San Diego Sparkles This Winter

Holidays at Hotel del Coronado

SeaWorld Holidays

Big Bay Balloon Parade

SAN DIEGO SPARKLES DURING THE WINTER SEASON

SPARKLING ATTRACTIONS

• SeaWorld San Diego’s Holiday Celebration returns November 27 – 29, December 5 – 6, 12 – 13 and 19 – 31.  Festivities include the sea lion and otter comedy show, Clyde and Seamore's Night Before Christmas, and Shamu's Holiday Night, featuring everyone’s favorite killer whale, live choirs and musical soloists.  Guests can also experience up-close encounters with holiday animals including reindeer, penguins, arctic foxes and more.  Additional holiday festivities include carolers, musicians, ice-skating, The Polar Express 4-D movie experience and the lighting of SeaWorld's 320-ft. Holiday Tree of Lights.  www.seaworld.com
  
  
• The San Diego Zoo will be aglow with bright lights December 19 – January 3 during the first-ever Jungle Bells. This new event will feature large light displays that represent many of the animals on the Zoo grounds including elephants spraying water, monkeys playing in the trees, peacocks, lemurs and a condor taking flight.  Special holiday entertainment will also be featured at shops and eateries around the park. www.sandiegozoo.org
  
  
• LEGOLAND® California, located in Carlsbad, celebrates its annual Holiday Block Party during December 19 – 31.  Thousands of LEGOS come together to create a massive 30-ft. tall Christmas tree decorated with hundreds of ornaments.  Also, a nightly firework spectacular lights up the sky every night during December 19 – 24.  In addition, a life-size LEGO display of Santa and his reindeer provides a perfect holiday photo, and Santa even makes a special appearance. www.legoland.com  

CURTAIN CALLS

• The San Diego Symphony presents a seasonal celebration of holiday classics during its Winter Pops symphony series.  Performances include Barbra Streisand Song Book with Julie Budd, November 6 – 7; a classic collaboration of holiday music during Holiday Pops with Michael Cavanaugh, December 16 – 20, and many more.  www.sandiegosymphony.com 
  
  
• America's favorite holiday fable jumps right off the pages of the classic Dr. Seuss book, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!  for the 13th joyous year.  Guests can catch this whimsical production at the Tony Award®-winning Old Globe theatre in Balboa Park during November 21 – December 27.  www.theoldglobe.org
  
  
• During December 1 – 27, Lamb’s Players Theatre presents its annual Festival of Christmas, a musical tradition that presents a memorable play each year at its resident theatre in Coronado.  This year’s performance takes place in a recording studio set in the 1970s and presents classic ensembles and the music of the season.  www.lambsplayers.org
  
   
• During December 13 – 27, Lamb’s Players Theatre also presents An American Christmas at the Hotel del Coronado.  When guests step inside the gorgeous hotel ballroom, they are transported back to 1908 for a memorable Christmas celebration where 30 performers fill the evening with music, dance and song, all woven throughout a delicious 5-course meal. www.lambsplayers.org  
  
  
• The timeless holiday classic, The Nutcracker, will be presented by The California Ballet during December 19 – 22 at the Civic Theatre in downtown San Diego.  www.californiaballet.org

OUTDOOR ICE-SKATING

• The Hotel del Coronado offers a unique Southern California experience with Skating by the Sea, an outdoor ice-skating rink adjacent to Coronado Beach and overlooking the Pacific Ocean.  During November 25 – January 3, the resort’s famous Windsor Lawn is transformed into a seaside skating rink offering three-hour skating sessions during 2 – 5 p.m. and 6 – 9 p.m. daily; special matinee skating sessions are also available 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. on weekends.  www.hoteldel.com
  
  
• Downtown San Diego’s rink, Fantasy on Ice, located at Horton Plaza, offers daily ice-skating 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. during November and January; exact dates TBA. www.sdice.com
  
  
• Viejas Outlet Center in San Diego’s East County is proud to be the home of Southern California’s largest outdoor ice-skating rink this holiday season during December and January; exact dates TBA.  www.shopviejas.com
  

CULINARY CELEBRATIONS

• The San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival, the region’s largest wine and culinary event, takes place November 18 – 22.  Held at venues throughout downtown San Diego, the festival includes gourmet food, celebrity chefs, wine tasting, an elegant Reserve & New Release Tasting event and more. www.worldofwineevents.com
  
  
• San Diego’s culinary community joins forces during January 17 – 22 for San Diego Restaurant Week. Approximately 180 of the region’s top restaurants offer prix-fixe, three-course dinner menus, at just $20, $30 or $40 per person, so visitors can sample the signature cuisine and sophisticated style that makes San Diego’s dining scene one of the region’s top attractions.   www.sandiegorestaurantweek.com

SPORTING GOOD TIME

• The San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl presents NCAA college football post-season action on December 23 at Qualcomm Stadium in Mission Valley. The game matches a team from the Mountain West Conference against an at-large opponent. www.poinsettiabowl.net 
  
  
• Football fans can catch another exciting post-season college football game at the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl on December 30.  Festivities begin the morning of December 30 with the Big Bay Balloon Parade starting at 10 a.m. along downtown San Diego's waterfront. The parade is the country's largest balloon parade featuring floats, giant inflatable balloon characters and national marching bands.  The following evening, two top college teams from the PAC 10 and Big 12 square off at Qualcomm Stadium in Mission Valley.  www.holidaybowl.com
  
  
• Runners compete in San Diego's oldest marathon during the Carlsbad Marathon & Half-Marathon on January 24 along a scenic course that hugs the Pacific coast.  www.carlsbadmarathon.com
  
  
• The Century Club of San Diego Invitational comes to Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla during January 25 – 31 and features top players from the PGA Tour. The event includes Pro-Am and practice rounds.  www.buickinvitational.com

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

• The 15th annual First Night Escondido, a New Year's Eve gala at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, presents an amazing family-friendly event to ring in the New Year.  Guests enjoy 12 stages of music and dance, restaurant and vendor foods, hands-on art activities, a Chinese Dragon Parade and two dazzling fireworks displays. www.firstnightescondido.com
  
  
• Families celebrate the New Year at LEGOLAND® California during a one-of-a-kind Kids' New Year's Eve Party. The party kicks off at 3 p.m. with fun-filled entertainment until guests countdown to the New Year — before the sun sets. Like a child's version of a Times Square celebration, but only a few hours earlier, the party concludes with a LEGO “Brick Drop” and fireworks extravaganza at 6 p.m.   www.legoland.com
  
  
• The Hotel del Coronado presents a romantic New Year’s Eve gala, titled Romance Through the Decades.  The evening includes a cocktail reception in the magnificent Crown Room, a lavish dinner in the oceanfront Ballroom, dancing to the contemporary sounds of local favorites, The Mar Dels, and a special champagne toast at midnight. www.hoteldel.com

MARDI GRAS MERRIMENT

• Mardi Gras in the Gaslamp Quarter is the largest Mardi Gras party on the U.S. West Coast.  Taking over the streets of downtown San Diego’s historic Gaslamp Quarter, the Fat Tuesday celebration on February 16 features two Mardi Gras parades and an outdoor block party with several stages and live musical acts. Participating restaurants and bars also offer Mardi Gras specials. This is a ticketed event for guests ages 21 years and older. www.gaslamp.org
  
  
• Uptown San Diego joins in the Fat Tuesday festivities on February 16 with Mardi Gras in Hillcrest, a street party with food, beer, live entertainment and beads galore.  This is a ticketed event for guests ages 21 years and older. www.hillcrestmardigras.org
  
  
• The rhythm of Brazil comes to San Diego during the 18th Annual San Diego Brazil Carnaval on February 13 at the 4th&B nightclub in downtown San Diego.  The event features caipirinhas, the national cocktail of Brazil, performances of the Brazilian martial-arts dance form capoeira and non-stop musical performances of samba, marcha and more. www.brazilcarnival.com  

Happy happens in San Diego.  For more information on San Diego offerings, including exciting vacation packages and valuable coupons for attractions, restaurants and more, visit the San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau's Web site, www.sandiego.org or call 619-236-1212.  In San Diego, visit the International Visitor Information Center, located along the Embarcadero at the corner of West Broadway and Harbor Drive in downtown, or the La Jolla Visitor Center, located at the corner of Herschel Avenue and Prospect Street in La Jolla.

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