Wine Walk is an annual fundraiser event for the Downtown San Mateo Association, a non-profit organization representing more than 800 businesses in Downtown San Mateo, California.

The Wine Walk is the Association’s premier event to help promote and showcase Downtown’s unique character and its abundant shops, restaurants and businesses. Visitors to San Mateo purchase a wine glass and tasting tickets and visit businesses sampling wines and hors d’oeuvres. This event attracts people from all over the bay area. The Wine Walk is a tasting event that is designed to allow you to sample a wide variety of different wines. The amount of wine that is poured as a sample tasting is controlled to a limit of approximately 1.25 ounces. We are required under our ABC license that the tasting take place within the street closure boundaries or on premises, so if you are in a business that is not within the street closure area, we ask that you complete your tasting experience within the business before strolling to the next location. Signs will be posted and boundaries clearly marked so you will know where you can or can not go with wine in your glass. (more…)

From Ximena Valero Collection, Volker Corell

Mexican-born designer Ximena Valero presented her Fall 2009 collection to buyers during a runway show hosted by Fashion Business Inc. at its new headquarters in the California Market Center on June 12. The collection, cut exclusively from slinky fabric and chiffon, ranged from party-girl mini-dresses to body-conscious floor-length gowns in jewel tones and neutrals. The Los Angeles–based designer paid special attention to edgy back details, creating complicated straps, how-low-can-you-go plunging backs and classically feminine touches, such as flowing ruffles, A-line skirts and prim details.

The newest player on the Los Angeles Fashion Week calendar, New York–based Rock Media & Entertainment, was recently in town working on the Los Angeles edition of Rock Fashion Week.

Setting up shop in the Renaissance Hotel at Hollywood & Highland, Rock Media Principal Scott Rosenblum and President Nicole Purcell offered a glimpse of what they have planned for Los Angeles in October.

The event is slated to be held Oct. 28–31 at Paramount Studios with a large Halloween party on closing night.

For its October event, plans call for 12 to 14 runway shows featuring a mix of local, national and international designers, as well as a group show for emerging designers. Rosenblum and Purcell anticipate a mix of contemporary and couture, as well as denim, swim and menswear. “To have anything legitimate, you have to have a mix,” Rosenblum said. (more…)

Crimes against retailers are increasing, and they are costing the economy billions of dollars, said criminologist Dr. Richard Hollinger, who spoke at the National Retail Federation’s Loss Prevention Conference & Expo, held June 15–17 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Total retail losses increased to $36.5 billion in 2008, up from $34.8 billion in 2007. Hollinger based his remarks on preliminary findings from an upcoming study conducted in partnership between the NRF and the University of Florida, where Hollinger teaches. The professor said the study will be released around the Labor Day holiday.

Hollinger blamed the increase in crimes against retailers on a worsening economy, which has forced retailers to cut back on their security efforts. During his keynote speech, he noted burglaries and property crimes against retailers are some of the most common crimes in the United States, but they may not be taken seriously enough by the public. “I tell my criminology students, if you really want to study crime, go to a mall,” he said at the event, which drew more than 2,400 loss-prevention executives, law-enforcement officials and retailers.

Fashion stores are among the hardest hit by crime, Hollinger said. The retailers faring the worst are optical stores, children’s apparel stores, and discounters and mass merchants.

The poor economy might be pouring gasoline onto the often combustible situation of retail crime, according to William Titus, vice president of loss prevention at Sears Holding Corp. At a convention seminar, he said burglaries have shot up more than 30 percent at some retailers this year. Another leading loss-prevention executive said he thought loss-prevention workers have been doing a good job at containing retail crime.

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Every Friday and Saturday evening (6pm - 10pm), Chabot’s Space Center in Oakland is hosting a unique evening social rendezvous.

Start your night off with dinner and drinks, then cozy up in the planetarium as you’re whisked to the edge of the universe and cap off the evening with telescope viewing featuring breathtaking views of the cosmos.

DINNER
Enjoy casual dining in a magical setting. Dinner includes an appetizer, salad, entree and dessert.

A MOVIE
Chabot features two amazing theaters; A planetarium and a giant screen theater.

It’s not your grandfather’s planetarium! Chabot’s full dome digital planetarium offers prerecorded shows or immersive astronomer led live presentations and the digitally animated music show, SonicVision, containing 17 tracks mixed by Moby, with visuals created by master animators from New York. Plus, a limited engagement return of DomeFest, a hemispheric display of art and technology.

Hold onto your seat in Chabot’s 60-foot MegaDome giant screen theater. Thrilling larger than life films will take you to the depths of the ocean, on a helicopter flight over Egypt, through the celestial labyrinth of outer space or to the Triassic Period to roam with the dinosaurs.

The Universe
You have two opportunities to tour the Universe at Chabot.

You can also visit the three giant telescopes, Leah, Rachel and Nellie to view incredible objects such as our Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars and Venus, and Nebula, Star Clusters and more. Weather permitting, of course. Before you go, make sure to check out the weather link on the Chabot sky calendar to find out if the telescope will be open and which objects we will be viewing that evening.

You are also able to tour the Universe in Chabot’s live planetarium presentation, Immersive Space.

Advanced Tickets
A Movie and the Universe: Admission to Chabot includes all access to our interactive exhibitions, a film in the MegaDome theater and a show in the Digital Planetarium. Purchase your advanced tickets online or call the Box Office at (510) 336-7373.

Dinner: Buy advance tickets to ensure your dinner reservation. Purchase dinner separately at the cafe ($15).

[Chabot's Dinner, a Movie and the Universe | Every Friday and Saturday; 6-10PM]