The Taste of Morgan Hill festival and car show will be held Sept. 26 and 27.

By Robert Airoldi

Robert Airoldi

It’s wonderful to see South Valley residents enjoying again some of the entertaining outdoor activities we missed last year because of COVID-19. We’ll be seeing — hopefully — more family-fun events in the coming months.

At the downtown amphitheater at the Community Center about 9 p.m. Wednesday nights, families are bringing their blankets and lawn chairs to watch movies on a big screen set up on the stage. It’s fun to see movies under the stars with friends and family members. Two films have been shown so far and there is no charge to watch. Upcoming movies include “Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse” Aug. 11; “Clueless” Aug. 18; “Onward” Aug. 25; and the classic ‘80s teenage angst movie “The Breakfast Club” Sept. 1. Bring your popcorn!

Also at the downtown amphitheater you can enjoy the popular Friday Night Music Series. It kicked off Aug. 6 with the band Soul Kiss driving the audience to dance. The closing night for the series is Oct. 8 when The Houserockers will perform.

And don’t forget we have the return of the immensely popular Taste of Morgan Hill festival and car show. It will be held Sept. 26 and 27. Visit the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce’s webpage at www.morganhillchamber.org

So after more than a year of a lack of community events to attend, we’re starting to come back.

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Good job, residents of Santa Clara County! We can feel proud that our county has the most fully vac-cinated people of any large county (of at least 1.5 million people) in the entire nation.

More than 84 percent of residents 12 and older have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and roughly 78 percent have completed their vaccination. That’s an impressive number.

However, let’s also face the painful reality that, like other parts of the United States, Santa Clara Coun-ty is battling a surge of residents infected with the Delta variant of the virus. The three county-owned hospitals — including St. Louise Regional Hospital that serves South Valley — are seeing new cases. They are almost exclusively related to unvaccinated people. And it’s mostly younger people who are getting the Delta virus.

As a society, we’ve worked so hard and come so far in fighting this enemy. If we wish to enjoy the freedom of returning to a point where we can feel comfortable attending events and social activities, let’s all resolve to do our part in the war against COVID-19. Let’s get vaccinated to protect those who are not yet eligible for their shots, such as children and people who are elderly or immunocompro-mised. Wearing masks indoors will also help minimize the spike in community transmission.

“Vaccines are still excellent at protecting against serious illness and death,” said Dr. George Han, a County of Santa Clara deputy health officer. “They also provide significant protection against infection, though perhaps not quite as effective against the Delta variant.”

Vaccination sites continue to accept drop-ins for COVID-19 vaccines and same-day appointments are also available. Visit sccfreevax.org for the latest information and updates.

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Photo courtesy Marty Cheek Some of the volunteers and organizers of the inaugural Share the Care food distribution event held July 17 at the Community Center.

Let’s give a big hand to the volunteers who helped feed families in need through the Circle of Giving program organized by the Indian Association of South Santa Clara County. They held their first food drive-thru July 17, distributing grocery, fresh produce and care packages at the Community and Cultur-al Center parking lot..

Contributing to the cause were the Rotary Club of Morgan Hill, Homeless Not Hopeless Outreach,  Hunger at Home San Jose, and local stores including Walmart, Safeway, and Trader Joe’s. More than 130 families were served, said organizer Amith D’Souza.

Ashini Parikh, one of the lead volunteers felt the distribution drive was aptly named Share the Care.

“We were successful thanks to a fabulous team coming together and putting in a lot of thought into planning and execution. We’re proud to have successfully delivered an outcome that is in line with our mission to support the extended community.”

Neelam Chhabra, another lead volunteer, said, “It gives me an immense sense of satisfaction to be a part of the team that brought this all together.”