Looking for some holiday family fun? Take the kids to Caledonia Park in Pacific Grove on December 3rd. From 10am – 4pm this charming neighborhood park will be transformed into a mini winter wonderland with a blanket of snow and twinkly lights. Santa will arrive in a shiny red fire truck—and the Snow Queen and Frosty the Snowman won’t be far behind.
Then grab some hot cocoa and head downtown to the outdoor ice rink in Custom House Plaza, where you can skate the day (or night) away through January 8 (Mon.-Sat. from 11am till 10pm and Sundays from noon till 8pm).
And on December 8th and 10th from 5-9 pm downtown Monterey will be all aglow for “Christmas in the Adobes.” Dozens of the city’s historic structures (illuminated by candlelight and festooned with holiday decorations) open their doors and serve up music and refreshments (like bagpipes at the Robert Louis Stevenson house and Spanish fandango at the Custom House, California’s oldest public building).
Volunteers in period dress will welcome you on this walking tour of 19th century adobes, and docents will be on hand to tell the stories behind the buildings (many of which are open to the public only during this event). Tickets are $20 adults, $2 for ages 6-17, and children under five are free. Call (831) 649-7120 for tickets—the proceeds support youth educational programs at the Monterey State Historic Park.
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Saddle up, vaqueros: the 13th Annual Monterey Cowboy Poetry and Music Festival rides into town Dec. 2-4 with a line up of some of the world’s very best cowboy poets and musicians.
Monterey has a rich Western heritage, and cowboy poetry – classic storytelling in rhyme and meter – is a folk art that dates back to the early cattle drives.
Things kick off Friday night at 7 pm with “Singing and Swinging” and run nonstop all weekend. There will be jam and open mic sessions (if you are longing to share)—and don’t miss the Sunday morning “Cowboy Church” to benefit the Salvation Army.
A special “Christmas Art and Gear” show, featuring antiques and collectables, custom tack and saddles, Western clothing, paintings, photography, and an array of crafts—from hand-tooled leather to engraved silver—runs concurrently.
All events take place at the Monterey Conference Center at One Portola Plaza. Festival passes are $220, and tickets are available for individual events. Giddyap!
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Don't miss your workout when vacationing in Monterey!
There are so many things to be thankful for this time of year (like just living on the glorious Monterey Peninsula, for instance).
But whenever we count our blessings, we always include the Monterey Sports Center.
How do we love thee? Let us count the ways:
Sparkling clean, flooded with natural light from pyramid skylights and clerestory windows, the 72,000 square foot facility has a cafe and a pro shop, huge rooms full of exercise machines and weights, enormous workout spaces with polished floors, a gigantic natatorium (two pools, a 112′ water slide and a sun deck), and a humungous three court gymnasium.
(Sorry, we have to use a lot of superlatives when describing this place: it takes up a whole city block.)
Reasonable fees make it accessible to everyone, and there are over 100 classes scheduled each week—from bosu ball to ballet barre. They offer childcare in the “Kids Zone”—and they’ve just added “ZumbaAtomics” for kids 4-7 and 7-12.
You can put the Sports Center up head to head with any private workout facility in the country. Built by the city of Monterey, with help from many generous benefactors, it’s a shining example of the the public sector doing something right.
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With its authentic Victorians and fairytale-lit main street, it’s hard not to get into the holiday spirit in Pacific Grove.
On November 28, head to Jewell Park for a Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at 5:30 pm. Festivities include entertainment by local school bands and choruses, followed by caroling, refreshments, and Santa’s first visit.
Next up: “Christmas at the Inns.” On November 29 & 30 from 6-9 pm, you can visit ten inns decked out for the holidays in Victorian era splendor. Entertainment and light refreshments are included in the ticket price, $20 per person.
On December 1 at 6 pm, bundle up and head downtown for the 10th Annual Holiday Parade of Lights featuring marching bands, floats, dancers, equestrians and Santa. Stores will stay open late, and there will be wagon rides, carolers, and a chance to take photos with Mr. Klaus.
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Taxi into Del Monte Aviation’s executive hangar Saturday, November 12th for “Best of the Blue,” a new food and wine event featuring gourmet food trucks, live music, and the latest releases from 50 area wineries.
Participating wineries include the “Who’s Who” of Monterey County winemaking (such as Figge Cellars, Talbott Vineyards and the Bernardus Winery). Local food purveyors—Babaloo, A Piece of Cake, The Pizza Gypsy, Treatbot, Me and the Hound Memphis BBQ, and Lugano’s Swiss Bistro—will serve up the cuisine, ranging from Cuban dishes to cupcakes.
You’ll have a chance to taste seasonal farm-to-table dishes (and get holiday food and wine tips from Williams-Sonoma) while enjoying music by the Cachagua Playboys. The party starts at 1 pm at 100 Sky Park Drive in Monterey. Admission is $60.
(In case you’re wondering, “The Big Blue” is an enormous submarine canyon (sixty miles long and two miles deep) that connects the deep blue sea to the wine growing regions of Monterey, manifesting in fog, wind, moderate temperatures, and lack of rain during the growing season.)
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Local improv actors and visiting players from the Central Coast and the Bay Area will get together for some family friendly fun on Saturday night, Nov. 5, for a “Mix’n’Match iMPRoV Show” at the Christian Church of Pacific Grove.
Located at 442 Central Ave., the sanctuary of this historic church is both a beautiful and intimate setting for theater and musical performances.
The show starts at 7:30pm, and general admission is $10. For more info call 831-372-0363.
Here’s a Place to Have Even More Fun (for $999/week)
This two bedroom/one bath Pacific Grove apartment is a hop and a skip to the coastal recreational trail, where you can enjoy the improv antics of local sea otters.
And it’s just around the corner from the Monarch Grove Butterfly Sanctuary, where thousands of fluttering beauties are spending their winter in a lovely, protected eucalyptus grove.
Contact debra@montereyrentals.com
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