There were a lot more grown-ups than usual at the Rotary PlayGarden last Saturday morning. Don’t worry, they weren’t hogging the slides or the swingset. The gathering of elected officials and community leaders was there to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the inclusive playground, where kids of all abilities have been able to play side by side.
This playground – a gift to the city from the Rotary Club of San Jose to celebrate its centennial — was a real jewel nestled in the Guadalupe River Park off Coleman Avenue when it opened in 2015. More than 1 million people have passed through its forest green gates in the decade since, and quite frankly it’s starting to show.
A merry-go-round designed to accommodate wheelchairs is fenced off as it awaits replacement parts at the Rotary PlayGarden in San Jose on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)
A merry-go-round designed to hold wheelchairs has been closed and fenced off while it awaits replacement parts. A shade structure in the picnic area has been ripped away by the elements, and the wear-and-tear from all that play is obvious on other features.
The Guadalupe River Park Conservancy is charged with maintenance of the park, and they’ve done a great job overall.
But Executive Director Jason Su says that when the park was built, most of its special features were being produced in Europe, not the United States. So the replacement parts have to come from Europe, and that’s been a bit of a wait. No doubt tariffs aren’t going to help the situation, either.
Guadalupe River Park Executive Director Jason Su speaks at the 10th anniversary of the Rotary PlayGarden in San Jose on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)
“All of these features are unique, they’re specialized,” Su said. ”They require support. They require reinvestment so that access is not just a descriptor but an action.”
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One action people can take to maintain that access, Su says, is to support the Guadalupe River Park Conservancy at www.grpg.org.
PARTY IN EAST VILLAGE: Given the general mood of fear around celebrations that may bring out a lot of immigrants, it was heartening to see so many people come out to San Jose’s El Grito at City Hall on Monday night, commemorating the start of Mexican Independence Day.
There should be a lot of people on the streets near City Hall on Thursday as well That’s when the next big downtown block party is taking place in the East Village Business District on Santa Clara Street between Seventh and Ninth streets from 5 to 9 p.m.
Singer/songwriter Ashley Mehta — who has been having quite a summer with her single “Heat” — will be the headline act, taking the stage around 7:30 p.m. She should feel right at home, too, as she’s a San Jose State graduate. It’s free with an RSVP at Eventbrite.
WEDDING BELLS: What happens when a beloved radio personality and a “recovering, cynical divorce attorney” decide to tie the knot? The answer is a heartwarming and, at times, hilarious wedding at Regale Winery in Los Gatos for former KBAY morning show host Lissa Kreisler and Jeffrey Blum, her steady guy for the past 13 years.
Los Gatos residents Lissa Kreisler and Jeffrey Blum celebrate their wedding at Regale Winery in Los Gatos on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)
It’s a second marriage for both; Blum was divorced, while Kreisler’s first husband, Michael Whelan died in 2007. In his vows, Blum said he never thought he would remarry but decided “love is not a battlefield but a garden to be cultivated.”
Unsurprisingly, Kreisler couldn’t contain her bubbly personality that radio listeners grew to love over her decades on KLOK and KBAY. “Did you say my ‘awful wedded spouse’?” Kreisler asked during her vows. Fortunately, after 13 years, Blum’s gotten used to her sense of humor.
ART AND ABOUT: “Pushing Boundaries: Ceramic Artists and Identity” just opened last weekend at the Palo Alto Art Center, and it’ll be celebrated at this week’s Friday Night at the Art Center. The free event starts at 6 p.m. and will include performances by Mosaic America, as well as specialty cocktails and other refreshments for sale.
Friday also will mark the debut of “Ashwini Bhat: Being, Longing…,” a site-specific installation at the Palo Alto Art Center by the Bay Area artist that includes a performance video projected onto clay, a neon element and a large-scale ceramic mandala. You can get more information about the exhibitions at www.paloalto.gov/artcenter.