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2013 has been a great year for many but all good things must come to an end.   Let’s ring in 2014 and make it just as great as the previous year by celebrating in style at the New Years Eve Big Top Extravaganza in Fluxx Nightclub San Diego. Sporting its usual legendary three act theme the special guests this year will be Rico Delargo who will be entertaining you with some live trumpet music, DJ Karma will be blasting out all the party tunes and Kyle Flesch will be there as well. Each guest will get a free glass of champagne to toast in the New Year. If you decide to go all out and order VIP tickets for your night you will be presented with hosted champagne and hors d’ouvres at certain times throughout the evening. So end your search for the best in New Years Eve celebrations and book your tickets for Fluxx Nightclub now to avoid being disappointed.

If you are looking for a new kind of New Year’s experience this year then the Moonlight New Years Eve Cruise in San Diego could be exactly what you are looking for. Step aboard the California Spirit Yacht, one of the best in all of San Diego’s harbor and take in all that this $15 million mobile entertainment unit has to offer. For New Year’s Eve they go all out with the City’s top DJ’s for entertainment, a fully stocked open bar, complimentary buffets which feature kabobs and wraps and free party favors for all guests. Worried about getting too cold? No need to fret, each deck is climate controlled meaning you will be kept warm no matter where you are on board. There are large dance floors available on each deck so there is plenty of space for you and your friends to dance the night away. Book up now for an experience you will never forget.  Whether you’re attending the New Year’s Even Big Top Extravaganza or the Moonlight New Year’s Eve Cruise, expect nothing but a good time.  After all the partying make sure to stay at a hotel in San Diego to rest up.

Photo courtesy of www.kpbs.org

A time-old celebration of the shortest darkest days, the Winter Solstice has long been a time for bringing friends and family together to enjoy entertainment and make memories. It is a must attend event for those staying in the San Diego area this holiday. Though we are several thousand years away from the origins of the Solstice, we can still enjoy its special character today – and the people of San Diego are doing so in fine style. At the Sea Breeze Organic Farm, 3909 Arroyo Sorrento, the whole community is invited to celebrate at their Winter Solstice Festival. Traditionally a time for feasting, the Festival will include local chefs and artisan food producers sharing their special flavor combinations, with wood fired pizzas being a highlight of the night. A Farm to Fork event, the Festival will be celebrating the local produce and the organic cultivation which makes it taste so good. Bonfires, musicians and the sunset light prism in the unique straw bale house are all on offer to make it a wonderful family event. Taking place on December 21st, from 3pm through to 9pm, tickets are $20 to this unique party night.

Historically, the winter solstice was significant because it was a time during which people were genuinely unsure that they would survive through to warmer weather. January, February and March are generally cold, hard months in the agricultural calendar of the northern hemisphere, when little grows. In December, the cattle and other livestock would be slaughtered so that they wouldn’t need feeding during this difficult period – making the last December feast on the solstice one of the last great celebratory meals and a final opportunity to enjoy fresh tasty produce before it was all salted to be stored over winter. Likewise, this time of year would also be when the wines and beers made during summer were finally ready to drink, making for a great celebration atmosphere!

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A traditional event beloved by the whole community, the Annual San Diego Bay Parade of Lights truly is an event like no other. Running for 42 years, this spectacle lights up the bay and is an unmissable part of the winter calendar. For two consecutive weekends, the boating community comes together each year and decorates their various vessels and crafts in lights and colored creations to meet the theme. They then sail, row or power their way around the bay along the route to try and win the grand prize, celebrating the holiday spirit all the way and delighting the crowds who assemble on the harbor wall to watch. If you’re planning to watch this festive event while staying at a hotel in San Diego then make sure to invite friends and family.

This year, the parade is being held on the 8th and the 15th of December, with the procession of boats starting on both nights at 5:30pm. This year’s theme is ‘Big Bay Toy Parade’ so the boats will perhaps be decorated to imitate some childhood favorites, new must have gifts or those inimitable scenes from traditional festive stories, like the nutcracker soldiers and other holiday greats. Each year, more than eighty boats of all kinds are involved, decorated to the absolute hilt and looking nothing like their usual selves. The crowds gather to take photographs and to choose their own favorites, making it an ideal night out for the family to enjoy and an opportunity to create perfect winter memories. The route will start from Shelter Island before moving past Harbor Island, heading up Embarcadero, on through Seaport Village and finishing at the Coronado Ferry Landing at 7.30pm. Any local boat owners are eligible to register their craft into the parade, with entries coming from people of all walks of life. It’s the community spirit and friendly competition which makes this event so popular with everybody.

This year’s Grand Prize package is worth more than $4000, featuring a cruise on the famous Star Clippers. Randomly drawn from lots of all entries to the parade, other prizes are issued based on points scored in numerous categories.

Photo courtesy of sdparadeoflights.org

Ever since it was founded in 2004 by Ken Loyst and Michelle Metter, the San Diego Bay Wine and Food Festival has been the number one celebration of the food scene which thrives in this rich and diverse area. Ten years of history have led to this, the anniversary year, and the festival is returning to celebrate the range of wine and foods on offer this November between the 20th and 24th. This year, more than two hundred wineries, breweries and spirit makers are booked to be in attendance, joined by another 70 of the best restaurants in San Diego – catering to an anticipated ten thousand visitors arriving from all corners of the country.  If you’re planning to stay at a hotel in San Diego this November, then make sure to check out this yearly festival.

A full schedule of events includes cooking classes, a selection of tasting panels, dinners with celebrity chefs and other tasty events led by the brightest and most talented culinary experts in the San Diego area. Culinary classes and skill sessions are also a part of this weekend, giving interested parties an opportunity to learn how to better their own cookery with tuition from some leading names in the field. This festival is perhaps the most talked about event in the wine and culinary calendar of the whole West Coast, perhaps even further afield. One only has to look at the names attracted to its events to understand how exciting it is to attend this unique occasion.

The other celebrated part of the San Diego Bay Wine and Food Festival is its auctions. In partnership with the American Institute of Wine and Food as well as alongside the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, each of the auctions raise money to contribute to scholarship funds at the Institute, helping to continue people’s work in the culinary arts and the world of enology or viticulture, particularly favoring students from San Diego. This year’s auctions are raised at the Reserve Tasting evening on Friday 22nd as well as at the Wine Spectator’s Celebrity Chef Dinner on the 21st.

Photo courtesy of sandiego.org