Don’t miss a chance to catch the Holiday Train
A 15-year tradition will continue this weekend
Caltrain’s Holiday Train, one of the more delightful holiday traditions in the Bay Area, again will bring Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus and some entertaining friends to train stations this weekend stretching from San Francisco to Santa Clara.
The brightly decorated train, which will make stops at nine stations over Saturday and Sunday, has been running for the past 15 years. Unlike Santa’s sleigh, though, it doesn’t run on reindeer power and Caltrain has partnered with the Silicon Valley Community Foundation since 2012 to keep it running.
The train — no passengers allowed except North Pole vis- itors — will leave San Francisco at 4 p. m. each day. On Saturday, it will stop at Burlingame (5:25 p. m.), Redwood City (6:10 p. m.), Mountain View (7:25 p. m.) and Santa Clara (8 p. m.). On Sunday, the stops will be Millbrae (5:20 p. m.), San Mateo (6 p. m.), Menlo Park (7:05 p. m.) and Sunnyvale (7:50 p. m.). At each stop, Santa will get off the train and greet families on the platforms, which will also have pre- show entertainment including balloon artists, face painters, bands and choirs. You can see the schedule of stops and entertainment at www. holiday- train. org.
Admission to the stations is free, though it would be great if everyone who came donated a new, unwrapped toy to the Holiday Train Toy Drive.
HOLIDAY SOCIAL (MEDIA) »
For the third year, downtown San Jose arts organizations are banding together for “12 Days of Arts,” a social media- driven scavenger hunt that starts today and runs through Dec. 12. Each morning during the campaign, the San Jose Downtown Association will post a clue on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to a downtown arts group or venue with the hashtag #12DaysofArts.
The first 10 people to arrive at that location after the clue is posted win a prize bag filled with items such as tickets to shows, museum passes, T- shirts, mugs and other swag. If you miss out on the prize bag — or have won previously — you can still be entered into a drawing for a grand prize by posting a selfie at the “secret” location with the #12DaysofArts hashtag. WEEKEND PLANNING » There’ll be snow in downtown Campbell this weekend as the popular Carol of Lights block party returns Saturday night, continuing a tradition in the Orchard City that’s more than 30 years strong. The festivities on East Campbell Avenue will take place from 5 to 8 p. m. and will again include a petting zoo, bounce houses, a visit by Santa Claus and a lot of real snow.
And when you talk about holiday miracles, include Yissy Garcia in that group. MACLA is presenting a per- formance by the Afro- Cuban percussionist and her jazz group at Cafe S tr it chin downtown San Jose at 7 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $20 in advance at Y issy in SJ. even tb rite. com or $25 at the door.
“The performance is exemplary of the boundarybreaking stylistically hybrid sounds brewing within Cuba’s contemporary music scene,” said MACLA Executive Director Anjee HelstrupAlvarez. And, she points out, Garcia had to do a lot just to get here: Since Cuba and the U.S. don’t have normalized relations yet, the musician had to travel all the way to Buenos Aires, Argentina, for her visa interview.