Things to Do in San Jose

The Dive & Adventure Travel Expo 2013 will connect scuba and snorkel enthusiasts with some of the industry's top experts, brands, and innovations. More than 50 seminars scheduled throughout the weekend will showcase the diving deftness of speakers from across the country, enabling attendees to net information on such topics as underwater photography and safety. ReefID founder and editor John Fifer will host two of these gatherings, sharing ways his online database of diver-captured photos is helping raise awareness for marine life. Fifer will also play host to the expo's signature Saturday Night Film Festival event at 7 p.m. alongside 3D photographer Mark Blum and other presenters.

In addition to engaging activities, the Dive & Adventure Travel Expo 2013 is also home to the best in dive-related gear and information. Approximately 140 exhibit booths connect attendees with purveyors of international adventure from global hotspots including Palau, Yap, the Virgin Islands, and Fiji. In addition to resort representatives, booths also house all of the equipment needed for undersea excursions, with new products ranging from snorkel and scuba innovations to travel accessories and luggage. During face-to-face conversations, dive skills clinics, or snorkel sword fights, expo-goers can get travel tips or plan dive vacations around the globe. While parents research, younger visitors can decamp to a youth section filled with interactive attractions designed for youngsters aged 8–12.

Attendees who come for the education should probably stick for the prizes; the expo plans to give away over $50,000 in door prizes, including a massive grand prize: a full set of dive gear including a drysuit, Weezle undergarments, ScubaPro G260 regulator, Aqua Lung BCD, a TUSA mask, fin, and snorkel set, an Oceanic dive computer, and trips including weeklong Philippine dive adventure from the Marco Vincent Resort.

LeMans Karting helps visitors satisfy their needs for speed, safety, and social interaction. Nine-horsepower SODI RX 7 karts take drivers soaring at speeds of up to 42 mph across indoor and outdoor tracks as they compete for the fastest finish. High-grip track surfaces help drivers reach top speeds, and high-visibility lighting and flagmen keep everyone safe as they round corners and pass other drivers on the wide course. On certain days, the staff connects the indoor and outdoor track into a single, giant mega track that hosts extended races when it’s not busy fighting Godzilla.

LeMans Karting also offers endurance racing for drivers who want to sharpen their driving skills or land a job as Vin Diesel’s chauffer. The center also offers private parties for birthdays and bachelor parties and can help plan charity or corporate events.

Knitting as a hobby is older than agriculture and twice as delicious. Bobbin's Nest offers all the supplies a knitter's tightly purled heart could possibly desire, as well as sewing, crochet, and embroidery supplies for crafting across the craft board. Skeins of yarn run on average between $10 and $15, whereas a yard of fabric generally goes for $8 to $10. If you need some help creating an inverted afghan or hangin' scarf, craft books are available in spades, running in cost from $14.95 to $21.95. This nest of bobbins contains a large arsenal of boutique-dyed yarn, modern fabrics, independent patterns, unusual embroidery supplies, craft books, and creative classes.

Inside, Fire Works Ceramics’ studio looks more like a cozy cottage than a storefront, its shelves of blank ceramics and hardwood tables awash in sunlight as they wait to be painted at handsome kitchen tables. Visiting artists take their pick of blank mugs, dishes, vases, and figurines, all poured in-house rather than sourced from archaeologists’ garage sales. After decking out their chosen piece in as many colors as they like, guests surrender them to staff to receive a coating of glaze and a trip into the kiln. In addition to walk-in sessions, the studio can also host birthdays, bridal showers, and butterfingers’ support groups.

A prismatic array of glaze bottles and sparkling glass pieces form kaleidoscopic patterns for guests to splash across create-your-own pottery and fused-glass masterpieces. Visitors select from stencils, stamps, and samples or select still frames from their dreams to decorate ceramic mugs, figurines, and fused-glass dishes. Staff members set up and clean workspaces, as well as package kits for home pottery-painting parties. This means artists can focus solely on siphoning their imagination into their project. The studio regularly hosts parties and meetings, to which guests are welcome to bring snacks, wine, or milk shakes made of ground-up poems.

Founder Dori Duncan and a talented team of glamour aficionados teach classes for adults and children at Camp Fashionista. Weekend workshops include an Introduction to Sewing class for adults and children ages 8 and older that builds sewing-machine aptitude as students use a zipper and cotton fabric brought from home to construct a pouch they can then fill with notes, candies, or counterfeit Dutch guilders. The Little Fashionistas class guides students ages 6 and older on a course toward whipstitches, precision-snipped pattern pieces, and their very own hand-sewn apple pincushions. With cotton fabric in hand, students may create shoulder-slung book pouches during a Messenger Bag course, or they can add dazzle and street cred to old foot tubes during Bling Your Socks.