Club Volo brings a new place for San Jose to play downtown

After five years of being mostly empty, the Serpentine Pavilion in downtown San Jose’s SoFA district is finally filled with activity. Last weekend, Club Volo opened there as a new sports hub offering pickleball, beach volleyball and futsal courts, as well as other games.

Volo Sports, which started in Baltimore in 2011, has actually been operating recreational adult sports leagues in San Jose for the past three years. Colin Hanahoe, Volo’s San Jose director, said they started with two leagues and 25 players but are now up to 6,000 people who participate in sports including soccer, volleyball, pickleball and basketball — as well as happy hours and other social events.

“This is easily one of our fastest growing cities ever. It really shows you the demand and just how much people are dying for more things to do,” Honohoe said. “We want people to work, and then feel like they can stay and do fun things, meet people and be a part of their community.”

People swarmed to test out the new courts last Friday after a brief ribbon cutting ceremony. Even San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan played a bit of pickleball despite having footwear more suited for a council meeting than a pick-up game.

Club Volo, at 300 S. First St., is open 5-10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 3-10 p.m. on Friday. On weekends, it’s open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, with an extra 5-10 p.m. session on Sunday. In addition to its regular offerings, Club Volo has been an overflow site for World Cup watch parties downtown and has watch parties planned for the July 11 quarterfinals and the July 19 final. You can find out more about Volo Sports’ offerings at www.volosports.com/san-jose.

It’s good to see any activity around the towering sculpture of 1,800 stacked fiberglass boxes originally created by the Bjake Ingels Group for display at the Serpentine Gallery in London. The art installation — variously called the Serpentine Pavilion, Unzipped Pavilion and Unzipped Gardens — was brought to downtown San Jose in late 2021 with plans to make it a temporary event space, though few events were held there.

You might remember early last year when event producer Non Plus Ultra installed a roller-skating court on the property for a few months. Club Volo should be around much longer, as the operator has a multiyear lease on the site.

JULY 4 TRADITIONS CONTINUE: While the U.S. Bicentennial celebrations in 1976 were substantial in San Jose — the Tapestry in Talent festival was launched that year — the semiquincentennial doings seem to be mostly business as usual. Fortunately, the “usual” is still pretty good with lots of events, fireworks shows and drone shows in the South Bay.

That includes the Rose, White & Blue parade, now in its 19th year of showcasing community groups, elected officials, military vehicles and scores of others through San Jose’s Rose Garden neighborhood and along The Alameda. The parade, which starts at 10 a.m., again will be preceded by a car cruise and followed by a festival centered around Westminster Presbyterian Church at 1100 Shasta Ave. Get more details at www.rwbsj.org.

San Jose’s Naglee Park neighborhood is celebrating its own milestone, the 50th anniversary of its July 4 parade, and plans for that include honoring residents who were around for the first procession back in ’76. The festivities also include a neighborhood baking contest and a fun run that morning, which I guess is one way to keep the calories balanced.

And, of course, the San Jose Wind Symphony will get the morning started right with its concert at Oak Meadow Park in Los Gatos. The town’s July 4 festivities get started at 10 a.m., with the concert beginning at 11:15 a.m. It’s free, but remember to bring a lawn chair or blanket to enjoy the show, as well as a flag-raising ceremony, children’s bike and stroller parade and a welcome from Mayor Rob Moore.

LEVITT X WORLD CUP COLLAB: Organizers of downtown San Jose’s Levitt Pavilion music series acted fast after Mexico’s victory to advance to the Round of 16 in the FIFA World Cup. Mexico’s next game, against England, is scheduled for 5 p.m. Sunday — right during that night’s scheduled free concert at St. James Park.

Thanks to a little scheduling derring-do and a satellite linkup, fans can enjoy both the concert and the game. The new schedule has the event starting at 1:30 p.m., opening with Andre Cruz and The Black Diamond Rhythm Band and featuring headliners The Altons at 3:15 p.m. There’ll be a DJ set and a drink-and-draw activity between the shows, and fans can stay to watch the Mexico-England game in the park on a giant outdoor screen. Get more information on upcoming concerts at levittsanjose.org.