Whoever knew that Stone Valley Middle School had a steel drum band? Not me. But last Saturday there they were – the Pan Handlers – their haunting strains of Jamaica Farewell resounding through Alamo Plaza. It was the 23rd annual Alamo Wine and Music Festival, which began at 2 p.m. with the high school bands from Monte Vista and San Ramon Valley. Then Monte Vista’s Jazz Band entertained for an enthusiastic audience. Next came the steel drums.
The event was sponsored by the Alamo Rotary, and all the civic groups came together to make sure it was a success. The Rotary was selling attractive commemorative wine glasses and for a few extra dollars some fine wine was poured into the glass.
The plaza is usually a practical and convenient place where we do our marketing and our banking and get our hair cut. But Saturday it was so much more. Tent booths with pointed tops were pitched right in the middle of the parking lot to offer all kinds of information and other goodies. They formed a big square, which was set with tables and chairs so people could enjoy the offerings of Faz, Xenia Bistro and the Diablo Valley College Hotel and Restaurant Department in the evening. During the afternoon it was a nice place to sit and enjoy the music, as well as kid-watch and dog-watch.
One popular booth was set up by ShapeXpress Fitness For Women , and I heard a woman exclaim with happiness to discover that Alamo Plaza has an all-women’s workout venue. She told me she’d been looking for such a gym close to her home in Alamo since Linda Evans morphed into 24-Hour Fitness and allowed men on the treadmills. I know many women were upset by this, although I must hasten to add, I also know many men who were happy about it and were quick to join up. I’m just saying that women of a certain age – my age, as a matter of fact – would prefer to exercise without men in the vicinity. Anyway, this was the type of discovery that was going on Saturday, as folks visited the booths to learn more about Alamo. The Sheriff’s Department was there, as were firefighters, who answered questions about their services and let kids – big and little – inspect their gear. Civic groups such as the Alamo Improvement Association (AIA) and the Alamo Merchants and Professional Association were informing folks about their goals, plus there were games and snacks.
There was also more music. At first I thought Santana had decided to grace Alamo with his presence but it turned out to be a band called Q. Students from Studio 8 Dance and Performing Arts entertained, as did the Alamo Elementary School Choir. From 8-11 p.m., the Fabulous Cruise Tones played oldies tunes for folks to dance.
A highlight of the evening each year is the announcement of the Rotarian of the Year. On Saturday evening, Rotarian president Karen McPherson announced to the crowd that this year’s special Rotarian is – drum roll, please – Mike Gibson. He’s been an Alamo resident since 1985 and has been active in the AIA, the Association for the Preservation of Danville Boulevard, the Alamo Area Road Improvement Committee, and has been a San Ramon Valley Regional Planning Commissioner since 1994. “Mike has a broad and deep understanding of planning issues,” said McPherson. “He goes out of his way to make sure people get to express opinions and wants the Alamo Improvement Association to be as accessible as possible…. His dogged attention to detail improves every planning decision. His persistence in bringing issues to light has protected and improved the entire Alamo community.”
McPherson said afterward that although the event is a fundraiser for Alamo Rotary projects, most of which benefit the schools, it is also a chance for neighbors to get together. “We felt we had thrown a party for the community of Alamo,” she said. Treasurer Brad Gai reported that more than 600 dinners were sold, and he guessed total attendance was double that. Drawings were also held, with some winners receiving a Hawaiian vacation donated by Alamo World Travel, and a bicycle, courtesy of Alamo Bicycles. But the biggest winners were the children who go to Alamo schools because the dinner receipts benefit their music programs, to the tune of about $6,000 this year. That should help keep the music playing at our schools, including the steel drums at Stone Valley.
