Simply Interactive Supports the Palo Alto Library

Library Launches the First City-Wide Book Club:
Palo Alto Reads…Funny in Farsi

Palo Alto – Make history this fall by joining the largest book club Palo Alto has ever seen. Palo Alto Reads … Funny in Farsi is a month-long series of programs that aims to foster a sense of community by bringing people together through literature. Inspired by the success of similar initiatives in Seattle and other communities, Palo Alto City Library invites everyone to read the same great book at the same time – the charming and hilarious book, Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America by Palo Alto resident, Firoozeh Dumas. Former President Jimmy Carter hailed the book as "A humorous and introspective chronicle of a life filled with love--of family, country, and heritage."

Palo Alto Reads … Funny in Farsi kicks off with a free talk for the community by Ms. Dumas at Palo Alto High School’s Haymarket Theater on Tuesday, October 10 at 7:30 pm. This event is presented by the Palo Alto City Library, the Friends of the Palo Alto Library, the Palo Alto Unified School District and the Palo Alto High PTSA.

The Library will subsequently host a month-long series of great programs around themes in the book, including book discussions and cultural events. The community can participate in Palo Alto Reads by:

• Checking out the book, Funny in Farsi, at any Palo Alto City Library.
• Telling friends, neighbors and book clubs about Palo Alto Reads.
• Coming to any and/or all free Library programs.

Palo Alto Reads … Funny in Farsi is sponsored by the Friends of the Palo Alto Library, the Palo Alto Weekly and Palo Alto Online, the Palo Alto Unified School District, the Persian Center, Simply Interactive LLC, and Idem Translations.

For more information about Palo Alto Reads … Funny in Farsi, please visit the library’s website at www.cityofpaloalto.org/library or call (650) 329-2516.

Free Bridal Expo Passes!

Simply Interactive is giving away passes for free admissions to October's Great Bridal Expo events in the San Francisco Bay Area. We'll be exhibiting at both the October 28 Expo in San Francisco, in the Concourse Exhibition Center at 620 7th Street, and the October 29 Expo in San Jose, at the Fairmont Hotel. We would be delighted to see you at one of the shows-- so visit our Redwood City offices and pick up a free pass, while they last.

Each Great Bridal Expo pass is good for two free admissions, so the passes are limited to one per bride. (You'll need to validate them online at the Expo's web site.)

We're usually in our offices -- at 647 Veterans Boulevard, Suite B, in Redwood City, just off the Whipple Ave. exit from Highway 101-- between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. (sometimes later), Monday through Friday. However, we're occasionally out during the day on video shoots, so please be sure to call ahead before paying us a visit. Phone us at (650) 365-3355.

Get your pass early. First come, first served!

Wedding Video: Great Day for a Garden Party

An outdoor venue can be an ideal setting for a late-summer wedding in the greater San Francisco Bay Area -- so long as the weather cooperates. Events on the coast run the risk of being cloaked in fog; events inland run the risk of being cooked by one of the September heat waves that often pay us back-to-school visits.

Happily, all the meteorological systems were in perfect alignnent for the Sept 9 wedding of Raiza Holgado and Brad Andriese at The Gardens at Heather Farm, in Walnut Creek. Skies were blue, temperatures were mild, and a gentle breeze ruffled the petals of the hundreds of brilliantly colored rose blooms in the adjoining rose garden. Rainbow arcs flickered in the spray drifting from the fountains in the lake beyond the garden. It was a picture-perfect occasion -- the kind that delights videographers and photographers, as well as brides and grooms.

Raiza and Brad were married in The Gardens' high-roofed gazebo, with guests seated in rows of white chairs on the broad semicircle of green lawn in front. The bridal party entered through the rose garden. Raiza gilded the lilly for her own arrival: She was driven to the head of the garden steps in an immaculate 1927 Stutz limo provided by Elegant Journey Limousine.

Simply Interactive's counterpart in the afternoon's visual documentation duties was the team of Beth and Tara from the San Francisco headquarters of Dekker Photography. With beautiful settings literally on every side, one of the challenges was deciding what not to shoot.

As dusk began to fall, the bridal party and guests adjourned uphill to The Gardens' airy reception hall, overlooking the gardens and the lake. Appetizers and the reception buffet were catered by Matthew Wyss, owner/chef of Serves You Right in Berkeley.

DJ/MC Eugene Macala of Macala Entertainment kept the evening lively: With Eugene at the microphone, nobody was a passive spectator. From an ice-breaking, Euegene-directed mingling of the bride's and groom's families at the outset to a capacity-crowd Electric Slide session late in the evening (with Eugene in the middle of the floor as an energetic player/coach), he steered the party past dull moments like a white-water raft guide shooting the rapids. It left everyone breathless but happy when the evening finally drew to a close. Raiza and Brad had some wonderful memories -- and we had them all on videotape.

Bridal Fair: Interact with Simply Interactive!

Simply Interactive is set to exhibit at the Bridal Extravaganza in Santa Clara, California, on Sunday, Sept. 10. The bridal show will open at 11 a.m. in the Santa Clara Marriott, 2700 Mission College Boulevard, and will run until 4 p.m.

Stop by our booth and view samples of our recent work. If you have any questions about wedding videography, we'll be happy to answer them.

A bridal fair gives you the chance to get a first-hand impression of the personalities behind the company you choose for your video services.We think it's important that you have a good relationship with your videographer. Remember, they're going to be in close contact with you throughout one of the most important days of your life. You need to feel comfortable working with them.

Admission to the Bridal Extravaganza is $12 per person at the door. Brides who preregister can save $2 per person -- a discount good for the entire bridal party. Visit the Bridal Extravaganza web site to preregister.

We hope to see you in Santa Clara!