Community

Area residents were treated to a beautiful Sunday filled with culture as the 57th Annual Morgan Hill Haru Matsuri Spring Festival and Taiko Expo went off without a hitch at the Morgan Hill Buddhist Community Center, which is located at 16450 Murphy Ave.

A local community that has become increasingly active since a U.S. immigration agency moved to Morgan Hill took to the streets May 1, this time organized by a group of Gavilan College students working tandemly with Community Agency for Resources and Advocacy Services.

Musical theater students at Gavilan College will perform the play, “Cabaret,” with a lineup of performances from May 5 through May 13.

Heather Ann Geddes was recently selected as the new community librarian for Morgan Hill Library after an extensive nationwide search, according to a April 25 announcement from the Santa Clara County Library District.

Immigration, housing and a state road in terrible disrepair topped the agenda when elected officials from just about every level gathered in Gilroy to share views on key issues facing city, county, state and federal governments and constituents.

The Morgan Hill Downtown Association’s Wine Stroll 2017 will take place from 1 to 5 p.m. this Saturday, April 29 in downtown Morgan Hill.Tickets cost $35 each if purchased in advance, and allow attendees to sample dozens of Santa Clara Valley Wines at various restaurants and merchants throughout downtown. Tickets cost $45 on the day of the event.“Participants love Wine Stroll because it pairs our award winning Santa Clara County wineries with our downtown merchants and restaurants, providing a unique tasting experience,” reads the event description on the MHDA website, morganhilldowntown.org.Ticketholders can check in starting at 11:30 a.m. April 29 at the check-in station at the Third Street Plaza.For more information and to purchase tickets, visit morganhilldowntown.org.

The 57th Annual Morgan Hill Haru Matsuri Spring Festival and Taiko Expo will take place at 11 a.m. April 30 at the Morgan Hill Buddhist Community Center, which is located at 16450 Murphy Avenue.

U.S. military veterans on motorcycles with the Patriot Guard escorted one of their fallen brothers to funeral and burial services in Morgan Hill last week.Services for Richard Villalba took place April 21 in Morgan Hill. The funeral procession was escorted by the Patriot Guard riders from Lima Campagna Johnson Funeral Home on Monterey Road just north of town, to the funeral service at St. Catherine Parish, and then to the cemetery on Spring Avenue.Villalba served in the Army in the 1990s. His service included combat in the Persian Gulf. He died after a long battle with cancer, according to his brother George Moya, who traveled from Arizona to attend the services.“I was at the hospital when he passed,” Moya said. “It was a hard thing to watch.”But he added it was “awesome” to see not only familiar friends and family at the services, but also the veterans on motorcycles who came to escort their fellow soldier to his final resting place.“Family is the most important thing in life, and when it’s a veteran you need to pay respect all the way around,” Moya said.Villalba and his spouse Jake Navarette-Villalba are the owners of Salon NV. Moya said their business has “flourished” over the years.Patriot Guard Riders is a volunteer, nonprofit organization that “ensures dignity and respect at memorial services honoring fallen military heroes, first responders and honorably discharged veterans,” according to their website patriotguard.org. The group consists of mostly U.S. military veterans, who are also motorcyclists.The April 21 “mission” to escort Villalba’s remains and funeral procession was led by Patriot Guard Ride Captain Mark Zappa, a Gilroy resident.Morgan Hill resident Kirk Bertolet, also a Patriot Guard Rider, participated in the procession as well.

Bay Area author Laura Atkins, who co-wrote a new historical book centered around the 1940s Japanese Internment camps, will be on hand from 4 to 6 p.m. May 13 at BookSmart of Morgan Hill for an author reception and fundraiser event for the Morgan Hill Learning & Loving Center.