For years, tiny Parque de los Pobladores has been a park in need of a purpose in downtown San Jose’s arty South First Area. It’s been renamed — once upon a time it was officially Gore Park — and made over a couple of times.

But it finally gained a bit of identity Friday, with “Urban Rooms,” a colorful art installation designed by the San Diego-based team Estudio Teddy Cruz + Forman. Latino art center MACLA and the city of San Jose collaborated on the project, which was funded in part by a $200,000 National Endowment of the Arts grant, with additional support from ArtPlace America.

Anchored by four steel cage pavilions — the “urban rooms” themselves — the new look seeks to transform the park into a platform for cultural events and programs. (Thankfully, the design provides some shade — a necessity left out in a previous incarnation.) There’s also a permanent event stage and curtains that can divide the space into smaller areas or direct pedestrians through the plaza.

The piece was unveiled Friday evening, with Sonido Clash providing music and Mayor Sam Liccardo and Vice Mayor Magdalena Carrasco in attendance, as part of the 10th annual SubZERO festival.

For a park that’s had a lot of lives, “Urban Rooms” may be the piece that brings more life than ever to the park.

TIMELY RESCUE IN ROSE GARDEN: It was a real bummer for Terry Reilly to find out that the sundial at the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden, a fixture there since the garden opened in 1937, was vandalized beyond repair over Memorial Day weekend. A co-founder of the Friends of the San Jose Rose Garden volunteer group, Reilly posted about the vandalism on the neighborhood NextDoor site and was pleasantly surprised by the response.

Park Station Hashery, the new eatery on the corner of Naglee and Park avenues, contacted Reilly with an offer to replace the sundial and had it installed within a day. “As a locally owned restaurant, we have a deep connection with the Rose Garden community,” said David Vicente Johnson, Park Station Hashery’s director of operations. “It’s the least we could do for the garden, volunteers and community.”

And it’s worth noting that Park Station Hashery had an artistic interest in replacing the sundial, too: A wall-sized mural at the restaurant’s patio depicts the Rose Garden and the original sundial.

MUSICAL CHAIRS: It’s been a bumpy roll out for Music in the Park, the San Jose Downtown Association’s signature summer event. New Zealand reggae band Katchafire will open the series at Plaza de Cesar Chavez on June 23, followed by Grammy winners Blues Traveler on July 20.

And that’s where things got a little tricky. The Downtown Association had to wait to announce Afro-Cuban jazz rock band favorites WAR as the Aug. 25 headliner. But by that time, funk bassist Bootsy Collins had to cancel his announced August show — as well as the rest of his tour dates — as he seeks medical treatment for a tumor in his ear.

Well, the Downtown Association now has lined up Los Angeles-based soul singer Brenton Wood — who had two hits in 1967 with “The Oogum Boogum Song” and “Gimme Little Sign” — to fill that spot Aug. 3. All the shows start at 5:30 p.m. with South Bay openers. Tickets are available in advance for $10 ($25 for VIP seats) at musicintheparksj.com.

PORTUGUESE FESTIVAL RETURNS: One of San Jose’s most popular cultural festivals, Dia de Portugal, returns for its 20th year to History Park on June 10. The free festival usually provides a bounty of both food and culture, and this year will feature culinary delights from not only Portugal but from the islands of Madeira and the Azores and the former Portuguese colonies of Macau and Brazil.

The festivities, which run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., include cooking demonstrations, music, art and book shows and a parade at noon. Get more details at diadeportugalca.org.

MUSIC WITH A TWIST: This year’s Silicon Valley Music Festival, which takes place June 8-11 at Santa Clara University, will make you think twice about chamber music. While the term often conjures thoughts of formal rooms, organizer and musician Ray Furuta will be transforming SCU’s Fess Parker Studio — your typical black box theater — into a quasi nightclub for the classical concerts.

Musicologist and entertainer Kai Christiansen also is returning to present pre-concert happy hour conversations 30 minutes before the performances start. And, yes, there will be cocktails.

Tickets for the evening shows are available at www.cmsv.org, and you can also take in two free performances featuring young artists at noon on June 9 at the Santa Clara University Recital Hall and June 10 at the Fess Parker Studio.

SAMPLING SAKE: The Beerwalk is back in San Jose’s Japantown on Thursday with its popular Sake Walk, featuring sake and Japanese beer tasting in the historic neighborhood and business district. Tickets start at $35 at www.thebeerwalk.com but go up to $45 on the day of the event, and a portion of the proceeds will benefit the Japantown Business Association and Yu-Ai Kai Senior Center.

And on top of showcasing boutiques and eateries in Japantown — Roy’s Station will be providing coffee to participants and check-in is at the 7 Bamboo karaoke lounge — the 6 p.m. event dovetails nicely with the Taylor Street Night Market at the Gordon Biersch brewery that same night.