San Jose better get ready to explore its outdoorsy side because Bass Pro Shops is opening its first Silicon Valley megastore this week.

Commuters on Highway 85 have been able to watch the construction of the 110,000 square-foot store for months on the already-congested corner of Almaden Expressway and Cherry Avenue. Wednesday’s grand opening — being held rain or shine, and rain is in the forecast — will include a host of celebrities such as former 49ers great Dwight Clark, seven-time Bassmaster Angler of the Year Kevin VanDam, bull riders Luke Snyder and Brendon Clark and Outdoor Channel host Theresa Vail.

Yes, I had to look up everyone but Dwight Clark, but I never claimed to be the outdoor type.

Following a 6 p.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony, the doors will open for the South Bay’s outdoor enthusiasts. The store includes a huge showroom for boats and a 12,000-gallon freshwater aquarium. The biggest draw for families, though, may be Uncle Buck’s Fishbowl and Grill — an underwater-themed restaurant and bowling center with a menu filled with burgers, sandwiches, seafood and pizzas.

The big day — dubbed an Evening for Conservation — has an environmental angle: For every dollar spent at the grand opening, 50 cents will be donated to the California Inland Fisheries Foundation and America’s Wildlife Museum and Aquarium in the company’s hometown of Springfield, Missouri.

ENCORE PERFORMANCE: Philadelphia’s Dali String Quartet didn’t rush off after playing a concert Sunday at the Trianon Theatre in San Jose. The San Jose Chamber Music Society also engaged the quartet for a full day of residency Monday at Lincoln High School, the arts magnet school for San Jose Unified School District, where they worked with the ensembles and orchestras under the direction of string teacher Amie Jan.

RETIRING, BUT NOT DONE: Jim Purcell, special assistant to Santa Clara University President the Rev. Michael Engh, is retiring at the end of the year after 18 years at SCU, where he also served as vice president for university relations.

Purcell, who turned 75 on Oct. 20, was executive director of Catholic Charities from 1983-89 and later worked as the Diocese of San Jose’s development director and Hope Services’ CEO. And retirement won’t mean slowing down too much. He plans to be a consultant to the diocese and serve as a volunteer advancement consultant to Cristo Rey San Jose Jesuit High School.

GOOD DEED DEPT.: When Kay Sims and her husband moved to the Bay Area from Dallas in 1985, she immediately set about finding a volunteer position in her new community and landed at the 5-year-old Ronald McDonald House, which had 13 rooms available for families with children receiving treatment.

Thirty years later, Sims is still volunteering. This month, Ronald McDonald House CEO Annette Eros presented the Sunnyvale resident with the Big Red Shoe award for her service. Sims continues to volunteer weekly, driving families to nearby shopping centers and working the front desk at the house, which has grown to 47 rooms and will add another 67 when its expansion is complete next spring.

Contact Sal Pizarro at spizarro@mercurynews.com. Follow him at Facebook.com/mercurynews.aroundtown and Twitter.com/spizarro.

San Jose better get ready to explore its outdoorsy side because Bass Pro Shops is opening its first Silicon Valley megastore this week.

Commuters on Highway 85 have been able to watch the construction of the 110,000 square-foot store for months on the already-congested corner of Almaden Expressway and Cherry Avenue. Wednesday’s grand opening — being held rain or shine, and rain is in the forecast — will include a host of celebrities such as former 49ers great Dwight Clark, seven-time Bassmaster Angler of the Year Kevin VanDam, bull riders Luke Snyder and Brendon Clark and Outdoor Channel host Theresa Vail.

Yes, I had to look up everyone but Dwight Clark, but I never claimed to be the outdoor type.

Following a 6 p.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony, the doors will open for the South Bay’s outdoor enthusiasts. The store includes a huge showroom for boats and a 12,000-gallon freshwater aquarium. The biggest draw for families, though, may be Uncle Buck’s Fishbowl and Grill — an underwater-themed restaurant and bowling center with a menu filled with burgers, sandwiches, seafood and pizzas.

The big day — dubbed an Evening for Conservation — has an environmental angle: For every dollar spent at the grand opening, 50 cents will be donated to the California Inland Fisheries Foundation and America’s Wildlife Museum and Aquarium in the company’s hometown of Springfield, Missouri.

ENCORE PERFORMANCE: Philadelphia’s Dali String Quartet didn’t rush off after playing a concert Sunday at the Trianon Theatre in San Jose. The San Jose Chamber Music Society also engaged the quartet for a full day of residency Monday at Lincoln High School, the arts magnet school for San Jose Unified School District, where they worked with the ensembles and orchestras under the direction of string teacher Amie Jan.

RETIRING, BUT NOT DONE: Jim Purcell, special assistant to Santa Clara University President the Rev. Michael Engh, is retiring at the end of the year after 18 years at SCU, where he also served as vice president for university relations.

Purcell, who turned 75 on Oct. 20, was executive director of Catholic Charities from 1983-89 and later worked as the Diocese of San Jose’s development director and Hope Services’ CEO. And retirement won’t mean slowing down too much. He plans to be a consultant to the diocese and serve as a volunteer advancement consultant to Cristo Rey San Jose Jesuit High School.

GOOD DEED DEPT.: When Kay Sims and her husband moved to the Bay Area from Dallas in 1985, she immediately set about finding a volunteer position in her new community and landed at the 5-year-old Ronald McDonald House, which had 13 rooms available for families with children receiving treatment.

Thirty years later, Sims is still volunteering. This month, Ronald McDonald House CEO Annette Eros presented the Sunnyvale resident with the Big Red Shoe award for her service. Sims continues to volunteer weekly, driving families to nearby shopping centers and working the front desk at the house, which has grown to 47 rooms and will add another 67 when its expansion is complete next spring.

Contact Sal Pizarro at spizarro@mercurynews.com. Follow him at Facebook.com/mercurynews.aroundtown and Twitter.com/spizarro.

San Jose better get ready to explore its outdoorsy side because Bass Pro Shops is opening its first Silicon Valley megastore this week.

Commuters on Highway 85 have been able to watch the construction of the 110,000 square-foot store for months on the already-congested corner of Almaden Expressway and Cherry Avenue. Wednesday’s grand opening — being held rain or shine, and rain is in the forecast — will include a host of celebrities such as former 49ers great Dwight Clark, seven-time Bassmaster Angler of the Year Kevin VanDam, bull riders Luke Snyder and Brendon Clark and Outdoor Channel host Theresa Vail.

Yes, I had to look up everyone but Dwight Clark, but I never claimed to be the outdoor type.

Following a 6 p.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony, the doors will open for the South Bay’s outdoor enthusiasts. The store includes a huge showroom for boats and a 12,000-gallon freshwater aquarium. The biggest draw for families, though, may be Uncle Buck’s Fishbowl and Grill — an underwater-themed restaurant and bowling center with a menu filled with burgers, sandwiches, seafood and pizzas.

The big day — dubbed an Evening for Conservation — has an environmental angle: For every dollar spent at the grand opening, 50 cents will be donated to the California Inland Fisheries Foundation and America’s Wildlife Museum and Aquarium in the company’s hometown of Springfield, Missouri.

ENCORE PERFORMANCE: Philadelphia’s Dali String Quartet didn’t rush off after playing a concert Sunday at the Trianon Theatre in San Jose. The San Jose Chamber Music Society also engaged the quartet for a full day of residency Monday at Lincoln High School, the arts magnet school for San Jose Unified School District, where they worked with the ensembles and orchestras under the direction of string teacher Amie Jan.

RETIRING, BUT NOT DONE: Jim Purcell, special assistant to Santa Clara University President the Rev. Michael Engh, is retiring at the end of the year after 18 years at SCU, where he also served as vice president for university relations.

Purcell, who turned 75 on Oct. 20, was executive director of Catholic Charities from 1983-89 and later worked as the Diocese of San Jose’s development director and Hope Services’ CEO. And retirement won’t mean slowing down too much. He plans to be a consultant to the diocese and serve as a volunteer advancement consultant to Cristo Rey San Jose Jesuit High School.

GOOD DEED DEPT.: When Kay Sims and her husband moved to the Bay Area from Dallas in 1985, she immediately set about finding a volunteer position in her new community and landed at the 5-year-old Ronald McDonald House, which had 13 rooms available for families with children receiving treatment.

Thirty years later, Sims is still volunteering. This month, Ronald McDonald House CEO Annette Eros presented the Sunnyvale resident with the Big Red Shoe award for her service. Sims continues to volunteer weekly, driving families to nearby shopping centers and working the front desk at the house, which has grown to 47 rooms and will add another 67 when its expansion is complete next spring.

Contact Sal Pizarro at spizarro@mercurynews.com. Follow him at Facebook.com/mercurynews.aroundtown and Twitter.com/spizarro.

San Jose better get ready to explore its outdoorsy side because Bass Pro Shops is opening its first Silicon Valley megastore this week.

Commuters on Highway 85 have been able to watch the construction of the 110,000 square-foot store for months on the already-congested corner of Almaden Expressway and Cherry Avenue. Wednesday’s grand opening — being held rain or shine, and rain is in the forecast — will include a host of celebrities such as former 49ers great Dwight Clark, seven-time Bassmaster Angler of the Year Kevin VanDam, bull riders Luke Snyder and Brendon Clark and Outdoor Channel host Theresa Vail.

Yes, I had to look up everyone but Dwight Clark, but I never claimed to be the outdoor type.

Following a 6 p.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony, the doors will open for the South Bay’s outdoor enthusiasts. The store includes a huge showroom for boats and a 12,000-gallon freshwater aquarium. The biggest draw for families, though, may be Uncle Buck’s Fishbowl and Grill — an underwater-themed restaurant and bowling center with a menu filled with burgers, sandwiches, seafood and pizzas.

The big day — dubbed an Evening for Conservation — has an environmental angle: For every dollar spent at the grand opening, 50 cents will be donated to the California Inland Fisheries Foundation and America’s Wildlife Museum and Aquarium in the company’s hometown of Springfield, Missouri.

ENCORE PERFORMANCE: Philadelphia’s Dali String Quartet didn’t rush off after playing a concert Sunday at the Trianon Theatre in San Jose. The San Jose Chamber Music Society also engaged the quartet for a full day of residency Monday at Lincoln High School, the arts magnet school for San Jose Unified School District, where they worked with the ensembles and orchestras under the direction of string teacher Amie Jan.

RETIRING, BUT NOT DONE: Jim Purcell, special assistant to Santa Clara University President the Rev. Michael Engh, is retiring at the end of the year after 18 years at SCU, where he also served as vice president for university relations.

Purcell, who turned 75 on Oct. 20, was executive director of Catholic Charities from 1983-89 and later worked as the Diocese of San Jose’s development director and Hope Services’ CEO. And retirement won’t mean slowing down too much. He plans to be a consultant to the diocese and serve as a volunteer advancement consultant to Cristo Rey San Jose Jesuit High School.

GOOD DEED DEPT.: When Kay Sims and her husband moved to the Bay Area from Dallas in 1985, she immediately set about finding a volunteer position in her new community and landed at the 5-year-old Ronald McDonald House, which had 13 rooms available for families with children receiving treatment.

Thirty years later, Sims is still volunteering. This month, Ronald McDonald House CEO Annette Eros presented the Sunnyvale resident with the Big Red Shoe award for her service. Sims continues to volunteer weekly, driving families to nearby shopping centers and working the front desk at the house, which has grown to 47 rooms and will add another 67 when its expansion is complete next spring.

Contact Sal Pizarro at spizarro@mercurynews.com. Follow him at Facebook.com/mercurynews.aroundtown and Twitter.com/spizarro.