Los Gatos Ballet presents an all-time classic story with their creation of Cinderella at the West Valley Community College Theater May 25 to 26.

Following the favorite rags-to-riches love story about a miserable servant girl who becomes a princess, the Los Gatos Ballet takes the well-known figures of the Cinderella story, including the pumpkin, the Fairy Godmother, a handsome prince, a royal ball and a glass slipper and creates a classical ballet.

“We had so much fun creating the choreography for this ballet that it almost wrote itself,” said Marcie Ryken, founder and Artistic Director of Los Gatos Ballet. “We have a nice blend of professional and student dancers from LGB that carry it off so well. It is such a pleasure to present this.”

Starring in the lost-slipper tale as Cinderella are Margot Aknin and Madeleine Webber, who are both talented high school seniors graduating this spring.

The performance features music from Sergei Prokofiev’s Cinderella ballet that first premiered in 1948 with the Bolshoi Ballet in Russia and became one of Prokofiev’s most popular composures.

In the lobby of the theater will be a special glass pumpkin art display by Walton Art Glass created by San Jose Firefighter Mike Walter and his wife Stephanie Walton.

Los Gatos rolls out the starting line for the third week in a row, this time for the 2012 Race for Literacy at Vasona Park.

The race, designed for serious runners, amateurs and walkers, is an annual benefit for the India Literacy Project. Participants can choose between a 5k and 10k course, or a leisurely 5k walk by the lake.

Registration includes a free T-shirt and breakfast. Kids races and activities are also planned at the event along with a raffle.

India Literacy Project is U.S. nonprofit organizations that works to spread literacy throughout India. Find more information on the race and organization HERE.

The Los Gatos Bicycle Racing Club brings world-class bicycling to Los Gatos with the 39th Annual Cat’s Hill Classic Bicycle Race on Saturday May 5. Beginning on Tait and Nicholson Avenue, just two block off N. Santa Cruz Avenue, the ride is staged among some of the most beautiful and historic Victorian homes in Los Gatos.

The Cat’s Hill Class is renowned as one of the most difficult closed circuit cycling races in the country, repeatedly taking racers up the challenging 23 percent grade of “Cat’s Hill” on Nicholson Avenue. The route continues with a mile-long neighborhood loop where riders can reach up to 50 m.p.h. on the descent.

The races for all categories and levels begin at 9:20am and continue on through the day, with the women’s top category race starting at 3:55pm and the men’s professional and top-level class race at 5pm.

There will also be a Kid’s Fun Ride at 12:30pm, giving children the chance to experience the thrill of crossing the official finish line on Tait and Nicholson Avenues.

The Los Gatos Bicycle Racing Club has presented the Cat’s Hill Classic Bicycle Race continuously since 1974. This year, members of the Los Gatos High School Marching Band is will perform.

The famous Los Gatos roadhouse the Cats has reopened with lots of barbecue and old-time atmosphere.

The roadhouse was built in the late 1800s and had been a way station on a stage line and timber road that ran up and over the Santa Cruz Mountains. When the road was first paved, around 1920, the Cats was reportedly a notorious speakeasy and whorehouse.

Growing in Silicon Valley, the Cats always seemed too adult for me. While I passed it going to and from Santa Cruz on Highway 17 for years, pulling into the roadside restaurant seemed a little intimidating because I was nervous about re-entering traffic on the sketchy roadway.

I also had it my mind that the Cats was a place where a high school kid like me would feel out of place. Better to play it safe at Jake’s or Kirk’s. I think I only went once when I was a senior in high school. A band was playing opposite the bar, and as I teetered on the edge of adulthood, I remember liking the slightly rough-around-the edges, beery aroma of the place. Pretty cool, I thought.

I moved away to go to college, but on visits back home there was the Cats as always, a lone outpost on Highway 17 that always seemed crowded, hosting one party after another. The years went by, but then one day I noticed the parking lot was oddly empty. The venerable place had closed.

The roadhouse was built in the late 1800s and had been a way station on a stage line and timber road that ran up and over the Santa Cruz Mountains. When the road was first paved, around 1920, the Cats was reportedly a notorious speakeasy and whorehouse.

I guess that’s the vibe I picked up on a teenager. In the 1940s and 1950s, the building broke with its reputation for vice and became a real estate office, a sporting goods store and even a gun shop. In 1967, the Cats was reincarnated as a restaurant and bar until it closed in 2007.

On New Year’s Eve, the Cats reopened. The restaurant changed hands in 2008 and would have opened shortly thereafter, but bringing a historic building up to code proved to be time-consuming and costly. But now, the parking lot is as crowded as ever.

In spite of all the work that went into updating the Cats, I was pleased to see that it looks just like I remember. The building has an old-fashioned, rustic charm that can’t be manufactured—it only comes with age. Old-timey knickknacks (rifles, pulleys, wagon wheels) hang from the walls. My favorites are the cat-themed stained-glass lamps dangling from the ceiling.

In addition to the bar and Wild West atmosphere, the best part of the Cats is the food, specifically the barbecue. If the wind is blowing right, you can smell the hickory and apple wood smoke from the smokers behind the restaurant wafting onto Highway 17.

The lineup includes St. Louis-style ribs, chicken and pulled pork. Sadly, there is no brisket on the menu. The Cats also grills steaks and chops over red oak to great effect.

Paul Kirk, a competitive barbecuer and author who also goes by the name the “Kansas City Baron of Barbecue,’ worked as a consultant to get the barbecue program up to speed. (If you’re interested, Kirk will be teaching a barbecue class at the Cats in June.)

I especially enjoyed the ribs ($16.95/$29.95 half- or full rack), at least some of them. The term St. Louis-style ribs refers to the cut of the ribs, not the cooking style. However, many times I find that St. Louis-style ribs come with too much sweet barbecue sauce, so I ordered mine dry.

The ribs are well-dusted with a spice rub, smoke blackened and just this side of dry. But a sample of another serving of ribs revealed moist and tender meat—and more meat in general. My guess is the thinner ribs simply dry out faster. But in both cases, the ribs are loaded with smoke flavor and a delicious salty, aromatic crust.

The accompanying sauce is thin but flavorful, a good balance of sweet and tart that accents the meat rather the overpowering it.

Barbecued chicken is always a gamble, and the least-interesting of the barbecue arts because it can dry out so easily, but here the half-chicken ($17.95) is a beautiful mahogany and plenty juicy.

Sides are standard stuff—chili, burnt-end beans, baked potatoes, onion strings, etc. Vegetables are scarce, but you do get a ho-hum salad with all entrees.

Silicon Valley has few barbecue standouts, and the Cats is a worthy addition. But as the cars that pack the parking lot attest, the Cats is more than a BBQ joint. It’s a South Bay institution, and it’s good to see it back.

The Cats Restaurant and Tavern
17533 Santa Cruz Hwy (Hwy 17), Los Gatos
408.354.4020

There’s some town-wide events coming up in honor of Keep Los Gatos Beautiful month. There’s garden tours, Arbor Day and Earth Day celebration and special attractions at the Sunday Farmer’s Market. Los Gatos is a Tree City USA for 31 years running and happy to live in harmony with nature. Check out the highlights below and hit this link for a full PDF of all the upcoming events.

CHILDREN’S EARTH DAY CELEBRATION THURSDAY, APRIL 19 ▪ 4 P.M.Join us for an Earth Day celebration as we discover animals from different parts of the world with Wild Things, Inc.Children 5 and up are invited to take part in this special event in the brand new Chil- dren’s Room of the Los Gatos Library. Wild Things, Inc. is a non-profit organiza- tion that provides homes for displaced wildlife and shares the animals with the community as ambassadors. www.WildThingsInc.org www.LosGatosCA.gov/Library

GOING NATIVE GARDEN TOUR SATURDAY, APRIL 21 & SUNDAY, APRIL 22 10 A.M. – 4 P.M.Join the Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County for a Native Garden Tour from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There are over 50 gardens on the tour this year including several loca- tions in and around Los Gatos. www.GNGT.org

BAY-FRIENDLY GARDEN TOUR SUNDAY, APRIL 2910 A.M. – 4 P.M.Santa Clara’s 2nd annual self-guided tour continues to celebrate the diverse styles of Bay-Friendly gardens throughout Santa Clara County. Over 20 private residential gardens will be open for 1 day only, and are located in geographic clusters for con- venience. www.BayFriendlyCoalition.org

ARBOR DAY CELEBRATION FRIDAY, APRIL 27 ▪ 10 A.M.The Town of Los Gatos has been named a Tree City USA by the National Arbor Day Foundation for the 31st year! This award represents our commitment to preserve and enhance the Town’s urban forests.Join us for our annual Arbor Day tree planting celebration at Live Oak Manor Park, . For more information contactParks and Public Works at (408) 399-5770.

For a long time, Los Gatos has gone without a cheese shop. Fortunately for residents, last year, a small shop opened on East Main Street. Fromage & Specialties is a great little shop with cured meats and other excellent foodstuffs. Owned by twins Don and Eric, the inspiration for their shop came from a Food Network special on Murray’s Cheese in New York. The brothers aim to enlighten the ignorant masses with cheesy knowledge. I talked with Don, who showed a great affinity for the cheeses that F&S has on sale. He takes cheese seriously and enjoys sharing his favorite cheeses with customers. He rounded up their most popular cheeses for me to sample:

Lamb Chopper

This lamb’s milk cheese is a fast-selling favorite for regulars. Don informed me that one of their Yelp reviews name checks this cheese specifically. It’s from a small dairy in Arcata, CA. It’s a firm cheese, one that reminded me of a milder, softer Dubliner cheese. Although he had a full wheel on hand, he says it sells out within a few days it’s so popular.

Bonne Bouche

A soft/runny goat’s milk cheese, the Bonne Bouche is light and tasty. It comes from the Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery. An award-winning cheese, it’s aged 10 days in a vegetable ash rind that’s edible.

5-year Gouda

This hard cheese was one of the highlights for me. It’s a salty, bitey, delicious piece of Dutch culture. Highly recommended.

Vendéen Bichonné

This French cow’s milk cheese has a more sophisticated flavor than I expected. It’s a semi-firm cheese with a strong flavor reminiscent of a goat cheese.

Fromage & Specialties is located at 33 E. Main St. in Los Gatos and they’re open Tuesday- Sunday. Check out their website for more gourmet cheese selections. Thanks, Don!

If you like watching young, talented folks strut their stuff, the upcoming South Bay Teen Idol is the place for you. The event features teenage bands and singers from Santa Clara County. The top performer will go home with $2,500. The show also features a performance by LA band Y I Yell. The show starts at 6:30 on March 31st and tickets are available online for $25 for general admission and $15 for students. Additionally, the after party is also open to VIP ticket holders. Those tickets go for $75. For JCC members, tickets can be purchased at the reception desk.

Check out the South Bay Idol page to buy tickets and for more info.

Evan Marshall, a mandolin virtuoso, is playing in Los Gatos on Sunday, March 25th. The performance is being held in the auditorium at Los Gatos High School (it’s a good venue, don’t worry!) and it’s a part of the Los Gatos Community Concert Association’s 2012 series. The self-styled Mr. Solo Mandolin has been around playing on A Prairie Home Companion and earning a commendation from Chet Atkins, who said that Marshall was “one of the few great musicians of our time.” Tickets are $5 for students and $20 for everyone else and the performance begins at 2:30 PM.

For tickets and more info, visit the LGCCA’s website.

Los Gatos has a massive egg hunt every year on the big lawn in front of Los Gatos High School. For those of you with little ones, there’s a hunt time slot for all ages, 2 to 11. The egg hunt extravaganza runs from 10AM to 1PM on March 31st. This year there will also be a book fair on the front lawn with proceeds going to the World of Discovery preschool. There’s also carnival games, a jump house, pony rides and even a petting zoo. Be sure to bring a basket and some sunscreen just in case. More information from the Parks and Recreation department follows:

BUNNY FUN HUNT

Saturday, March 31, 2012- 10AM-1:00PM

16th Annual Bunny Fun Hunt Saturday, March 31, 2012

Los Gatos High School-Front Lawn 10:00 AM-1:00 PM

Carnival Games, Food Booths, Fun Jumps, Pony Rides, Petting Zoo and Much More!

Free Egg Hunt – Bring Your Basket!

Last Game tickets sold at 12:30PM

Photo: Inside LG

EGG HUNT TIMES (free)
10:15 AM – 2 years and under (parent and child)
10:45 AM – ages 3-4 years old (parent and child)
11:30 AM – ages 5-6 years old (children only)
12:00 PM – ages 7-8 years old (children only)
12:30 PM – ages 9-11 years old (children only)