December Festivals in California

December Festivals in California are focused primarily on shopping, dining and Christmas holidays. Who doesn't love the sound of bells ringing, and the sight of twinkling snowflake lights glistening in the night. From Christmas boat parades that create reflections on the water, to the festivals celebrating cultures and their cuisine such as tamales, December is a very special month filled with events that offer meaning and introduce traditions into the lives of those who seek to share landmark memories with their families. Some totally California events include Surfing Santa who arrives on land from the ocean. There are dozens of lighted boat parades, and then there's the lighted tractor parade.

Festival	city	web / contact
All Food Festivals - December	California	seecalifornia.com
Boat Parade of Lights	Oceanside	oceansideyc.com
Bracebridge Dinner	Yosemite NP	yosemitepark.com
Christmas in the Park	San Jose	christmasinthepark.com
Cowboy Christmas	Templeton	templetonchamber.com
Christmas Boat Parade	Newport Beach	christmas boatparade.com
Christmas in Calico	Yermo	calicotown.com
Cornish Christmas	Grass Valley	historicgrassvalley.com
Cruise of Lights	Huntington Beach	cruiseoflights.org
Country Christmas Festival	Auburn	oldtown auburnca.com
Christmas Tree Lighting	Bishop	bishopvisitor.com
Christmas Light Boat Parade	San Diego
Christmas Keepers Faire	Roseville	ahometownaffair.com
Downtown Ice	San Jose
First Night	Fullerton	ci.fullerton.ca.us
Holiday Lights Train	Felton	roaringcamp.com
Holiday Night of Lights	Fairfield	fairfielddowntown.com
Holiday Auction & Taste of	Buena Park	buenapark chamber.org
La Posada Candlelight Parade	Monterey
Lighted Yacht Parade	Sausalito	syconline.org
Lighted Tractor Parade	Ferndale	victorian ferndale.org
Living Nativities	California	seecalifornia.com
Cowboy Poetry & Music Festival	Monterey	montereycowboy.org
North Park Toyland Parade	San Diego
Nutcracker Ballets	California	seecalifornia.com
New Year's Eve Catalina	Catalina Island	catalinachamber.com
Sawdust Winter Fantasy	Laguna Beach	sawdustart festival.org
Seal Beach Holiday Parade	Seal Beach	ci.seal-beach.ca.us
Truckers Christmas Convoy	Eureka	keka101.com
Tallest Living Tree Lighting	Ferndale	victorianferndale.org
Tamale Festival	Indio	tamalefestival.org
Torchlight Parade	Squaw Valley	squaw.com
Valhalla Holiday Gala	South Lake Tahoe	valhalla-tallac.com
Winter Wonderland	Atascadero	atascadero mainstreet.org

DECEMBER

• Oxnard Tamale Festival When: Dec. 6, 2014. Location: Plaza Park, downtown Oxnard oxnardtamalefest.com
• X103.9 Merry Meltdown The annual Merry Meltdown gets headbangers in the holiday mood. When: Dec. 13, 2014. Location: Citizen Business Bank Arena, 4000 E. Ontario Center Parkway, Ontario
• Naples Island Holiday Boat Parade When: Dec. 20, 2014. Location: Naples Island, Long Beach naplesca.com
• Rose Parade Tournament of Roses. When: Jan. 1, 2015. Location: Pasadena tournamentofroses.com

December 2012 California Festivals and Events

MALIBU-California Spartan Beast Race
December 1
spartanrace.com/socal-obstacle-racing-spartan-sprint-2012.html

SAN FRANCISCO-Treasure Island Flea Market
December 29 - 30
TreasureIslandFlea.com

Central CoastMonterey Cowboy Poetry and Music Festival
Time to saddle up and ride to Old Monterey, where the West really began, for the Monterey Cowboy
Poetry & Music Festival! We have seven great shows over three days, our f. www.montereycowboy.org

First Night Monterey
First Night Monterey is a community celebration of the Arts on New Year's Eve. There are 25 venues,
75 performances, 8 arts activities and a people's procession. From classical mus. www.firstnightmonterey.org

Oxnard Tamale Festival
From strawberry sweets to savory chicken and pork delights, the Oxnard Tamale Festival hosts
the best mouth-watering tamales in the Central Coast. Featured in various media o. www.oxnardtamalefest.com

Greater SacramentoCornish Christmas
Cornish Christmas starts on Fridays from 6pm to 9pm, the day after Thanksgiving, and continues
each Friday evening until the Friday before Christmas. Local and regional hand-c. www.historicgrassvalley.com

Los AngelesSanta Clarita Literacy and Arts Festival
The Santa Clarita Literacy and Arts Festival features numerous creative events and activities that
will entertain and educate children while teaching them the importance of literac.  scveducationfoundation.org
Chinatown Art Nights
Enjoy an evening of art viewing as you stroll the alleyways and courtyards of Chinatown, home to 32
of L.A.'s most cutting edge art galleries and some of the most talked-about exhi.  chinatownla.com eventcategoryId=4

Napa/Sonoma +Healdsburg First Fridays Art Walk
With over 15 galleries in the intimate downtown plaza, Healdsburg has the highest concentration
of art galleries north of San Francisco. On the first Friday of every month fro. healdsburg.com

Sonoma Valley Olive Festival
Put some holiday sparkle in your spirit with a visit to Sonoma Valley this winter season. From
December through February, our annual Olive Festival lights up the Valley with a thre. www.sonomavalley.com/OliveFestival

Northern/SierraMammoth Film Festival
With films from around the world, and attendees from as far away as Frankfurt and Tel Aviv, the
Mammoth Film Festival takes place annually in Mammoth Lakes, California. It is an in. www.mammothfilmfestival.com

Orange CountyFirst Night Fullerton
Check out the fun at First Night, the City of Fullerton's annual alcohol-free New Year's Eve
celebration of the arts. The event is FREE and includes a full line-up of live entertai cityoffullerton.com

San Francisco Bay AreaCelebration of Craftswomen
For the past three decades, The Women's Building Celebration of Craftswomen has allowed San
Francisco Bay Area residents, along with visitors to San Francisco from throughout the w. www.celebrationofcraftswomen.org

ICB Winter Open Studios
The ICB Artists Association presents its annual Winter Open Studios. Explore the creative process
and discover hundreds of works of art in over 80 artists' studios. Discover except. icbartists.com/index.html

Holidays in the Vineyards
Holidays in the Vineyards is an annual wine country tradition when wineries showcase their tasting
rooms with arts and craft vendors, carolers, special wines, Santa visits, festive. www.lvwine.org

Berkeley Artisans Holiday Open Studios
At the Berkeley Artisans Holiday Open Studio, all manner of fine arts and crafts are shown,
including blown glass, functional & decorative ceramics, ornaments, Menorahs, lamps . www.berkeleyartisans.com

Events are not guaranteed. It is your responsibility to confirm before going.