Things to Do: December 2011 Archives

The Lake Elsinore Outlets has some fun kids activities planned for the month of January. The Kids Outlet events take place from 11 a.m. to noon Wednesdays and Fridays. Admission and all activities are free.

Lake Elsinore Library will host a story time activity with interactive stories, familiar nursery rhymes, and a craft project on Jan. 4, 11, 18 and 25..

On Jan. 6 and 13, children can celebrate the winter season with a stick snowman banner craft and a winter wonderland sand art craft. Then, on Jan. 20, children can create their own critter pillow craft to sleep and travel with.

Lastly, Anthony the Magic will visit and perform his interactive magic show.

All Kids Outlet activities take place in Suite 106. For more information on the Kids Outlet Activities, visit www.lakeelsinoreoutlet.com or call 951-245-0087.

For more information on Anthony the Magic, visit www.anthonythemagic.com.

Like comics? Teens in grades 6 to 12 interested in the evolution of comics can learn more in an interactive program taught by Ryan Haggerty, owner of Ryan's Comics in Murrieta. The program, "Comic Books 101, will be held at the Murrieta Public Library at 2 p.m. Jan. 5.

All activities will take place in the Library"s Community Room.

Graphic novels, the new term for comics, have become an essential component of library collections for both children and teenagers.

"We even have some classic titles in our graphic novel collections at the Murrieta Public Library, such as King Lear, The Odyssey, and The Invisible Man, along with our popular Superman, Wolverine, and Dragon Ball Z titles," said Joyce Lea Brown, teen librarian. "Sincce the popularity of graphic novels just keeps on growing, the Murrieta Public Library has scheduled a program that is relevant to today's teenagers."

The event is free and open to the public. The Murrieta Public Library is located at Eight Town Square (Adams Avenue and Kalmia Street). For more information about the program call (951) 304-2665 or visit the library's web site at www.murrietalibrary.info.

Say goodbye to the Year of the Rabbit and hello Year of the Dragon. Families are invited to celebrate the Year of the Dragon at the 2012 Chinese New Year Family Discovery Day on Jan. 21. Always a popular event, the museum will celebrate the New Year with hands-on activities, including an artist-led calligraphy workshop with Calligrapher Cheng Chao Hung, storytelling with Master Storyteller Karen Rae Kraut, the Ontario City Library and much more.

This event is co-sponsored by the Pomona Valley Chinese Association and will take place from noon to 4:00 p.m. Admission is free. The museum is located at 225 South Euclid Ave. in Ontario. For more information, call 909-395-2510.

The 12th annual Christmas in the Air Concert, presented by the Southwest Women's Chorus Our Christmas Concerts, is returning to the Old Town Temecula Community Theater.

This year's show will feature a mix of classical, traditional carols, spirituals, audience sing-a-longs, solos and contemporary Christmas-time sacred and secular songs. There will also be the first double chorus performance of the Biebl's Ave Maria. The youth gospel choir, Wings of Praise will also do a gospel solo.

Performances will take place at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 16, and 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 17. Tickets cost $16 for adults; $13 for seniors and military; $9 for students and children. Children under age 2 are admitted for free when seated on adults' laps. Parents must obtain a printed "Babes in Arms" ticket form the ticket office for entry to the theater.

For more information call 866-653-8696 or visit www.temeculatheater.org.

My Fair Lady is coming to Landis Performing Arts Center in Riverside. Presented by Performance Riverside, the show is based on George Bernard Shaw's play and Gabriel Pascal's movie," Pygmalion," with book, music and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe.

Audiences can enjoy the well-known songs, "With a Little Bit of Luck," "The Rain in Spain," "I Could Have Danced All Night," "On the Street Where You Live," "Get Me to the Church on Time," "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" and Wouldn't It Be Loverly?" as they fall in love with Eliza Doolittle.

Performances will be at 8 p.m. Jan. 27 and 28, and Feb. 3 and 4; and at 2 p.m. Jan. 28 and 29, and Feb. 4 and 5. Tickets cost $27-$48.

"My Fair Lady" is playing in the Discovery Theater for young audiences as well at 10 a.m. Jan. 27 and Feb. 3. The show is for grades 4 and up, with tickets costing $8.

Landis Performing Arts Center is located at 4800 Magnolia Ave. in Riverside. For more information, call 951-222-8100 or visit www.performanceriverside.org.

Goodbye Year of the Rabbit, hello Year of the Dragon. Families are invited to celebrate the Year of the Dragon at the 2012 Chinese New Year Family Discovery Day on Jan. 21. Always a popular event, the museum will celebrate the New Year with hands-on activities, including an artist-led calligraphy workshop with Calligrapher Cheng Chao Hung, storytelling with Master Storyteller Karen Rae Kraut, the Ontario City Library and much more.

This event is co-sponsored by the Pomona Valley Chinese Association and will take place from noon to 4:00 p.m. Admission is free. The museum is located at 225 South Euclid Ave. in Ontario. For more information, call 909-395-2510.

Riverside Art Museum will host "The Magic of the Nutcracker Ballet," on December 10 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

"A special day of art and ballet awaits your child," said Beth Yeager, Art Education Director at Riverside Art Museum.

The event will begin at the Riverside Art Museum, where the children will create Nutcracker inspired masterpieces. After lunch in the atrium, the children will walk to the Fox Theater to see California Riverside Ballet's annual production of "The Nutcracker."

The even costs $50, which includes seeing the show.

The museum is located at 3425 Mission Inn Ave. in Riverside. For more information call 951-684-7111 or visit www.riversideartmuseum.org.

Didn't knock out the entire shopping list on Black Friday? Well, there's still another great shopping option out there. The 30th annual Alternative Gift Fair in Riverside will take place Sunday at the First United Methodist Church in Riverside, at 4845 Brockton Ave.

The gift fair will be open from noon to 3 p.m. Parking is free. The fair is a community-wide effort that draws from a variety of faith traditions. Booths will be set up with items for sale such as handmade baskets and jewelry from Ten Thousand Villages; greeting cards and purses from artists at Temple Beth El; and scarves and other clothing from a Hindu tradition.

There will be food and refreshments available for purchase, and children's arts and craft activities. Some of the other organizations involved include co-host Universalist Unitarians; Quakers; Inland Communities Fellowship Reconciliation; Habitat for Humanity; Heifer International; Lutheran World Relief crafts; and Madison Street Church.

The fair tradition first started in 1981, and last year's fair raised more than $15,000 for non-profit causes. For more information call 951-534-4376.