The blue-and-white tents of Cirque du Soleil have returned to San Jose, bringing the new touring show, “Echo,” to the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds for the next month.

It’s a very Silicon Valley-coded show, with a message about how people interact with nature, layered with a sheen of technology — a 23-foot cube covered in dazzling projection-mapped images acts as a third lead of the show — and punctuated with the jaw-dropping aerial work, acrobatic stunts and humor that are Cirque’s trademarks.

“We don’t create stories; we create worlds,” said Duncan Fisher, Cirque du Soleil’s Chief Show Operations Officer.

And in this case, that world is mostly in the form of a two-story high cube that is covered in dazzling projection-mapped images, undulates as though it were alive and provides “Echo” with a focal point for both its story and for many of the show’s performers to climb, bounce off and clown around inside.

“The cube is really a character in the show,” Fisher said. “The message is that what gets broken down can be put back together if we all work together.”

Compared to other Cirque shows, “Echo” has a minimalist set, to the point that even the band is standing on stage throughout the two hour production. But it is still a massive production, requiring hundreds of people to keep it running — including about 150 to 200 hired locally to work during the show’s run in San Jose. Bringing everything to the Bay Area from the last tour stop in Houston required 80 semi trailers, and it took nearly a week to erect the 65-foot high Big Top and all the supporting structures in the fairgrounds parking lot.

While “Echo” is here, the 53 performers — along with about 30 family members who are joining them — are housed in a mix of extended-stay hotels around the area or corporate apartments. Except for Mondays and Tuesdays when the show is dark, performers generally arrive at the Cirque camp around 3 in the afternoon to prepare for the evening’s performance (except Saturdays when there are three shows, requiring everyone to be there in the morning).

But dozens of people are working throughout the day. They are repairing costumes and animal masks, washing clothes, training or working in “Cubistro” — the show’s kitchen and cafe, where the international cast and crew are fed by five international executive chefs, who work in rotation to prepare some 200 to 300 meals a day, sourcing their ingredients locally whenever they can.

In addition to housing costumes, dressing rooms and training equipment, the artistic tent next to the Big Top also has a lounge area where the performers coming off stage can watch the show on a video monitor — or even rewind it back to watch their own performance, just like a quarterback watching game film on the sidelines after a key play.

And even when they’re off, some performers will be out in the community, drumming up interest for the show. On Wednesday, juggler Philippe Dupuis, who plays one of the main characters, and contortionist Penelope Elena Scheidler put on a mini show for more than 100 elementary school students who were visiting the Tech Interactive in downtown San Jose. An appearance also was planned at the Children’s Discovery Museum in San Jose and a surfing excursion in Santa Cruz is on the books for later this month.

“Echo,” which will celebrate its second anniversary on April 27, runs in San Jose through May 11. You can get more details, showtimes and tickets at www.cirquedusoleil.com/echo.

RALLYING POINT: Several high-powered speakers are expected to be at a Save Medicaid Rally at the County Government Center in San Jose on April 17. Congressmembers Zoe Lofgren and Sam Liccardo and Santa Clara County Supervisor Betty Duong are slated to be at the 10:30 a.m. event, along with several leaders from the nonprofit community who will talk about the effects federal cuts could have on their clients.

The effort’s being organized by PRx Digital, the San Jose public relations firm founded by Brenna Bolger, who has been working for decades with nonprofit groups.

CHEERING SECTION: Former state Sen. Jim Beall, now on the Valley Water board of directors, was the keynote speaker Thursday at a luncheon in Campbell to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Santa Clara County affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

The group got its start when a dozen parents met in 1975, resulting in the formation of the Parents Alliance for the Mentally Ill three years later. Several years (and a few name changes) afterward, the organization became NAMI-Santa Clara County, joining a national group with the same aims to provide support and advocacy for families and individuals with mental illness. About 150 people attended the anniversary lunch at Villa Ragusa, which was organized by Kristina Alaniz.

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Beall lamented cuts in federal funding that will put more burden on state and county governments. He also shared a tale from his legislative days when he was trying to get a peer support bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom and ended up asking famed labor leader Dolores Huerta to urge Newsom to put his name on the dotted line. She called him and Newsom signed the bill. “When you’re a legislator fighting for something, you can use every trick in the book,” he advised.

Of course, you don’t have to be Dolores Huerta — or Jim Beall — to support NAMI’s work or make use of their services. Check them out at namisantaclara.org.

CLASSIC CINEMA: 3Below Theaters in downtown San Jose is marking some special movie milestones this year, starting with a 65th anniversary screening of Stanley Kubrick’s “Spartacus” this weekend.

The anniversaries of other popular films from several decades will be celebrated throughout the year, including the 20th birthday of “The Room” on May 8, which will include an appearance by co-star Greg Sestero; the 65th anniversary of Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho” on Mother’s Day weekend, May 10-11; a 60th birthday singalong for “The Sound of Music” on May 31-June 1; and “The Empire Strikes Back” gets a 40th anniversary showing June 28-29.

You can see what other movies have big birthdays coming up at 3belowtheaters.com/celebrating-cinema-milestones. And don’t forget that 3 Below also will have a regular slate of new releases — movies that haven’t even hit their first birthdays yet.