Would you rather spend the New Year holiday with your entire family than find a babysitter this year? The bay area is packed full of family friendly fun to ring in 2013. Create memories and holiday traditions with this four-day guide for a memorable holiday for the entire clan:
Sunday December 30, 2012
27th Annual Japanese New Year Bell Ringing Ceremony
Asian Art Museum
10 am-2 pm
200 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
415.581.350
The entire family will enjoy ringing in the new year with Japanese style (literally). A 2,100 pound, sixteenth-century Japanese bronze bell from a temple in Tajima Province in Japan offers participants the opportunity to engage in an ancient tradition of reflecting peacefully on the past year and striking the bell.
The ceremony includes a purification ritual and chanting of the Buddhist Heart Sutra led by Reverend Gengo Akiba. After Rev. Akiba begins the bell ringing, partakers take turns ringing the museum's sixteenth-century bronze bell to leave behind the bad experiences, wrong deeds, and ill luck of the old year. Tickets to ring the bell are limited and are included with admission beginning at 10 am when the doors open to the public.
SCHEDULE:
9:00 am: Bell Ringing for Members in Samsung Hall (doors open for members at 9:00 am)
11:00 am: Bell Ringing Ceremony, Samsung Hall
11:00 am–2:00 pm: Celebrate the year of the snake at the arts activity station.
Monday December 31, 2012
Happy New Year, Charlie Brown!
Charles M. Schulz Museum
10 am – 5 pm
2301 Hardies Lane
Santa Rosa, CA 95403
(707) 579-4452
Ring in the New Year with Snoopy and his friends at the most appropriate time for the youngest revelers-12 noon! With a room for toddlers and one for older kids the party highlights an Up-Down balloon drop, arts and craft stations and root beer toasts at noon and 3 pm. All activities are included with admission-$10 adults, $5 seniors/youth/students, kids 3 and under are free.
New Years Eve Party
Flamingo Conference Resort & Spa
8 pm-1 am
2777 Fourth Street
Santa Rosa, CA 95405
(707) 526-0529
Featuring the legendary Fiz-Nik Rick DJ and party guy, this promises to be a spectacular New Year’s Eve Party. Set in the beautiful Flamingo resort, tickets include dinner and midnight buffets, a casino room, movie room for kids and an infant & toddler room. When the clock strikes midnight, we will be toasting as we watch the ball drop from Times Square!
Tickets are $75 per adult, and each adult ticket includes one child’s ticket. If the 17 and under set out-number the adults, tickets are just 20 for each additional child. They are available through Brown Paper Tickets: 1-800-838-3006. Rooms are available at a special rate through the hotel.
Tuesday January 1, 2013
Polar Bear Skate
Safeway Holiday Ice Rink in Union Square
2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Union Square
San Francisco
415.781.2688
Start 2013 with a Californian twist on Canada’s “Polar Bear Swim” at the
Safeway Holiday Ice Rink in Union Square presented by Alaska Airlines. Come in your beach gear to ice skate in magical Union Square. The event includes a dance off and a contest for the craziest holiday polar bear bathing suit and party gifts for the first 100 skaters!
General admission tickets are $10 and tickets for children eight years old and under are $6. Figure and hockey skate rentals are $5. Tickets are available online or at the ice rink ticket window in Union Square.
Best wishes from the Examiner for a healthy, happy and prosperous 2013!
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