Spring celebration: It's all free
By Anna Baldasty
It's spring again. The pace of life quickens, the weather warms, the pool fills and any spot of campus green becomes littered with bikini-clad bodies lounging on brightly colored towels. But the best thing about spring is not endless days of sunà -- it's that impeccable weather makes having fun easy and cheap. If your mood suggests -- or your wallet insists on -- fun for free, perhaps it's time to enjoy April outdoors.
* 4th Annual Wildflower Celebration
Saturday, April 7, the Ulistac Natural Area hosts this celebration on the last 40 acres of open space within the city of Santa Clara. Bird and butterfly garden tours are conducted every hour from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Santa Clara is among the official sponsors of the celebration.
Details and a suggested 4.5 mile bike route for reaching Ulistac from campus can be found on the Environmental Studies Institute Web site.
* Union Street Easter Parade and Spring Celebration in San Francisco
The parade begins on April 8 at 2 p.m. on Union Street, but live music and street life get going as early as 10 a.m. Look forward to floats, stilt walkers, classic cars and extravagant costumes. The Easter Bunny will definitely attend, and if the past serves as an accurate guide, there's hope for return of the herd of cows on roller blades. If your holiday hat is beautiful or outrageous, consider entering the Easter Bonnet Contest.
* Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival
The following two weekends bring one of the Bay Area's largest spring celebrations, the 40th Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival.
The festival is conducted in San Francisco's Japantown and features a wide variety of events showcasing cuisine, classical and folk dance, martial arts, sword demonstrations, arts and crafts such as origami, and the elegance of the traditional Japanese tea ceremony. Over 150,000 attend each year, with at least 100,000 coming to see the final parade that embarks from the San Francisco City Hall on Sunday, April 22, at 1:00 p.m. and winds its way 15 blocks to Japantown.
* Northern California Book Awards
If the throngs of tourists at the Cherry Blossom Festival become overwhelming, or if you simply need a break from anime or aikido and ikebana, join a more restrained, bookish crowd and head over to San Francisco's Main Public Library on Sunday, April 15, at 1:00 p.m. for the 26th Annual Northern California Book Awards. Winners will be announced for various categories. Admission is free. Book signing and a reception for the authors follows.
* Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day
As midterms pick up mid-month, don't forget to plan a study break for Tuesday, April 17, when Ben & Jerry's makes a sweet treat even sweeter by handing out ice cream for free. Yes, this extraordinary Tuesday is Ben & Jerry's Annual Free Cone Day. Over one million free servings of ice cream are given out nationwide between 12:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. The nearest Ben and Jerry's to Santa Clara is at 377 Santana Row, just a short drive or a long walk from campus.
* Mithraic Mysteries
After devouring your deliciously free ice cream, head over to the San Jose Rosicrucian Planetarium. Everyday at 2:00 p.m. (with an additional show on weekends at 3:30 p.m.), there's a free showing of "Mithraic Mysteries," which analyzes the ancient iconography of Mithraism as astronomical code. Pick up complimentary tickets at the admissions desk of the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, 1342 Naglee Avenue at Park. Although the show might reveal cult secrets hidden for centuries, perhaps the greatest satisfaction will come from having just spent an entire afternoon without spending a dime.
Contact Anna Baldasty at (408) 551-1918 or abaldasty@scu.edu.