The annual festivities begin on the night of Friday, December 6th from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. featuring free crafts, live music from Pop Rocks, and dancing. Attendees are invited to come early to enjoy live music starting at 4:30pm at the park’s Main Plaza with 5:15pm as the speaking program start time before lights are illuminated throughout the park at 5:30 pm. This year’s early lighting celebration precedes the neighboring Let’s Glow SF event at the Ferry Building, which Winterfest attendees can check out shortly after our illumination. All events are free!
Friday, December 6, 2024: Holiday Lighting Celebration 4:30 – 6:30 p.m. at the Main Plaza
Enjoy dancing and live music from Pop Rocks, holiday crafts, holiday beverages for purchase from Barebottle Brewing Company, and a countdown to the park’s holiday illumination at 5:15 pm.
Saturday, December 7, 2024: Kids Day 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. at the Main Plaza
Saturday is Kid’s Day! Free holiday activities include a special Winter Storytime with the San Francisco Public Library, face painting and a visit from winter fairies with Happily Ever Laughter, a kid’s Holiday Sing-a-long with Music Together of San Francisco, Ornament Making with the Children’s Creativity Museum, and more!
Saturday, December 7, 2024: Ugly Sweater Silent Disco 5 – 7 p.m. at the Main Plaza
On the second day of Winterfest my true love gave to me, a Silent Disco Parrrty! Grab your best ugly sweater and warm up the dance floor in style with music from 3 DJs from HUSHconcerts. Headphones available first-come, first-served (I.D. required).
Sunday, December 8, 2024: Wreath Making Party 9 – 11 a.m. / 12 – 2 p.m. / 3 – 5 p.m. at the Main Plaza
Three two-hour sessions beginning at 9am, 12pm, and 3pm on Sunday, December 8, Main Plaza
Make your own festive wreath with fresh greens, ribbons, and more! A free ticket to attend a session is required, as all supplies are provided but limited. Ticket reservations are available at bit.ly/wreathmaking2024 and will close when tickets are sold out. Walk-ins to the event will be accepted 40 minutes after the start of each session or at the staff’s discretion, depending on capacity and ticket-holder no-show rate. Capacity is 200 wreath-makers per session.
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Let’s Glow SF, the country’s largest holiday projection event, will return to downtown San Francisco for the 2024 holiday season.
From December 6th through 15th, this free outdoor holiday event will use high-tech projectors and lasers to showcase whimsical, large-scale pieces of animated art across the facade of eight iconic SF buildings from 5:30-10:00 PM nightly (shows begin at 7 PM on the first evening of the event).
Let’s Glow SF is hosted by The Downtown SF Partnership, the community benefit district that oversees 43 blocks across San Francisco’s Financial District and Jackson Square Historic District. The signature event is part of citywide efforts to activate downtown’s public realm and increase programming as a form of placemaking across the city and is partially funded through an economic recovery grant from the San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development and Office of Mayor London N. Breed.
2024 Let’s Glow SF Festival Dates:
December 6-15, 2024 – 5:30-10pm nightly
Opening Night Celebration: December 6, 2024 – 5-7pm
For more than a century, Fairmont San Francisco has enchanted guests with holiday festivities and exuberant ambiance. This season, Fairmont’s elves were back at it once again working overtime to create a dazzling, unparalleled winter display.
On display from November 23, 2024 through the New Year, the hotel transforms into one of the world’s most beloved holiday destinations, where moments are turned into cherished memories. Fairmont San Francisco’s two-story, life-sized Gingerbread House in the hotel’s grand lobby has become a must-see attraction for guests from near and far.
With thousands of bricks of real gingerbread baked by the Fairmont’s pastry team and pounds of See’s Candies, the Gingerbread House display brings out the kid in everyone.
The Fairmont’s Gingerbread House 2024 On view from right before Thanksgiving through the New Year Open daily (typically from 11 am – 10 pm) The Fairmont, 950 Mason St., SF FREE and open to the public in the hotel’s lobby
Each year, the Gingerbread House takes center stage and fills the halls with its sweet aroma, but the property’s 23-foot tall Christmas tree, surrounded by a festive holiday train and seasonal decorations, in the main lobby is also impressive in its own right.
Fairmont San Francisco Fun Facts about the Fairmont’s Gingerbread House: 520 hours are spent each year building, lighting, and outfitting a life-sized Victorian gingerbread house 8,000 baked bricks cover the two-story structure The life size gingerbread house stands 25 feet high, 35 feet wide, and nearly 11 feet deep 450 hours are spent decorating the bricks with icing and sweets How is the Fairmont’s Gingerbread House Built? Fairmont engineering and culinary teams begin planning the gingerbread house in July, which is also when crews begin baking 12- by 4-inch gingerbread bricks to cover the home’s wooden frame.
As the holidays draw near, builders frame the rooms, set the roof, and prepare the structure for decorations. “When it’s complete, each gingerbread brick gets placed by hand, and the pastry people pipe icing along every single grout line,” Walton says (that icing requires more than 1,000 pounds of powdered sugar and around 150 gallons of egg whites).
Teams then tackle the sweet job of outfitting the gingerbread house with candy, from Peeps to gumdrops to strands of Nerds Rope in all colors of the rainbow. There are candy canes, of course, and in past years, designers have attached individual Hershey’s Miniatures bars to the walls with icing. When it’s complete, more than 1,900 pounds of candy adorn the Fairmont’s gingerbread house.
Walton, a self-described tinkerer, also creates magical holiday accents for the house, often from everyday items. He turns industrial air filters into snow-dusted hills, and motors salvaged from office shredders and windshield wipers power reindeer rocking chairs and swirling snowflake mobiles. His hand-cut shadow puppets even star in a holiday video aired inside the house.
As any avid baker (or Great British Bake-Off viewer) will know, sometimes, there are mishaps in creating a confectionary masterpiece — one year, the lobby lights even melted the home’s chocolate-covered roof. But unexpected surprises (both planned and accidental) charm hotel guests and public visitors alike throughout the season.
After the holidays, Walton removes the interior electronics and teams tear down the structure. The framework gets recycled, and the bricks, candy, and other edible ingredients are composted. The Fairmont lobby returns to normal, but the holiday spirit lingers until the next season.
“The gingerbread house is definitely a challenge, but we’re all glad to be part of the project. To watch kids light up as they explore, and to see adults marvel at the little nuances, is all really incredible,” Walton says.
The San Francisco Botanical Garden is one of the most diverse gardens in the world. A unique urban oasis, the garden is a living museum within Golden Gate Park, offering 55 acres of both landscaped gardens and open spaces, and showcasing over 9,000 different kinds of plants from around the world.
he garden is always free for San Francisco residents, but visitors can also enjoy this treasure for free on the second Tuesday of every month; plus it’s free on Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day for everyone.
Take in the atmosphere of San Francisco’s Noe Valley at our monthly Night Market! Join us in the Town Square for an evening of live music with Lambert Moss and special offers from some of the neighborhood’s best businesses. Stroll around and stop in at our other local businesses for additional specials as we stay open late to welcome everyone to our special neighborhood. All are welcome, and event is free with the Eventbrite RSVP. See you there!
Let’s Glow SF, the country’s largest holiday projection event, will return to downtown San Francisco for the 2024 holiday season.
From December 6th through 15th, this free outdoor holiday event will use high-tech projectors and lasers to showcase whimsical, large-scale pieces of animated art across the facade of eight iconic SF buildings from 5:30-10:00 PM nightly (shows begin at 7 PM on the first evening of the event).
Let’s Glow SF is hosted by The Downtown SF Partnership, the community benefit district that oversees 43 blocks across San Francisco’s Financial District and Jackson Square Historic District. The signature event is part of citywide efforts to activate downtown’s public realm and increase programming as a form of placemaking across the city and is partially funded through an economic recovery grant from the San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development and Office of Mayor London N. Breed.
2024 Let’s Glow SF Festival Dates:
December 6-15, 2024 – 5:30-10pm nightly
Opening Night Celebration: December 6, 2024 – 5-7pm
The Great Dickens Christmas Fair is a one-of-a-kind immersive adventure into Victorian London ~ an elaborate holiday party with hundreds of costumed players performing and interacting with patrons in over 140,000 square feet of theatrically-lit music halls, pubs, dance floors, and festive shops.
The Great Dickens Christmas Fair is open for 5 weekends. The Festival opens Saturday, November 23, and runs Saturdays and Sundays (plus the Friday after Thanksgiving) through December 22, 2024, from 10am-6pm.
It is perpetually Christmas Eve at the Great Dickens Christmas Fair! The Fair transports you to the London of Charles Dickens – a city of winding lanes filled with colorful characters from both literature and history – all in a festive mood! Enticing aromas of roasted chestnuts and hearty foods fill the air. Cries of street vendors hawking their wares ring out above the bustling crowd. Dozens of lamplit shops are filled to overflowing with handmade gifts. The Dickens Christmas Fair is a treasured Bay Area tradition since 1970 and a splendid way to celebrate the holidays. Enjoy new immersive experiences, and a live steam train as you arrive in the Victoria Station lobby.
The Great Dickens Christmas Fair & Victorian Holiday Party takes visitors on a deeply immersive adventure through the theaters, pubs, and dance halls of Victorian London. Wander through lamplit lanes lined with charming shops of handmade gifts, and meet and mingle with hundreds of costumed characters. Explore while enjoying the enticing aromas of hot apple cider and roasted cinnamon almonds. The Great Dickens Christmas Fair is a time traveler’s delight and a one-of-a-kind adventure into holiday merriment!
WHERE: The Cow Palace, 2600 Geneva Avenue, Daly City, CA WHEN: Five weekends from November 23 through December 22 including the Friday after Thanksgiving, from 10 am to 6 pm. TICKETS:
Please note, tickets are only available online. Tickets on sale now. Please note that Red Barn Productions, producers of The Great Dickens Christmas Fair, is the only official seller. There are no authorized ticket resellers or on-site box office.
General Adult (All day ticket – Ages 13 and up): $45 General Youth (All day ticket – Ages 5-12): $25 Children under 5: FREE Fair Season Pass: $160 (a $495 value)
2024 Special Discounts:
Active Military: FREE – Active Military personnel plus three family members all receive FREE Admission on 1st and 2nd weekends! (November 23-24, 29-30 and Dec. 1 only). Online reservations not required, show active military I.D at on-site Willcall Booth.
Kick off the holiday season at the 38th Annual Building Lighting Ceremony and watch as Embarcadero Center illuminates the San Francisco skyline with 17,000 holiday lights!
Lighting takes place “as the night draws to a close” after the SF’s Embarcadero Center so we expect the lighting to be around 5:30pm or 6pm
Celebrate the official start of the holiday season with the 38th Annual Building Lighting Ceremony at Embarcadero Center! The excitement begins at 4:00pm on Thursday, November 21st, with the Holiday Market.
Dive into the festive spirit as you shop local artisans and retailers, groove to live music, sip on delightful drinks, and savor tasty lite bites. Plus, discover the mystique of tarot readings to add a dash of intrigue to your night! As the night draws to a close, be captivated by the breathtaking sight of Embarcadero Center lighting up the sky with 17,000 dazzling lights outlining the building.
Arrive early! The first 200 attendees at the Holiday Market (4-6p) will receive a drink token for a complimentary cocktail or mocktail. Plus, the first 300 guests who purchase a drink will be treated to a complimentary caramel apple. Don’t miss this opportunity to celebrate the season!
For more information please click the following link
The Contemporary Jewish Museum (CJM) in San Francisco has, unfortunately, announced it will temporarily close its galleries for at least one year, beginning December 16, 2024, due to financial challenges.
The good news is that in order to give the public an opportunity to experience the museum before the closure, CJM is offering free admission through December 15, 2024 waiving the usual $16 entry fee.
Contemporary Jewish Museum Visit for free through December 15, 2024 Open Thursdays through Sundays | 11a-5p (closed Thanksgiving)
Please note that free tickets seem to be available starting November 17, 2024
Current Exhibitions
California Jewish Open – Transdisciplinary artist Nicki Green’s first museum solo exhibition delves into questions of identity, transformation, and reinvention of Jewish traditions through new and existing artworks in ceramic, installation, fiber, and more. Nicki Green: Firmament – Marking the first time the space has been activated in this way since the building’s opening, Bay Area artist Leah Rosenberg transforms The CJM’s Yud Gallery through light and color, creating a welcoming environment for visitors to reflect, rest, and wonder. L’Chaim: Celebrating Our Building at 15 – This exhibition delves into the deep symbolism imbued in The CJM’s iconic building, inspired by the Hebrew phrase l’chaim (“to life”).
The CJM’s current home, designed by renowned architect Daniel Libeskind, opened in 2008 and uniquely combines the historic 1881 power station with a bold blue geometric structure. This architectural fusion, inspired by the Hebrew word “chai” (meaning “life”), has made the building a recognizable part of San Francisco’s cultural landscape. With free admission through mid-December, visitors can explore both the exhibits and this distinctive building before the temporary pause.
The museum’s Board of Trustees emphasized that this closure is a proactive measure to stabilize finances and plan for the future, rather than a permanent shutdown. The Board has likened this period to a “Sabbath” pause, giving time for planning and exploration of new ways to reach audiences and ensure long-term sustainability.
Since its founding, the CJM has worked to foster understanding of Jewish culture, counter antisemitism, and serve the Bay Area community. As the museum prepares for its sabbatical, it encourages visitors to enjoy its galleries, exhibitions, and architecture at no cost through December 15.
Thanks to an optical illusion in the sky, the moon will appear bigger and brighter than normal in the San Francisco Bay Area in the night, during what astronomers call a “supermoon.”
Because the sun is about 50,000 miles closer to the earth than at its furthest point – and it’s a full or new moon – the moon will appear larger and brighter than most full moons. To be considered a supermoon, it has to be within 224,851 miles (361,863 kilometers) of our planet, as measured from the centers of the moon and Earth.
The best time to observe the supermoon is when the moon is near the horizon during eithermoonrise or moonset, thanks to having objects in the foreground (like buildings or trees) to provide reference points for estimating the moon’s size.
2024 Supermoons & Rare Full Moons
August 19 – “Blue” Supermoon
September 17 – Super Harvest Moon plus a partial lunar eclipse
October 17 – Super Hunter’s Moon and the closest full supermoon for 2024
November 15 – Full Moon, Supermoon
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