Fisherman’s Wharf and the St. Francis Yacht Club will once again present the oldest and largest lighted holiday boat parade on San Francisco Bay. More than 100 boats, each festooned with lights and holiday decorations, will parade along the waterfront on Friday, December 11, 2009, starting at 6pm. Great viewing from PIER 39 and Aquatic Park in Fisherman’s Wharf.

A holiday tradition since 1994, this year’s parade will include members of the St. Francis Yacht Club, Fisherman’s Wharf Fishing Fleet, Golden Gate Yacht Club, PIER 39 Marina, and the Sea Scouts. The parade route will begin just off of PIER 39, proceeding west past Fisherman’s Wharf, Fort Mason and the St. Francis Yacht Club, and will turn around off of Crissy Field to return along the waterfront.

Spectators can enjoy wonderful views from Aquatic Park, PIER 39, the Marina Green, and Crissy Field. In addition to offering a fantastic vantage point, restaurants along the Wharf will be featuring traditional holiday menus. The Fisherman’s Wharf Fishing Fleet will remain lit throughout the holiday season. The best viewing of this spectacular display can be found at the Sport Fishing Harbor along Jefferson Street between Jones and Taylor.

California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park will offer extended holiday hours: December 21-23, 9:30am – 6:30pm and December 26-30, 9:30am – 6:30pm, January 1-2, 9:30am – 6:30pm, January 3, 11:00am – 6:30pm (normal closing time is 5pm). Also, don’t miss:
PENGUIN FEEDINGS
Daily at 10:30 am & 3:30 pm
The Academy’s African penguins are always especially animated during meal time. Watch the birds dip and dive in their tank at the end of African Hall as a biologist dons a wet suit and hands out vitamin-stuffed herring and capelin. Each feeding takes 10 minutes, and questions are encouraged. Free with Academy admission.
CORAL REEF DIVES
Daily at 11:30 am & 2:30 pm
Watch as a diver suits up in SCUBA gear and plunges into the world’s deepest living coral reef exhibit. Outfitted with an underwater microphone, the diver will answer all of your reef-related questions. Free with Academy admission.
SWAMP TALK
Weekdays at 1:00 pm
Saturdays and Sundays at 11:00 am, 1:00 pm, 3:00 pm
Join us at the Swamp to learn about some of the Academy’s most popular animals, including American alligators and alligator snapping turtles. You’ll find out what it takes to care for these amazing creatures, which are native to swamps in the southeastern United States. Free with Academy admission.
BUGS! 3D SHOW
Daily, every hour on the hour
This 25-minute film is a remarkable foray into the insect life of Borneo, using immersive 3D technology. Named the Best Special Venue film at the 2009 Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival, Bugs! follows the life cycles of Hierodula, the praying mantis, and Papilio, the butterfly. Slide on your special viewing glasses and see for yourself what all the buzz is about. Free with Academy admission.
JOURNEY TO THE STARS PLANETARIUM SHOW
Daily, Proceed to the planetarium entrance upon arrival for the day’s schedule and to pick up your passes.
Travel through time and space to experience the dramatic lives and deaths of stars. Witness brilliant supernova explosions, dive into the heart of the fiery Sun, and watch it transform into a red giant five billion years in the future. Along the way, you will discover the deep-rooted connection between humanity and the stars. Free with Academy admission; seats are limited and show passes are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.
SHARK & RAY FEEDING
Every Tuesday and Thursday at 3:00 pm
Join the Academy’s shallow reef residents for lunch at the Mangrove Lagoon. Watch and ask questions as a biologist feeds vitamin-stuffed fish to the sharks and doles out a special diet of chopped clams, shrimp, squid and fish to the rays. Free with Academy admission.
CHILDREN’S STORY TIME FOR AGES 2-5
Every Thursday and Saturday at 11:00 am
Children aged 2 to 5 and their parents are invited to the Early Explorers Cove to listen to stories about nature, science, and the wonderful world around us. Free with Academy admission; space will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
California Academy of Sciences is located in Golden Gate Park at 55 Music Concourse Drive. For more information, call 415-379-8000 or go to www.calacademy.org.

Coit Tower will be turned into a gigantic outdoor movie screen to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the American Indian Movement’s occupation of Alcatraz Island. Projectors will be used to cast digital images on the 210-foot concrete tower that sits atop Telegraph Hill. The screening of at least five films will take place from 6 to 11pm on Wednesday, November 25, and again at dusk on Thanksgiving Day through 7am on Friday, November 27. The event will be postponed in the event of rain or heavy fog. The two-night event is titled “Indigenous Renewal: Alcatraz Occupation Remembrance + Ohlone Presence Celebrated.” The Coit Tower screenings will be visible to hundreds of thousands of people with the best viewing spots being Fisherman’s Wharf, Pier 31, the Coit Tower parking lot and Washington Square.

Reservations are currently being accepted for family-friendly Teddy Bear Tea at The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco, as well as for the hotel’s popular Thanksgiving and Christmas Day Buffets, and New Year’s Eve Dinner in The Dining Room.
 
A new addition for this year is the December 3 Winter Wonderland Wreaths and Champagne Lunch, featuring an individual wreath-making class led by Floramor Studios and including a special holiday luncheon.
 
Reservations for all hotel holiday festivities may be requested at (415) 773-6198.
 
The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco holiday events include:
 
THANKSGIVING
 
Thanksgiving Day Bounteous Buffet in The Ritz-Carlton Ballroom
Thursday, November 26– 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
$98 per adult, $49 per child 5-12 excluding tax and gratuity
Celebrate the holiday with the acclaimed Ritz-Carlton Thanksgiving buffet.  A live jazz trio entertains.
 
SPECIAL EVENTS
 
Teddy Bear Tea in The Lobby Lounge
Friday, November 27 through Thursday, December 24
Two seatings: 10am and 1pm
$80 per guest excluding tax and gratuity
Children and their favorite stuffed animals gather for traditional Teddy Bear Tea with Binky the Elf. Holiday storytelling, balloons and a visit and photograph with the cuddly Ritz-Carlton Teddy are complemented by a small teddy bear to take home and a special tea experience of hot chocolate, teddy bear cut-out cookies and assorted sandwiches. A portion of proceeds will benefit The Greater Bay Area Make-A-Wish Foundation. 
 
Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony
Wednesday, December 2– 5:30 to 7:30pm
Free and open to the community
The holiday season begins at twilight, Wednesday, December 2, when the hotel’s 40-foot holiday tree is illuminated by Santa Claus and his little helper from the Greater Bay Area Make-A-Wish Foundation. This special evening in the porte cochere includes Dickens-era costumed carolers, hot apple cider, roasted chestnuts, holiday confections and visits with Santa after the ceremony. 

Holiday Lunch in The Dining Room
Friday, November 27 through Thursday, December 24 – 11:30am-2:30pm
$39 per guest, excluding tax and gratuity
Relax with a delightful prix-fixe lunch in The Dining Room – a perfect break during busy pre-holiday days.
 
Winter Wonderland Wreaths and Champagne Lunch
Thursday, December 3 – 11:30am to 2pm
$100 per guest (adults only), including tax and gratuity.
 Envelop your senses with the smell of fresh evergreens, the sounds of Christmas carols and the taste of a farm-fresh holiday lunch in this special wreath-making class with San Francisco’s Floramor Studios. Ideal for mother-daughter bonding or reconnecting with a friend, this class will include the basics on wreath making, how to decorate with seasonal fruits and nuts, and tips on preserving your wreath for the entire season. Class includes glass of champagne and lunch plus your created wreath to take home.
 
CHRISTMAS EVE

Christmas Eve Afternoon Tea in The Lobby Lounge
Thursday, December 24
Seatings: 3:30pm
Enjoy the ritual of Afternoon Tea and the soothing sounds of a jazz-to-classics harpist. Includes a perfectly-blended pot of fine tea, savory finger sandwiches and sweets. Select from a menu of Traditional, Royal, Premier and Vegetarian Tea.
 
Christmas Eve Dinner in The Dining Room
Thursday, December 24 — 4 to 9pm
$175 per guest, with an additional $95 per guest for wine pairing, excluding tax and gratuity
Savor Chef Ron Siegel’s modern French cuisine in The Dining Room, one of only four California restaurants to earn the 2009 Mobil Five-Star Award. A special six-course menu will be served.
 
CHRISTMAS DAY
 
Christmas Day Bounteous Buffet in The Ritz-Carlton Ballroom
Friday, December 25– 11am to 4pm
$98 per adult, $49 per child 5-12 excluding tax and gratuity
Celebrate Christmas Day with a festive holiday buffet.  A live jazz trio entertains.
 
Christmas Dinner in The Dining Room
Friday, December 25 — 4 to 9pm
$175 per guest, with an additional $95 per guest for wine pairing, exclusive of tax and gratuity
Chef Ron Siegel’s irresistible six-course menu promises a memorable Christmas dining experience.
 
NEW YEAR’S EVE
 
New Year’s Eve in The Dining Room
Thursday, December 31
7 to 9pm
$500 per adult, inclusive of wine pairing, tax and gratuity
Usher in the New Year with Chef Ron Siegel’s exquisite seven-course tasting menu. Guests will enjoy a live band and dancing.
 
New Year’s Eve in The Lobby Lounge
Thursday, December 31
$25 per-guest cover charge, exclusive of tax and gratuity, after 9 p.m. An la carte cocktail menu is complemented by dancing to a live band from 9pm.

All aboard The Golden Gate Express for a San Francisco experience like no other! Golden Gate Park’s Conservatory of Flowers brings back its enormously popular garden railway exhibition this winter with many new features and surprises created by local garden railroad aficionados and artists from SF Recycling & Disposal, Inc.’s Artist in Residence program. It’s a celebration of the city of San Francisco as a model train, cable car, streetcar and more wend their way through a lush landscape of dwarf plants and zip past mini versions of the city’s landmark buildings created entirely from recycled materials. New this year also are some only-in-San Francisco special effects including the sounds of the city and the twice-daily arrival of the fog. The Golden Gate Express will be on view November 19, 2009 through April 18, 2010. The exhibition kicks off with a preview gala entitled Tropics, Treasures and Trains on November 18, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. that celebrates the romance of the rails and raises funds for the Conservatory’s youth environmental education programs. Gala guests will be the first to see The Golden Gate Express and have the rare chance to experience the Conservatory at night. Guests also enjoy premium wines and “Station Stops” of tantalizing treats. Tickets are $130 per person and can be purchased at www.conservatoryofflowers.org.
The Golden Gate Express is open Tuesdays – Sundays from 9 am to 4:30 pm and is included with admission to the Conservatory. Admission for San Francisco residents is $5 general; $3 youth 12-17, seniors and students with ID; $1.50 children 5-11; children 4 and under FREE. Admission for non-residents is $7 general, $5 youth 12-17, seniors and students with ID; $2 children 5-11; children 4 and under FREE. The public should call (415) 831-2090 or visit www.conservatoryofflowers.org for more information.

Join the movers and shakers as they celebrate Reverend Cecil Williams 45th Anniversary at Glide at the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House. Featuring special guests Dr. Maya Angelou, Rita Moreno, San Francisco Opera Adler Fellows, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, the Glide Ensemble and Change Band followed by a reception with DJ David Harness, Jaz Sawyer, lavish hors d oeuvres and libations. UPDATE: MENTION GLIDE’S SPECIAL ‘DIGNITY’ RATE AND GET 25% OFF YOUR TICKET! You can buy tickets for the event through the SF Opera Box Office: call (415) 864 -3330, fax (415) 626-1729 or visit the Box Office at 301 Van Ness Ave For more event info: visit them on the web or call (415) 674-6117.