You’ll be excused for waiting another week to start attending the Willow Glen Farmers Market, since May 3 is an insanely busy Saturday already. But just in case you didn’t know, the WG Farmers Market opens this Saturday and continues every Saturday through November 22, 2008.

Come on down to the Downtown Willow Glen Farmers Market and visit all your favorite farmers including Country Essences Flowers, Happy Boy Organic Produce, Allard Farms, Western Sun Flowers, and Rodriquez Farms, and enjoy the finest in fresh, local produce. …

Behind the Garden Theatre
1145 Lincoln Avenue, San Jose

Time: 7:30am - 12:30pm - Cost: free

(more…)

Just a quick WGx reminder … if you see a public school student this week, wish them well on their STAR tests. California students from second grade through high school are taking the state-mandated tests this week.

Here’s a new twist on public schools: Online Playdates. Sort of.

Several grassroots efforts have begun to connect incoming Kindergarten students — and their families — with each other before school starts in the Fall. And most of them are using “Yahoo Groups” for organization, recruiting, and communication:

• Booksin Elementary School Yahoo Group
• Schallenberger School Yahoo Group
• Willow Glen Elementary Yahoo Group

(more…)

The 26th Annual Willow Glen Life Styles Home Tour is scheduled for this upcoming weekend, with tours available on both Saturday and Sunday:

Willow Glen
Lifestyles Home Tour
Saturday and Sunday
May 3 & 4, 2008
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Proceeds from the tour of “owner-occupied” homes across the neighborhood benefits the non-profit San Jose Day Nursery, itself located in Downtown SJ. (more…)

Taking a cue from other streets and neighborhoods that host big yard sales, many of the residents of the Fairglen Eichlers are participating in a neighborhood yard sale this Saturday, April 26: (more…)

Another unique-to-WG business opens this weekend, Shelley Ballard’s Cucina Bambini, located on Lincoln Avenue, north of Willow Street.

Cooking School for Kids and Families

• Classes • Summer Camps • Parties • Special Events • Much More •

Grand Opening Celebration:
Saturday, April 26 … 11am-3pm

Enter our drawing for free and discounted classes and parties!

Imagine Iron Chef meets Gymboree meets Lecture Hall meets Sports Bar. Actually, you’re forced to imagine it … because WGx took a bunch of great pictures inside Cucina Bambini earlier today … and then catastrophically deleted them all during the download process.

Kid-sized tables and sparkling clean aprons welcome kids, along with brightly-colored counters and walls. The adorable little chef logo — he’s still searching for an official name — adorns the classroom above the teaching station, on a widescreen TV, and also on a big clock. There’s even a giant chef’s hat mural on one wall … suitable for those undeleted Kodak moments.

Classes are offered for kids, adults, and various parent-kid combinations, with some of their upcoming activities focusing on Mothers Day, naturally. And the big screen TV might be good for some Sharks playoff viewing, if you’re looking for a fun venue.

Cucina Bambini opens next door to Art House Kids (where Black Eyed Pete’s used to be), providing a one-stop shopping opportunity for parents looking to book unique summer camp experiences for their kids.

—–

Most Embarrassing Post: At the last minute, WGx has to award a coveted “Willow Glen Most” award to Cucina Bambini …. mostly because the effort to promote the Grand Opening was nearly thwarted. As mentioned above, the lost photos remind everyone that WGx is only deemed reliable.

The mini housing boom along Malone Road in WG appears to continue unabated … never mind the supposed real estate downturn.

The Almaden Walk condos are open for viewing and sales (Grand Opening on April 26), the aforementioned Glens are almost sold out, and now three new houses are proposed for the corner of Malone & Harmil, a few blocks east of Lincoln where an older home has been patiently waiting to be torn down.

(more…)

Today’s front page of the Mercury News highlights the challenges of the local housing market with a surprising twist: Homes not far from WG — originally intended for first-time, low-income buyers — sit vacant, waiting for those buyers to materialize:

The 17 brand new cottage-style condos near downtown San Jose were supposed to sell swiftly, especially since they were priced to be affordable to low- and moderate-income people, and the developer offers generous loan programs for first-time buyers.

But in the eight months since the for-sale signs went up on West Alma Avenue at Almaden Avenue, only one condominium has sold, even though the developer, non-profit Neighborhood Housing Services Silicon Valley, has cut prices twice.

With home buyers reluctant to buy in a declining market, even non-profit developers who aim to provide affordable housing to the valley’s lower-income residents are getting hammered by conditions in the real estate market.

If you take Almaden Expressway to Downtown SJ, you drive past these shiny new condos every time. Snuggled into the corner of Alma Street and Almaden Expressway, Villa Almendra is waiting for buyers who can afford it. For half-a-million? Seriously?

It may be in the shadow of the fancy Skyline at Tamien building — four blocks east and nine stories down — but that doesn’t seem like an affordable price for the neighborhood … especially not with Burbed reporting on a $600,000 house on the southern edge of WG. What’s $150,000 these days?

WGx enjoys poking fun at silly Real Estate names that don’t make any sense — the Glens are almost sold out — but Villa Almendra seems really out there. Almendra means Almond …. Villa …. hey, it’s practically called a “Nut House” …

Did you get the phone call?

You know those endless automated phone calls you got back during the run-up to California’s primary election in February. It was like those, but seems to be for a much higher purpose … It came from FindToto.com, and is meant to help reunite a lost dog with her owner:

[Phone Script]: … lost her dog Bella on April 11. Bella is a black and tan Shiba Inu, which looks like miniature husky … small 20-25 pounds, with pointy ears and a curly tail. She is shy and scared, so if you see her please calmly call her and do not chase her.

Bella and her owners were attacked by a pit bull on April 11 in Branham - Thousand Oaks area, and Bella ran away. The dog might have been seen near WG High School over this past weekend, thus the blanketing automatic phone calls to surrounding homes.

A $1000 reward has been offered, and you can call 877-738-8686 with any information.

By the way, if you are the sort who prefers not to be included in such automated phone campaigns, FindToto gives you an opt out option at the end of the recorded message.