2013 San Benito Holiday Cheer Shop Hop

This Saturday, December 7, 2013, will be the Third Annual San Benito Holiday Cheer Shop Hop. When you visit one of the following retail stores, galleries, salons,  restaurants, grocery shops, or services in Aromas, Hollister, San Juan Bautista, or Tres Pinos, you can enter a raffle to win one of 26 gift baskets full of local products  and gift certificates to local restaurants and businesses. Over 59 local organizations have contributed! You can enter at any—and all—of the following participating businesses that you visit this Saturday. Did I mention the raffle is free?

Aromas

Shops/Services/Galleries
Aromas Feed Store
Dragonfly Gallery
Kathryn Aguras Real Estate

Restaurants/Food/Wine/Groceries 
Aromas Grill
Marshall's Grocery
Old Firehouse Market

Hollister

Shops/Services/Galleries
Bel Amour Pet Spa & Boutique
Holliwood
Penny Wise Drug Store
SBC Arts Council—Blak Sage Gallery 
San Benito Bene
She's

Salons & Spas
Beauty Lounge
Bella Mia Salon
Heaven Scent Day Spa and Salon
Salon Déja Vu Spa
Vitality Skin Care & Massages 

Restaurants/Food/Wine/Groceries 
A.J. Sushi
B&R Farms
Best of Times Cafe
Country Rose Cafe
Grillin & Chillin Alehouse
Grillin & Chillin Downtown
Heavenly Bakery
Relax! Grillin & Chillin

San Juan Bautista

Shops/Services/Galleries
Bear Flag Gallery Mall
Casa de Colores
Frills
Livin the Green Dream
Lois's
Mission Gallery
Mrs. B's Z Place
One Incurable Collector

Rare Light Gallery
Seasons Handcrafts
The Glass Connection
The Last Stitch
Tops Rock Shop
Tresor
Victoria's Treasures
Visions of Christmas

Salons & Spas
Ageless, Beauty and Glamour Luxury Spa 

Restaurants/Food/Wine/Groceries
Doña Esther
Jardines de San Juan
Margot's Ice Cream Parlor
Matxin Etxea Basque Restaurant
San Juan Bakery

Tres Pinos

Restaurants/Food/Wine/Groceries
19th Hole Booze & Food

Other Participants—No Raffle Tickets

The following artisans, not for profit groups, and services have also contributed to this year's holiday shop hop. Please note that they will not have raffle tickets for the 26 gift baskets.
BeautiControl—Margot Tankersley
Bell Hill Goat Milk Soaps and Lotions
California Mutual Insurance Company
Calvista Insurance Agency Inc.
Heaven Walnuts
Mars Hill Coffeehouse   
Oils of Paicines
San Benito Olive Festival
Union Bank
Union Bank—San Juan Bautista
Vista Notes

Coming Up on Saturday, December 7

Quite a lot of holiday things happening this Saturday in San Benito County. Who knows who you might meet on Saturday. (Hint: Ho! Ho! Ho!) Which events will you check out?



Holiday Resource Fair
10 AM to 2 PM
Briggs Building, 365 Fourth Street, Hollister
Sponsored by the Hollister Youth Alliance, the free event will feature local organizations that offer free or affordable health care, legal, education, and other services to individuals and families. A food and toy drive will also take place. Santa Claus will stop by the fair for photos.

3rd Annual San Benito Holiday Cheer Shop Hop
When you visit any of the participating shops, galleries, salons, restaurants, and more in Hollister, San Juan Bautista,  and Aromas on this day, you can enter a raffle to win one of 26 baskets of local goodies. For a list of participants, click here.

B&R Farms Cozy Christmas Open House
10 AM to 4 PM
5280 Fairview Road, Hollister
B&R Farms will also be having an open house on 12/14 and 12/21.

Tasty Saturdays at San Benito Bene 
615 B San Benito Street, Hollister
San Benito Bene will also have samples of food pairings on 12/14 and 12/21.

Living History Day 
11 AM to 4 PM
San Juan Bautista State Historic Park
Adults $3; Children under 16, free

  
Merchants Holiday Open House
11 AM to 9 PM
Shops, restaurants, and other businesses throughout San Juan Bautista start off the season of holiday cheer.

Holiday Art Marketplace
12 to 5 PM
Blak Sage Gallery
Prints, pottery, ornaments, wooden toys, cards, and more created by local artists and artisans are on sale Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday through 12/ 21.

ARTS OUT LOUD 
1 to 5 PM
1220 Monterey Street, Rooms 301-316, Hollister
This free event will feature art work of more that 175 San Benito High School artists, which will be available for sale.  Live entertainment, demonstrations, and workshops will also be part of the day. Free refreshments will be on hand. ARTS OUT LOUD will be on Sunday, 12/8, too.

100 Years of Ice Cream Socials: Centennial Anniversary of the Women's Club of Hollister
2 to 5 PM
First Presbyterian Church, 2066 San Benito Street
Mr. O's Academy Jazz band and Triple Creek will be performing.
Tickets are $5/person and being pre-sold by members. For more info, call Cindy at 637-0362 or email her at acbiese@ymail.com.

Visions of San Juan, A Holiday Stroll Through Time
 4 to 8 PM
A Victorian holiday celebration. To check out the schedule of activities, click here.

San Juan Bautista 8th annual Holiday In Lights Parade
5:30 PM
The parade winds through downtown San Juan Bautista.

Best Entries of the 2013 Lights On Celebration Parade

It was a huge turnout for this year's Lights On Celebration Parade, put on by the Hollister Downtown Association.  Did you go? What was your favorite float?

This morning, the Hollister Downtown Association announced the winning floats:

Best of Parade:  Hollister Dual Language Academy
Best Use of Lighting: Alves Collision Center
Best Use of Theme (A Family Tradition): Girl Scouts of America Service Unit
Best Community Group: Folklorico Juvenil de Hollister
Best Drill/Dance Group:  West Coast Music & Dance

To see more photos of the parade, click here. It will take you to the 2013 Lights On Celebration Parade album on Take 25 to Hollister's Facebook wall. You don't need to be be signed up to Facebook, or even be a member, to view the album.

The 23rd Annual Lights On Celebration

This Saturday, November 30, 2013, is the 23rd Annual Lights On Celebration, organized and hosted by the Hollister Downtown Association. It's an all day event, from 10 AM to 8:30 PM, which includes a Holiday Boutique, live entertainment, and the traditional Lights On parade.

Lights On Parade
The year's theme for the parade is A Family Tradition. Beginning at 5:30 PM, the parade starts at the corner of San Benito and Haydon Streets and will end at Fifth and San Benito Streets. The review stand will be in front of the Veterans' Memorial Building.

Holiday Boutique
The Holiday Boutique at the Veterans' Memorial Building will feature about 56 vendors. Opening at 10 AM, the boutique will offer a wide variety of products, from foods to candles, soaps, purses, jewelry, plants, and unique local handcrafted items. Some of the vendors will be Silpada Designs Jewelry, Vista Notes, M&M Plants, Origami Owl, Pampered Chef, Gaia's Cottage, Designs by Juli Ann, and East-West Fashion.

Local artist Kathleen Sheridan will be on hand to sell and sign her book, Jaime the Elf, the beloved character who Santa gave the task of lighting downtown Hollister.

Family Toy and Canned Food Drive
The American Legion Post 69 will accept donations of canned food and wrapped toys throughout the day in front of the Veterans' Memorial Building. The donations will be distributed to families in need within our community. Post 69 will have coffee, hot chocolate, and cookies on hand to give to contributors.

Live Entertainment
Several things are scheduled throughout the day at the Veterans' Memorial Building Plaza.
11 AM to noon: Smith Alley
noon to 1: Mr. O's Jazz Band
1 to 2: Almad de Mexico Mariachi's
2 to 3:30: David Huboi and the Architecturals
3:30 to 4: United Way's 2-1-1 Kick-off

San Benito Street Youth Performances
Youth performers will be featured in the afternoon at the Veterans' Memorial Building
4:15: San Benito High School
4:30: Animation Dance Community
4:45: West Coast Martial Arts
5:00: West Coast Music & Dance FX

If you miss any of the youth groups, then check them out at the Fifth Street Stage where they will repeat their performances.
4:30: San Benito High School
4:45: Animation Dance Community
5:00: West Coast Martial Arts
5:15: West Coast Music & Dance FX

For More Information
Head over to this page at the Hollister Downtown Association web site for more details about the Lights On Celebration. There, you can find a list of participating vendors at the Holiday Boutique,  a map of the parade route, when and where you can have your kids take a photo with Santa and Mrs. Claus, and more.

See you there!

I'll Have the Pancake

This past Saturday, the Husband and I had breakfast at Grillin & Chillin Downtown. I ordered the corn beef hash and the Husband decided on the blueberry pancake with a side order of 2 scrambled and 2 slices of bacon. "That's a better deal," he said, after seeing that it was only a couple of bucks more as opposed to twice that amount for a side order of 4 pieces of bacon. Yup.

After we ordered, Chuck, co-owner of the Grillin and Chillin, came by to greet us. "What are you having?" he asked. We told him. He nodded, a big fat grin taking over his face. "Have you had our pancakes before?"

"Nope," said the Husband.

"You're in for a treat," he said. Before heading for the counter, Chuck may have said something like "They're kind of big."

A few seconds later, he called. "The cook is making your pancake now. Come take a look."

It turned out that wasn't the Husband's pancake. His was next.

Let's just say when his blueberry pancake was set in front of him, we were both surprised.

You ought to put a warning on your menu," we kidded the waitress.

She laughed. "That's what the other customer said!"

The Husband had an appetite that morning, so he put a good size dent on his yummilicious pancake.  The waitresses were surprised. "Usually the adults don't eat as much," one waitress said. "The kids are a different story.

Goes to show that the Husband is still a kid.

Grillin & Chillin Downtown, at 650 San Benito Street (next to Brown Alley), is open for breakfast seven days a week. They also serve lunch throughout the week, as well as dinner on Friday and Saturday. Their winter hours are Sunday through Thursday, 8 AM to 3 PM, and Friday & Saturday, 8 AM to 8 PM.