holiday decor
PREPPING - Town of Los Gatos workers get Town Plaza Park ready for weeks of holiday festivities. After all, the big man himself—Santa Claus—is set to visit. (Dinah Cotton / Los Gatan)

Wow, did we ever get a downpour last week! Part of the ceiling at the Safeway fell in and they were briefly closed. Seems like it might be a wet winter. Git out those galoshes, an atmospheric river is incoming. Now, where did I put the umbrellas?


Ah, fall! The leaves are dancing on the wind, inviting in winter’s chill.

The Children’s Parade is taking shape—with over 160 entrants so far, by my count. Will the Zucchini Mafia be back this year? I have missed them the past few years. And the IBM drill team?

As I ponder these deep questions, here are some upcoming events to consider…


“MMMM” – Monday Monthly Morning Movie at CineLux Los Gatos Theatre, 43 N. Santa Cruz Ave. Monday Dec. 2, 9:45am. “Wicked,” the movie, comes to Los Gatos. $10 includes: movie, coffee and a pastry. The primary purpose of MMMM is to provide community socialization for older adults. “We do check ID’s,” a spokesperson confirms. Any profits go to the Los Gatos Thrives Foundation to support future events and our new community center. For more information or to pre buy tickets go to losgatosthrives.org

Los Gatos Music and Arts #GivingTuesday is Dec. 3. It’s a global day dedicated to giving back. You can even donate to support local music education in the South Bay. givingtuesday.org 

Ribbon-Cuttings:
-The Spa’s 25th anniversary bash, 100 S. Santa Cruz Ave. Dec. 5, 3:30pm. Tickets are $20. All ticket proceeds benefit St. Jude Children’s Hospital. Please call The Spa for tickets 408-354-5901.


-At 5pm, also on Dec. 5, LaVie, at 652 N. Santa Cruz Ave Suite A, will have a grand-reopening at 5pm. The open house, from 4-7pm, will provide a look at non-surgical cosmetic services, with Dr. Neetu Nebhawani.

Head to Montalvo Arts Center at Villa Montalvo Saratoga to check out “A Christmas Carol,” by Silicon Valley Shakespeare’s roving production group, Dec. 5-21 (at 8pm with matinees at 2pm on Dec. 8 and 21) Tickets are $42-$75. The theater has limited seating. The organizers have partnered with Family Giving Tree to provide families in need with gifts this holiday season. You are also invited to bring new and unwrapped gifts from an approved-item list, located online.

On Nov. 22, the Friday before “Black Friday” is “Pink Friday.” It is a day to support small businesses and encourage people to shop small first, before the biggest shopping day of the year.

Los Gatos in Lights: The Town Plaza Park tree lighting ceremony is Dec. 6, 5-7pm. With: Fisher Middle School Chamber Strings, Winter Wonderland Light Show, snow flurries, story walk. And the big guy himself—Santa. The tree lighting will happen at 6pm.

Holiday Trolley: Debuts at Town Center Plaza Dec. 6 (tree lighting ceremony night). It continues Dec. 13-14, 5-9pm, and Dec. 15, 1-5pm. Complimentary hop-on, hop-off service.


Fantasy of Lights Vasona Park, walk through Dec. 7-8, drive through Dec. 10-Jan. 5.

Holiday Heritage Tea at the Ainsley Carriage House, 300 Grant St., Campbell, Dec. 6-8 and 13-15, 12pm. Reservations are required.

The 68th Annual Christmas / Holiday Parade will take place Dec. 7, at 11am. Rain or shine. Get your spot along the route early as many streets downtown will be closed. Email pa****@lg***********.org for a map, or with any questions. Usually ends around 3:30pm.

Santa Visits his “workshop” in Old Town Dec. 12-14, 4-7pm and Dec. 15, 1-4pm. Parents, this is a fun photo op for your kids. Donations are welcome and will benefit local charity partner Jacob’s Heart Children’s Cancer Support Services. Mrs. Claus approves.

Did somebody say “Ho Ho Hoooo?” Yep.

At Town Civic Center Lawn, Dec. 14-15, 10am-4pm, there will be free live music, gourmet food, as well as regional and local artists. Find unique holiday gifts here and support Live Oak Senior Nutrition & Services Center. This one was approved by Santa.

Nutcracker at the McAfee Center Dec. 16-19. For tickets head to LosGatosBallet.org.

You can donate your used books to the Friends of Los Gatos Library. And if you do, why not pick up some recycled reads while you’re at it. Rinse and repeat.

When your-out-of-town guests are driving you crazy, have them download the Discover LOST Gatos mobile app and suggest they take one of three self guided walking or virtual tours of historic Los Gatos: LOSTgatos.com (contact in**@LO*******.com with any questions). Better yet, take one the tours yourself and impress them with your local knowledge.

Notice is up on the chain link fence at California Home and Garden, formerly the Cornucopia Fruit Stand, as “progress” marches into Los Gatos. It says, “A 13-story building is proposed with 119 housing units, 154 feet high.” From the rendering it looks like half the units will have a pretty good view of Highway 85. Cornucopia was a landmark for so many years and had the best local fruits and veggies. It’s in the “development proposal” phase. Shall we all keep an eye on this?

And of course, there’s the “Café Dio” project at 143 & 151 E. Main St. (by the high school), too.

It also looks like we will be getting a French Champagne bar at 3 N. Santa Cruz Ave. close to Oren’s Hummus, early next year. We can hang out there and reminiscence about old Los Gatos and how the developer’s “remedy” changed our town.

A scheduled reopening this week for Pedro’s Restaurant and Cantina. Sadly, it will not have the chips trough folks. You remember the huge tub of chips we all dove into, way before Covid?

However, it will have a horseshoe bar and large community table. So, I’ll take it.

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