Take a peek! Your new best buddy might be staring out at you from the Macy's windows. Bring your friends and family to visit the San Francisco SPCA Holiday Windows at Macy's Union Square through January 1.
Published: December, 2018
Doggies in the Window
Take a peek! Your new best buddy might be staring out at you from the Macy’s windows. Bring your friends and family to visit the San Francisco SPCA Holiday Windows at Macy’s Union Square through January 1. The colorful, artfully designed windows are filled with adorable, adoptable animals and make a great backdrop for your holiday photos. Making spirits bright for 31 years, this is one of the City’s most beloved and magical holiday traditions. Voted one of the top 10 places “to press your nose during the holidays” by USA Today, more than 9,000 animals have found loving homes through this event from the adoption center at Macy’s, and the SPCA typically raises about $100,000 in donations.
Muir Beach Holiday Arts Fair
The 2018 Muir Beach Holiday Arts Fair is set for Saturday, December 1 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, December 2 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the beautiful Muir Beach Community Center located at 19 Seacape Drive, a short 15 minutes from Highway 101 in the charming seaside community of Muir Beach. New this year, visitors can experience the extraordinary art of glass blowing on-site at the fair. Shoppers will also be able to shop from an array of original and handmade fine art, crafts and gourmet holiday treats from over 40 local artists. A nearly 50-year tradition, the Muir Beach Holiday Arts Fair is a great reason to escape to the coast and shop for unique holiday gifts. The art fair also raises funds to help build and maintain the Muir Beach Community Center. This year’s proceeds will help support local community events. Admission is free and there is a shuttle patrolling the streets to help anyone who needs a ride. For further information, please call Laurie Piel at (415) 388-8319 or check out muirbeachartsfair.com.
Drag Queens on Ice
On Thursday, December 6 from 8 to 9:30 p.m., the fierce, fabulous and talented drag queens of the Bay Area are returning to the Safeway Holiday Ice Rink in Union Square for Drag Queens on Ice, which has become one of the Bay Area’s most popular events of the holiday season. Drag queens will don their most “gay apparel” for special holiday performances with Donna Sachet returning to serve as the mistress of ceremonies. The enchanting and exciting drag performers are sure to shine in a night full of lipstick and lip-syncing that is guaranteed to make audiences of all ages laugh and dance. The event is open to all ages and free to watch. Tickets to skate alongside the queens and have the best seat in the house for the performances are $25 for adults and $20 for children. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online at unionsquareicerink.com, or in person at the ice rink ticket window in Union Square Park, which is located at 333 Post Street in San Francisco.
Nutcracker for Kids
Celebrate the holidays at Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture with Mark Foehringer’s Nutcracker Sweets, a 50-minute production of the classic holiday ballet specifically designed for families with young children. This special production is danced storytelling that is affordable, magical, zany and fun. Foehringer uses his choreographic skills in contemporary dance and ballet to craft a show that is sure to thrill dance newcomers and the most jaded balletomane. See all of the favorite Nutcracker characters in beautiful costumes performing on a colorful set with live chamber orchestra music on Saturdays and Sundays, December 8 to 23 at Cowell Theater, Fort Mason Center, Marina Blvd. and Buchanan Street in San Francisco. Tickets range from $20.50 and $42.50. For more information and showtimes, visit www.nutcrackersweets.org.
Dickens Christmas Fair Returns
The historic Cow Palace will once again be transformed into Dickens’ London for the Great Dickens Christmas Fair & Victorian Holiday Party. Now in its 36th season, the fair will run Saturdays and Sundays through December 23, offering visitors a delightfully immersive holiday experience without rival. An annual tradition for Bay Area natives and visitors alike, the Great Dickens Christmas Fair is an enchanting journey through a merrier era—the streets of Victorian London circa Christmas 1860. Visitors will explore twilight-lit streets with shops, pubs, stages and dance halls filled with more than 800 Victorian characters and the aromas of roasted chestnuts and hearty fare. Visitors can choose from seven stages offering entertainment for all ages and tastes. Family-friendly entertainment abounds with holiday magic for the youngest guests, offering hands-on craft activities, old-world games of skill and chance, and lively interactive shows in the Tinsley Green children’s area. Encounter Mr. Scrooge, Tiny Tim, Oliver Twist, Nancy and many more of Dickens’ characters throughout the streets. If your tastes lean more towards the naughty and salty, head down to the dockside and join the Cancan dancers and sailors at the bawdy Mad Sal’s Music Hall and the internationally themed Silk Road Stage for exotic dance and special musical guest appearances. Bring your appetite and feast on delicious foods from the British Empire and beyond, from traditional savories such as fish and chips to heavenly handcrafted chocolates and tea cakes. Also visit one of the five traditional pubs to enjoy a frothy pint of ale, fine wine, bubbly champagne, hot buttered rum, Irish coffee or hot toddy. Hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and tickets are $30 for adults and $14 for children ages 5 to 12. Visit dickensfair.com to reserve your preferred date.
Oakland Holiday Ice Rink
Oakland Central is excited to bring downtown Oakland its very own outdoor holiday ice skating rink this year. The Old Oakland Holiday Ice Rink has found a home on the corner of 9th Street and Washington Street, in one of Oakland’s most beautiful and iconic neighborhoods. The Old Oakland Holiday Ice Rink anticipates drawing over 25,000 skaters to the ice each season and promises to offer a uniquely Oakland experience through thoughtfully curated programming. The rink will be open daily from December 14 through January 6, 2019 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Learn more at www.oaklandcentral.com/therink.
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Photo by Rob Schroeder
Photo by Rich Yee
