Around Town: House and garden tours: a sure sign of spring Around Town: House and garden tours: a sure sign of spring (March 24, 2004)

By Jane Knoerle
Almanac Lifestyles Editor

It's time for that favorite rite of spring, house and garden tours. The Alumnae Association of Mills College leads the way with the 13th annual "Charming Cottages of Palo Alto" tour to be held Friday, March 26, and Saturday, March 27, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.

All the homes have been remodeled; the oldest was built in 1910; the newest in 1949. None of the homes has been staged. They are "as lived in" and represent remodels that blend in with their neighborhoods. They are also redesigns that fit within the budget of the average homeowner, says Mills alumna Jane King.

The 1910 Craftsman-style home has a mirror-image house next door, built in 2000 to serve as an office and garage. It also has a state-of-the-art kitchen with pneumatically-closing drawers and cabinets.

The 1949 house's color scheme is taken from a needlepoint pillow made by the homeowner's grandmother. Train and doll collections and furniture from three generations make this family home unique.

Barbara Hunter of Menlo Park and Barbara Evans of Redwood City are co-chairmen of the house tour. Jane Yates of Portola Valley is president of the Palo Alto Area Mills College Club.

Tickets for the tour are $30 and may be purchased at the door. For complete tour and ticket information, call 368-5798.

Filoli's Easter celebration

Peter Cottontail will be hopping down the bunny trail at Filoli's 15th annual children's Easter party to be held Sunday, April 4, at the Woodside estate.

"The children absolutely adore this party. It's a springtime tradition," say Anne Taylor, Filoli's executive director.

There also will be a musical parade, egg hunt, animal petting zoo, storytellers and puppet shows. There will be two parties: 10 a.m. to noon and 1 to 3 p.m. Cost is $15 for children 2 to 6 (includes Easter basket), $10 for adults and children over 6, free for children under 2. There will be light refreshments.

To purchase tickets, call 364-8300, ext. 508. This event sells out quickly, say party planners, so hop to it.

Bunny fun in Atherton

They're expecting a crowd at Atherton's annual Easter egg hunt to be held Saturday, April 10, from 10 a.m. to noon at Holbrook-Palmer Park, 150 Watkins Ave. in Atherton.

Since Filoli's hunt is April 4 and the Atherton egg fest is April 10, why not give the kids a treat and take them to both.

The Atherton party will include having a photo taken with the Easter bunny (kids only), face painting (kids only), and entertainment by Magic Mike for kids and adults. There will be plenty of bagels and juice. Grown-ups may also order specialty coffee drinks.

The hunt is for children, third grade and under, at $5 per child BYOB (bring your own basket). Cat Westover is party chairman. For reservations, call Pattie at The Park, 752-0536.

Tip a Cop

You can enjoy pancakes and contribute to a worthy cause Monday, March 29, at Stacks' restaurant, from 8 a.m. to noon, when Menlo Park's finest wait tables in full uniform as part of the annual Tip a Cop fundraiser to benefit the Special Olympics.

"Everybody really gets into it," says Angie Calderone, regional development director for Special Olympics in Northern California. "The diners love saying, 'Oh, officer, could you get me another cup of coffee,' or: 'Officer, I just dropped my fork. Please get me another one.'"

A special envelope is placed on each table for donations, with 100 percent going to fund the needs of the Special Olympics, says Ms. Calderone. "People are very generous and the police say they have a new respect for the wait staff," she says.

All four Stacks' restaurants are taking part in the fundraiser. The Menlo Park Stacks' is located at the corner of Santa Cruz Avenue and El Camino Real.

Your yacht or mine

Now's your chance to see how the other half lived with a visit to the USS Potomac, which served as Franklin Delano Roosevelt's presidential yacht from 1936 to 1945. The Potomac will be open for public tours as part of the South Bay opening day of the sailing season, Saturday, April 3, at the Port of Redwood City.

FDR hosted many celebrations on the yacht, including a visit in 1939 by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, and visits by Crown Prince Gustav of Sweden and Crown Princess Martha of Norway.

The Potomac will be at the Port Marina F. dock, with tours from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Cost is $5 for adults, $3 for seniors and free for kids 18 and under.

To mark the opening of the sailing season, a decorated boat parade is scheduled for 11 a.m., featuring boats from the host Sequoia Yacht Club and other Bay Area sailing clubs. Other activities include canoe races, demonstrations featuring the Redwood City police boat, and boating safety information.

For more information, contact Mike Giari, Port of Redwood City director, at 306-4150, or e-mail mgiari@redwoodcityport.com.

Stanford Community Day

It was such a hit, they're doing it again. For the third year, Stanford University is inviting its neighbors to spend the day on campus. Community Day on Sunday, April 4, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., will feature music, arts, athletic events, a children's carnival and health fair. All events are free and most of the action will be centered on or near the main quadrangle and oval at the end of Palm Drive.

The attractions range from a lecture on space exploration at noon by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Douglas Osheroff to the slime-making booth sponsored by the Center on Polymer Interfaces and Macromolecular Assemblies.

More than 20 student groups are taking part in Community Day, which last year drew 8,000 visitors. The first 600 kids to visit the Cantor Arts Center will receive free Stanford athletic giveaways.

Living green

It's easy being green at the fourth annual Green Design Expo, to be held Saturday, April 3, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Canada College, 4200 Farm Hill Blvd. in Woodside.

The "Goddess of Garbage," Carol Tanzi, will be one of the speakers at the Expo. Linda Lenore will discuss Feng Shui and your environment, and Lisa Van Cleef, a landscape designer featured on Home and Garden television, will talk about organic gardening.

The event is sponsored by the Canada College student chapter of the American Society for Interior Design (ASID). Tickets are $17 at the door. For more information, call Ellyn Dooley, 631-5788.

Nature's notions

Learn about the Peninsula's past on Saturday, March 27, as the San Mateo County History Museum presents its Family Past Times program, "Nature's Notions."

Children will discover the ways people have used the natural rich resources of the Peninsula. Kids will be able to card wool, grind corn, paint designs using mineral paints, and make their own "fossils."

The program takes place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The program is free with the price of admission: $4 for adults, $2 for seniors and children, free for kids 5 and under. For more information, call 299-0104.

Young artist competition

So you want to be a star. Register now for the Young Artist Competition held each June at Stanford University and hosted by the California Youth Symphony. There will be two winners, generally one pianist and one other instrumentalist. Each will appear in a series of performances with the California Youth Symphony during the 2004-2005 season. There is also $200 cash award to each winner.

Registration forms and a non-refundable fee of $30 are due May 1. The competition is open to any instrumentalist 18 years or younger. To audition, students should prepare a 7- to 8-minute concerto and concert work.

Auditions will be held Sunday, June 19, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Campbell Recital Hall at Stanford University. Registration forms can be downloaded at www.cys.org. For more information about California Youth Symphony, call 325-6666.

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