Celebrate Women’s History Month with a festive community gathering! Join History San José and Mosaic America as we honor the achievements and contributions of women throughout Santa Clara Valley’s history. The festival will feature a diverse lineup of performers, storytellers, and history makers throughout San José’s History Park. Historic buildings and exhibitions will be open to the public from 12:00-4:00 pm with a range of vendors and authors hosting outdoor community booths. The festival is a family-friendly event, and there will be plenty of crafts and activities for the kids, with delicious food, drinks, and treats available for purchase. This is an event not to be missed so come to History Park and celebrate the incredible women and communities who have shaped our world.

Sponsoring Organizations

History San José preserves and enriches the cultural heritage of San José and the Santa Clara Valley through research, collections, partnerships, educational programs, and events.

Mosaic America is a non-profit organization that strengthens communities, cultivates belonging, and catalyzes inclusion through inter-cultural and co-created cultural experiences.

Writers/Filmmakers

Dr. Amita Roy Shah (she/her/hers) is a senior lecturer in the Child and Adolescent Development Department at San Jose State University and the Founder of Social Edge, a company dedicated to the social, emotional and cultural well-being of all children. She has written several children’s books including It’s Time for Holi! and Lights, Camera Diwali!

Anne Marie Todd (she/her/hers) is Professor of Communication Studies and Associate Dean in the College of Social Sciences at San José State University. Her recent book, Valley of Heart’s Delight: Environment and Sense of Place in the Santa Clara Valley, explores the transformation of the Santa Clara Valley into Silicon Valley: from America’s largest fruit-producing region with a strong sense of place into the technology capital of the world where a weak attachment to place threatens the environment and community.

Beth Kile (she/her/hers) is a high school English teacher, a certified paranormal investigator, and a lifelong resident of San Jose who is familiar with all the locations she writes about. Her book, Haunted San Jose, explores the histories and hauntings of 35 ghostly locations in the city of San Jose.

Author and local travel writer Cassie Kifer (she/her/hers) brings her curiosity, passion for local history, and decades of experience exploring the Bay Area to these carefully crafted adventures. Her newly released book San Jose Scavenger: The Ultimate Search for San Jose’s Hidden Treasures invites readers to join an epic scavenger hunt exploring more than 300 unique sites in 20 neighborhoods from San Jose, up to Palo Alto, and down to Gilroy. She has also written a book titled, Secret San Jose: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure.

Professor Jan Batiste Adkins (she/her/hers) is an adjunct instructor at San José City College and has published a series of Arcadia: Images of America series books on the local histories of African Americans, providing easily-accessible historic details and images for this important Bay Area cultural group. 

Jenny Clendenen (she/her/hers) is a native Bay Area writer and literature teacher with an MFA in creative nonfiction from SJSU; her essays and scholarship have been published in BBC Travel, Studies in Philology, and a variety of literary journals. Her book, MINE:  El Despojo de María Zacarías Bernal de Berreyesa, tells the story of María Zacarías Bernal de Berreyesa who was a Spanish matriarch of the Bay Area and who lost ten of eleven beloved men, her claim to the Almaden mines, and, after the Gold Rush, her south San José ranch—land she and the author shared for thirty-plus years.

Kathy Cotton (she/her/hers) is a local documentary filmmaker that documents the contributions of African Americans in Silicon Valley. Her latest documentary,, is the first film to tell the story of African Americans in the early days of Silicon Valley and is meant to fill in the blanks where African Americans were forgotten or hidden from view.

Rosanna Alvarez (she/her/hers) is a multifaceted Chicana storyteller who writes about her reality and is committed to social justice, community, cultural excellence, and equity. She has published several books, including three coloring books that focus on the collective power of women, self-care, and creativity: Hechicera: A Coloring Book for Chingonas Everywhere, Guerrera: A Coloring Book for Warriors Everywhere, and Dreams, Serendipity, and Wisdom: A Coloring Book Meditation.

Tricia Creason-Valencia (she/her/hers) is an Emmy-nominated documentary film Director. Her company, Flaca Films, produces documentaries that challenge stereotypes, celebrate the complexity of people and shine light on social justice issues. She believes that films are a tool for dialogue and social change and she is committed to mentoring emerging BIPOC and women filmmakers. She will be screening her latest film project, Women of the Canneries: Anonymous No More. In this short documentary, multiple women’s voices are interwoven in an audiovisual tapestry, telling the story of women cannery workers in Santa Clara County over the past 120 years with archival material provided courtesy of History San José. This documentary is part of the Womanhood Project led by Art Builds Community.

Performance Artists

Founded in 1980, in East Palo Alto, Raíces de México aims to promote cultural diversity through dance, music, and art and community engagement by means of workshops and performances. Students learn movement, background history, music, and the traditions of each dance form to gain a well-rounded cultural experience. Workshops that focus on dance and traditions are also offered, such as Dia de los Muertos and Posadas. Instructors teach dance while encouraging children, teens, and adults to achieve individual excellence and confidence in a supportive group environment. Interpersonal relationships, team unity, cultural awareness, respect, sensitivity, and courtesy are key elements of the Raíces de México program.

Santa Clara Valley Square Dancers with caller Jim Osbourne enjoy demonstrating and participating in the joy of square dancing every week. For this event they are working with storyteller Julie Pifer from History San José’s Portraits of the Past to present locally significant women who lived interesting lives and participated in notable events in they Valley history. 

Sifu Jeffrey Fung has studied Chinese Martial Arts since his early childhood with the finest martial arts masters in Hong Kong. His passion and dedication to martial arts led him to focus on the teachings of energies and dynamics of Tai Chi. He spent a majority of his time learning the Yang style Tai Chi and the Tai Chi Praying Mantis style. Currently, he is an instructor at the San Lorenzo Community Center and Choa Chow Association Center in San José California, as well as a member of the Tai Chi Health Association in San José and Saratoga Senior Center. 

Farima Berenji’s training and experience with the Farima Dance Company, inspired her to begin a worldwide collaboration with other traditional dancers and musicians in the Simorgh Dance Collective, a world community of expert and emerging artists devoted to cross-cultural dialogue and artistic collaboration in traditional, classical, and sacred dance styles of the Silk Road.

Dance-along with Akshay Savale, instructor at Starrz Dance Academy of Performing Arts (SDAPA), which is a Bollywood Dance company. Bollywood is a mainstream popular dance and music style from India that is an internationally inspired fusion of modern and traditional rhythms and melodies. Starrz’s focus is on tapping the interest in each and everyone from an adult to a child who is as young as 3, and fostering a true love for this form of art. We give our best dance training in a fun and creative way! 

Jen’a Sims is a Praise Dance Leader from In His Hands Ministries East Palo Alto under the covering of Senior Pastor Wilma S. Traylor. This style of Praise Dancing is a mix of Liturgical, Mime, Hip Hop, and Flag. Sims has been a Praise Dancer for 12 years and has performed all throughout the Bay Area, using gospel music and dance to become a conduit to minister people. 

House of Inanna dancers have been performing all over California for a decade and are from San Jose, California. They are known for great technique and bespoke performances, bringing love, humor and the sacred to the stage. Students and members of the House of Inanna performance troupe are coming together to dance as women and celebrate their bodies. They dance as a troupe, celebrating kinship and the interrelatedness of everything.  

Donna McCraney and Massengo Constant, presented by Tabia African Theater Ensemble, will be hosting a Congolese Dance and Music Workshop demonstrating their culture’s soulful vibration, a mosaic groove of art, sacred meditation, drums, and healing circles through African dances and music of the diaspora. This cultural demonstration evokes a deep vivid emotional expression that captures the depths of the soul, propelling movement in the body. 

Opera San José is an opera company located in the heart of Silicon Valley. Maintaining a resident company of artists, OSJ presents four mainstage productions annually in San Jose ́’s historic California Theatre, while regularly broadcasting fully-produced productions from its state-of-the-art Heiman Digital Media Studio. Entering its 40th season, OSJ specializes in role debuts, serving as an artistic incubator for established and emerging artists alike, producing world-class operatic performances for diverse audiences throughout the Bay Area and around the globe.

Kawayan Folk Arts is a performing arts troupe based in the South Bay Area, California.  Kawayan (with a “K”), meaning “bamboo” in Tagalog, references the Philippine creation myth where the first man and woman emerged from a piece of bamboo.  Their ethnic music and dance performances are composed with traditional Filipino elements, steps, and musical instruments to depict narrative stories and cultural motifs.

Viet Steps is proud to be the first and only Vietnamese American dance school in the Bay Area. Founded in 2017, Viet Steps has been bringing traditional Vietnamese dances to various events throughout the Bay Area. After experiencing rapid growth, Viet Steps now offers Hip Hop, Jazz, Ballet, and Dancesport, in addition to our traditional Vietnamese dance curriculum. 

Zaza Korinteli, is a musician, folklorist and civic activist. His music fuses a wide variety of genres—-Georgian, Ukrainian, Polish folk traditions, rock, and reggae. A multi-instrumentalist on guitar, bass, wind instruments, percussions, and vocals, he leads the band ZumbaLand and is one half of the ReroRera duo. 

Community Organizations/Women-Owned Businesses 

CasaQ is a San Jose-based, Hispanic lifestyle company, dedicated to providing unique products, services and content geared toward people who embrace the Latino culture. CasaQ was founded in 2005 by Darlene Tenes, a professional event planner. For over a decade Ms. Tenes is renowned for planning festive and creative Hispanic events, which incorporate the traditions and customs of Spain, Mexico and Latin America.

The California Pioneers of Santa Clara County are dedicated to promoting, preserving, and celebrating the history of Santa Clara County and the heritage of its past generations. They collect, archive, and educate; and encourage research and scholarship. On March 26th, they will have a display of materials related to a local World War II Rosie.

Founded in 1990, the Preservation Action Council of San Jose is a dynamic nonprofit 501(c)(3) membership organization dedicated to preserving the region’s unique and diverse architectural and cultural heritage. Through advocacy, education, and civic engagement, they promote historic preservation as an essential tool for fostering equitable, distinctive, sustainable, and prosperous communities. They have partnered with Suhita Shirodkar, an urban sketcher, visual journalist, and an instructor. She teaches workshops locally, and internationally, in person and online. Her work appears in Watercolor Magazine and Watercolor Artist. She has been the recipient of numerous grants and residencies including a Knight Foundation Grant and a visual journalism residency with WIRED magazine.

Founded in 1986, San Jose Jazz is a 501(c)(3) public benefit corporation that celebrates jazz as a dynamic, evolving art form and is producer of the annual San Jose Jazz Summer Fest and Winter Fest. With its singular music programming and innovative educational offerings, SJZ preserves the jazz tradition while actively supporting the next generation of performers within the genre and beyond.

San Jose Public Library’s Partners in Reading is dedicated to enriching the lives of adults so that they achieve their personal and professional goals through reading, writing, critical thinking, technology, life skills, and English language learning.

Spirit of ‘45 is an alliance of organizations and individuals that are working together to preserve and honor the legacy of the men and women of America’s WWII generation so that their achievements and values will continue to inspire future generations—especially the youth of our nation. Their mission is to help promote public awareness and participation in Spirit of ’45 Day, an annual national day honoring America’s “Greatest Generation” that was passed unanimously by the U.S. Congress in 2010.

Womanhood is a public art and digital media project that will commission interactive, educational, and accessible artifacts and public artworks to promote the historical recognition and representation of women. The goal of the project, which was launched and supported by the County of Santa Clara, is to ensure equity and inclusion of women from all economic, employment and cultural backgrounds by artfully highlighting their critical roles in the region and beyond.

Open Buildings/Exhibitions

Bay Area Glass Institute educates the public about art glass by teaching a variety of glass-working classes, offering free public demonstrations, and bringing in international and locally renowned guest artists to conduct free demonstrations and lectures. Visitors are welcomed to tour their facility and glass shop. 

The Chinese American Historical Museum at the Ng Shing Gung is dedicated to sharing the stories of Chinese Americans in Santa Clara Valley. The museum building is a reconstruction of the original Ng Shing Gung (Temple of the Five Gods). Inside, the first floor explores the experiences of Chinese Americans in Santa Clara Valley while the second floor features the altar from the original Ng Shing Gung. On March 26th, they will provide visitors with a QR code so they can access the exhibit Towards Equality: California’s Chinese American Women, presented by the Chinese Historical Society of America (CHSA) and the Chinese Historical and Cultural Project (CHCP).

The Pacific Hotel is a replica building, constructed to serve as the headquarters for History San José. The main floor houses O’Brien’s Ice Cream Parlor and Candy Shop (which will be open to the public during the event) and the Arbuckle Gallery, which currently has the exhibit Valley Memories: Curiosities & Treasures from History San José’s Collection.

The Portuguese Historical Museum at the Imperio is a joint project between History San José and the Portuguese Heritage Society of California. The museum consists of approximately 3200 square feet of exhibits on the ground floor and basement. Exhibitions introduce visitors to Portuguese history and culture and the building itself is a replica of the first permanent imperio built in San José, circa 1915, that served as a community center for Portuguese immigrants at the turn of the century who wanted to maintain cultural ties and strong bonds to their heritage.

History Park’s Print Shop is a recreated “job shop” which was common in San José from 1890 until 1915. These businesses did small projects such as brochures, flyers, business cards, and stationary. The Print Shop is home to and operated by the Printers’ Guild. For this special event, the Printers’ Guild members plan to conduct live demonstrations of various presses and give visitors a commemorative souvenir.

The Stevens Ranch Fruit Barn at History Park is home to the exhibit Passing Farms: Enduring Values, which examines Santa Clara Valley’s agricultural past. The exhibit explores the Valley’s fruit industry from the late nineteenth century to World War II. During its heyday, Santa Clara County produced more than one third of all the fruit canned in the world.

The Trolley Barn is a joint project between History San José and the California Trolley & Railroad Corporation. The barn houses the museum’s extensive trolley and antique vehicle collection and has informational panels about the region’s transportation history. The California Trolley and Railroad Corporation members are trained motormen and will offer free streetcar rides from History Park to Happy Hollow Park and Zoo’s Senter Road parking lot.

The Umbarger House at History Park is staged to illustrate a style of furniture and decorative items typically found around 1870-1880, towards the later Victorian period. The building was owned by David Umbarger, a gold-miner-turned-wheat-farmer, who eventually bequeathed the house to his sister.  The “kitchen garden” behind the house was a common feature found in the Santa Clara Valley and the Umbargers would have used it for growing vegetables, fruits, and herbs.

The Doctor’s Office showcases medicine and dentistry near the turn of the century.  The building first served as the office for Dr. H.H. Warburton in the 1870s, and was the base of several doctors, a dentist, and a lawyer up until it moved to History Park in 1972.  The Doctor’s Office was the first building moved to the park.

The Greenawalt House is home to the Viet Museum also known as the Museum of the Boat People & the Republic of Vietnam. The museum focuses on the experience of Vietnamese Americans and their journey from Vietnam to the United States. It was founded by the San Jose-based nonprofit organization Immigrant Resettlement & Cultural Center, Inc. (IRCC).