An Afternoon with Senator Phelan

The Saratoga History Museum presents, "An Afternoon with Senator Phelan" on Sunday, September 16 from 12-4 PM. The free event will include classical music, a play, poetry reading by local Poet Laureates and a treasure hunt at the Museum at 20450 Saratoga-Los Gatos Road in Saratoga.

James Duval Phelan, a three- time mayor of San Francisco and US senator, dedicated his home, Villa Montalvo to the arts and since his death in 1930, Montalvo has been dedicated to that goal. This year marks the 100th anniversary of Villa Montalvo. Phelan was well-known locally for mentoring and giving galas featuring artists. The event will start at 1:00 PM with, "A Classical Quartet", a group of string musicians who play both semi and classical music. This is a repeat performance for musicians Tommy Chiou, Casper Chen, Linus Lu, and Kevin Lian who have played at the Museum and locally.

A reader’s theatre performance at 2:00 PM will feature Jack Dunstan posing as a San Francisco Sun reporter in the 1930’s and who will interview Senator Phelan played by Brian Berg. Dunstan once interviewed actress Olivia deHavilland during one of her visits to Saratoga.

At 3:00 PM Los Gatos Poet Laureate Parthenia M. Hicks will emcee the poetry reading as well as read several of her poems. Joining her in reading original poetry will be Sally Ashton the current Santa Clara County Poet Laureate; Dave Denny, the Poet Laureate of Cupertino; well-known author and poet Erica Goss and Saratoga resident, poet and author Mary Lou Taylor.

The museum currently has an exhibit, "A Day in the Hills" featuring the life of Senator Phelan through memorabilia. The free exhibit will run through the end of October.

Children and adults can participate in a treasure hunt in the museum—seeking clues to a list of questions. Children can also participate in old fashioned games outside the Museum. Docents will be giving tours of the historic McWilliams House as well as the one-room schoolhouse during the event.

Parthenia M. Hicks is the Poet Laureate of Los Gatos, the recipient of the Robinson Jeffers tor House Poetry Prize, the Arts Council Silicon Valley Fellowship for Short Story, the Villa Montalvo Poetry prize, and three Pushcart nominations. She is a freelance editor, the Poetry Editor of the Enlightenment Journal and she Teaches workshops privately. Check her Redroom for Writers blog.

Sally Ashton is the current Santa Clara County Poet Laureate and editor of DMQ Review. She is author of three poetry collections, Some Odd Afternoon, Her Name is Juanita, and these Metallic Days. Honors include a fellowship from Arts Council Silicon Valley and a residency at Montalvo Arts Center. She teaches at San Jose State University, and currently blogs at poetlaureateblog.org.

David Denny is the Poet Laureate of Cupertino and a professor of English at DeAnza Colelge. He is author of the chapbook Plebeian on the Front Porch. His poems and short stories have appeared in numerous literary journals, including Pearl, Main Street Rag, Atlanta Review, and California Quarterly. When not teaching or writing, David can often be found watching classic movies in the balcony of the Stanford Theatre.

Erica Goss won the 2011 Many Mountains Moving Poetry Contest. Her chapbook, Wild Place, was published in 2012 by Finishing Line Press. Recent work appears in Hotel Amerika, Passager, Rattle, Eclectica, Blood Lotus, Café Review, Comstock Review, and Lake Effect. She was nominated for a Pushcart in 2010 and is a contributing editor for Cerise Press and a columnist for Connotation Press. Check her website, www.ericagoss.com

Mary Lou Taylor is a long-time Saratoga resident, a poet, former teacher, and editor. She is the author of The Fringes of Hollywood, published by jacaranda Press. Her poems have appeared in the anthologies, Cotton and Spirit, The Call, Red Wheelbarrow, and many small presses. During her artist residency at Montalvo Arts Center, she completed her second book, Lift Off. On-line she is published in "Your Daily Poem" and "The Newport Review."

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