San Jose Transit Bowl: Who will win a three-way race to Levi’s Stadium?

Maybe you’ve been sitting in your car waiting to get into a parking lot at Levi’s Stadium and wondered, would it have been faster to take the VTA light rail? Or even bike?

We’ll find out the answer this weekend thanks to the San Jose Transit Bowl, a three-way race from downtown San Jose to Levi’s Stadium before the 49ers game on Sunday.

The contestants are Valley Water Director Shiloh Ballard, who will be biking; Mineta Transportation Institute Executive Director Karen Philbrick, who will take light rail; and African American Community Services Agency Executive Director Milan Balinton, who will take a car.

The friendly competition is sponsored by the Guadalupe River Conservancy, which is pushing the option of using the Guadalupe River Trail by bike to get to Levi’s for 49ers games, as well as Super Bowl LX and FIFA World Cup games next year. San Jose City Councilmember Michael Mulcahy, whose office is co-sponsoring the event, will get the race started at the Hotel De Anza, where all three will depart at 11 a.m., and the public is welcome to show up and cheer them on.

The champion will be whoever gets to their seat first, but you’ve got to believe that other factors — like stress and price — will be taken into consideration when you think about who the real winner was.

Personally, my money’s on Ballard, a former executive director of the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition. She’s the only one that doesn’t have to contend with exterior complications like VTA schedules and traffic, and she’s already been reaching out to social media for time-saving tips from people who regularly ride to the games. Another benefit? The Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition runs a “bike valet” at the stadium, so she won’t have to worry about hunting for a parking spot.

‘NUTCRACKER’ GUESTS: For its 60th annual production of “The Nutcracker,” opening Dec. 13 at the Center for the Performing Arts, San Jose Dance Theatre has started a new tradition by casting community figures in a cameo role as a chimney sweep.

The lineup of “Guest Community Chimney Sweeps” includes San Jose restaurateur Viscount Michael North (Dec. 13, 2 p.m.); San Jose Dance Theatre Executive Director Elizabeth Sweeney (Dec. 13, 7:30 p.m.); Ron Murietta of San Jose’s Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs (Dec. 14, 2 p.m.); Mix 106.5 radio host Shan Berries (Dec. 20, 2 p.m.); Willow Glen Realtor Holly Barr (Dec. 20, 7:30 p.m.) and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan (Dec. 21, 2 p.m.). Tickets are available at www.sjdt.org/the-nutcracker.

“This is such a joyful way to honor our community while celebrating 60 years of Nutcracker magic in San Jose,” Sweeney said. “Each guest sweep embodies the collaborative, community-centered heart of SJDT.”

MORE ‘NUTCRACKER’ NEWS: Of course, we’re lucky around here to have a choice between San Jose Dance Theatre’s traditional version of “The Nutcracker,” and New Ballet San Jose’s “The San Jose Nutcracker,” which sets the ballet in the Santa Clara Valley of yore and includes lots of nods to local places and icons (including the famed Electric Light Tower).

New Ballet will have a special walk-on guest of its own at its 7:30 p.m. performance of “The San Jose Nutcracker” at the California Theatre — former San Jose City Councilmember Carl Salas will be performing the role of the father in the opening scene. For its companion production for young theatergoers — “My Very First Nutcracker” — New Ballet has teamed up with Legoland Discovery Center Bay Area to create a play zone at the California that will be open before those performances on Dec. 13, 21 and 22.

“The San Jose Nutcracker” runs Dec. 13-22, and you can get tickets to that and “My Very First Nutcracker” at www.symphonysanjose.org.

TEXTILE TALK: We’re in the final few weeks of the Quilt National 2025 exhibition’s display at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles in downtown San Jose’s arty South First Area (SoFA). But if you haven’t checked it out yet — or if you want to revisit the exhibit — there’s a special “Threads of Thought” walkthrough at 2 p.m. Dec. 13 with Nancy Bavor, the museum’s former executive director.

She’ll talk about the history of Quilt National, the jurying process and the works on display there right now. You can get more information, as well as tickets to the event, at sj-qmt.org.