Community Events

Astronomy Day is hosted by College of San Mateo on its campus two times each year, once in the spring and again in the fall. A collaboration with the San Mateo County Astronomical Society, and featuring the community college’s planetarium, the event is free and open to the public. Activities include solar prominence, sunspot, star and planet viewing through various telescopes; short classes for children; demonstrations of the vast distances of space; and planetarium shows.

A regular highlight of Astronomy Day is a keynote address by distinguished speakers in the field, such as Dr. Scott Sanford of NASA Ames, an astrophysicist and "meteorite chaser," who spoke at the spring 2006 event.

With its present afternoon and evening format, Astronomy Day has been attracting hundreds of people to the campus as a family event for all ages since 2001.

CSM enjoys its role as a community educator, increased recently as the community college now maintains the only operating planetarium on the Peninsula. In early 2007, CSM celebrated the opening of a new campus state-of-the-art planetarium and rooftop observatory. To raise funds for an essential planetarium star projector and necessary related equipment, the College launched in 2005 the Reach for the Stars campaign with the SMCCC Foundation. Please visit collegeofsanmateo.edu/reachforthestars to donate.

The Arts & Olive Festival is an event sponsored by the San Mateo County Community Colleges Foundation to raise funds for Cañada College scholarships.

The olive theme is popular with visitors who come to sample a great variety of tasty olive products. Also included are demonstrations of olive processing and curing, as well as arts and crafts vendors, food and beverage vendors, and live music and dance. Proceeds from this event go towards scholarships for incoming and continuing students with financial need. The 11th annual Arts & Olive Festival will be held Sunday, October 5, 2008 from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM.  A $5 scholarship contribution is suggested, thank you!

Click here for the Arts and Olive Festival page.

"WOW! Women on Writing" is an event hosted by Skyline College. The Women Writer's conference brings faculty, staff, students, and community members together with culturally diverse writers who present their work and discuss the creative process. The program has had nationally-known female authors as the keynote speaker, a writers panel featuring respected and well-known women authors, and a keynote panel that included a group of professional screenwriters. Not only does the conference have wonderful speakers, it also has writing workshops and a playwrights panel featuring scenes from new plays.

WOW! raises awareness of Skyline course offerings, services and programs for women in the community. This event is usually held in March. For more information call (650) 738-4324 or visit their website at skylinecollege.edu.