Valley Fair blooms with floral Lunar New Year display

Fleurs de Villes Lunaire has returned to Westfield Valley Fair for another colorful, floral celebration of Lunar New Year.

The free exhibition, which opened to the public Wednesday and runs through Feb. 17, showcases the talents of 15 Bay Area floral designers. Their flower and plant-based installations all include the same blank mannequin and represent different aspects of the celebration including Chinese opera and wedding gowns, dragon dances, the lunar cycle, fireworks, red envelopes and gold coins.

At the center of the exhibition is a stunning monument to the Year of the Horse, created by the Bloomsters team led by owner and lead designer Kren Rasmussen. The Fire Horse is ridden by a female warrior, dressed in scale armor made out of layered succulents. The horse’s body is covered with corn husks, the flames are made with dyed wheat stalks and the rider’s dark boots are covered with chia seeds.

Visitors can vote for their favorite and be entered for a chance to win an overnight stay for two at the Rosewood Sand Hill —  also home to one of the installations — and a $200 Eataly gift card.

“Building on the incredible response to last year’s debut, this fresh-floral celebration once again brings the spirit of Lunar New Year to life through the artistry of local florists,” Karen Marshall, co-founder of Fleurs de Villes said. “Flowers bring people together in joy, and we are thrilled to share that energy with Silicon Valley for another unforgettable season.”

TIMELY THEATER: With deportations and anti-ICE protests taking place nationwide, Teatro Visión has premiered a very topical new play, “No Llegamos Aquí Solos,” at the School of Arts and Culture at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in San Jose.

The play, which takes place in East San Jose, was written by Santa Clara County Poet Laureate Yosimar Reyes. It follows a young man, Ignacio, who is preparing for his grandmother’s birthday party while simultaneously organizing his community to prepare for an ICE raid.

Teatro Visión and Reyes worked together on a community story-gathering project to inform the play, adding to Reyes’ familiarity with the Mayfair neighborhood where he grew up. The play — its title of the play translates to “We Did Not Come Here Alone” — runs through Feb. 22. You can get tickets at www.teatrovision.org.

MOVING ON, MOVING IN: Jason Su is stepping down as executive director of the Guadalupe River Park Conservancy after nearly seven years in the job. He started in June 2019, just before the COVID-19 pandemic made open space more important than ever, and navigated a lot of challenges dealing with park and trail maintenance, especially as homeless encampments became a regular feature in the sprawling park. He forged a partnership with SJ Walls to bring murals to blank walls and walkways along the Guadalupe River Trail and oversaw the expansion of the Rotary Playgarden.

The Guadalupe River Park Conservancy board of directors has started a search for his replacement, with Operations Director Ash Namdar serving as acting executive director in the meantime.

Meanwhile, Lincoln Law School of San Jose is officially welcoming its new dean, Mary Fuller, who took over the job last month. Fuller, who holds degrees in electrical engineering and law, was most recently director of the Western Regional Office of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which also is in downtown San Jose, about two blocks from Lincoln Law School.

“Mary brings a rare combination of legal, technical, and public-service leadership experience,” said Bill Long, chair of Lincoln Law School’s board of trustees. “Her commitment to education, collaboration, and thoughtful leadership aligns well with Lincoln Law School’s mission, and we are pleased to welcome her as Dean.”

HONOR ROLL: Sunnyvale Community Services Executive Director Marie Bernard will receive the Murphy Award from the Sunnyvale Chamber of Commerce on Feb. 26 for her distinguished leadership and lasting contributions to the community.

Christian Pellecchia, who chairs the Sunnyvale Chamber’s board of directors, said the award reflects Bernard’s lifetime of steady, purpose-driven leadership coupled with compassion and strategic vision to help those facing hunger, housing insecurity and financial hardship.

“Her longstanding civic engagement, including leadership alongside partners in the Sunnyvale Chamber of Commerce, demonstrates a rare ability to bring together the public, private, and nonprofit sectors in pursuit of shared community wellbeing,” Pellecchia said. “This honor celebrates not only professional excellence, but the enduring impact of integrity, collaboration, and an unwavering commitment to strengthening Sunnyvale for all who call it home.”

Bernard will be joined by other honorees — including El Camino Health’s A.J. Reall, Jeff Weinberg of JW Catering, and nonprofit Animal Assisted Happiness — at the 59th annual Murphy Awards Dinner on Feb. 26 at the Hilton Garden Inn. Don’t rush to grab a ticket, though, as the event is already sold out.

GONE BUT NEVER FORGOTTEN: I was sad to hear that Dick Henning died Feb. 4 at age 90, just a few months after he received a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Henning was a man as full of life as just about anyone you could meet, and I can’t recall seeing him without a smile on his face.

Of course, he was best known around here for founding the Foothill College Celebrity Forum, a speaker series that he started at Foothill in 1968 and kept going at De Anza College until both the speaker series and the Flint Center, where it was held, was no more in 2020. Celebrity speakers included Indira Gandhi, James Baldwin, Cary Grant, Jane Goodall and Neil Armstrong.

Henning was always busy but never seemed rushed. He was a longtime member of the Los Altos Rotary Club, served 12 years on the board of the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce and went on multiple safaris in Africa. No doubt, he’s already putting together another speaker series in the afterlife.