Category: Events

Around the Terrace: May 10, 2023

Here are some recent announcements and news stories of interest to College Terrace and the surrounding area.

  • New Murals Coming to California Avenue
    The Palo Alto Public Art Program is planning a mural event on California Avenue this summer. Artists Olivia Losee-Unger, Nicole Ponsler, and Paz de la Calzada have been selected to paint vibrant temporary murals in the California Avenue District. The murals will be painted at two wall sites: Palo Alto Central on 149 California Avenue, and Izzy’s Brooklyn Bagels on 477 California Avenue. The third mural will be a streetscape ground mural at the intersection of California Avenue and Ash Street. Mural painting will take place from June 1-9.
  • Third Thursday Live Music on California Avenue
    Enjoy six bands performing on California Avenue on Thursday, May 18, from 6pm-9pm with the launch of Third Thursday–a new monthly live music event that will bring the community together through the joy of live music.
  • Fireworks at Stanford on Friday Evening
    Stanford Baseball will host its annual Fireworks Night at this Friday’s game against Arizona, which starts at 5:35pm. The fireworks will start after the game, which is expected to end around 8:30pm-9pm, and will last approximately 15 minutes.

2023 CTRA Annual Meeting on March 11

Save the date! The College Terrace Residents Association (CTRA) will hold its annual meeting and board election on Saturday, March 11, at the University Lutheran Church sanctuary (1611 Stanford Ave at Bowdoin). Come at 9:30am to mingle and reconnect with neighbors and enjoy coffee and bagels. 

The meeting will begin at 10am with a welcome and “State of the Terrace” address from current CTRA president James Cook, followed by the election of the 2023-24 CTRA board of directors. We are looking for volunteers to join the board–email James if you are interested.

After the voting, Palo Alto mayor Lydia Kou will address the neighborhood and then answer questions. (Have a burning question for the mayor? This is your chance to ask!) After her Q&A, election results will be announced and the meeting will adjourn.

All College Terrace residents are invited and encouraged to attend. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet and reconnect with neighbors from all over College Terrace and hear directly from the mayor on issues of importance to our neighborhood. Hope to see you there!

Winter Sing-A-Long: December 14 at 6pm

Join your College Terrace neighbors for a festive winter sing-a-long next Wednesday, December 14 at 6pm. Meet at the College Terrace Library where you can pick up a lantern, songbook, and a cup of hot chocolate or mulled wine. Then we’ll walk through the neighborhood singing holiday songs. Hope to see you there!

PA History Program on Local Environmental Movement History

The Palo Alto Historical Association is hosting its December program, “A Climate of Unrest Gave Rise to the Environmental Movement,” in-person this Sunday from 2pm-4pm at the Mitchell Park Community Center.

The 1960s and ’70s were among the most tumultuous decades with the war in Vietnam, civil rights, and political assassinations creating headlines and activism. There was also a growing awakening that pollution was having major effects on the planet, prominently on display by rivers repeatedly catching fire in Ohio.

Human activities were cited as the cause of pollution as well as other environmental harm to the planet as clearly described by Rachel Carson in her 1962 publication Silent Spring. The book is largely credited with starting the modern environmental movement.

In response to the rise of planetary concerns, President Nixon created the Environmental Protection Act in 1970. Nixon also signed the Clean Air Act in 1970 and the Clean Water Act in 1972.

Locally, the environmental movement was taking hold in major ways. Individuals were inspired to take initiative and form organizations to focus their energies on some of the most threatened and threatening of actions that had previously gone largely unchecked.

At the December PAHA Vignettes program, we will hear from some of these local organizations, each of them celebrating a significant anniversary in the year 2022: Green Foothills, Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, Environmental Volunteers, and Canopy.

Why and how were these organizations formed and by whom? How has their work changed since formation and what has been accomplished? What do they see as major challenges ahead for the environment and their work? Please join us for a lively discussion about their missions, their work, their successes, and challenges to make this a better place that, for some, literally means a livable place.