San Jose, Calif.
Aug. 12-14
By Gary Singh
The 22nd annual San Jose Jazz Summer Fest provided an inspiring backdrop for planners and journalists to experience Northern California’s largest city. As a result, Meetings Focus West received a rare opportunity to explore the guts of San Jose, beginning behind the scenes at Mineta San Jose International Airport.
Bill Sherry, director of aviation, regaled us with details of how he orchestrated a $1.3 billion airport expansion project. After whittling down the original $4 billion plan, they were able to get the entire design-build scheme to come in ahead of schedule and under budget. One journalist facetiously invited him to Washington, D.C., so he could do the same.
All the goings-on at the San Jose airport—award-winning public art projects, proprietary IT systems, a rental car facility within walking distance of the arrivals area and multiple rows of seats with USB ports—would constitute a story in itself, but after Sherry’s presentation, David Vossbrink, airport communications director, then took us behind the scenes to observe the CTX 9800 baggage screening devices. So far, San Jose is the only airport in the world that has them. The benefits are primarily for TSA and the airlines, as the public never sees these machines, but $40 million in TSA grants helped pay for systems and infrastructure needed for the new equipment. Each system (one for Terminal B and one for Terminal A) has the capacity to screen approximately 1,800 bags per hour.
With downtown San Jose being a 10-minute drive from the airport, Meetings Focus West then infiltrated the Tech Museum of Innovation. The Tech recently launched its monthly After Hours events, adult-themed parties for those of drinking age who want to experience the museum’s spaces after the kids have gone home. The Tech features a terrace and a rooftop area, both of which are common for corporate receptions, groups and private events of all sorts.
As the San Jose Jazz Summer Fest kicked into high gear with stages dispersed throughout the streets of the surrounding downtown area, FAM attendees overlooked the action from high atop the Knight-Ridder building, in the confines of the prestigious Silicon Valley Capital Club. San Jose’s premier private social business and dining club, the Capital Club offers a 360-degree panoramic view of San Jose, plus the pool at the Fairmont next door and the airport runways. The sunsets are amazing. Even though the facility already boasts numerous rooms with views for meetings, Director Bruce MacKenzie explained that the facility will soon undergo a $1.8 million renovation.
Speaking of the Fairmont, all 731 rooms and 74 suites were booked for the jazz festival weekend. Since the property sits right across the street from Plaza de Cesar Chavez and the Main Stage, the Fairmont is a primary component of the festival. Each year, the CEO Jam takes place in the Club Regent room, where several Silicon Valley high-tech executives and entrepreneurs who play instruments join together for improvised jams. The lobby lounge was also recently converted into a more proactively non-Fairmont-looking hangout, replete with black and red decor. Now a little more chic, the bar functions as one stop on the jazz fest’s nighttime club crawl. As journalists and planners observed the goings-on, hundreds upon hundreds of folks from the festival filtered in and out all weekend. The place was rocking.
From there, it was all steak and roses. One of San Jose’s most famous eateries, Henry’s Hi-Life, a mecca for carnivore fundamentalists and a family-owned and operated institution since the 1950s, provided just the local flavor planners were looking for. The place can be rented for private events, but regular old dinners are the best bet. Tucked away behind the HP Pavilion, the restaurant fills up before San Jose Sharks games and was also recently featured on the Travel Channel’s Man V. Food show. The ebullient Lois Reynolds, daughter of the late original proprietor Henry Puckett, regaled the group with numerous stories of times past.
Also a fountain of gusto was Terry Reilly, who founded Friends of San Jose Rose Garden four years ago, an all-volunteer army of residents who originally banded together and salvaged the Historic San Jose Municipal Rose Garden after city budget cuts. Recently voted “America’s Best Rose Garden” by All-America Rose Selections, the 5.5-acre complex is immensely popular for weddings, outdoor banquets, photo shoots and corporate events. Following a catered outdoor lunch, Reilly took planners and journalists for a festive tour, explaining the ins and outs of how to care for roses.
In the end, Team San Jose and its web of friends provided a warm introduction for planners and journalists who might never have visited otherwise. The San Jose Jazz Summer Fest and the warm San Jose sun glued everything together.