The Big Guy is Coming To Town with Snow, Ice Skating and Holiday Fun

Snow, Ice Skating, Santa and a Great Grape Drop New Year's Eve Party It’s WinterFest in Old Town Temecula

More than 30,000 twinkling lights from archway to archwaywill welcome  the “big guy” when Santa arrives by horse-drawn carriage Friday, November 25th at 6 p.m. He's accompanied by Dickens Carolers, balloon artist Greyzie the Elf, and the MSJC Menifee Jazz Ensemble. There is also a holiday puppet show from 6 to 9 p.m.

Kids can visit with Santa every Saturday and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.  through December 18. The Tahquitz District Boy Scouts will take souvenir photos for a donation and help Santa in his workshop.  Be sure to get  Santa's Magic glasses and Antlers while supplies last. You will find them only in Old Town Temecula. Weekends include Dickens carolers and other family-oriented entertainment with puppet shows, music and Dynamite Dave. Santa's Electric Light Parade brightens the evening Friday, December 2nd at 7 p.m. 

 

You don't even need to leave town to enjoy ice skating. Old Town Temecula's seasonal ice rink returns Friday, December 16 with hourly sessions through January 2, 2012.  Grand opening ceremonies are December 16 at 3 p.m. followed by regular ice skating sessions. The 3,500 square foot ice rink will be located at Main and Mercedes. Check the website www.temeculacalifornia.com for times, prices and more information.

Bill Magee Blues Band, Guilty Conscience and Two of Us Help Kick Off Friday Nights in Old Town Temecula

Hot Summer Nights IS BACK!!! And it starts Friday, July 8th (Cal's Birthday) and runs froma 6-10 p.m. Bill Magee Blues Band headlines the evening - playing from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Baily's Courtyard. Other activities in Old Town begin at 6 p.m.

Bill Magee's storied past saw him get his start in 1963 by sitting in with The King Curtis Band at the Paradise Club in Harlem. Magee became friends with one of the guitarists - Jimmy James and they formed the band Jimmy James and the Flames. In 1967 James went to Europe and the next time the U.S. heard, James had reclaimed his birth name ... Jimi Hendrix.

Magee went on to play with The Kansas City Playboys, performed with James Brown, B.B, King, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Water, Jimmy Reed, Otis Redding, John Lee Hooker and Bo Diddley.

The Bill Magee Blues Band has been nominated dozens of times for best blues band at the San Diego Music Awards and won the honors in 2003 and 2004. They have played at the San Diego Street Scene, San Diego Blues Festival, San Diego County Fair, Gator By The Bay, Cox Arena, Pala, Harrah's and Viejas Casinos, as well as the House of Blues, Humphrey's by the Bay and The Belly Up Tavern.

New to Old Town Temecula's Hot Summer Nights is Cole Collective, a San Diego bred funk-jazz group led by Wesley Cole Switzer, a Berklee College of Music alumni. The band includes local saxophonist Waylon Hicks, Asha Sukumar on violin and Tom Atkins on drums. They will play from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Villa di' Calabro patio on Main Street.

Guilty Conscience, the popular top 40s cover band from the Temecula area, will play at Sweet Lumpy's on 3rd Street from 6 to 9 p.m. This band’s set list includes top pop, rock and R&B tunes.

The Brewer Boys, a duo that caught attention their first time out last year during Hot Summer Nights, has entertained regularly at The Merc. A family band with Justin (17) and Nathan (13) the duo sings a wide range from new country to pop and classic rock. Born and raised in Temecula, The Brewer Boys become a "band" when they are joined by drummer Tom Wiker, Ray Agueros on bass and Vince Mendoza on lead guitar. They will play at the Temecula Cheese Company from 7 to 10 p.m.

The always entertaining Older than Dirt Band will also play Friday, July 8th at the alcove near Rosa's Cantina from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Additional entertainment includes Q103.3's Mike Dellinger emceeing the evening with games, info and music, Dynamite Dave and his crazy balloon creations, and a giant big blue dog party jump.

Each Friday night from July 8 to September 2, Hot Summer Nights presents a variety of bands and family entertainment. Most family games and activities are scheduled from 6 to 9 p.m. Some bands play until 10 p.m. See the schedule at http://www.temeculacalifornia.com/ for details.

Hot Summer Nights is sponsored by the City of Temecula. This is the 12th year for the event which features up to five bands each Friday as well as family activities in Old Town Temecula. Parking in the Old Town district is free. There are numerous restaurants, wine tasting rooms, and unique food choices for the palate and dozens of boutiques, antique shops and gift stores for browsing. For more information and a current lineup see www.temeculaevents.org or call (951) 678-1456.


Additional links:

Complete Hot Summer Nights Schedule, location at times at http://www.blogger.com/goog_483204346
http://www.cole-collective.com/
http://www.billmageeblues.com/

Whacky World - Time for Sanity and Fun at Temecula Bluegrass Festival

Join me this weekend for the  Old Town Temecula Bluegrass Festival this weekend, if only for an hour to watch this one band that is the embodiment of Bluegrass.  The Hunt Family Bluegrass. The two sons, Andrew 18 on mandolin and Jonathan, 15 on banjo are the stars of the show with mom Leanne hauling around the big bass fiddle and dad Terry,  who manages the flight program at Oklahoma State University, the leader on guitar. By the way, Terry has his doctorate in Aviation and Space Education. 

What makes them special is not just their musicianship, but the fact that music is a family tradition, one that includes driving around the country to play at festivals.  They hail from Orlando, Oklahoma. 

Another headliner, Byron Berline is coming from Guthrie Oklahoma.Bluegrass is often thought of a "hayseed" event of aging baby boomers in matching clothes,  twanging and a whining about a dog. But what you will hear is uplifting, spiritual music played by musicians from 8 years old to 80.  Anywhere in town you will also hear songs you are very familiar with, "I'll fly Away," "Amazing Grace," and "Rock of Ages." 

There are plenty of originals, and yes a few about the dog and grand ma, but most are uplifting and happy tunes. The Hunt Family Bluegrass Band plays at 3 p.m. in the theater and 6 p.m. at Town Square on Saturday,  and Sunday, 1 p.m. at Town Square and 4 p.m. in the theater. The concerts are free thanks to the City of Temecula.

If you can't make either of those, Bruce Beers has brought a treat to the Old Town Temecula Community Theater with The Grascals, one of the country's top Bluegrass Bands with Billboard's # 1 song for several weeks, and #1 album last week. They are also on the country charts so you are getting a chance to hear a band that most likely will end up a top country act. 

This group  is young and energetic and have won the International Bluegrass Music Association's Emerging Artist and Entertainer of the Year awards. The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. While there are still good seats available, I don't expect them to be there by Friday.

For a complete schedule of free and paid concerts www.temeculacalifornia.com. For tickets to the Friday or Saturday night concert www.temeculatheater.org.

Pack Up the Fiddles, Rosin Up the Bow it's Bluegrass Time In Temecula

If you haven't attended the Temecula Bluegrass Festival, you've denied yourself a musical treat that can only be experienced - not described. The streets fill with musicians, carrying their fiddles, wheeling their stand up bass fiddle, thousand dollar banjos and guitars. These musicians are the "Pickers" - the amateurs who somewhere along the line picked up a stringed instrument, played awhile, and eventually discovered the beauty of Bluegrass. With common chords every musician knows, and familiar "reels" a lonely fiddler can find a bass and banjo player and suddenly you have a band.

Old Town Temecula Bluegrass Festival March 18-20, presents some of the top Bluegrass artists on stage, as well as in workshops. Fiddling with Byron Berline, Banjo picking with Dennis Caplinger, Flat picking Guitar with David Burns and picking the mandolin with John Moore, musicians can learn techniques while playing with the best. Workshops are held Saturday and Sunday at the "Merc" 42051 Main Street and are Free. For a schedule see http://www.temeculacalifornia.com/.

That's not all that is free - jamming up and down the street with musicians under pop up tents and street corners, plus concerts outdoors at Town Square on Main Street, and in the Theater are free from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. There is also a free concert at Sweet Lumpy's, 6 p.m.Friday night.

FREE CONCERTS:

ON STAGE SATURDAY:
Next Generation, Sligo Rags, Fine Line, Byron Berline, Bluegrass Etc., Silverado Bluegrass, The Girlz, Hunt and Family Bluegrass.

ON STAGE SUNDAY:
Bluegrass Brethren - with Gospel tunes at 10 a.m. outdoors, Byron Berline, Sligo Rags, The Girlz, Windy Ridge, Bluegrass Etc., Silverado Bluegrass, and Hunt Family Bluegrass.

TICKETED CONCERTS
The Grascals, Friday night, March 18, 7:30 p.m. at Old Town Temecula Community Theater. $20 pp.
Good seats available -but hurry - some areas have sold out.

Byron Berline, Bluegrass Etc., and Silverado Bluegrass - 7p.m., at the Old Town Temecula Community Theater. $15 pp. This one always sells out. Better hurry. http://www.temeculatheater.org/.

For map, schedule and program see http://www.temeculacalifornia.com/.