Happy Holidays to All

 

 

 

Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | http://www.abodes.realestate | 562-896-2609 | 

California Lic. #01188996

Holiday Events for December 2023

Looking for fun things to do in December? Here's a partial list of local activities!

 Dec. 7-9 - Rancho Voices: A Holiday Celebration - https://www.rancholosalamitos.com/events.html

 Dec. 8 - Homeschool Holiday - https://www.aquariumofpacific.org/events/info/homeschool_holiday

 Dec. 8 - Versa Style Dance Company - https://www.carpenterarts.org/event/versa-style-dance-company-0

Dec 8 - 17 - The Nutcracker - https://www.scfta.org/events/2023/american-ballet-theatre-s-the-nutcracker

Dec 9-23 - A Christmas Carol Long Beach Playhouse - https://lbplayhouse.org/event/a-christmas-carol-2023/ 

 Dec. 9 - Long Beach Symphony Holiday Swing - https://www.lbentertainmentcenter.com/events/long-beach-symphony-5/

Dec. 9 - 10 - Huntington Harbour Boat Parade - hhboatparade.org 

Dec 10 - Maker's Market Long Beach Museum of Art - https://www.lbma.org/mc-events/makers-market-2/?mc_id-420091

Dec 10 - Chanukah Celebration - https://2ndandpch.com/portfolio/chanukah-celebration/

Dec. 15-16 - Celtic Woman Christmas - https://www.scfta.org/events/2023/celtic-woman-christmas

Dec. 16 - Breakfast with Santa - https://2ndandpch.com/portfolio/breakfast-with-santa/ 

Dec. 16 - The Long Beach Nutcracker - https://www.lbentertainmentcenter.com/events/the-long-beach-nutcracker-2/

Dec 19-24 - How the Grinch Stole Christmas - https://www.scfta.org/events/2023/dr-seuss-how-the-grinch-stole-christmas!-the-musical 

Dec. 30 - New Year's Eve Party Queen Mary - https://queenmary.com/tours/new-years-eve/

 

Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | http://www.abodes.realestate | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #01188996

Halloween Events for Long Beach

 Halloween Kitty and Orange Moon

Local Halloween events around town:

Halloween Family Night Aquarium of the Pacific - October 20th

Long Beach Festival of Flight, Long Beach Airport - October 21

Howl-O-Ween Festival, El Dorado Nature Center - October 21

Halloween Carnival- Signal Hill Park - October 28th

Fairfield Family YMCA Trunk or Treat - October 27th

Historical Cemetery Tour - October 28

Halloween Scarium of the Pacific - October 28 and 29

Phantom of the Opera - October 22

Haute Dog Halloween Parade - October 29th

Trick or Treat on 2nd St - October 31st 

Lakewood Parks Halloween Carnivals - October 31st

Trick or Treat on Main Street Seal Beach - October 31st

 These are just some of the fun events around Long Beach, Signal Hill and Seal Beach. Take your family, partner or friends!

Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | http://www.abodes.realestate | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #01188996

Long Beach 4th of July

Looking for July 4th activities in Long Beach?  Here are all-day

events in Long Beach: on the Queen Mary, a bike parade, barbecue at the Aquarium, and a party at the Belmont Pier. 

All-American 4th of July
Queen Mary / 12-11pm
(562) 499-1771 / www.queenmary.com

Kids’ July 4th Bike Parade
Granada Avenue / 9:15am
http://justinrudd.com/bikeparade.html

Big Bang on the Bay - July 3
Boathouse / 5:30-10pm
(562) 493-1100 / www.boathouseonthebay.com

Late Night & BBQ
Aquarium of the Pacific / 5-10pm
(562) 590-3100 / www.aquariumofpacific.org

Party on the Pier - July 4-5
Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier / 12-10pm
(562) 477-6820 / www.alfredosbeachclub.com

• And for more summer events including movies and music, check out this page from the Port of Long Beach.

Please remember that fireworks are not allowed in the City of Long Beach, except as permitted for events. 

December Events Around Long Beach Area

Local events and happendings in the Long Beach/Lakewood area, and some are tonight!


Las Posadas Procession and Fiesta at Rancho Los Alamitos on December 16.

See events at Rancho Los Cerritos for Christmas Festival and Tour -
Old Time Christmas Festival, 1-4 p.m., Sunday, December 9; 
Saturday & Sunday, December 15-16: Christmas Candlelight Tours, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Long Beach Airport will open up a brand new concourse and terminal soon! See gallery photos and article.  See article about original mosaics recently found in the original terminal which were part of the WPA's projects.

Parade of 1,000 Lights, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. , Saturday, Dec 8, boat parade between Shoreline Marina and Rainbow Harbor.

The Christmas Tree Lane Parade will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 8, on Daisy Avenue between Burnett Street and Pacific Coast Highway, Long Beach.

Naples Boat Parade, Sat. Dec. 15th, 6 p.m.,  off Naples Plaza and Marine Stadium.

See photos for the Victorian Christmas at the Banning House in Wilmington.

Huntington Harbour Board Parade, Dec. 8, 5:15 p.m., off Pacific Coast Highway, Huntington Beach.

Holiday Things to Do and See in Long Beach

If you were a tourist in the area, what would you like to visit? (Or, maybe you live here, but you're looking for something to do in the holiday period.)

The Long Beach Museum of Art, in a former turn-of-the-20th-century residence, is on the bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, with Claire's Cafe, outdoor sculpture, and recent gallery addition.

The Aquarium of the Pacific has winter day camps, educational programs for children, holiday events, harbor cruises, the aviary and the Shark Lagoon, an online learning center, and many many exhibits throughout its halls. Not to be missed. And visit the Queen Mary's hotel, ballroom, restaurants and shops--this is a historic ship still retaining many original features. El Dorado Park is one of the largest area parks in Los Angeles County--ponds, ducks, lots of parking, and has a Nature Center with walking trails.

And, for more gardens, visit the Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden at CSU Long Beach. The campus is also home to the Richard and Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center, and its holiday schedule of events--easy parking access off of Atherton.

For an easy walk over water, try the Belmont Pier or the Seal Beach Pier just over the line in Orange County. You might be there in time for the Christmas Parade in Belmont Shore or the Seal Beach Christmas Parade in Old Town, or take a holiday boat ride for the Harbor Lights.

If you're looking for property while you're here, please visit my property search page, or give me a call at 562-896-2609.

A Note for the 4th of July

It's only fitting to check in at the site for Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson, not only because he was a President, but also his final day is recorded on a July 4 (but back in the 1800s).

Tomorrow, 76 people from 36 counties will become United States citizens in a ceremony at Monticello. These ceremonies for Monticello started in 1963, are presided over by a local judge and are accompanied by patriotic music by the Charlottesville Municipal Band.

If they haven't bought their new U.S. home yet, we hope they will soon. Many Americans don't realize that the United States is one of the very few countries where a buyer can obtain a 30-year mortgage without discrimination towards age, marital status, race, or gender discrimination, with zero down if need be. The variety of loan options available in this country does not exist in many countries where 20% down is still the standard.

Long Beach

Happy President's Day

I think George Washington hasn't gotten a fair shake in the more commonly known portraits of him. One of his problems was supposedly the various sets of false teeth he had to use, and of course the oil portrait styles of the time. This life mask is a much more likely representation of his normal facial appearance.

He inherited his brother's estate at Mount Vernon in 1752 at the age of 20. Today's version of that estate is not what George Washington would have been managing in the 1700's--a very different world which grew from the original 500 acres to 8,000 acres divided into 5 farms, designed to be a self-contained, self-producing community with a workforce of slaves who later were emancipated in his will. While other people did the heavy lifting, George did all and more that management of his estate required:

He worked constantly to improve and expand the mansion house and its surrounding plantation. He established himself as an innovative farmer, who switched from tobacco to wheat as his main cash crop in the 1760's. In an effort to improve his farming operation, he diligently experimented with new crops, fertilizers, crop rotation, tools, and livestock breeding. He also expanded the work of the plantation to include flour milling and commercial fishing in an effort to make Mount Vernon a more profitable estate. By the time of his death in 1799, he had expanded the plantation from 2,000 to 8,000 acres consisting of five farms, with more than 3,000 acres under cultivation. Biography

Washington, and others of his time, was not given the type of academic education we think of as necessary today, but his education came more in the form of private tutoring. People of his time were trained in social behavior as well, including standards of behavior which George copied when he was very young, The Rules of Civility, standards which are just as applicable to people today and which should be required reading in my opinion.



George Washington, Presidents