Near Vegas: Ice queen or king for a day

Henderson, Nev.

Nov. 18: Lake Las Vegas Resort may not have the area’s only ice rink, but there’s a good chance it’s the only outdoor rink that floats. The Rockefeller Center-sized rink on 320-acre Lake Las Vegas is open for skating under the desert sun from Nov. 18 to Jan. 15. Things get festive with a gingerbread house competition, carriage rides, carolers, Santa and shopping.

Lake Las Vegas Resort, 1600 Lake Las Vegas Parkway, Henderson, Nev.; (800) 564-1603. $15.

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Creede, Colo.

Nov. 24-25: Strolling downtown Creede, with its cozy shops, is a sweet pastime during the Chocolate Tasting Festival. It’s the 17th year of a competition between local businesses, which cook up chocolate goodies. “Anything goes,” said Brenda Maze, of the local chamber of commerce. Last year’s offerings included hot chocolate, chocolate-covered cherries and something that tasted like jalapeno fudge, she said. After tasting, visitors vote for their favorites. The winner gets a plaque (and not the kind that causes tooth decay).

Tickets are $10 from the Creede/Mineral County Chamber of Commerce, 207 N. Main St., Creede, Colo.; (800) 327-2102, www.creede.com.

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San Francisco

Nov. 24-Dec. 23: Please, sir, may I have some more? The answer will undoubtedly be yes at the Great Dickens Christmas Fair. Scrooge, the Cratchits, Oliver Twist and the odd chimneysweep and newsboy prowl this annual event at the Cow Palace Exhibition Halls, where the streets of Dickens’ London are re-created. There will be polkas and jigs at the dance party at Fezziwig’s Warehouse, pantomime and melodrama at the Bijou Music Hall, pints and can-can dancers at Mad Sal’s Dockside Ale House, and revelry galore.

2600 Geneva Ave., San Francisco. Weekends from Nov. 24 through Dec. 23, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. $20; children 5-11, $8, younger than 5 free. (800) 510-1558, www.dickensfair.com.

Amy Hubbard

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