Diane Brandenburg has turned philanthropy into an art form over the past few decades. So it makes sense that when she learned the Silicon Valley Monterey Bay Council of the Boy Scouts of America would be honoring her this year, she insisted it take place at the Montalvo Arts Center in Saratoga.

Amid the sculptures and other art on the grounds and inside the historic villa, Council Board President Mark Lazzarini presented Brandenburg with the Boy Scouts’ Distinguished Citizen award Wednesday night. And the celebration, attended by more than 200 people, was art-driven from start to finish with Jodi Carr from Arty Party cutting silhouettes of guests and Suhita Shirodkar live sketching the event.

Brandenburg — along with her late husband, Lee Brandenburg — has supported a bounty of Silicon Valley causes, from the Children’s Discovery Museum and YMCA’s Camp Campbell to the San Jose Fire Museum and Montalvo’s Lucas Arts Program. They were also big donors to the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library in downtown San Jose — the first-floor browsing library bears their name — and Diane has been a board member since 2009 of Forgotten International, a nonprofit that works to eliminate poverty in the United States and around the globe.

To add to the creative frivolity of the night, the dress code allowed guests to come attired in black tie or as their favorite artists. So among the tuxedos and gowns, you might have caught a glimpse of Andy Warhol, Frida Kahlo and even Bob Ross. Montalvo Arts Center CEO Angela McConnell may have been my favorite, though, unrecognizable under a blue-black wig with colorful dots all over her face and a comic-strip skirt. What was the costume? “I’m pop art,” she replied.

BREEZE OF CHANGE: Urban Confluence Silicon Valley is pushing forward with moving “Breeze of Innovation,” the proposed downtown San Jose landmark structure, to Plaza de Cesar Chavez instead of Arena Green. At a presentation and fundraiser held Tuesday night at the Tech Interactive, Executive Director Steve Borkenhagen said the move still needs approval from the San Jose City Council, which may consider the issue as soon as January.

It sure sounds like Mayor-elect Matt Mahan favors the move. “Beyond being a visual landmark, Breeze of Innovation will help properly honor the legacy of Cesar Chavez in the park that bears his name,” Mahan said in a video Tuesday night. “It will also enhance our park for public events, for concerts and for our beloved Christmas in the Park.”

Honoring Cesar Chavez in a significant way has become part of the project, as has building a new stage for the park — home to the main stage for San Jose Jazz Summer Fest, Music in the Park concerts and other festivals.

On top of an expanded mission, Urban Confluence’s board also has grown with new members including Andres Chavez, executive director of the National Chavez Center and Cesar Chavez’s grandson; Xavier Campos, president of Chavez Family Vision, and Gabriel Medina, vice president of Chavez Family Vision and Cesar Chavez’s grand-nephew.

The fundraiser fetched several four- and five-figure pledges, but it was Cinequest co-founder Kathleen Powell who ended up with the crown of “Last Breeze of Innovation Hero” following a rapid-fire auction for a vacation package. And she managed to do it with just $800 of strategically timed bids.

She said she hopes the crown she got to take home gets passed down year after year with names engraved into it like the Stanley Cup. Fun idea, but the headpiece — “gold-colored” not gold — looked a little flimsy for that. Might have to use Post-It notes.

SANTA’S HELPERS: Darrell Cortez, executive director of Shop with a Cop Silicon Valley Foundation, says the nonprofit will celebrate its 15th anniversary of its Heroes & Helpers shopping spree this week. On Dec. 8, 270 kids will enjoy a breakfast and then team up with law enforcement officers to spend a $150 Target gift card to buy gifts for their family members and themselves.

Some of the youngsters earned their way through a Readers Are Leaders campaign at their school, while others have endured a traumatic crisis. Cortez says it’s been a tough few years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the group is glad to be back in person to give those children a positive impression of law enforcement (and there are 24 local, state and federal agencies participating).

But they’re at least $5,000 short of donations to hit their goal and get a dollar-for-dollar match from a donor. Get more details on how to help at www.shopwithacopsv.org.

FILLING THOSE SEATS: There’s been a lot of chatter in San Jose political circles this week about how the San Jose City Council will decide to fill the two seats vacated by Mayor-Elect Matt Mahan and Supervisor-Elect Sylvia Arenas. Will it be an appointment? Will it be a special election? It might be both. We’ll find out after the special 5 p.m. meeting on Dec. 5.

One ripple effect already being felt by that meeting is that Councilmember Raul Peralez, who is terming out at the end of the year, was forced to move his “Community Chat: The Exit Interview” from Dec. 5 to Dec. 20. Peralez will reflect on the past eight years at City Hall and introduce his successor, Councilmember-elect Omar Torres, at the Corinthian Ballroom on North Third Street. You can register to attend the free event at Eventbrite.com (search for “D3 Community Chat”).

TRIBUTE: One of the Google Doodles this week honored Jerry Lawson, a pioneering Black engineer in Silicon Valley who should have the gratitude of every gamer out there today. Lawson, who would have been 82 on Thursday but died in 2011 in Santa Clara, worked on early video game consoles in the 1970s for Fairchild and developed the video game cartridge.