A Stellar Celebration: The Party Helpers Caters Lick Observatory’s 150th Anniversary at San Jose City Hall
- The Party Helpers
- 1 day ago
- 6 min read
What do you serve at a birthday party 150 years in the making?
That was the fun challenge when The Party Helpers catered The University of California Santa Cruz Lick Observatory’s 150th Anniversary Celebration on August 22, 2026, inside one of downtown San Jose’s most spectacular event spaces—the Janet Gray Hayes Rotunda at San Jose City Hall.
Approximately 300 guests gathered for an evening celebrating an institution that has helped scientists look farther into the universe for generations. The reception brought together scientists, university leaders, community supporters, elected officials and some very special guests—including a NASA astronaut who had recently traveled around the Moon.
Not your average Saturday night catering job.
Celebrating 150 Years of Looking Up
For people who live in San Jose and Silicon Valley, Lick Observatory is much more than a collection of telescopes on top of Mount Hamilton.
It is part of our local history.
The observatory’s 150th anniversary traces back to 1876, when James Lick made the extraordinary commitment that ultimately established the mountaintop observatory. The site itself opened for astronomical research in 1888.
Lick would become the world’s first permanently staffed mountaintop observatory, and its famous 36-inch Great Refractor was once the largest telescope of its kind in the world.
Today, Lick Observatory is operated by University of California Observatories through UC Santa Cruz and remains an active center for astronomical research, instrument development and education.
Nine telescopes continue operating at Lick today, and generations of UC students have had the opportunity to move beyond studying astronomy in a classroom and experience what it is actually like to work as an astronomer.
That made a 150th anniversary worth celebrating.
From Mount Hamilton to Downtown San Jose
For this milestone celebration, the party came down from the mountain.
The August 22 anniversary event was held inside the Janet Gray Hayes Rotunda at San Jose City Hall, the soaring glass-and-steel space that has become one of downtown San Jose’s most recognizable landmarks.
The City of San Jose approved the invitation-only 150th Anniversary Celebration as a City Council-sponsored special event.
With its immense glass walls, high ceiling and open floor plan, the Rotunda created a spectacular backdrop for an evening devoted to science, exploration and Silicon Valley history.
And, of course, food.
What The Party Helpers Served
When you are serving approximately 300 people at a reception, the food has to accomplish several things at once.
It needs to taste great. It needs to look great. And guests need to be able to enjoy it comfortably while mingling, talking and moving around the room.
For this celebration, The Party Helpers created a combination of passed and displayed hors d’oeuvres, with vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free choices incorporated into the menu.
Mediterranean Chicken Flatbread
Chicken, Kalamata olives and roasted tomatoes on flatbread, finished with a drizzle of olive oil.
Vegan Samosas
Crispy pastry triangles filled with potatoes, peas and carrots and served with chutney.
Beef Empanadas
A flavorful combination of beef, cheddar cheese, jalapeños and spices wrapped in corn masa pastry and served with spicy tomato salsa.
Cucumber & Smoked Salmon Rounds
Smoked salmon with herbed cream cheese and fresh dill served on cucumber rounds—a fresh gluten-free selection.
Individual Charcuterie Selections
A colorful combination of cheeses, cured meats, cornichons, grilled ciabatta, breadsticks, seasonal berries and rosemary, along with vegetarian versions.
Balsamic-Glazed Peach Crostini
Balsamic-glazed peach served on three-seed crostini with Gorgonzola cheese spread and microgreens.
Artichoke Heart Beignets
Quartered artichoke hearts with herbed cream cheese, Parmesan and a light crispy coating.
Herb-Crusted Parmesan Chicken Skewers
Herb-crusted chicken served with whole-grain honey Dijon mustard.
Ricotta Ravioli Skewers
Ricotta ravioli with pesto, served on a skewer for an easy-to-enjoy vegetarian hors d’oeuvre.
Meatballs with Marinara
A familiar favorite that never seems to stay on the platter for very long. That is quite a lineup for cocktail hour.
And Then There Was Dessert
A 150th birthday still requires something sweet.
Guests finished the evening with assorted bite-size dessert bars and freshly baked mini cookies, including selections such as chocolate chip, double chocolate chip and red velvet cookies with macadamia nuts and chocolate chips.
After all, you can celebrate astronomy without cake. But skipping dessert entirely?
That would be asking too much.
A Toast to 150 Years
The beverage service included a selection of DeLoach Pinot Noir, Cabernet, Merlot, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, along with Modelo, Stella, IPA and Bud Light. Still and sparkling water, soft drinks, juices, mixes and other nonalcoholic beverages rounded out the bar service.
Guests arrived beginning at 4 p.m., with beverages and hors d’oeuvres available as everyone gathered and mingled. A formal presentation took place from approximately 5 to 6 p.m. During the program, Party Helpers staff stopped passed service while continuing to discreetly replenish food and beverages as needed.
That may sound like a small detail. It isn't.
One of the secrets to successful large event catering is knowing when service should be visible—and when the catering team should almost disappear.
The goal is to keep everything running smoothly without becoming part of the show.
When an Astronaut Comes to the Party…
There was another pretty good indication that this wasn't an ordinary reception.
NASA astronaut Victor Glover was among the notable guests attending the celebration.
Just four months earlier, Glover had served as pilot of NASA's Artemis II mission, a historic 10-day journey around the Moon and back to Earth. The Artemis II crew became the first astronauts in more than half a century to travel to the Moon.
Think about that for a moment.
You are standing inside San Jose City Hall celebrating an observatory that has spent 150 years helping people study the heavens…
…and one of the guests has actually just been there.
That's pretty hard to top.
Long Before Silicon Valley, There Was Lick Observatory
One of our favorite things about this event is the connection between Lick Observatory and the place we now call Silicon Valley.
Today, this region is known around the world for innovation and technology. But people were experimenting with groundbreaking technology on Mount Hamilton long before anyone had heard the words “Silicon Valley.” Lick became a testing ground for new astronomical instruments and techniques. Over the decades, work there contributed to advances involving digital astronomical sensors, adaptive optics, exoplanet research and technologies that later influenced some of the world's most important observatories and telescopes. Innovation around here clearly didn't start with the microchip.
Some of it started by looking through a telescope.
Catering a 300-Person San Jose Event Takes More Than Great Food
Events like this are a good example of what full-service catering really means.
Behind the food were rental coordination, glassware and china, multiple food stations, dessert and beverage areas, bars, cocktail tables, staffing, setup, service, replenishment, cleanup and a carefully planned timeline. Guests shouldn't need to know about any of that. They should simply walk into a beautiful room, grab something delicious, find an old friend, meet someone new and enjoy the celebration.
That's the point.
At The Party Helpers, we have spent more than four decades catering events throughout San Jose and Silicon Valley—from intimate gatherings to events for hundreds or even thousands of guests.
Corporate celebrations, nonprofit events, university functions, galas, weddings, milestone anniversaries and once-in-150-years birthday parties all have something in common:
Congratulations, University of California Santa Cruz and the Lick Observatory!
It was an honor for The Party Helpers to play a small part in celebrating an institution that has played such a big role in the history of San Jose, California science and astronomy.
Congratulations to Lick Observatory, UC Observatories, UC Santa Cruz, its astronomers, students, staff, supporters and everyone who has helped keep this extraordinary institution exploring the universe for 150 years. Here's to the next 150.
And if somewhere along the way they discover life on another planet…
The Party Helpers will probably be catering there too.
Planning a Special Event in San Jose?
Whether you're organizing a corporate celebration, university event, nonprofit gathering, milestone anniversary or another large special event, The Party Helpers can help with the full service catering: food, staffing, rentals, setup and details that make an event easier to host and more enjoyable to attend.
Great food. Great service. And one less thing for you to worry about.
— The Party Helpers Team
P.S. Need a fabulous event like this one, contact us today.
