Magazine

Photos by Megan V. Winslow/Town Crier
Kyle Novero, above, pointing, and Alex Mousa, foreground, edit footage from “In the Mix with the Trio,” a KMVT show on which they review songs. Novero and Mousa collaborate with Cole Carter, below left, and Kirsten Andrews.

For the past 12 years, KMVT 15, the Mountain View-based community media center, has provided young people the opportunity for hands-on learning at camps on video production and other forms of media. Bobby Chastain, now executive director, started the first camp in the summer of 2006, and the program has been going strong ever since.

Megan V. Winslow/Town Crier
The experimental new Tayasim Hebrew camp in Palo Alto may be the first on the West Coast to offer immersion-based learning.

The Oshman Family Jewish Community Center’s Tayasim camp may be the first Hebrew-immersion camp on the West Coast, according to the center’s camps director Dave Rosenfeld.

Megan V. Winslow/Town Crier
Soccer serves as a unifying force for the hundreds of Kick, Lead, Dream Camp participants who gather in Mountain View each summer to play and learn with 90 volunteer mentor-coaches from local high schools.

For two weeks every summer at Cooper Park in Mountain View, the expansive grassy field is divided into smaller rectangles, each with two goals and kids laughing and playing soccer. The Kick, Lead, Dream (KLD) Camp aims to give low-income students the opportunity to better their soccer skills, learn to be leaders and have the confidence to dream big.

Courtesy of MVCPA

“The Elves and the Shoemaker” plays at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts SecondStage.

Opportunities abound to catch the spirit of the season in the local area. The following roundup includes family-friendly events ranging from annual tree-lighting ceremonies to caroling and concerts.

Courtesy of Gary Hedden

GreenTown’s annual Winter Solstice Night Bike Ride attracts cyclists of all ages and experience

GreenTown Los Altos has planned one of its longest bike rides for the shortest day of the year. The grassroots environmental group has scheduled its fourth annual Winter Solstice Night Bike Ride 6:30-9:30 p.m. Dec. 21.

Courtesy of Blanche Shaheen

Fig, Pear and Gruyère Flatbread

With all of the added responsibilities of the holidays, the last thing people need is more stress from the mere thought of entertaining. But inviting guests over for an impromptu seasonal gathering doesn’t have to be stressful. A nice wine such as a California Pinot Grigio, a few appetizers, a dessert and some fun conversation are all you really need for a successful, low-maintenance gathering.