Montalvo Arts Center Hosts Nighttime Family Event STARRY STARRY NIGHT

Inspired by the night sky and beyond, Montalvo Arts Center presents Starry, Starry Night, a nighttime summer arts event for the whole family. Activities include a telescope viewing of the Perseid Meteor showers, art making, glow-in-the-dark games, a galactic themed selfie station, night hiking, participatory dancing, live performances, and a family-friendly outdoor movie. Guests will also have the option to conclude the evening by setting up their tents and camping out under the stars on Montalvo's Great Lawn. The following morning, overnight campers will awaken to a pancake breakfast on the front veranda of the historic Villa. Starry, Starry Night will take place at 6:30pm, Friday, August 10, 2018 at the Montalvo Park Grounds, 15400 Montalvo Rd., Saratoga. Tickets are $20 General Admission, $10 Children under 18 (must be accompanied by an adult), and $55 Overnight Campsite. For more information, the public may visit montalvoarts.org or call 408-961-5858 (Monday through Friday, 10am-4pm).

At this inspiring and interactive event, the San Jose Astronomical Association will be providing telescopes to view the Perseid Meteor Shower. Association members will share their knowledge of star names, constellations, the science of telescopes, and more, while participants are free to gaze at the night skies. Also on site will be Montalvo Artist-in-Residence Matteo Rubbi, who invites guests to join in Dancing in the Void: Solar System as he directs participants to replicate the geometry of the planets that form the solar system. Other activities include creating original works of star-themed art, a movie screening of Wall-E, a guided night-hike with Montalvo staff, and glow-in-the-dark ping pong.

Additional forms of entertainment will include Draco the Juggler, who will wow the crowd using magic crystal balls, rope darts, and flaming torches, and the Obsidian Butterfly and Sacred Fire Dance Company, who invites guests to experience LED light in a magical new way as they mesmerize the crowd with a captivating dance performance that brightens the night. Montalvo Artist-in-Residence Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar will introduce and read star-related excerpts from her book, The Map of Salt and Stars. This rich, moving, and lyrical debut novel follows the journeys of Nour and Rawiya as they travel along identical paths across the region 800 years apart, braving the unknown as they are pulled by the promise of reaching home at last.

Montalvo Arts Center's Arts and Education programs grow out of the organization's commitment to provide quality learning experiences for all ages and skill levels. Montalvo believes the arts foster greater cognitive, social, and emotional capacity-and build engaged citizenship among the greater community. Leveraging its stunning grounds, on-site studios, the classrooms of Santa Clara County, and many institutional partners, Montalvo's multidisciplinary, visual, and performing arts programs present a broad range of relevant, responsive, and compelling offerings that celebrate the creative spirit, engage the imagination, and develop the artist within.

Montalvo Arts Center is a donor-supported nonprofit institution whose mission is to engage the public in the creative process, acting as a catalyst for exploring the arts, unleashing creativity, and advancing different cultural and cross-cultural perspectives. Located in Silicon Valley's Saratoga Hills, Montalvo occupies a Mediterranean-style Villa, built in 1912 by Senator James Duval Phelan and surrounded by 175 stunning acres. Senator Phelan bequeathed the Villa and grounds to the people of California for the encouragement of art, music, literature, and architecture, a mandate Montalvo has carried forward ever since its founding. The grounds include the campus of the Sally and Don Lucas Artists Residency Program (LAP), the Claire Loftus Carriage House Theatre, and the Lilian Fontaine Garden Theatre. For more information about Montalvo Arts Center and its programs, the public can call 408-961-5858 or visit montalvoarts.org.

Photo Credit: Bahara Emami

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