Holiday Happenings
We hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving with your families. In just a few days, we have sprung from the large heartfelt feelings of bounty and gratitude to the season of giving and sharing with the onset of the holidays! Every year, we are so fortunate up and down the Peninsula to enjoy such festive and meaningful community events. Here is a sneak peak of some of the events taking place in your city during the month of December.
Happy Holidays, we hope you enjoy the season!
Belmont:
Santa at the Firehouse: Bring a toy to be given to a local child in need on Dec. 15 from 5:30 – 8 p.m. Free refreshments, activities, and snow! Meet your firefighters and bring your cameras for a picture with Santa. This event will take place at Fire Station 14, 911 Granada Road.
San Carlos:
Night of City Lights: The community will come together this Friday, Dec. 2 at 5:30 for the Night of Holiday Lights. A tree lighting ceremony will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the intersection of Cherry and Laurel streets. Festivities will continue downtown on Laurel Street until 9 p.m. with a street closure along Laurel Street between Olive Street and San Carlos Avenue. Families are welcome to come and enjoy kids carnival rides, arts and crafts, carolers, hot chocolate and wine.
Eucalyptus Lights: Each year seems to be better than the last with this timeless San Carlos Christmas tradition in the 1900 block of Eucalyptus Avenue. Now through New Year’s Day.
Holiday Wine Stroll: The San Carlos Chamber of Commerce welcomes the community to the Holiday Wine Stroll on Dec. 11. Twenty 20 Merchants will open their shops as pouring stations, where you can sample their wines and eat light bites from local restaurants. Register for this fun event at https://sancarloschamber.org/winestroll/
Tickets range from $30 to $40 depending on purchase date.
San Mateo:
Winter Wonderland: The San Mateo Parks and Recreation Department welcomes the community to a festive and free event with snow, arts and crafts, cookie decorating, horse drawn carriage, donuts and hot cocoa! Enjoy Central Park lit up like you've never seen before. Ticket reservations are only needed for the horse and carriage ride through the park and can be reserved at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/winter-wonderland-tickets-29288776519
Ice Skating in Central Park: It’s that time of year again, where Central Park turns into an outdoor ice rink with 9,000 square feet of real ice. San Mateo on Ice is open to the public daily, including holidays, through Monday, Jan. 16, 2017.
Holiday Festival of Dance: It’s the 44th year in a row that the San Mateo Parks and Recreation Department as well as the San Mateo Dance Association will put on its famed Holiday Festival of Dance. The San Mateo High School gymnasium is transformed into a holiday wonderland where more than 500 dancers take to the stage. This year’s production, “A Toy Shop Tale,” will be shown on Dec. 10 and Dec. 11.
Tickets are $12 in advance and $13 at the door for age 13 and older, $2 for those 2-12 years of age and free for those under 2.
Redwood City:
Downtown Redwood City Hometown Holidays: Come together at the Courthouse Square on Dec. 3 to see numerous holiday performances beginning at 10 a.m. Join Santa to see ice sculptures, holiday parade and the tree lighting at 4:45 p.m. It’s a day dedicated to the holiday spirit!
Chanukah Lighting: Come watch the lighting of the menorah in the city’s 7th Annual Chanuhak Festival. The event will take place at Courthouse Square at 2200 Broadway Ave., from 5:30 – 7 p.m on Dec. 27.