Free family-friendly holiday events in Mendocino County - The Press Democrat

Mendocino County's festive, family-friendly season features numerous holiday events including the Festival of Lights, Lighted Truck Parade and Winter Wonderland running from Nov. 29 through Dec. 22.

On Friday, Nov. 29 and Saturday, Nov. 30, Gualala Arts Center will host the 2024 Festival of Trees from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. pdne.ws/3CcQjdj

On Saturday, Nov. 30, the Gualala Lions Club Lighted Truck Parade rolls into town beginning at 6 p.m.

On Saturday, Dec. 7, Fort Bragg’s annual Winter Wonderland is back with an afternoon full of family festivities including photos with Santa Claus, tree lighting ceremony andlighted truck parade from noon to 6 p.m. pdne.ws/48EUVFs

On Saturday, Dec. 7, the city of Ukiah’s Parade of Lights features a truck procession from 6 to 7:30 p.m. pdne.ws/4fdXpNg

On Sunday, Dec. 8, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. participants of the Noyo Harbor Lit Boat Parade sail slowly from the marina in sparkling style, under the Noyo Harbor Bridge, out into the ocean and back. pdne.ws/4fb1CBf

For those looking for something ongoing, from Nov. 29 through Dec. 22, the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens be back with the annual Festival of Lights from 5-7 p.m. Tickets are $10 in advance and $20 at the door. Free entry for hose 16 and younger. pdne.ws/4fBc84R

Thousands of sparkling lights will soon illuminate dark winter nights in Mendocino County, kicking off the festive season in Gualala, Ukiah, Fort Bragg and Noyo Harbor.

The county’s first of the annual holiday events kicks off Friday, Nov. 29 and Saturday, Nov. 30. Gualala Arts Center will host the 2024 Festival of Trees from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving.

The free event is one of the nonprofit’s main events. The Festival of Trees is a fundraising affair where decorated Christmas trees are up for bid at a silent auction and hundreds of shoppers wait all year to browse in Mrs. Claus Bake Shop for homemade holiday treats. Then there’s Uncle Sus Attic ornaments are for sale. And the Forever Tree lot is outfitted with artificial trees available to purchase.

Every year local artisans sell their handcrafted gifts while shoppers listen to live holiday music, enjoy homemade treats, a puppet show and get a photo opp with Santa. At 10 a.m., on both days, pianist Don Krieger will be performing Christmas carols. The event is expected to generate about $15,000 that will go toward the Gualala Arts Center programs.

That same Saturday, the Gualala Lions Club Lighted Truck Parade rolls into town beginning at 6 p.m.

“We’ll take anything with wheels, as long as they do a bang-up job of decorating their vehicles,” said longtime parade organizer and Gualala Lion’s Club President Kevin Evans. “We get off-road vehicles, huge semis with trailers, antique cars and fire engines, a friendly gang of motorcycle riders, OHVs, and, of course, trucks of all kinds, each one of them outdoing the others with thousands of Christmas lights, fancy floats and moving figures.”

Attracting about 2,000 onlookers, in a small town of just that size, the parade begins outside Bed Rock Construction amid horns, sirens and music, heading for the Gualala Hotel, where hot drinks and snacks are offered.

Fort Bragg’s annual Winter Wonderland is an afternoon full of family festivities on Saturday, Dec. 7, from noon to 6 p.m. The event is downtown on Franklin and Laurel streets in front of the Guest House Museum. Local nonprofits will sell crafts, Christmas gifts and decorations, while seasonal music and carols fill the winter air. Kids can take photos with Santa, free of charge, between 3:30 and 6 p.m., at Guest House Museum. Adults can try their hand at bidding on elaborately decorated Christmas trees at the auction.

As day turns to night, Mayor Bernie Norvell will light the city’s Christmas tree. Then, the annual Lighted Truck Parade begins at 6:15 p.m.

A collaboration between the NorCoast Rodders Car Club and the Fort Bragg Fire Department, the dazzling all-vehicles-welcome procession is organized by Fire Prevention Officer Steve Wells.

“The fire department sort of fell into helping out with the parade, then actually organizing it for the last dozen years or so,” he said. “We have a lot of fun with it, getting about thirty decorated vehicles from semis to tractors, motorcycles, people in costume walking and kids on bikes weaving in and out of the parade. There will also be golf carts, pickups … plus some hot rods, of course.”

Starting from West Pine Street and rolling to Franklin Street, Oak Street, Main Street and back to Pine Street, each vehicle blasts out their own music. Some trucks sport inflated characters. There’s no doubt that all trucks will be decorated with thousands of small bulbs twinkling with festive colored lights.

Wells said this year first-responders, including Cal Fire and the U.S. Coast Guard, will turn on their car lights and fire off sirens from vintage and new city fire trucks. An ambulance or two will also be in the mix.

“Rain or shine, hundreds of people turn out,” Wells added. “We award Best of Show (for the best decorated truck) and everyone goes home with visions of sugarplums in their heads.”

Also on Saturday, Dec. 7, the city of Ukiah welcomes about 16,000 holidaymakers to their yearly Parade of Lights. The event is one of the largest lighted parades in Northern California.

Trucks from local business, Jeeps, UTVs, semis and tractors are all dressed up with thousands of lights that shine bright as families observe from the sidewalk dressed in their most festive and cozy outfits. Santa and his reindeer are sure to make an appearance in the shape of lights. The local fire department and police vehicles will also participate in the parade.

For those who want to participate, applications close at 5 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 2. Awards will be given out to trucks deemed Grand Champion, Best of Show and Honorable Mention.

The procession rolls along State Street between Low Gap Park and Alex Thomas Plaza, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. For the grand finale, Santa descends from his sleigh and lights the city’s Christmas tree in the plaza.

On Sunday, Dec. 8, as the sun begins to set over the Pacific Ocean, the magical Noyo Harbor Lit Boat Parade sails slowly from the marina in sparkling style, under the Noyo Harbor Bridge, out into the ocean and back, meandering along within sight of hundreds of spectators in parking lots and at windows and decks of the harbor restaurants.

From 5:30-7:30 p.m., vessels cruise around, the brilliant colors of the lights flash and reflect in the moving water. Fishing boats, sailboats, yachts, kayaks, canoes and the U.S. Coast Guard’s 47-foot-long motor lifeboat float will be draped with strings of multicolored lights, and with music floating out into the night.

“We started out about 10 years ago with just three boats, and it wasn’t long before our fishermen, local sailors and the Coast Guard joined in, along with people in their pleasure boats, their row boats and SUPS, all decorated with lights to the max, and quite a few with their own music and caroling,” said parade organizer and Misfit Mariners of Mendocino member Heather Baird.

Every year hundreds of spectators gather along the edge of the harbor and in the lot under the Noyo River Bridge.

“Some of the revelers come in costume and even bring instruments and make up their own bands and choruses,” Baird said.

Also at the harbor, the Noyo Center Marine Field Station, an ocean conservation-related research center, opens its doors for those who want to watch the parade from their deck. The organization will sell wine, beer, hot cider, hot chocolate and holiday treats. All proceeds will go to the station’s research programs.

For those looking for something ongoing, from Nov. 29 through Dec. 22, the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens be back with the annual Festival of Lights from 5-7 p.m. Visitors can trod around a network of twinkling footpaths in the gardens to see one-of-kind lighted scenes and tableaux adorned with multicolored lights among the plants, trees and flowers. Live choral music, jazz, classical guitar and the sounds of crashing waves will be pumping through the garden’s sound system.

The garden’s boutique will be open for gift shopping, along with hot cocoa, cider and sweets at the Friends of the Gardens’ Holiday Cafe. Santa Claus will be available for family photos each Sunday during the month.

The holidays are just a few weeks away and as fall turns to winter, there’s plenty to celebrate with friends and family. Packed calendars, parties and free events are approaching and Mendocino County is calling all who are ready for the festivities to begin.

On Friday, Nov. 29 and Saturday, Nov. 30, Gualala Arts Center will host the 2024 Festival of Trees from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. pdne.ws/3CcQjdj

On Saturday, Nov. 30, the Gualala Lions Club Lighted Truck Parade rolls into town beginning at 6 p.m.

On Saturday, Dec. 7, the city of Ukiah’s Parade of Lights features a truck procession from 6 to 7:30 p.m. pdne.ws/4fdXpNg