So many holiday parades, so little time...

*2010 Pomona Christmas Parade...to help us get into the holiday spirit*

Hi neighbor -

Thanksgiving, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday have gone by and you can't avoid the holiday spirit in the air. We have so many local holiday parades filled with Christmas lights, snow, Santa, some freebies and even tamales! A lot of the parades fall on Saturday, 12/3, but maybe if you plan it right you and your family can try to catch more than one. =D Regardless of where you are in the IE, be reassured that you'll get a chance to catch a Christmas parade somewhere.

We hope you enjoy our list below and if we've missed any parades in your neck of the woods please give us a shout in our comments, on our Facebook or tweet us. We'd love to hear.

Enjoy!

1. http://www.ci.claremont.ca.us/update.cfm?resID=247877 (Claremont) - Festivities start on 12/2, Friday and continue through Saturday.

2. Santa’s Electric Light Parade (Temecula) – 12/3, Saturday at 7 p.m.

3. 35th Annual Christmas Parade and Craft Faire (Upland) – 12/3, Saturday, from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

4. Twelve Days of Christmas Parade and Christmas in the Park (Hemet) – 12/3, Saturday, from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.

5. 20th Annual Palm Springs Festival of Lights Parade (Palm Springs) – 12/3, Saturday at 5:45 p.m.

6. Redlands Christmas Parade (Redlands)– 12/3, Saturday at 6 p.m.

7. 34th Annual Christmas Parade (San Bernardino)– 12/3, Saturday, 11 a.m.

8. 20th Annual Indio International Tamale Festival Parade (Indio) – 12/3, Saturday, 10 a.m.

9. "Lights on the Lake" Holiday Boat Parade (Perris) – 12/10, Saturday, 5-9 p.m.

10. Fontana Christmas Parade (Fontana) – 12/10, Saturday, at 10 a.m. and don't miss Fontana's Ski Lodge at Veterans Park from 11-5 p.m.

11. Miracle on Second St. Christmas Parade (Pomona) - 12/10, Saturday, 10-2 p.m.

!!UPDATES!!
We found so many more parades and festivities we knew we had to add to our list and share with everyone. Check 'em out!

1. 7th Annual Parade of Lights and Winter Festival (Norco) – 12/3, Saturday, starting at 5 p.m.

2. Winter Wonderland Parade (Ontario)– 12/4, Sunday, starting 1 p.m.

3. "Through the Eyes of Child" Holiday Parade (Coachella) – 12/9, Friday, starting at 6 p.m.

4. Fontana Christmas Parade (Fontana) – 12/10, Saturday, 11-5 p.m.

Small Business Saturday

Hi neighbors -

Are you ready for the upcoming Thanksgiving festivities? I can't wait to get some good eats and fun times in with the family. I can already smell the pumpkin pie wafting through the air. But another thing I enjoy about Thanksgiving are all the great sales - Black Friday, Cyber Monday and most importantly Small Business Saturday.

A great promotion for Small Business Saturday is the 3/50 Project. We're all about supporting our local business community here at IEShineOn.com and this promotion is right up our alley. It's popular tagline is "Pick 3. Spend 50. Save your local economy," which encourages locals to pick three independently owned businesses and spend $50 each month because for every $100 spent locally $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll and other expenditures. This type of effort empowers our local community especially during these rough economic times. The website provides more information and resources to help encourage local spending. If you haven't checked it out before I highly recommend it and share with your neighbor. www.the350project.net

I'll definitely be participating in Small Business Saturday in our local community so expect some FB updates and tweets. How about you? Will you be hitting the local independent stores for your holiday shopping? You can check the 3/50 Project site to see if your favorite local store is listed. Happy shopping!

Till next time, have a fun and safe Thanksgiving holiday!

Local Tree Lighting Spots

Image c/o luxurytraveladvisor.com

Hi neighbors!

Did you get the chance to check out the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree Lighting at Victoria Gardens (Rancho Cucamonga) yesterday? It's not even Thanksgiving yet but it seems like retail stores are starting the holiday promotions  right after Halloween.  No complaints here. I loooove the holidays - all those warm and fuzzy feelings highlighted by presents. Yes, please!   Just to get us into the spirit here is a list of some local tree lighting events.

If you and your family catch any of the events please let us know. You can give us a shout on Facebook or Twitter. You could even tag us in your photo. We would love that! If there's a local tree lighting event that's a part of your family tradition, please let us know.

Till next time...

1. RIVERSIDE MISSION INN FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS (Riverside) 11/25 - Great tradition :)

2. BENEDICT CASTLE LIGHTING (Riverside) 11/27 - Castle and lights?! I'm there!

3. PROMENADE TEMECULA TREE LIGHTING (Temecula) 11/12 - Already past but professionally designed trees will be on display and available to win through an opportunity drawing on Wednesday, December 14, 2011.

4. DOS LAGOS TREE LIGHTING/SANTA ARRIVAL 11/19 (Corona) - Oooo Live Reindeer - neat!

5. JINGLES AND JAZZ AT THE CROSSINGS AT CORONA TREE LIGHTING 11/19 (Corona)

6. VICTORIA GARDENS SANTA'S ARRIVAL & TREE LIGHTING CEREMONY 11/18 (Rancho Cucamonga) - Bring the kids and meet Santa!

7. BANNING PHINEAS FESTIVAL 12/3 (Banning) - Lots to do including a chili cook off!

8. And if you love visiting decked out homes here's a useful tool to track them down. I hear there's a street in Chino between Lemon Place and Fillmore Street (near the intersection of Walnut and San Antonio) that is amazing! Enjoy! http://find.mapmuse.com/interest/xmas-displays

Inland Empire Remembers Our Veterans

Hi neighbors -

Veteran's Day is this weekend and I felt like paying tribute to the men and women who give so much of themselves for our country by dedicating this blog post to them. I try to stay away from political and controversial topics but providing support for our Veterans is something very personal to me. So, I've listed some upcoming local events where you can pay your tribute and have some fun!

We'll try to add to the list as the week goes along but if you see something please give us a shout! You know where - FB and TWITTER :)


1. UCR VETERANS SERVICES ANNUAL VETERAN’S DAY LUNCHEON (Riverside)

2. 15TH ANNUAL PALM SPRINGS VETERANS DAY PARADE (Palm Springs)

3. VETERANS DAY CELEBRATION @ THE MEMORIAL ROSE GARDEN (Fontana)

4. HOWIE MANDELL AND 82ND AIRBORNE CHORUS (Riverside)

5. VETERANS DAY JAZZ CONCERT (Palm Desert)

6. DOWNTOWN RIVERSIDE'S VETERAN'S DAY TRIBUTE (Riverside)

7. MORENO VALLEY SUNSET CEREMONY (Moreno Valley)

Here are some other ways you can pay tribute to Veterans.

1. BACK OUR TROOPS PULL UP COMPETITION (UC Riverside)

2. INLAND EMPIRE VETERANS STAND DOWN

Till next time...