County Ready to Unwrap a Spirited Holiday Season

Hang on to your eggnog. Seasonal Santa sightings, tree lightings, parades, home tours, concerts, gift bazaars and other holiday events begin hitting Ventura County this weekend faster than snowflakes at the North Pole.

First up at 5 p.m. today is the lighting of Oxnard’s 110-foot star pine Christmas tree at Plaza Park, at 5th and B streets.

It’s the first event of what’s called “Hometown Holidays,” intended as a monthlong, image-boosting, cash register-ringing tourism bonanza in Oxnard.

“We’re getting calls from Granada Hills, Orange County residents, various people who are looking for something to do for the weekend,” said Carol Lavender, executive director of the 18-month-old Greater Oxnard & Harbors Tourism Bureau.

Also beginning tonight is the first of four weekend performances of Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker” ballet by the Channel Islands Ballet Company. Shows are at 7:30 tonight, 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Oxnard Civic Auditorium. Call 648-4480 for tickets, which range from $11-$28.

The Oxnard Holiday Parade begins at 10 a.m. Saturday. Some 40 entries, including three Oxnard high school bands, will traverse B Street from 8th to 3rd streets.

In Ventura, galleries and downtown businesses will stay open until 9 tonight for the city’s Holiday Art Walk, an evening of music and self-guided tours through the recently refurbished downtown.

Strolling minstrels and carolers dressed in holiday garb will serenade crowds under big palm trees strung with tiny white Christmas lights.

The seventh edition of Art Walk boasts 41 art exhibits, spread out in downtown galleries and shops.

“The Art Walks have been a great success,” said Tim O’Neil, president of the Downtown Ventura Assn. “The crowds have been growing. I think the last Art Walk there were upward of 8,000 people that filled the streets.”

At 8:30 p.m., people are invited to help decorate Ventura’s first community Christmas tree, a 15-footer to be trimmed at the corner of Santa Clara and California streets.

Nine blocks of downtown Ventura will again be packed with crowds from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday when the 19th annual Ventura Holiday Street Festival takes place. The festival features an array of arts and crafts, children’s activities, food booths, entertainment and seasonal fare.

A Christmas tradition for more than 30 years continues this weekend at Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks with renditions of Christmas carols by the school’s choir and chamber orchestra. Performances are scheduled for 8 p.m. tonight and Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday in the Samuelson Chapel. Admission is free.

Tonight and Saturday in the Forum Theater at Thousand Oaks Civics Arts Plaza, the Village Voices Chorale is scheduled to present its “Holiday Treasures” concert. Hanukkah songs, Christmas carols and other holiday classics are on the bill at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $12. Call 583-8700.

At 4 p.m. Sunday at the Probst Center at the Thousand Oaks Civic Auditorium, the 100-voice Los Robles Master Chorale will sing Victorian carols. Tickets are $8-$25. Call 449-2787 or 482-2866 for information.

Fillmore hosts its 15th annual Christmas parade from 4 to 5 p.m. Saturday. The parade, with the theme of an “Old-Fashioned Christmas,” begins at 2nd Street, heads down Central Avenue and ends at Masonic Park at Sespe Avenue. Santa Claus will be available for photographs with children after the parade, and at 6 p.m. the community’s Christmas tree will be lighted at the park.

Beginning Saturday for three consecutive weekends, holiday revelers can take two-hour train rides from Fillmore through the Santa Clara Valley. Santa and Mrs. Claus will be on board for the trip, which includes a stop at a Christmas tree farm.

There are three rides on both Saturdays and Sundays. Ticket prices range from $8-$24. Call 524-2546 for more information.

The Ojai Valley has scheduled its fifth annual community tree lighting and caroling at 6 p.m. Saturday at Lake Casitas Recreation Area. Bring a non-perishable food item and the $5 parking fee will be waived.

From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday in the Conejo Valley is the Holiday Homes Tour. Call 371-1536 for ticket information.

In Camarillo, the Meadowlark Service League philanthropic organization offers its 17th annual home tour from 1-5 p.m. Sunday. Five homes in Spanish Hills, Saticoy and Los Posas Estates will display family heirlooms, seasonal floral displays and decorations. Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door. Call 987-8147 or 987-5404 for more information.

Looking ahead, decorating is well under way at Oxnard’s “Christmas Tree Lane,” also known as South F Street. This year’s version should be bigger and better, thanks to more participation from residents and about $10,000 worth of donated Christmas decorations from the Esplanade shopping center.

“Last year, we were hoping to get two [blocks] and we got four, this year we’re almost up to five,” resident Steve Buratti said.

“Christmas Tree Lane” will stretch from 5th Street to Magnolia Avenue. New this year is an 18-foot tall toy soldier and animated carousels.

The lane officially opens next weekend, with displays lighted from 6-10 p.m. Dec. 10-26.

Staff writers Christina Lima and Tracy Wilson contributed to this story.