The Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits’ annual “Be Our Guest” luncheon, which took place Friday at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in San Jose, is where the advocacy group bestows its annual Impact Awards. But the event is better known for the decorated pumpkins created by elected officials and community leaders — or their staffs — to auction off in a fundraiser.

The decorations range in complexity from pumpkins that are beautifully painted or adorned with ribbons to elaborate dioramas where the gourd itself is almost incidental. And like many times in the event’s history, this year’s pumpkins were a mix of creative whimsy and serious messages.

There were pumpkins referencing the “No Kings” protests and urging voters to pass Santa Clara County’s Measure A. Three pumpkins referenced pop culture hit “K-Pop Demon Hunters,” and one, created by Silicon Valley Community Foundation staffer Daniela Ruvalcaba, was an over-the-top celebration of Bad Bunny’s upcoming appearance at Levi’s Stadium for Super Bowl LX. There were two pumpkins decorated as the Golden State Valkyries mascot and one Labubu pumpkin (because it’s 2025 and you have to have a Labubu pumpkin).

“We have to have joy in these trying times or else we won’t be able to sustain ourselves,” Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits CEO Kyra Kazantzsis, who was dressed as a witch trying to conjure “nonprofit magic,” which she said was making something out of nothing.

But back down to business, namely the Nonprofit Impact Award recipients.

Asian Law Alliance Executive Director Richard Konda received the Patricia A. Gardner Changemaker Award; former Kids in Common Executive Director Dana Bunnett and Community Solutions CEO Erin O’Brien were honored with Lifetime Achievement Awards; Amigos de Guadalupe Center for Justice & Empowerment was presented with the Nonprofit of the Year award; the Collaborative Impact Award went to the Rapid Response Network in Santa Clara County; Emerging Nonprofit Leader awards were given to Cassandra Magaña of West Valley Community Services, Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action Executive Director Ze-Kun Li, and Jeremiah Lineberger of the African American Community Services Agency; and the Nonprofit Ally Award was presented to Heritage Bank of Commerce’s Janikke Klem.

“These are our people, these are our passions,” Sunnyvale Community Services Executive Director Marie Bernard said. “We all embrace the county by coming together on big issues, and then we can be hyperlocal as well. This community is doing it.”

ART AND TIME: The San Jose Museum of Art was teeming with people last Saturday night, many of them getting one of the first looks at the newly opened “ektor garcia: loose ends,” the first solo exhibition of the sculptor’s work in his home state of California. But most were likely there to get their first look at the museum’s new executive director, Jeremiah Davis. He’s only been on the job for less than a month, but he already seems to have a good feel for the local crowd.

“Here at the San Jose Museum of Art, we believe in the power of radical imagination and the role that art can play in bringing communities and people together for the benefit of all,” Davis said. He then spoke about a part of the museum that’s not actually in its collection — the Nels Johnson Century Clock installed in the building in 1908 — to illustrate a point about innovation.

“Nels, being an early pioneer of tech in Silicon Valley, envisioned that his clock, and this existing technology that he innovated, would last for a century, keeping time to within a few seconds of accuracy per month,” he said, asking the audience to imagine how their investment can “ensure that the innovation, the creativity, the programming that happens at the San Jose Museum of Art is ensured for the next 100 years of this Silicon Valley community.”

SPEEDING ALONG: “F1” Director Joseph Kosinski was at Apple Park in Cupertino on Tuesday night for a conversation with supervising sound editor Al Nelson before a special screening of his movie at the Steve Jobs Theater. Much to the invitation-only crowd’s disappointment, star Brad Pitt was not in attendance.

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During the discussion before the Apple Films movie Kosinski said he used Apple technology to make the movie. Apple provided him with versions of the iPhone 15 Pro cameras that he placed inside the cockpits of race cars to capture 4K images on the tracks. If you haven’t seen “F1,” which has made $629 million worldwide in theaters, it’s set to zoom onto Apple TV on Dec. 12.

NOCHE DE CULTURA: Grammy-winning band Ozomatli is headlining the ninth annual Avenida de Altares, the Dia de los Muertos celebration at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in San Jose on Nov. 1. The family-friendly event, which starts at 5 p.m., also will feature lucha libre wrestling matches, folklorico performances by Los Lupeños de San Jose and an art gallery curated by Works/San Jose.

Of course, a highlight of the free event is the display of colorful altars at the Mexican Heritage Plaza and at surrounding businesses on Alum Rock Avenue stretching west toward Highway 101. You can RSVP for free tickets at www.schoolofartsandculture.org, and you can view the altar display at La Plaza’s lobby from Oct. 27-Oct. 31 between 4 and 9 p.m. or Nov. 1 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.