Lights open season throughout SJ cities

San Joaquin County, CA / Bilingual Weekly

Lodi, Tracy, Stockton and Manteca are hosting public and free activities to kick off the Christmas Season. This is a brief description of the most important.

Hosted by the Downtown Lodi Business Partnership, the time-honored holiday parade will illuminate once again the streets of downtown Lodi. On Thursday, December 2, 2010, at 6:15 p.m., the 15th annual Lodi Parade of Lights will bring countless lights, floats, marching bands, dance groups and themed vehicles for everyone to enjoy. The one-mile route will begin on Pine Street and continue down Church Street, Lodi Avenue, School Street and Locust. Info (209) 369-8052.

On the same day, at 6:30 pm Manteca residents will have their traditional Holiday Tree-Lighting Ceremony in front of City Council Chambers at the Civic Center, located at 1001 W. Center Street. Everyone is encouraged to bring homemade or purchased ornaments to hang on the tree after the ceremony. After the tree lighting, everyone is invited to the Manteca Senior Center, where there will be a community sing-along, refreshments, entertainment, and Santa Claus. For more information call (209) 456-8650

On Friday and Saturday, December 3 and 4 the Peace & Justice Network presents their Annual Peaceful Holiday Gift Faire featuring local and international artisans with gifts of peace from around the world. The event will be hosted at the Central United Methodist Church, 3700 Pacific Avenue, Stockton, and it will also feature free live entertainment as well as food and refreshments for sale. Information at (209) 462-3489

Downtown Tracy will fill the streets of lights at 6:00 pm on Saturday, December 4, as the Tracy City Center Association host their annual Tracy Lights Parade. The parade route begins at “A” Street and 10th and heads east to Central and then South down Central Avenue to 6th St. Directly following the parade the Holiday Tree will be lit directly in front of the Tracy Transit Station. Santa and Mrs. Claus will be meeting and greeting families following the tree lighting in the Transit Station lobby. For more information visit http://www.holidaysintracy.com or call (209) 597-0073

For information about Stockton’s Tree Lighting and Boat Parade, see the article Traditional river parade returns to Stockton