HOLIDAY UPDATE IN DUBLIN
Although some may argue that the Holiday Season kicked off with Black Thursday/Friday as thousands of people gathered in the cold in front of stores such as Best Buy, Toys R Us, and Sports Authority as they opened their doors on Thanksgiving night or at midnight on Friday morning to shoppers eager for deals, the Holiday Season officially kicked off last night with the City of Dublin’s 28th Annual Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony. Hundreds of people gathered in the Civic Center Courtyard to sing carols, welcome Santa, and light the tree “All American Style”. This year the Holiday Tree on Dublin Blvd is lit in red, white, and blue to kick off a year of celebration for Dublin’s designation as an “All American City” by the National Civic League. The tree inside of the Civic Center is decorated with festive red, white, and blue colors as well.
The festivities conntinue on Saturday, December 3rd with the Holiday Wibnter Market at the Dublin Heritage Park and Museums from 2-7 p.m. This is an opportunity to make special holiday memories in Dublin’s beautiful historic setting with an array of hearwarming activities for the whole family. Old St. Nick will appear again, this time in a tractor pulled jingle bell wagon and be available for children to visit and take photos. After Santa is done with his wagon ride you can travel throughout the park in the historic wagon yourself. You can also create old-fashioned crafts to give as gifts or to decorate your home. There will also be costumed carolers as you enjoy hot cider and cookies. If you haven’t had the chance already, you can also use this as a time to tour the City’s historic facilities such as the Kolb Family house, Murray Schoolhouse, old St. Raymond’s Church, and the Pioneer Ceremony.
Two other events taking place next weekend are the annual Breakfast with Santa along with the Bay Bells Holiday Concert. The annual Breakfast with Santa takes place at the Shannon Center on Saturday, December 10th with seatings at 8:30 a.m., 9:45 a.m., and 11:00 a.m. The Dublin High Irish Guard and Band Boosters provide the breakfast, and Santa will be on hand to take photos. You will need to call 556-4500 to make reservations ahead of time. The Bay Bells Winter Concert finishes off the City’s Holiday events on Sunday, December 11th at the Senior Center at 3:00 p.m. The group features over 100 bells and has been providing excellent holiday entertainment throughout the Bay Area for people of all ages for 26 years.
As you do your holiday shopping for everyone on your list, I want to remind you about the Dublin Shop Local Holiday Campaign. We are encouraging residents to buy as many of their gifts as possible in the City of Dublin. If you “Like” the Dublin Shop Local Holiday Campaign on Facebook, you will be connected to the site and can learn about special deals being offered by our merchants on a daily basis throughout the Season. Even if you don’t take advantage of frequenting each of them for the Holidays, this is an excellent opportunity to become more aware of the vast array of businesses and services that are offered throughout Dublin for the future.
In terms of holiday charity, I want to remind everyone that the City of Dublin is participating in the “One Warm Coat” Holiday Drive through Friday, December 16th. You can stop by the Dublin Civic Center and place one warm coat in the bin in our lobby to be donated to someone locally who is in need. We need coats for people of all sizes and ages. Also, I want to remind everyone that the Fire Department is once again conducting its annual Toys for Tots Drive, Please consider stopping by Fire Station 16, 17, or 18 to drop off one new, unwrapped toy that can be given to a child in need for the holidays.
Finally, I want to remind everyone that our Dublin Police Department is once again actively implementing its successful Holiday Crime Suppression Unit, with extra patrols providing added security and protection throughout our high-profile commercial areas. We are also part of the regional “Avoid the 21″ campaign to be vigilant about preventing drinking and driving during the Holiday Season, and we will be setting up additional DUI checkpoints and monitoring through the New Year’s weekend. I hope everyone has a Happy, Healthy, and Safe Holiday as we close out the final month of 2011 and celebrate the Season with our family and friends.