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Willow Glen Holiday Lights

Date: (Sun.) Dec. 19, 2010
Location: San Jose, CA
Event Director: - 650.302.4835
Course Setter: Brad Wetmore
Type: C; Light-O: Walk/Run through Willow Glen while enjoying the festive decorations!

Related Event Information

Course Setter's Notes Afternoon Event at Vasona Last Year's Event

Please note that fees and time limits apply, unless otherwise mentioned below. Events are typically not canceled due to bad weather.


Happy holidays! At last year's event, people said things like "WOW!" and "Can't wait 'til next year!" Well, it's next year! This officially gives you 6½ weeks notice to clear just one evening in your busy December calendars for when the BAOC revisits the incredible Holiday decorations of San Jose's Willow Glen neighborhood. Get your shopping done early, invite your friends and loved ones, and let's enjoy the last events of the 2010 season and celebrate another great year of orienteering.

The day starts with a combined COOL & public event at Vasona Lake County Park in Los Gatos. Then in the evening just a few short miles away, join us for the Light-O and annual BAOC potluck social and Awards ceremony. Enjoy an orienteering journey around the fancifully festooned neighborhood, then come back and socialize with your fellow BAOC'ers and friends. It's a potluck — so bring something to share (see below)! Following dinner, this year's recipient of the BAOC Club Service Award (http://www.baoc.org/wiki/Club/Annual_Service_Award) will be announced.

The event will be held at the cafeteria at the Willow Glen Elementary School on the corner of Lincoln Ave. and Minnesota Ave. (See the directions below.)

Bring a flashlight or headlamp, and a pencil or pen, and invite your family and friends. Runners, walkers, families, scouts, neighbors — everyone is invited. We know it's a busy time of year, but we hope you can take a little time out to join us!

Event schedule

5:00 – Building opens: Registration begins
5:50 – Mass start, and individual starts begin
6:30 – Registration and individual starts close
7:30 – Potluck begins (approximate time)
8:00 – Course closes
8:15 – Service Award Presentation
9:30 – Building is closed

Free Offer

There will be a bring-a-friend-to-try-out-orienteering free offer at this event:

BAOC members can introduce a friend (or two) to orienteering, and the friend(s) can run for free. At registration, the friend will fill out the normal form and just say they are a friend of _________. (The member is not required to accompany the friend on their course.)

This might be a good time to invite your friends, your child's friends, your relatives, your neighbors or co-workers to try orienteering. Of course they'll miss the thrill of our steep hills and muddy fields and trails at this event but you could break them in gradually.

Potluck Social

So we don't end up with 40 salads and 0 entrees, we will have a signup. Everyone will be hungry after finishing their afternoon courses at Vasona Lake and then going out on the Night-O course in Willow Glen.

Please e-mail to let her know what you'd like to bring.

We'll make sure that we have enough entrees and salads. We know that some people will not decide until the day of the event what they are going bring, but it will turn out fine. Our club always has such good potluck dinners!

BAOC will be providing the utensils, plates, cups, napkins, and hot and cold drinks. Bring your own utensils, plates and cups if you'd like. (Please note that alcohol is not allowed on the campus.)

In answer to questions, we have two burners to heat things up for the pot luck if you bring a pot or pan. Last year, the custodian let us use the microwave but we can't count on it for this year. (It is the same custodian this year, so maybe we'll be lucky.) I guess that you could start the course early if you need to, but we are encouraging people to wait since some lights don't go on until 6:00.

Volunteers

We need someone from 5:00–6:00 to help our BAOC president, Trinka Gillis, with our indoor registration.

Would someone like to help set up the potluck?

Map and Course

Last year, Brad Wetmore unveiled a new map of the neighborhood at a 1:15000 scale with 5-foot contours. There are some interesting street patterns and opportunities for off-street navigation in quite a few of the blocks — some parkland, schools, and passageways are sprinkled about the map.

The course will be Score-O format with 60- and 90-minute options. Controls will be environmental, such as: 

   At house #456, how many reindeer are on the roof?
         A-3        B-8        C-9        D-42

There will be beginner clinics if requested, but if you can find your way around with a street map, you should be able to navigate around Willow Glen.

See the Course Setter's Notes for more information.

Gear

Running shoes and shorts should be fine, but you may want warmer clothing depending on the weather. The event center has bathrooms where you can change.

Please bring a pencil (preferred) or pen to mark your answers, and bring a headlamp/flashlight — although Willow Glen is brightly lit in spots, you will need a flashlight!

Driving Directions

Take Interstate 280 towards downtown San Jose (South/East) from Interstate 880. Exit on Meridian Ave. South. Proceed 0.9 miles to Minnesota and turn left (east). The school is on the right, 0.9 miles down Minnesota, at the corner of Lincoln. There is limited parking on the school grounds, and there is plenty of street parking nearby.

There's a map here that shows the location of the event. (Drag the map to center San Jose, and then click on the "+" symbol to zoom in.)