The Mural Behind the Sports Posters

The next time you sit on the patio at the Third Base Burger Bar on San Benito Street, check out the mural on the wall behind the sports posters. This beautiful mural, titled Fruited Plains, was painted seven years ago by art students at Gavilan College under the direction of Dr. Arturo Rosette. To read more about the mural, as well as see additional photos of it, please click here.

The Fruited Plains mural in Brown Alley.

More than Just a Banner

A banner announcing a big-time coming event above San Benito Street is one of the things that reminds me, again, how Hollister is a friendly, sweet, and inviting community.

Swelling in Hot Weather

Monday afternoon got outrageously h-o-t! in Hollister—103 degrees! That's very unusual for us. Fortunately, the temps went down 10 degrees within the hour when the winds picked up. Also strange in my book.

I'm participating in Nature Footstep's Digital Art Meme today. Click here to check out contributions by other participants.

By the way, here's my original photo:

A Giraffe of a Bike

One of the bicycles that Off the Chain Bikes displays could be described as a giraffe of a bike. What do you think?

Sometimes the independent bicycle shop takes part in the local parades. Here's a cyclist riding that giraffe of a bike at last year's San Benito County Horse Show and Rodeo Parade.

By the way, this year's parade will be Thursday, June 25, 2015, in Downtown Hollister. Maybe the giraffe of a bike will be in it again.

I'm hooking up with Our World Tuesday. Come check out other participants from around the world with me.

Looking Up from San Benito Street

This is an interestingly quirky, but pretty, view, don't you think? I'm standing near Wentz Alley, across from the biker mural. If you look at the right hand bottom corner of the photo, you can see a tiny bit of the mural.

The View from Seventh & West Streets

The Gabilan Range stands to the south and west of Hollister. When I'm downtown, I don't think of it being there because of the trees and the buildings being in the way. Then all of a sudden I get a peek of the mountains. Wow!

The View from the 3rd Base Burger Bar Patio

The Husband and I had breakfast at the 3rd Base Burger Bar after watching the Portuguese Festival parade this past Sunday morning. Yup, the beer and burger joint serves breakfast on the weekends.

It was perfect weather for eating out on the patio. As I first looked out at San Benito Street, I was reminded of Union Street in San Francisco. No. I wasn't drinking a beer or Bloody Mary.

2015 Festa do Espirito Santo Parade

Last Sunday, the Husband and I headed down to Dunne Park to watch the start of the annual Portuguese Festival parade. It's one of the prettiest parades in Hollister.

Every year, the Portuguese American community of Hollister holds the Festa Do Espirito Santo, or Feast of the Holy Spirit, on Pentacost Sunday to celebrate a longtime cultural tradition.

The two-day event honors Queen Isabella of the 14th century who helped the starving poor in the Azores Islands against the wishes of her husband.  She gave her crown to the church so that it could buy food for the people.

The local Portuguese American community held its annual festival this weekend at its S.D.E.S. (Socieda do Divino Espirito Santo) Hall on Seventh Street. Saturday night was the crowning of  the "Big Queen" (high school student) and "Little Queen" (elementary school student) and their royal courts, who will represent the community at Portuguese American festivities throughout the year.

The "Big Queen" and "Little Queen" and their courts lead the traditional parade on Sunday morning. They were joined by royal courts from Portuguese American communities in Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Monterey, and other cities.

The parade started at the S.D.E.S. Hall, and made its way up Seventh Street to San Benito Street Street, where the parade marched to Sixth Street and then down to Sacred Heart Church. After attending a mass, the community went back to the hall to enjoy a traditional meal of Portuguese beef and cabbage soup.

To see more parade photos, check out the album at Take 25 to Hollister Facebook page.

I've linked up to Our World Tuesday. Come check out other participants from around the world with me.

2015 Hollister Certified Farmers' Market

The farmers' market in Downtown Hollister is open every Wednesday from 3:00 to 7:30 p.m. until September 30. Whooo-hooo! 

The market is on San Benito Street, between Fourth and Seventh Streets. So, from around noon to 8 p.m or so, you'll need to find another way through Downtown Hollister. Truly no big deal for fresh vegetables, fruit, and meats; or for baked goods, prepared food, prepackaged foods, and food cooked on the spot; or for such other items as fresh flowers, plants, clothing, jewelry, and crafts. There are also information booths for products, businesses, and nonprofit groups.

The farmers market again features live music from local talents as well as culinary demonstrations. New this year is the First Wednesday Art Nights, hosted by the San Benito County Arts Council. In the works is wine tasting, also on the first Wednesday of the month. 

For more information about the Hollister Certified Farmers' Market, check out its webpage at the Downtown Hollister Association or the market's Facebook page.

Today is Our World Tuesday, and that's where I'm linking up. Click here to visit other participants from around the world. 

A Mellow Yellow Beep-Beep

Haven't seen an old VW beetle of yore? Go by Second and San Benito Streets. You'll see quite a few bugs, as well as an occasional Carmine Ghia, in different states of repair. The yellow bug looks like it's ready to go. Hey! Who let that old Mustang in there?

It's Monday Mellow Yellows today, and that's where I'm linking up. Come check out other participants with me by clicking here.

From the Archives -- The Downtown Hollister Parking Garage

Today's archival piece is about the gorgeous downtown parking garage on Fourth Street, which you enter via the parking lot on Fifth Street. FYI: I edited the story just a bit.

An Art Museum? A Vista Point?
It's Both and More!

(originally published September 29, 2008)

We have million-dollar art to check out for free in Hollister. Head over to the Briggs Building, which is near the corner of San Benito Street & Fourth Street. That’s the parking garage.

That’s right, I wrote parking garage. You can't miss it. It’s a four-story structure, the tallest one in town. It was built in the 1990s for about $6 million with RDA funds. At full capacity, it can hold about 140 vehicles, so I’ve read. I know, that’s a lot of taxpayers' pennies.

Few people use the parking garage. Maybe the building is just too beautiful to park in. Seriously, the building itself is a piece of art. If I didn’t know it was a parking lot, I would say it was a school (Gavilan College does hold classes on the first floor). Maybe a government building or a fancy department store. Maybe even an art museum, which brings me back to the topic of seeing some fine art there.

Start your tour by the stairway next to the elevator on the southeast corner of the building. First, admire the aesthetics of the stairway design.

Now, start walking up the stairs. Sure, you can take the elevator but there’s more joy in suddenly coming upon each piece of art as you gaspingly reach the top of a floor.

Pause at the top of each floor for your breath. Also, take note of the beauty of the art piece telling you what floor you’re on.

On the rooftop, I noticed a few more of these art pieces telling me I’m on the fourth floor. So I assume that’s the case on the other floors.

To tell you the truth, I no longer was interested in seeing and viewing man-made art when I came out on the rooftop. I was immediately astounded by the view of Hollister and the mountain ranges that surround it. The almost 360-degree view of Hollister is worth an occasional trip to the top of the roof of Hollister’s multi-million dollar parking garage.

There you have it: an arts museum and a vista point. Plus, you can park there.

U is for. . .

Utility boxes.

Last December, the City of Hollister funded a project to paint murals on five plain utility boxes throughout Downtown Hollister. The murals, painted by Joel Esqueda and Rolan Resendiz, local artists, depict various cultural aspects of Hollister and San Benito County.

The mural on the utility box at the northwest corner of South and San Benito Streets celebrates cowboys and the annual rodeo.

At the northwest corner of North and San Felipe Streets is another utility box with a colorful mural. It honors the Ballet Folklorico, a traditional Mexican dance performed at local festivities.

On this utility box is a poem by local award-winning poet Rachelle Linda Escamilla. It reads:

"Our hands, like water, 

shape the land. 

Our bodies split 

the grassland; 

this valley 

a labor of love."

~ Rachelle Escamilla 

Click here to find other A to Z challenge participants.

R is for. . .

Rally. Motorcycle Rally. The Hollister Freedom Rally!

This year, thousands upon thousands bikers from all over the United States will trek to Hollister on the Fourth of July weekend to take part in the annual motorcycle rally that celebrates "The Birthplace of the American Biker". This event has been held officially, and unofficially, since 1997. The city of Hollister held the first rally to commemorate the 50th anniversary of a biker's incident that happened in Hollister over the Fourth of July weekend in 1947, upon which the movie The Wild One, starring Marlon Brando, was based.

I've written about the 1974 incident, as well as the history of the rally event, in an earlier post. If you're interested, check out this page.

This year's free motorcycle rally will be a three-day celebration, taking place on July 3, 4, and 5. In addition to lots and lots of bikes, there'll be live music, contests, and biker games throughout the event. A few of the major highlights are:

• The Touring Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall on display from July 3 to July 6 at Dunne Park
• Thunderbirds concert on July 3
• The Guess Who concert on July 4
• Sons of Anarchy stars Tommy Flanagan and Mark Boone, Jr. sign autographs on July 4
• July 4 Fireworks

For more details about the 2015 Hollister Freedom Rally, visit its official website.

Click here to find other A to Z challenge participants.

A Different View of Downtown Hollister

Just when I think I've photographed everything under the sun in downtown Hollister, I see this view. Don't you think that if the banner wasn't there, the photo could be of somewhere in Southern California? 

By the way, that's the tower of the Porter House on Monterey and Sixth Streets.

E is for. . .

Eric Tognazzini!

In his later years, Eric buzzed up and down the sidewalks of Downtown Hollister on an electric wheelchair. Before that, he rode his tricycle. Eric was constantly stopping to talk with friends and acquaintances, some of whom crossed the streets or popped out of the shops and restaurants to say hello and chat with him for awhile.

I never knew what Eric's physical disability was. I just knew that he did not stick to the shadows because of it. He had a charming personality that disarmed people so that they didn't feel uncomfortable being around him.

Eric died in May, 2011 at the age of 64. Immediately, his friends started a memorial fund to build a statue of Eric, so that we may all remember and be inspired by Eric's amazing joyful spirit. Last month, the statue was installed and unveiled in front of the Briggs Building on the corner of San Benito and Fourth Streets.

To Eric!

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D is for . . .

Looking North on San Benito Street

Drag. As in the main drag.

In Hollister, that's the main street which is called San Benito Street. I was an adult before it dawned on me that the main street in Downtown Hollister was not called Main Street.

Looking south on San Benito Street

D is also for dragging. As in cruising the main drag.

Remember the movie American Graffiti? Teenagers in a small town dragged the main street all night long in their cars or their parents' cars. That was Hollister way back when. After school and on weekends, teenagers slowly dragged the main street from one end to the other, and back again. I recall a guy sitting in a nice comfy chair on a corner of the main street, as if he was king of all the cruisers.

Today, Hollister's main drag gets closed for the Farmers Market every Wednesday afternoon, between May and September.

In July, it's shut down for the Hollister Motorcycle Rally around July 4th, and then again for the Downtown Hollister Street Festival and Car Show later in the month.

And, let me not forget that the street also closes for the various annual parades that take place throughout the year, such as the San Benito County Saddle Horse Show & Rodeo Parade, Veterans Day Parade, and Lights on Celebration Parade.

Click here to find other A to Z challenge participants.