From Garden of Lights to a Free Day of Dance

Special Events 

Hulla balloon: It’s only a matter of time before some group of amoeba-hugging environmentalist lawyers slaps the city with a $10-trillion lawsuit over the Big Bay Balloon Parade. As much as we love Al Gore, we really don’t care if a few seagulls get pink eye from the giant inflatable Clifford the Big Red Dog—give us our enormous balloons, marching bands, drill teams and floats! This year’s parade runs temporally from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 30, and geographically from the County Administration Building to Seaport Village on Harbor Drive. It will also be broadcast live on Cox Channel 4 and re-played nationally on the USA Network on Friday at 9 a.m. holidaybowl.com

Holidays

Lights, snow and music: As if the luscious succulents, trees and other greenery at San Diego Botanic Garden (230 Quail Gardens Drive in Encinitas) weren’t enough, the people behind the plants spruce things up even more during the holiday season with their annual Garden of Lights. And the 100,000 lights decorating the garden are just the start. At 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 26, families are invited to bring their inner tubes and sleds to enjoy real snow—7,000 tons of it. If it stays cold, the man-made snow will cover part of the garden for a few days. There are also a few family-friendly concerts scheduled this week, including the jazz and Celtic band, Raggle Taggle from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 23. $6-$12. sdbgarden.org/lights

Doughsville: For the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library’s annual Holiday Cookie Display, Girard Gourmet’s Francois Goedhuys has handcrafted a 12-foot-long, miniature La Jolla Village entirely out of cookies. Before you go, ask yourself: Can you resist touching it? Are you the type who would bite the head off the Hammering Man sculpture in front of the cookie version of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego? Would you turn into Christmas Godzilla, double-pounding baked shoppers and frosted trees? If you’re salivating already, you probably shouldn’t visit the library (1008 Wall St. in La Jolla) on an empty stomach. It’s open now through Friday, Dec. 31, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. ljathenaeum.org

To the museum: Need something to do with family in town for the holidays? Head to one of San Diego’s many museums (most are open Dec. 24 and 26). It’s the final days for a few exhibitions. At the San Diego Museum of Art, Toulouse-Lautrec’s Paris, a collection of posters that illustrate late- 19th-century French bohemia, runs through Friday, Dec. 31. The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego’s Viva La Revolucion exhibition, on view at the Downtown location, runs through Sunday, Jan. 2. Stop by to see the incredible installations, video, paintings and other works created by internationally renowned street artists. A perk: Anyone younger than 25 gets in free. Check websites for hours and prices. sdmart.org, mcasd.org

Dance

So you think...?: You’re gonna stuff yourself on Christmas Day. Too much turkey and mashed ’taters—not to mention that egg nog-and-Bourbon nightcap. What better way to work it all off and get in touch with your inner Flashdance than hitting up Dance Place San Diego’s (2650 Truxtun Road, Liberty Station, in Point Loma) Free Day of Dance, happening 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 26. Classes (yup, they’re all free) range from basic stretching to yoga to hip-hop and tango for all skill levels. There are even classes just for kids. Instructors come from the event’s sponsors—San Diego Dance Theater, San Diego Ballet and Malashock Dance—and represent some of San Diego’s most talented movement artists. See the schedule of classes at malashockdance.org/calendar.

Film

Shakespeare on screen: If you’re a lucky duck who has a week off between Christmas and New Year’s Day, you can kill a couple of afternoons by seeing how filmmakers a generation brought Shakespeare to the screen. The San Diego History Center (1649 El Prado in Balboa Park) will show The Taming of the Shrew at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 28, and Shakespeare in Love at 1 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 30. The Taming of the Shrew, a 1967 comedy, stars Liz Taylor as the bitchy Katherine and Richard Burton as the man attempting to tame her.The 1998 rom-com Shakespeare in Love is a fictional account of the Bard’s role in a love triangle as he’s writing Romeo and Juliet. Free with $6 museum admission. Call 619-232- 6203 to make a reservation. sandiegohistory.org