Things to do, places to go 11.29.2007

Welcome to the first iteration of the regular Thursday Family Travel feature “Things to Do & Places to Go.” I plan to run this weekly, as a worldwide overview of family-friendly events in the near term, and then some a few months down the road.

This time of year, there’s so much going on that I had to pare it down to this weekend and then a little of early January.

Coming up this weekend/soon:

  • It’s almost the end of whale-watching season in Hermanus near Cape Town, South Africa.
  • Welcome the holiday season in Houston, Texas with choirs, fireworks and a tree-lighting. November 30, 2007. Here are some more tree-lighting events.
  • Admire the luminaria displays starting this weekend, through December, at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona.
  • Enjoy an ethnic holiday festival with examples of Christmas cheer from around the world, at the Durham Western Heritage Museum, Omaha, Nebraska. November 30, 2007.
  • It’s an Old-Fashioned Cowboy Christmas in Medora, North Dakota. November 30-December 1, 2007.
  • See Santa Claus at Germany’s biggest theme park, Europapark (near Rust in Freiburg, close to the French border) on December 1, 2007. We visited Europapark and loved it; check out my FT post on European theme parks.
  • Marching down Atlantic Avenue in Virginia Beach, VA, it’s the Hometown Holiday Parade on December 1, 2007.
  • There’s a lighted boat parade sponsored by the Fell’s Point Yacht Club in Baltimore, Maryland’s Inner Harbor, December 1, 2007.
  • The San Diego, CA Maritime Museum has a Family Fun Day this weekend, getting underway December 2, 2007.
  • Celebrate Saint Barbara Day in Bulgaria (she’s the saint who protects children from disease.) December 4, 2007.

Coming up in early 2008:

  • New Year’s Day Polar Bear swims are always a hoot (my brave husband did one at Easton’s Beach in Newport, RI one year.) Check out the Coney Island, NY plunge.
  • Three Kings Day Parade and concert events, January 4 & January 6, 2008, sponsored by El Museo Del Barrio, New York.
  • The Winter Flower and Train Show ends January 6, 2008 in Chicago IL.
  • Prague Winter Festival, Czech Republic, January 2-7, 2008. Classical music, opera and ballet in ornate venues. Includes Bambini di Praga children’s choir.
  • Illawarra Folk Festival, Bulli, New South Wales, Australia, January 17-20, 2008. More than 400 folk performers and 150 events, including a children’s festival.
  • Shindig Set Dance Festival, Tralee, Ireland, January 18-20, 2008. Great Irish music, storytelling, singing, Guinness and workshops for dancers.

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