights/Airport Day: The popular air/ car/music show will return to Reid-Hillview Airport

in San Jose on Aug. 28. Organizer Mike Hennessy says the charity-driven event will honor first responders and COVID survivors. www.hotsanjosenights.com.

Sausalito Art Festival: The annual Labor Day art event on the waterfront will take place Sept. 4-6, albeit at a smaller scale with less crowded sections. www. sausalitoartfestival.org.

Bay Area KidFest: The family-friendly event in downtown Concord moves its lineup of rides, entertainment and food from Memorial Day to Labor Day weekend, Sept. 4-6. www.kidfestconcord.com.

Silicon Valley Sculpture Fair: The second annual outdoor art festival — one of the few Peninsula art events to happen during the pandemic — returns Sept. 23-26 at Menlo College in Atherton. www.siliconvalleysculpture.com.

Alameda County Fair: The summer tradition at the Pleasanton fairgrounds moves to fall, with a run Oct. 22-31. www.alamedacountyfair.com.

What’s Off

A la Carte & Art: The traditional festival season opener held in downtown Mountain View in early

May was canceled for a second straight year. Organizers say they’re aiming for a 2022 return. Alacarte. miramarevents.com.

Rotary Downtown Fireworks: The fireworks display on July 4 at downtown San Jose’s Discovery Meadow will remain dark for a second year. www. rotaryfireworks.org.

Art + Soul Oakland: Organizers have decided to push back the popular music and art festival’s 20th anniversary event until 2022. Look for a free Facebook event in the fall, however, that’ll start the countdown to next year’s festival. artandsouloakland.com

SubZERO: The music-filled, arty street midsummer festival in downtown San Jose plans to return in 2022. www.subzerofestival.com

What’s in limbo

San Francisco Pride: The parade and festival are off this year, but Pride 2021 — with the theme “All in This Together” will have several events in June, including an exhibitor expo, a Juneteenth collaboration and a partnership with the Frameline film fest. www. sfpride.org.

Juneteenth in the Park: The 40th annual celebration in Santa Clara County is scheduled for June 19, but the format and location have not been announced. www.sjaacsa.org/juneteenth/home.

San Jose Jazz SummerFest: After losing last year’s festival (and this year’s WinterFest) to the pandemic, San Jose Jazz is working on a scaled-back version that celebrates jazz, blues and Latin music on Aug. 13-15. www.sanjosejazz.org.

Volunteer Mark Baudour, of Salinas, gets the flames going as he cooks calamari during the 38th annual Gilroy Garlic Festival in 2016 in Gilroy. PATRICK TEHAN/STAFF ARCHIVES

‘Play ball!’

had a different ring to it during the year of the pandemic

BY JON BECKER

n its best days, the inviting curves and lush countryside along Altamont Pass Road provide an eye-pleasing alternative to the jammed interstate filled with harried motorists inching over the Diablo Range. Drivers feeling nature’s tug drop into a landscape painting of flowing, grassy fields and dilapidated barns in the distance.

But I had an ulterior motive to leave the I-580 thoroughfare behind one March afternoon last year, as the sun pierced through clouds to illuminate the picturesque roadway. Altamont Pass Road was a faster route to Antioch, where I would watch my son’s first road game of the 2020 season for his Amador Valley High junior varsity baseball team.

I felt fortunate seeing my 16-year-old son, Brady, on the mound when his teammates turned a game-ending double play to seal the victory in his first appearance of the season. Little did I know just how fortunate.

Within 24 hours, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a global pandemic. Local and state officials began limiting gatherings, closing schools and canceling sports events.

Some say parents placed too much emphasis on the youth sports hiatus over the past year. But recreational sports are the embodiment of summers, like a comfortable T-shirt and a pair of shorts. When they stopped, we were left rudderless, pining for the simple cry, “Batter up.”

It would take time to fully appreciate a moment like watching my son play ball. But on March 10, my only concern had been reaching the field in time for the first pitch.

Dads sharing a baseball experience with sons is a time-honored rite of passage in America. But as I’ve learned, it’s not a father’s right; it’s a privilege. For every big moment or rough time that I witnessed from Hayward to Hartwick, New York, with plenty

Left: Amador Valley’s Ross Kobayashi (13), center, and teammates take off their baseball cleat shoes after a JV game against De La Salle High at Amador Valley High in Pleasanton in April.

RAY CHAVEZ/STAFF

of California stops in between, there were too many others I had missed. I didn’t realize why it bothered me so much until heading to the diamond that day on Altamont Pass Road, worried I’d be late.

As careful as I’ve been to make Brady’s baseball experiences strictly about him, it suddenly hit me how personal it also was for me. I did not get to enjoy the same connection with my dad while growing up in San Leandro. As much as Dad wanted to be there, his work schedule as a pipefitter and steamfitter almost always got in the way. By the time I was in high school, I’d usually have to fill him in on the game later that night because he was eager to talk baseball.

Unless I relayed the details to him, he never got the full picture, even when attending games, because Dad was nearly blind. His visual impairment also prevented him from playing with his three sons. It still pains me that I can’t remember ever playing catch with my late father.

I’m thankful I’m still able to play catch with my son, who has no illusions about pitching in college. I’m going to soak up every precious moment until the time comes to hang up the glove.

But I understood why Rodger and Kathy Kobayashi of Pleasanton felt temporary relief that their sons’ baseball games and swim meets had been canceled during the height of the global health crisis.

The parents had been on hamster wheel schedules for years to shuttle four children to games for Amador Valley High and club teams. It started with daughter Lauren, now 24, who participated in competitive cheer and dance competitions before becoming a University of California, Berkeley cheerleader.

COVID-19’s enforced shutdowns offered a welcomed pause from rising early virtually every weekend for sports events across the Bay Area.

“We could actually wake up later,” Rodger Kobayashi said of those early days of the shuttering. “It was nice. It slowed everything down.”

Like many, Kathy Kobayashi expected life to perk up by summer. When it didn’t, the emotional toll began to mount.

The Kobayashis grew restless as the weeks of inactivity stacked up. Ryan Kobayashi, who plans to swim at Wesleyan University in the fall, went without any meets for months. Ross, an Amador JV teammate of my son’s, also grew anxious over what he felt was becoming a lost season.

“I’ll never complain about an 8 a.m. game again,” Kathy Kobayashi vowed.

Like many Californians, the parents wrestled for months with the idea of letting Ross play travel baseball in less restrictive locales. Thousands of sports-mad people migrated out of state when California public health officials kept us locked down. The quarantine could take a hike, as far as they were concerned.

The Kobayashis were much less cavalier about their three trips during the fall to Arizona, where Ross played for two Bay Area teams. Each trip led to varying degrees of trepidation, they said, because of the more lax COVID protocols there. The valuable experience Ross gained on the desert diamonds turned out to be one of the few benefits they saw in the travels.

Meanwhile, the 50-and-over Bay Area Merchants, two-time fastpitch softball national champions, pretty much have to traipse around the country to play in tournaments.

Fred Williams, the Merchants owner and manager, cobbled together enough players to enter two of the few fastpitch tournaments offered since the pandemic began. In July, the team uncharacteristically lost all three games and had a couple of players suffer heat exhaustion in Ashland, Ohio, at the first tournament held in the

Left: Coach Tommy Mathis leads youths during the Silicon Valley National Junior Basketball outdoor basketball camp at Steinbeck Elementary School in San Jose on April 11.

NHAT V. MEYER/STAFF

country in almost five months. Things went much smoother two months later in Bullhead, Arizona, when the Merchants walked away with a second-place finish in a national tournament.

The Merchants headed into the summer of 2021 feeling optimistic, with tournaments starting in June in Morro Bay. Then they travel to Fort Myers, Florida, in July and return to the Sunshine State in August for another tournament.

Don’t get Williams, 71, started on what the shutdown did to what’s believed to be the last remaining men’s fastpitch league in the East Bay. Fields weren’t available, so games were canceled and sponsorships dried up, and the 55-year-old Hayward league died. He said it devastated dozens of diehards who enjoy the postgame camaraderie and beer at least as much as the competition.

“People live and breathe this softball stuff,” said Williams, who ran the league and is hopeful it can be revived. “That’s what they think about all the time.”

At least Williams does. The Hayward man has played or coached for six decades and is Cal State East Bay’s all-time winningest women’s coach with 318 victories from 1983-93. He finally stopped playing in 2015 after decades of pitching took its toll, and he had hip replacement surgery.

Williams said he is excited about the USA Nationals in Houston in October for 60-andover players. By then, Williams said, many of his players will be turning 60, and the Merchants will be eligible to compete and potentially win their first national title since 2013.

It’s nice to see that winning ages well.

However, the consensus at Purissima Park in Los Altos Hills is that getting the chance to play sometimes is a great joy.

The longtime home of Los Altos and Los Altos Hills Little Leagues is now a testament to youth baseball in the COVID era. Opening day in late March was unlike any of the previous 68 seasons.

While mayors of the two cities

both tossed out the traditional first pitches, almost everything else that day at the sycamore-lined baseball fields tucked against a green hillside looked different.

For the first time since anyone could remember, the leagues did not hold a parade. Baseball staples such as sunflower seeds and high fives were out.

Everyone from umpires, players, coaches and socially distanced fans wore face masks. Dugouts were empty, save for the upcoming two batters. Kids kept both their water and hand sanitizer bottles within reach.

None of it seemed to matter to those who embraced being there. A similar temperament prevailed in April at San Jose’s Allen at Steinbeck Elementary School, where 50 boys and girls enthusiastically played outside at a Silicon Valley National Junior Basketball League camp.

The youth basketball league, which has 1,300 kids from Redwood City to Hollister, was left with no choice but to conduct spring camps and perhaps even its summer leagues on the uneven pavement, because of limitations on indoor activities.

Silicon Valley NJB, like almost all Bay Area youth basketball organizations, mainly relies on the use of public school gymnasiums. Without his own gym, director Andre Hunt said he had to improvise to give families an alternative to being cooped up for so long.

“They’ve been encased at home in front of their TV screens, getting Zoomed out,” Hunt said of the kids. “They wanna get out.”

Steve Apfelberg, Los Altos Hills Little League president, discovered that dispensing with the usual adornments did not matter as long as the kids could play.

“No one cared,” he said. “Some teams didn’t even get their uniforms yet. Ordinarily, there would be complaints about that.”

Not this year. Not after so much that had been lost on the diamonds and ballfields.

To think, the analytics crowd still says sacrifices should not be a part of baseball.

Right: Family members of Amador Valley High’s baseball team cheer during an April JV game against De La Salle High.

RAY CHAVEZ/STAFF

BACK TO THE BATS

Bay Area cricketers return to their summertime passion

They appear on school fields like a swarm of desert locusts when the days grow longer and the sun paints the sky in the fairest of pale blues. Across the Bay Area, Americans of Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan and West Indian descent spend summer weekends engaged in the 400-year-old game of cricket.

“In India, cricket is like a religion,” said Nitin Dangodra, a member of the Bay Area Thunderbolts Niners Cricket Club. “It runs in our blood.”

The architects of summertime in America missed this part of the mosaic as they etched romanticized portraits of afternoon ballgames, striped beach umbrellas and velvety soft-serve cones. Their Rockwellian canvases overlooked a rich tapestry of activities, including those with players dressed in cricket whites while gripping wooden bats.

The Northern California Cricket Association has been around since the 1880s, according to its website. Along with the 22-yearold Bay Area Cricket Alliance, the region has almost 100 clubs. This is not a free-for-all backyard barbecue game like badminton and croquet. The cricketers

STORY BY ELLIOTT ALMOND

PHOTOS BY RANDY VAZQUEZ

Left: Thunderbolts Niners batsman Nikunj Mehta plays a shot during a match against the San Jose EverYoung Cricket Club at Joseph George Middle School in San Jose in March.

are impassioned practitioners of bowling, batting and “sledging,” their well-established contribution to trash-talking.

Many of the players could not enjoy their summer pastime last year because of public health restrictions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Dangodra, 33, missed his first summer of cricket in two decades. While the Bay Area league cobbled together a tournament, the Thunderbolts Niners adult team dropped out of the competition because many players did not want to risk spending all day with 20 or so other competitors.

“People were scared, and they didn’t want to play a team sport,” said Hardik Desai, one of the Niners’ bowlers, or pitchers.

As the Thunderbolts concluded

their winter season in April, they anticipated a joyous return to the summer league, where matches last up to eight hours, including the all-important 60-minute break for lunch.

“This is our Sunday,” said Desai, of Fremont. “We play, we go eat, drink. That part of our life was taken away because of COVID.”

Cricket comprises two teams of 11 players each. The teams rotate batting like in baseball. But they don’t stop after nine innings, called “overs.” Summer games have 45 overs, with scores in the hundreds. Another difference from baseball: Fielders do not wear gloves.

An abbreviated variation of the game called Twenty20 — 20 overs might become part of the professional sports landscape.

Above:

Some Silicon Valley entrepreneurs hope to launch a nationwide Major Cricket League next year that would include a team in the South Bay.

In the meantime, the games scheduled this summer are serious competition.

Dangodra, of Milpitas, said some of the teams feature former international players. That is like playing against a retired major leaguer in an adult softball league game.

“All the players here had a dream to play for their country,” Dangodra said one day at Joseph George Middle School in San Jose’s Alum Rock neighborhood.

The Thunderbolts’ Suraj Viswanathan, a USA Cricket board member from Milpitas, said clubs maintain the grounds at

the schools where they play. That includes laying out the “pitch” for bowling and batting. It is a 22-yard-long rectangular green carpet with two stumps, or “wickets,” at each end.

The Thunderbolts spoke in English and Gujarati, one of India’s many languages, while preparing for a Sunday game. Add Spanish to the sweet blend of cultures once summer arrives.

The cricketers said Latinos play Sunday soccer games at some of the same locations. Once in a while, a soccer player wanders onto the field during a cricket match.

“Sometimes they have to be told to be careful because the ball is hard,” Desai said.

Just another summer scene in the Bay Area.

Thunderbolts Niners batsman Krithik Udayashankar, center, receives a pitch from San Jose EverYoung Cricket Club bowler Salman Qadir.

A couple silhouetted by the sunset snuggle inside a tent at Sharp Park Beach in Pacifica in March. RAY CHAVEZ/STAFF

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