Dave Cortese
Before the 8th Annual Day on the Bay slips into memory, I want to take a moment to say thank you to those who organized, produced and supported another successful event.
First, I and my staff owe the deepest gratitude to our guests – the nearly 10,000 who came to Alviso Marina County Park on October 8 by car, bicycle or on foot to enjoy the multicultural festival.
Our event is multicultural because we reach out to many diverse groups and agencies to provide entertainment and to join our Resource Fair. And we’re planning to reach out to more next year. We want to be truly representative of the vibrant cultures and communities that make up Santa Clara County.
But the real measure of a multicultural event is in the diversity of those who attend. Walking through the crowd and seeing people representing all ages and ethnic and cultural groups, backgrounds and walks of life, reminded me that we live in a very special place. That’s something to celebrate.
A special thanks also goes to the County Parks Department for co-hosting the event for the eighth year and to my staff for the hard work in planning, setting up and managing 2017 Day on the Bay. Thanks also to the Santa Clara County Firefighters for grilling the 4,500 free hamburgers and veggie burgers.
For the second year, I joined Bike to the Bay along with dozens of other bicyclists who rode the 8.5 miles to the festival along the Guadalupe River Park Trail. Thank you to San Jose Bike Party for organizing Bike to the Bay and to the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition for operating the Bike Valet service.
Next, thank you to all the volunteers who came from local high schools, community colleges and the Silicon Valley Career Technical Education Fire Science and Law Enforcement Program. They were ready to jump in to whatever we needed. Starting from 7 a.m., they helped sign in our Resource Fair participants and unloaded their boxes, operated our water stations and pumpkin patch, distributed the hamburgers and veggie burgers, and helped set up and break down the canopies and tables, and whatever else came up throughout the day.
And we’re so thankful to have our special volunteers who served as emcees on our stages: Sam Van Zandt, Jona Denz-Hamilton and Megan Williams. And also a big thanks to Mix 106/94.5 Bay for promoting our event.
Thank you to all the others who volunteered their time and talent to make our event a success, including the performers who danced, sang and made music at our Pumpkin and Trail stages, and to the 130 nonprofit organizations, government agencies and County Departments who provided information about their services and made some important connections with festival guests. Thank you to our Public Health Department for providing the flu shots.
We’re also grateful for the generosity of our donors who provide the giveaway prizes, and again this year, Los Gatos-Saratoga Community Education and Recreation provided our kayaks and supervision as our guests paddled along the Alviso waterway to the Bay.
We couldn’t put on this event every year without our generous sponsors. We are so grateful for their support. Thank you to our Gold Sponsors: Santa Clara County Firefighters, Santa Clara County Public Health, Mix 106/94.5 Bay, San Jose Bike Party, Mix 106, McDonald’s, Santa Clara Family Health Plan, El Observador, Bytes & Notes and the Health Trust.
I also want to thank the Sheriff’s Office, Park Department staff and George Mayne Elementary School for letting us use their parking lot.
Believe it or not, we’re already planning 2018 Day on the Bay, so please let me know what you liked and what you think we could do better. You can contact my office at 408-299-5030 or email me at dave.cortese@bos.sccgov.org.
