California Corner

PALM SPRINGS--The weekly Village Fest resumes Thursday, Jan. 7. From 6-10 p.m., Palm Canyon Drive in downtown will be closed off to make way for more than 150 arts and crafts vendors, food booths, pony rides and street entertainers. The street festival is held each Thursday. Free. (760) 320-3781.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE--Watch ice carvers wield mallets, chain saws and ice picks to shape 300-pound blocks of ice into works of art at Hot Ice ’99. Competitors will carve dragons and other designs outside the Embassy Suites, 4130 Lake Tahoe Blvd. at Stateline. Jan. 9-10, 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Free. (530) 544-5400.

SAN FRANCISCO--Join two weekend activities in honor of Martin Luther King Jr., beginning with the Youth Candlelight Vigil on Friday, Jan. 15. Presentations and performances are planned 4-6 p.m. at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission St. On Monday, Jan. 18, board the Freedom Train Ride anywhere along the route, departing San Jose at 10 a.m. for San Francisco’s downtown CalTrain station ($5 round-trip). Marchers from the station, Yerba Buena Center and other locations will walk to the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium on Grove Street. A rally follows, 12:30-3 p.m. Free. (415) 274-1821.

SANTA CRUZ--The Santa Cruz Mountains are filled with hundreds of species of fungus and mushrooms. Visit the 25th annual Santa Cruz Fungus Fair Jan. 16-17 and see about 200 of them, in natural settings re-created in the Louden Nelson Community Center, 301 Center St. The specimens include wild, edible and poisonous varieties. There will also be cooking demonstrations. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. $5; seniors and students, $3; under 12 free. (831) 429-3773.

CARLSBAD--So what if you’re in no condition to run the San Diego Marathon on Jan. 17--at least you can eat and dress like a runner, with a little help from the All About Fitness Expo. Expect about 80 vendors, interactive displays and speakers under the big top at Playa Camino Real, on El Camino Real Boulevard. 3-7 p.m. Jan. 15; 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Jan. 16. Free. (619) 792-2900.