Delighting families, couples and ice skating enthusiasts for over 20 years, the Holiday Ice Rink at Embarcadero Center presented by Hawaiian Airlines will open to the public for nine magical fun-filled weeks beginning November 7 through January 6.
Published: November, 2012
Skating Away
Delighting families, couples and ice skating enthusiasts for over 20 years, the Holiday Ice Rink at Embarcadero Center presented by Hawaiian Airlines will open to the public for nine magical fun-filled weeks beginning November 7 through January 6. Plan a special holiday experience with your friends and family and skate under the stars in the shadow of the Historic San Francisco Ferry Building on the waterfront throughout the holiday season at Embarcadero Center, where you can shop, skate, dine and park for free. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 11:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Admission is $9.50 for adults and $6.00 for seniors and children 10 and under until 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and $10.00/$6.50 from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m. Monday through Friday and on the weekends. Group rates are also available. Skates can be rented for just $3.50. For more information, visit www.embarcaderocenter.com.
Lights, Cameras and Holiday Action!
The Embarcadero Center is brightening the holidays this year on Friday, November 16, with the building lighting ceremony. Declared by mayoral proclamation in 2002 as San Francisco’s "Official Kick Off to the Holiday Season," the ceremony takes place at the Holiday Ice Rink in Embarcadero Center and will begin at 6 p.m. In addition to the ultimate mix of skating, dancing and the songs you love from Disney On Ice Presents Dare to Dream, the event will include special pre-show performances and a spectacular pyrotechnic show finale that will dazzle the City’s skyline. All this exhilarating entertainment has been designed to complement the highlight of the evening, the initial lighting of Embarcadero Center’s office towers, with a dramatic illumination of San Francisco’s skyline, featuring 17,000 lights throughout the holiday season. Preceding the ice show and building lighting ceremony is the Winter Carnival from 4-6 p.m. It will feature a host of fun activities for kids, such as cookie decorating, interactive arts and crafts booths, balloon twisters, caricature artists, musical performances and more. This year, there may even be a special visit by Santa Claus himself, so bring your kids, your cameras and your holiday spirit.
PIER 39 Lights Up the Wharf for the Holidays
Welcome in the holiday season on Sunday, November 18 with a day of holly-jolly magic and merriment at PIER 39. Engage in fun for the whole family from 12 to 6:30 p.m. with interactive exhibits, special meet-and-greets, live holiday music sing-alongs and more. Everything culminates at 6 p.m. as PIER 39’s majestic 60-foot tree adorned with glistening ornaments, bows and twinkling lights is illuminated against the stunning backdrop of the San Francisco City skyline.
Like the Dickens
Celebrate the holidays and Charles Dickens’ 200th birthday at the 34th annual Great Dickens Christmas Fair & Victorian Holiday Party. The world’s most elaborate and authentic Victorian Christmas event kicks off on November 23 and continues for five weekends through Sunday, December 23 at San Francisco’s historic Cow Palace. A beloved Bay Area tradition, the fair features over three acres of exhibition halls magically transformed into an old-world English Christmas card, warmly lit and gaily decorated, with streets, shops, pubs, tea rooms, lecture halls, theatres, a grand Music Hall, the London Dockside and more than 700 costumed players who bring the city to life. The opportunity to applaud, carouse, dance and mingle in a festive Victorian world is an enchanting alternative to the typical commercial fare of the season and makes this the perfect event for the entire family to enjoy. When hunger strikes, fairgoers may refresh themselves with traditional holiday goodies, including a feast of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, goose or quail, fish & chips, duck a l’orange, hot meat pies, plum pudding, mulled cider and scones, hot roasted chestnuts, Ambrosia truffles, and Mrs. Bumble’s Sugar Plums. The Fair features five authentic English pubs serving libations for all ages, including champagne, hot chocolate, hot buttered rum, and stout and ale on draft. Bid farewell to the frenetic shopping malls of the 21st century and find that perfect one-of-a-kind holiday gift in the shops of Victorian London. This year, the fair opens Friday, November 23 and runs Saturdays & Sundays through December 23, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. General Admission tickets are $25 for adults; $21 for seniors, students and military with photo ID; $12 for children ages 5-12 and free for children under 5. Parking is $10 and the fair offers a free shuttle from the Glen Park BART station. For more information, call (800) 510-1558 x 114 or visit www.dickensfair.com.
Frank’s Way
Napa Valley College Performing Arts Center presents My Way: A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra, running November 9-18. The show features 50 highlights from Frank Sinatra’s repertoire sung by thirty talented singers. Music made famous by Mr. Sinatra springs once again to full, passionate life. The carefully curated show is arranged in thematic medleys, including Favorites, Broadway, Cities, Young Love, Summer, Love and Marriage, Losers, Big Flirt, Moon and Songs for Survivors. Whatever your favorite Frank song may be, chances are it is in this show! With songs like "The Lady Is a Tramp" and "New York, New York," we are reminded why Frank Sinatra is beloved, not only by those who remember him as "the Chairman of the Board," but by a whole new generation of music lovers discovering him all over again. Music for My Way is provided by a club-style combo with a set design evoking a "Mad Men-esque" vintage Vegas, when the Rat Pack ruled the Strip. The show plays November 9, 10, 16 and 17 at 8 p.m., and November 11 and 18 at 2 p.m. in the Main Theater at Napa Valley College Performing Arts Center, located at 2277 Napa-Vallejo Hwy. in Napa. Tickets are $25 general admission and $20 for students/seniors/military. Tickets may be purchased online at www.napavalleytheater.org or by calling the NVC box office at (707) 256-7500.
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