Happy New Year! Below you will find a sampling of what’s happening in the Golden State during the first quarter of 2012. (Please visit the sites noted in parenthesis after the listing for details about a specific event.) If you’re looking for California current events in a different season, please click on these links:
California Current Events – Spring
California Culinary Events – Summer Food Festivals
California Current Events – Fall
California Current Events – Holiday
North Coast
The big event on the North Coast during the first quarter of the year is the Whale Festival. The event will transpire in three different North Coast cities on three different March weekends:
Mendocino on March 3 & 4, 2012
Little River on March 10 & 11, 2012
Fort Bragg on March 17 & 18, 2012
Along with whale watching, these celebrations typically offer games for kids, informative presentations, wine/beer tastings and more. (MendoWhale.com)
Shasta & Cascades
Hearty and adventuresome souls may want to head up to Weed, CA on February 11 & 12, 2012 for the Siskiyou Sled Dog Races. The event is held at Deer Mountain-Chuck Best Memorial Snowmobile Park, which is about 20 miles NE of Weed. New this year: The race distance will increase to 220 miles, and the Distance Class race will be an official Iditarod qualifying race. How cool is that? Big CONGRATS from California Tourist Guide! (siskiyousleddograces.com)
Wine Country
One of our favorite California winter events, the Sonoma Valley Olive Season, offers you the chance to partake in various olive-related activities during February 2012, including a “An Olive Odyssey at Jacuzzi Family Vineyards” on February 18 & 19. (sonomavalley.com)
Meanwhile, in Napa, check out the Napa Valley Truffle Festival on January 13-16, 2012. This is the second year for the event, and leading truffle cultivation experts and special culinary-centric guests will discuss, examine, prepare and feast on the rare and delectable fungi. This is North America’s premiere truffle event! (napatrufflefestival.com)
San Francisco Bay Area
Dine About Town is back on January 15-31, 2012, when dozens of San Francisco’s most popular restaurants will offer creative-yet-affordable, three-course, prix fixe lunches and dinners at reduced rates. The savings are impressive, and the meals and restaurants are even more so. For a complete list of participating restaurants, visit the San Francisco visitor’s bureau website. (onlyinsanfrancisco.com/dineabouttown)
Named one of the top ten parades in the world by the IFEA (International Festivals and Events Association), the Southwest Airlines Chinese New Year Parade in San Francisco is definitely a California current event worth making a special trip to see. The largest celebration of its kind outside Asia, 2012’s festivities will usher in the Year of the Dragon, Lunar Year 4710, culminating with a spectacular parade of elaborately decorated floats, school marching bands, martial arts groups, stilt walkers, lion dancers, Chinese acrobatics, the newly-crowned Miss Chinatown USA and the grand finale, 200-foot long Golden Dragon (Gum Lung). The fun begins with the Chinese New Year Flower Fair on the weekend three weeks prior to the parade — January 14 & 15, 2012 (so that families can stock their homes with the requisite traditional fruits and flowers), and the festivities begin on Saturday, February 11, 2012, at 10 a.m. The parade is preceded by a Community Street Fair, which continues on Sunday, February 12, from 9:00 to 5:00 p.m. Gung Hay Fat Choy! (chineseparade.com)
Central Coast
Although the event itself isn’t until May 18-20, 2012, tickets go on sale for Monterey Bay Aquarium’s popular Cooking for Solutions gala fundraiser during the first quarter. Members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets beginning January 30, and then sales open to the general public on February 13, 2012. The event honors chefs for their leadership in promoting cuisine that protects the land and sea and offers participants cooking demonstrations and various food and wine adventures. More than 70 chefs and 60 wineries will participate in the 2012 event! (montereybayaquarium.org)
The Morro Bay Winter Bird Festival will be held on January 13-16, 2012, and will include land, ocean and bay field trips in addition to workshops, presentations, displays and vendor booths. (morrobaybirdfestival.org)
Cambria Art & Wine Festival offers three days of shopping, wine tasting, food pairing and local artists demonstrating their work. This year’s festival takes place January 27-29, 2012, in downtown Cambria. (seecambria.com/artwine)
The 27th Santa Barbara International Film Festival will take place January 26 through February 5, 2012, and will feature celebrity guests, tributes, panels, awards, screenings and more. Several local restaurants are offering special “Film Feast” tasting-menu offerings to coincide with the event. (sbfilmfestival.org)
Central Valley
In Marysville on February 25 & 26, 2012, the 132nd Bok Kai Festival will honor the Chinese God of Water, Bok Eye. The event, a tribute to the many Chinese emigrants who worked the area’s gold mines in the 1800s, includes a small town parade, pancake breakfast, 5k run/walk and a vast range of multi-cultural entertainment. Sunday’s “Bomb Day” festivities will see firecrackers set off around the city’s downtown area. (bokkaifestival.com)
Sierras & Gold Country
Yosemite’s Chefs’ Holidays® at The Ahwahnee®, held each year in January and February, feature some of the world’s most innovative and acclaimed chefs. This Northern California cooking adventure provides a showcase for the range of styles, personalities and trends that characterize the American culinary scene. (yosemitepark.com)
Orange County
For two weekends in March – March 3 & 4 and March 10 & 11, 2012 – Dana Point will celebrate the return of the California Grey Whales off its coast by hosting the 41st annual Festival of the Whales. This eco-friendly event offers a parade, contests, vendor booths, entertainment and lots of fun things to do for the whole family. Additionally, area boat charters – including Captain Dave’s Dolphin Safari (dolphinsafari.com) and Dana Wharf Sportfishing (danawharf.com) – offer excursions to facilitate viewing the whales. (festivalofwhales.com)
Los Angeles
The 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards will be held in Beverly Hills on Sunday, January 15, 2012 (goldenglobes.org), and the 84th Annual Academy Awards will be presented at the Kodak Theatre on Sunday, February 26, 2012 (oscars.org).
This online Performances Magazine is a great place to find what opera, theater, dance and/or classical music performances are being offered at LA’s myriad cultural venues. There’s truly something for everyone in Los Angeles!
Aquarium of the Pacific has lots of fun events on tap: the 9th annual Festival of Human Abilities on January 28 and 29, 2012 (highlighting the creative talents and abilities of people with disabilities); the 10th annual African Heritage Festival on February 25 & 26 (celebrating the richness and diversity of African and African-American cultures); and the 11th annual Diver’s Day on March 24, 2012 (showcasing the history of, and recent advancements in, diving). (aquariumofpacific.org)
Inland Empire & Deserts
The Humana Challege (in conjunction with the Clinton Foundation) will take place January 16 through 22, 2012, at the Palmer Private Course, PGA West. Two-time British Open champion, former World No. 1 and World Golf Hall of Fame member Greg Norman will compete in this year’s event. (humanachallenge.com)
Palm Springs Modernism Week (and a half) runs February 16-26, 2012, and will offer shows, lectures, tours, film screenings and parties to celebrate the area’s distinctive “Desert Modern” architectural heritage. (modernismweek.com)
Mark your calendar to check the Maturango Museum website on February 15, when they hope to post the dates the U.S. Navy will allow them to conduct Coso petroglyphs tours in 2012. Full details are available at the website, but please note these tours are only open to U.S. citizens, 10 years of age and older, and that reservations must be made well in advance as the Navy requires the museum to submit all paperwork at least 10 days before a trip. (maturango.org)
Death Valley is home to more than 1,000 wildflower species, and 2012’s Technicolor fields could blossom anytime during late February or March. If your schedule is flexible, you can keep up to date on the blossoms and visit during their very peak. (desertusa.com)
San Diego
The west coast’s largest Mardi Gras party takes place on Fat Tuesday (February 21) in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter. This is a ticketed event for people aged 21 and older and, if like years prior, will include a parade and an outdoor block party with live music. (gaslamp.org)
St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 2012, is also a big day the Gaslamp Quarter — ShamROCK — when the streets are transformed into “party central” with 40,000 square feet of green Astroturf. The event typically offers live music (including Irish rock), special nightclub entrance passes and lots of green beer! (gaslamp.org)
You may want to send an email to the visitor’s bureau where you plan to spend your California vacation, holiday or weekend getaway. Follow the link below to a list of the convention and visitor’s bureaus for some of the state’s major tourist destinations. This is a great way to learn what local California current events might be occurring during your visit.
Related posts:
California Wine & Food Festivals
California Conventions & Visitors Bureaus
Note: Information in this article was accurate
when it was published, but hours, prices, etc.
change constantly. Please confirm details
with local contacts before traveling.
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