Seventy-four young musicians from Shanghai are coming to Los Altos on Friday, July 24, and Palo Alto nonprofit Ada's Cafe is throwing them a party.

The Shanghai City Youth Symphony Orchestra, whose members range in age from 12 to 20, is touring the Bay Area this week. Thirty of the orchestra's musicians have autism. That detail caught the attention of Kathleen Foley-Hughes, founder and executive director of Ada's Cafe, which employs adults with developmental disabilities at its Mitchell Park Community Center location.

"While we don't know each other, we have a similar worldview of inclusion," Foley-Hughes told Palo Alto Online.

The event runs from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Los Altos Community Center, 97 Hillview Ave. Tickets are $30, available in advance on Eventbrite or at the door. Foley-Hughes told Palo Alto Online she expects about 250 people and has room for more.

The afternoon includes a short orchestral performance, a magic show by Christopher Britt, food from Ada's Cafe, and a DJ dance party with Marcie Turner. Britt will also set up a smaller, quieter station for attendees who may become overwhelmed by loud noises and crowds.

The two organizations connected through the family of an employee at Ada's Cafe, Foley-Hughes said. The orchestra was co-founded in 2005 by conductor Cao Peng, who built the ensemble around a mission of giving neurodivergent youth access to music education. In 2008, the orchestra launched its "Angel Salon" program offering free music lessons to autistic children, according to a February 2024 CCTV report.

Ada's Cafe originally wanted to host the gathering at its Palo Alto home base, but the Mitchell Park event space was unavailable. The Los Altos venue turned out to be a "natural fit," Foley-Hughes said, because Ada's Cafe is planning to open a second location at that same community center in fall 2026.

The orchestra is also scheduled to perform Saturday, July 25, at San Francisco's Herbst Theatre, according to Foley-Hughes.

For Palo Alto residents familiar with Ada's Cafe, which provides training and jobs to adults with developmental disabilities facing what the nonprofit describes as an 80% unemployment rate, the Friday event offers a first look at the organization's future Los Altos home.