Heart of the Park | MARTIN-FONTANA PARKS ASSOCIATION

Posts Tagged ‘Heart of the Park’

28 Jan

Patrick Pizzo Memorial Donation

Posted by Martin-Fontana Parks Association in Events, Heart of the Park, MFPA, Patrick Pizzo. Tagged: Heart of the Park, Martin-Fontana Parks Association. Leave a comment

Beautiful Day Project Nov 2010

We will be having a Memorial for Patrick Pizzo at this year’s Heart of the Park Celebration on the 23rd of May. For those wishing to donate in memory of Patrick, please make your check out to the Martin-Fontana Parks Association and send to this address:

Martin-Fontana Parks Association
6081 Meridian Ave, Suite 70 #246,
San Jose, CA 95120

Please indicate that your donation is for Patrick’s memorial.

You may also select the “Make A Donation” button located on the upper right side of our Home page and make your donation there. It will connect you to PayPal where you can donate through PayPal or donate with a Debit or Credit Card. Please make sure to click on the “Add special instructions to MFPA” and indicate your donation is for Patrick’s memorial.

*There will be more details on the memorial to follow. We are a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. All donations are tax-deductible.

25 May

A Soggy Day in May

Posted by Martin-Fontana Parks Association in CA Native Plants, City of San Jose, Dog Parade, Dogs, Events, Guadalupe Oak Grove Park, Heart of the Park, Jeffrey Fontana Park, Johnny Khamis, MFPA, PRNS, SJPD, TJ Martin Park. Tagged: City Council, City of San Jose, Dog Parade, Dogs, Guadalupe Oak Grove Park, Heart of the Park, Jeffrey Fontana Park, Johnny Khamis, Martin-Fontana Parks Association, PRNS, TJ Martin Park. Leave a comment

A hearty round of applause and a big thanks to all the volunteers who braved the drizzle and rain to put on our ninth

Heart of the Park Celebration!

Thanks to the morning set up crew of: Robert Braunstein, Theresa Wellman, Dennis Abad, Rich Grialou, Kent Wilson, Chris Chen, Tami Demayo, Paul Dornell, Michelle, Dan and Grace Judd, Brandon Koehne, Sunny Wagstaff, Rosy Bowring, Stacey and Mike Winters, Patrick Pizzo, Kelly Shepherd, and Wayne and Linda Opp.

They set up the 21 canopies while waiting in the rain for the delivery of 21 tables and 130 chairs.

Linda Opp, District 10 Councilmember Johnny Khamis, Jean LaMarca, and Tami Demayo

Thank you to Linda Opp, Jean LaMarca, and Tami Demayo, who signed in new memberships at the Membership Booth.

The MFPA raffle items collected by our board members were labeled, arranged and readied for the raffle by Michelle Judd, Christine Noordam, Praneetha Vukkadala, Kathy Mulholland, Pat Burrow, and Rosy Bowing, with Kari Wilson once again announcing the winning draws.

Richard Grialou kept winning & winning

Kathy Mujlholland wins prize

Announcer Kari Wilson and another Raffle winner

Some more happy winners

The ever-popular “Strut Your Mutt” dogs paraded in the rain with a small but enthusiastic crowd, under the management of Stacey Winters, Dick and Joy Stevens, and the help of Sophia Snyder and Vince Piazzisi registering the playful pups. Councilmember Khamis let the judging team and prizes were awarded the winners.

1st & 2nd place winners

Vince Piazzisi, Dick Stevens, Johnny Khamis, and Stacy Winters

First place winner

Kathy Krenn and her daughter Hannah, braved the rain to take care of the refreshment booth, while free ice cream was given away at SJPD’s Operation Frozen Treats Patrol ice cream truck during the afternoon.

: Hannah Krenn taking care of refreshments

: SJPD’s Operation Frozen Treats Patrol Ice Cream Truck

Starting the day off, for the second year in a row, Lisa Myers of Los Gatos Bird Watchers, led another successful birding tour of Guadalupe Oak Grove Park with 15 intrepid bird watchers.

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Our photographer for the event was Wayne Opp, who captured the activities on film and preserved the rainy memories! Also providing photos were Johnny Khamis and Dave Poeschel.

27 Feb

PRNS Deputy Director reveals new plan for our Parks at MFPA General Meeting

Posted by Martin-Fontana Parks Association in Adopt-a-Park, CA Native Plants, City of San Jose, Heart of the Park, Jeffrey Fontana Park, MFPA, Park Maintenance, PRNS, Public Art, SCCAOR, TJ Martin Park. Tagged: Adopt-a-Park, City of San Jose, Heart of the Park, Jeffrey Fontana Memorial Rose Garden, Jeffrey Fontana Park, Martin-Fontana Parks Association, PRNS, SCCAOR, TJ Martin Park. Leave a comment

Members of the Board

Attendees

President Rod Carpenter called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm last Wednesday, Feb. 13, addressing an overflow audience of members and guests.

Parks, Recreation & Neighborhood Services Deputy Director, Justin Long, summarized some of the changes that are being made to improve the efficiency of park maintenance. A new “Activate San Jose” plan will be the new parks’ guiding document and should be in available to the public in June for community review. MFPA will alert our members when it is presented.

Mr. Long and Dan Greeley, our Maintenance District Supervisor, spoke about the rodent problem affecting many San Jose parks, including ours. They outlined the action that PRNS will be taking to alleviate the problem, and then answered questions from the floor.

Outgoing President, Rod Carpenter highlighted the achievements of MFPA during his two-year tenure:

Completion of the native plant Five Islands Project
Construction of the “Surf Shack” tool shed
Repair of the Meridian fence at TJ Martin Park
The Planting of over fifty new trees in both parks
Completion of the “Beautility” Water Vault Painting project
Partnership with PRNS Adopt-a-Park Program and Santa Clara County Association of Realtors, (SCCAOR), to maintain existing projects like the Jeffrey Fontana Memorial Rose Garden

Perhaps the most significant achievement of Rod’s term was the completion of the “Right of Entry” agreement with PRNS allowing MFPA to hire qualified contractors to work in the parks on MFPA projects!

Outgoing Secretary, Rich Grialou was honored with the “President’s Award” and received a plaque in appreciation of his contributions to MFPA.

President Rod Carpenter was presented with a plaque honoring his dedication and determination to oversee the accomplishments of the last two years.

The new Board of Directors goals for the next year include:

Ongoing maintenance projects with PRNS Adopt-a-Park and SCCAOR
The annual Heart of the Park Celebration on May 18, 2019
Continued collaboration with PRNS and the City to improve our parks

13 Mar

When are they going to paint those ugly blocks of concrete you ask, well

Posted by Martin-Fontana Parks Association in City of San Jose, Events, Heart of the Park, Jeffrey Fontana Park, Johnny Khamis, MFPA, Public Art, TJ Martin Park. Tagged: City of San Jose, Heart of the Park, Jeffrey Fontana Park, Johnny Khamis, Martin-Fontana Parks Association, TJ Martin Park. Leave a comment

Fontana West near Tot Lot

here’s the scoop:

Remember last June when we told you about this project? Here’s the link: https://martinfontanaparksassociation.blog/2017/06/15/you-can-help-turn-the-eyesores-in-our-parks-into-works-of-art/. We met the Artists on Feb. 10th of this year at the Almaden Community Center.

MFPA President Rod Carpenter hands out pins to the Artists present at the community meeting.

And they are:

Morgan Bricca (morganmurals.com)
Daniel Aguilera Jimenez (http://www.oreeoriginol.com/biography.html)
Jane Kim (http://inkdwell.com/)
Andrew Kong Knight (http://andrewkongknight.com/)
Vanessa Stafford (https://vanessastafford.wordpress.com/)
Megan Stevens (http://www.meganstevens.com/)

Here’s the schedule:

May 19^th – Artist design proposals will be unveiled at Martin-Fontana Parks Association’s annual Heart of the Park VIII event held in Jeffrey Fontana Park.

June 5^th – The Public Art Committee will meet to review and approve the designs.

June 6^th to November 30^th – The Artists will be painting their designs on the vaults.

December – A dedication will be held.

Please note: None of this would have been possible without the support of

District 10 Councilmember Johnny Khamis and the City of San Jose’s Office of Cultural Affairs Public Art Program.

6 Oct

When is Heart of the Park this year? I haven’t heard a thing!

Posted by Martin-Fontana Parks Association in Dog Parade, Dogs, Events, Heart of the Park, Jeffrey Fontana Park. Tagged: Dog Parade, Dogs, Heart of the Park, Jeffrey Fontana Park, Martin-Fontana Parks Association. Leave a comment

Last year’s Heart of the Park event

For those of you who have been wondering, the next Heart of the Park will be held in May of 2018. Once an exact date has been determined, we will be sure to let you know. We are hoping it will be a lot cooler in Spring and our parks should look their best at that time of the year. We will all be looking forward to seeing you there.

21 Sep

San Jose staff whips Almaden area parks into shape

Posted by Martin-Fontana Parks Association in City of San Jose, Heart of the Park, Jeffrey Fontana Park, Johnny Khamis, MFPA, Park Maintenance, PRNS, TJ Martin Park. Tagged: City of San Jose, Heart of the Park, Jeffrey Fontana Park, Johnny Khamis, Martin-Fontana Parks Association, Parks, PG&E, PRNS, TJ Martin Park. 3 comments

TJ Martin Park Soccer Fields

Here’s an article by Julia Baum | jbaum@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group dated September 20, 2017:

Several parks in the Almaden Valley area should be in top shape after San Jose public works crews checked off a long list of improvements throughout the summer that have all finally been finished.

The upgrades range from simple replacements such as new solar LEDs at Chris Hotts Park to redoing the playground surface at Vista Park to rehabilitating the soccer fields at TJ Martin and Jeffrey Fontana parks.

For the rest of the story go to: http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/09/20/san-jose-staff-whips-almaden-area-parks-into-shape/

10 Feb

February 2017 Newsletter

Posted by Martin-Fontana Parks Association in Adopt-a-Park, Butterflys, City of San Jose, Heart of the Park, Jeffrey Fontana Park, MFPA, PG&E, PRNS, SCCAOR, Scouting, TJ Martin Park, Tree Data. Tagged: Adopt-a-Park, drought resistant plants, Heart of the Park, Jeffrey Fontana Park, Martin-Fontana Parks Association, PG&E, PRNS, SCCAOR, TJ Martin Park, Tree removal. Leave a comment

Just click on the photo to download the Newsletter or click here

5 Oct

Here’s your Heart of the Park’s Strut Your Mutt Dog Parade winners

Posted by Martin-Fontana Parks Association in Dog Parade, Dogs, Events, Heart of the Park, Jeffrey Fontana Park, Membership Drive, MFPA. Tagged: Dog Parade, Dogs, Heart of the Park, Jeffrey Fontana Park, Martin-Fontana Parks Association. 1 comment

Pope Pup was there to bless the event. Popeye the Sailor Man had just got off the boat in San Francisco for Fleet Week. We even had Puppacatzi the Phodographer there to get all the photos. Last, but not least, we had an Alligator show up from Almaden lake looking for snacks. Luckily nobody was eaten.