Fall festival opens Saturday for family fun

By Clyde Noel, Town Crier Staff Writer

The Celebrate Los Altos Fall Festival will be held this weekend in downtown Los Altos. Visitors will be able to walk among the classic cars, visit the 170 artisan booths displaying paintings, ceramics, textiles and holiday items, and check out the outlandish scarecrows that signal Halloween is around the corner.

The festival is intended for families, with a designated area set aside for children. In the past, more than 20,000 people have attended the two-day festival.

“Children’s Alley is unique because it has games provided by local schools and non-profit organizations,” said Gini Brown, director of Children’s Alley. “All the profits go directly to the schools.”

When visitors toss a beanbag, go fishing in a booth or shoot a basketball through a hoop, they will be helping the schools.

To keep families occupied, there will be face painting for the young, rock climbing for the venturesome and slides and obstacle courses for everyone.

“We try to make this a family festival with something for everyone,” said Juli Rose, president of the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce. “This will be the sixth year for one of the special attractions of the festival — the Chef’s Galley food tent, with cooking demonstrations by well-known area chefs.”

Rose said Lawrence Chu, master chef at Chef Chu’s in Los Altos, will provide colorful culinary entertainment in a live challenge match with Chris Yeo of Straits Cafe in Palo Alto. The two will have an Iron Chef-style showdown, with the audience offering their comments.

Jamie Smith of Left Bank in Menlo Park will prepare classic savory and sweet French sauces. Jesse Cool from Flea Street Cafe and JZ Cool will make Flea Street buttermilk biscuits, sandwiches with heirloom tomatoes, fried eggs and caramelized onions.

Local chef Gary Roth of the Los Altos Golf & Country Club will prepare Crepe Escape — crepes made eight ways. Other participating chefs include Jeff Edelman from Crowne Plaza Cabana, Rachelle Boucher of McPhail’s Private Chef, and Barbara Shenson from Dacor, preparing pan-roasted salmon with white beans, orzo and porcini mushrooms.

More than 100 classic cars will be on display in the Plaza South parking plaza, between First and Second streets. Many of the vehicles on view will be early 1900s to 1970s automobiles.

“Classic car people love to come here and show because it’s a social event,” festival volunteer Bob Mabe said. “They love to hang around their cars and talk about them. With a loose show formality, owners visit each other during lull times.”

Mabe said Tim Herbst’s 1956 Thunderbird, a Best of Class winner at the 2003 Palo Alto Concours d’Elegance, will be one of the classic automobiles on display. Also among the cars will be a 1951 Farmall tractor, a 1924 Model TT C-Cab, and a restored 1945 military jeep.

Both Gunn and Los Altos high schools will have their project cars on display. Students taking car restoration classes have prepared the cars for the show.

Mabe said that many of the cars showing this year have not exhibited here before. Awards based upon a judge’s personal taste will be presented by several city VIPs, including the Los Altos chief of police and mayor.

Each year, as part of the festival, individuals make and set up scarecrows along Second Street in the Children’s Alley. Entries must be received 9-10 a.m. Saturday, and prizes in five categories from pre-kindergarten to adult, will be awarded at 3 p.m. Sunday.

The festival, in its 12th year, began in 1992 when chamber officials needed a big fund-raiser. Each year the festival has grown, but chamber officials favor the current size and don’t want it to be as large as other shows in town.

Local restaurants will serve culinary favorites in the food court. Festival guests will find Chinese chicken salad from Chef Chu’s, tri-tip from Armadillo Willy’s Ranch Grill and home-style Mexican dishes from Estrellita. There will be plenty to choose from, including hamburgers, barbecue chicken, Philly cheese steaks and kettle corn. Microbrewed beer and premium wines will be poured by volunteers at numerous booths.

Festival entertainment will feature the Agnes Rock Band, Almost Blue, Blues Cadillac, Deborah Thacker, Lynn Bobby Band and Kathleen Cairns & Tattoo Blue.

The festival is scheduled 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, in the Plaza South parking lot. Admission and parking are free.

For more information, call the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce at 948-1455.