Happy weekend, Venice. And hello sweater weather. We finally got to dust off our rain boots and splash in some puddles, and the storm clouds are expected to clear out just long enough for the annual holiday boat parades, pub crawls, and a cocktail party at the Lincoln & Rose Pop-Up Shop that we're especially excited to tell you about. 

It started to feel a lot like Christmas when Pink lit up the Venice sign in red and green and Treeman sparkled in his most festive foliage at the Venice Holiday Sign Lighting last weekend. We captured it here in this video we made about celebrating the holidays in Venice. 

Holiday Boat Parades

This weekend, we're looking forward to holiday boat parades. Saturday is the Marina del Rey boat parade with fireworks at 5:55 pm followed by the parade from 6 to 8 pm. Then, Sunday evening we have our 33rd annual Venice Canals Holiday Boat Parade, a much more intimate affair with gondolas festooned in holiday lights gliding by decorated homes and bridges. This year's theme is "Holiday In Paradise" with awards to be won for best decorations. To enter the contest, download the registration form here. Boats line up at 3:30 pm and the parade begins at 4 pm. There's also a contest for "Best Homes & Bridges" and the judges are picking them Saturday night. All the details are here. 

Holiday Parties

There's more family fun to be had at the Venice Winter Wonderland happening now through the first weekend of January at the Venice Recreation Center. Kids can enjoy games, train rides, cupcake decorating and Saturday is an all-day ugly sweater contest. If you're looking for some snow and a place to get in any last-minute requests to Santa, he's going to be at the Huzzah! Holiday Carnival from 5 to 8 pm both Saturday and Sunday evening. 

For some adult fun, check out the Santa Monica Pub Crawl Saturday at 5 pm, which benefits the Westside Food Bank. You can ditch the ugly sweater as the theme here is "Santa." You decide whether you want to be naughty or nice. 

Meet The Makers: Gifts That Give Back

And for those determined to finish up their holiday shopping, we invite you to join us for champagne cocktails, sweet treats and merrymaking with many familiar faces from the neighborhood as we host a "Meet The Makers" party at the Lincoln & Rose Pop-Up Sunday afternoon from 2 to 5pm. We're featuring gifts that give back with many of our makers on hand to share about the various organizations that their companies benefit all year long. The Pop-UP will also donate 15% of proceeds to the Boys & Girls Club of Venice, and we'll be collecting toys for the Great Venice Toy Drive. See you there.

Save The Date

Thursday December 18, we're hosting our final Pop-Up party of the season during the Venice Art Crawl. Come for drinks, dancing, live art and treats as you shop locally made gifts from more than 50 Venice artists.