By Justin Bevins | Featured
The 2015 Canyon Lake Car Show rolled into the lodge parking lot yesterday and it was an impressive display of gleaming chrome, high horsepower engines, and highly polished paint. It was a hot day on the pavement (nearly 100 degrees), but that didn’t stop car enthusiasts from coming out to look at the hundreds of […]
By Justin Bevins | Canyon Lake Events
Put on your party hat(s) and dancing shoes for these upcoming New Year’s Eve Celebrations! The only problem you’ll have is picking out which one you’ll be going to!
Lighthouse Restaurant NYE Celebration ~ Canyon LakeLight Up Your New Year’s at the Lighthouse Restaurant right here in Canyon Lake! From 8:00 pm until 1:00 am on the Eve of the New Year, you can enjoy libations and dancing to a live DJ’s sounds. Hors d”oeuvres will include shrimp cocktail, vegetable crudité, pesto bruschetta, cheese plates, fruit displays, stuffed mushrooms and Italian sausage, mini beef and chicken teriyaki, pot stickers, stuffed jalapeño poppers, mini assorted dessert choices and a complimentary champagne toast. Tickets for this event is $30 per individual. You can pick up your tickets at the Lighthouse Restaurant and make sure to call 951.244.6841 ext 771 to make reservations.
Another Canyon Lake New Year’s Eve Party is the Senior’s New Year’s Eve Party celebrating New Year’s Eve on Central Time! The party starts at 5:00 pm and held at the Canyon Lake Senior Center. There will be music, fun and food for a ticket price of $25 per person. Tickets are available at the Association’s Member Services Office.
Pepe’s Mexican Restaurant and Cantina just outside of the Main Gate here in Canyon Lake is hosting their New Year’s Eve Party where seating times are at 7:00 pm and 8:00 pm (they ask that when you make your reservations to specify your seating time). There will be dancing music provided by “On The Roxx” so get ready to dance the night away, too! There are 3 different packages to choose from. Package 1 is drinks from 9:00 pm until midnight with a glass of champagne to toast in the New Year for $50. Package 2 includes prime rib or chicken cordon bleu dinner in the dining room and reserved seating in the bar, drinks from 9:00 pm until midnight with a glass of champagne for the toast. Price of package 2 is $75. Package 3 is $100 per person which includes all of package 2 with your personal cocktail server for drinks in the bar. Each of these packages does not include the price of shots. Please note that when making reservations, your credit card will be charged and there will not be any refunds. Call and make your reservations by dialing 951.244.7373.
A buffet on New Year’s Eve? What a great idea! Nonstop fun and nonstop food at the Sports Stop! The buffet will include fresh fruit, cheese and crackers, shrimp cocktail, tri-tip, chicken marsala, garlic mashed potatoes, salads, desserts including cheesecake with fresh strawberry sauce AND triple chocolate brownies! Brunch starts at 5:30 pm and price per person is $18.99. Brunch also includes midnight champagne to ring in the New Year! So think about partying it up at The Sports Stop for New Year’s Eve! After all, it’s just outside the Main Gate here in Canyon Lake!
Baily’s Nightclub New Year’s Eve Bash will be a night full of fun with two levels of people, three full bars and music from DJ Ruffnek and DJ A-Lyfe, Gogos Jazmine, Felicia & Kimmy Jayy! There will be party favors and champagne for the New Year’s Toast. It will be an “unforgettable experience” as their invitation states! Presales tickets are available for $20 per person ($30 per couple as an online sale from Dec 15-28). Click here for presale tickets if you’re interested!
Head down to Winery Town in Temecula for a New Year’s Eve Celebration of fun! Here are just a couple of wineries to check out for New Year’s Eve!
starts at 7:00 pm with the beautiful music of Missy Andersen. Hang out with friends and the fun Miramonte staff and close in on 2014 til midnight! There is no cover charge for this event so make sure to come early and grab yourself a table under the stars (by a heater). 🙂 You’ll for sure have a grand ol’ time!
has their very own Studio 54 New Year’s Eve Celebration where you can boogie the night away with Jimmy Jones and the Disco Inferno. There will be lots of food stations set up for you party animals as well as an open bar, live entertainment such as go-go dancers, a DJ and a countdown to midnight! Oh, not to mention, there will be champagne, too! We can’t forget that! Tickets are $190 and $170 for Wine Club Members. Check out the Wilson Creek Winery’s website to make reservations. Please note the prices above do not include tax or gratuity.
Tesoro’s Italian Cuisine’s Dance and Foodie NYE Celebration ~ MurrietaLooking for somewhere to ring in the New Year closer to Canyon Lake and enjoy a great sit-down meal? How about Tesoro Italian Cuisine in Murrieta? Tesoro’s New Year’s Eve Celebration starts at 8:00 pm and includes a full course special dinner and champagne to toast in 2014. The appetizer choices are fried calamari and chorizo-stuffed dates wrapped in maple bacon. Salad will be strawberry spinach drizzled with a champagne vinaigrette. Entree choices are filet mignon and fresh lobster or prime rib or Chilean sea bass with champagne risotto and asparagus and to finish you off, killer dessert choices of tiramisu and pumpkin cheesecake to boot! Dance to jazzy Motown music played by TMK and the Allstars all night. Prices are $80 per person (prepaid), $85 at the door (the night of). Call for reservations 951.609.1266. $40 deposit is required to hold your reservations. The venue is quaint and small, so make sure to get your name on the list to ensure you get a good seat!
We’re sure there are more parties around town that you can choose from, but these are the ones that we knew about and wanted to share.
Now, we all know the goal is to have a great time ringing in the New Year, but let’s make sure to stay safe and sound. So, please don’t drink and drive and write down these numbers in case you need some transportation after a night of celebrating.
Have a great New Year, all and let’s make 2014 an even better one!
By Justin Bevins | Canyon Lake Events
If you’re reading this, it means you survived Black Friday. And hopefully you’ve enjoyed a great Thanksgiving week with family and friends in Canyon Lake. The holidays are officially here and that means lots of great activities as we wrap up November and head into December and January. Here’s a brief guide to upcoming festivities.
Nov 30th, 1:00pm – Small Business Saturday at Canyon Lake Towne Center | Part of a national push to keep holiday dollars local and support small business, the event starts at the Towne Center at 1:00pm tomorrow. Swing by and see if you can fill a few items on your list with local businesses.
Dec 1st, 11:00am – Holiday Home Tour | See how a few of your fellow Canyon Lakers decorate for the holidays on this special tour of five homes. Swing by the lodge early for a Holiday Boutique and a chance to win holiday decorations. Cost of the tour is $15.
Dec 5th, 7:00pm – Gary Bonner Concert | Once again this year the Gary Bonner Singers are going to entertain Canyon Lakers with a variety of holiday music at The Lodge at 7:00pm. Get your tickets at the Canyon Lake POA offices before Thursday. Tickets are $25.
Dec 8th, 5:00pm – Tree Lighting | Come spread the holiday cheer at The Lodge starting at 5:00 and hang around for Mr. & Mrs. Claus. Please bring a few cans of food to help out the Junior Women’s Club Food Drive.
Dec 13th, Evening – Golf Cart Club Toy Drive | After a successful event last year, this year’s parade and toy drive is expected to be even better with oodles and oodles of toys for children in need.
Dec 14th, 9:00am – Breakfast with Santa | His sleigh isn’t ready yet, but his Mastercraft is! So join him at the Ski Club Pavillion as he skis in for photos with the kids. Pancakes will be served!
Dec 14th, 3:00pm – Choraleers Christmas Concert | The Canyon Lake Choraleers will be getting everyone in the spirit with their annual concert. Tickets are $8.
Dec 14th, 5:00pm – Boat Parade of Lights | Grab a thermos full of hot chocolate or warm toddies and find a spot along the shore or one of our many beaches to watch this fun annual event on the lake. Every year it gets a little bigger and the boats get more creative. Expect to see some old favorites and some new entries.
Dec 22nd, 10:00am – Brunch with Santa | He really gets around and on Sunday he’ll be joining the community at The Lighthouse Restaurant for brunch. Another great opportunities to get photos with Santa and enjoy a great meal at the same time. Free for kids under 7 and only $11.95 for kids 8-12.
Dec 31st – New Years Eve Party | They’ll be ringing in 2014 at The Lodge as is customary with dinner, drinks and of course champagne. There will also be festivities at the senior center.
Jan 1st, 11:00am – New Years Brunch | Crawl back to The Lighthouse restaurant for this special brunch to celebrate the new year. $19.95 if you go to the New Year’s Eve Ball.
January 4th – Polar Bear Ski Day | This event separates the boys from the men, the girls from the women or the sane from the crazy. Come out and take a run in your Bermudas if you dare. As a consolation, there will be a fire and hot cocoa, and you’ll have bragging rights… when your teeth stop chattering.
Photo credit: bonnermusic.com
By Justin Bevins | Featured
It’s that time of the year when Canyon Lakers give thanks for the good in their lives. Besides family, friends, health & home, many of us are thankful to be able to live in such a great community. Some also make great sacrifice to live here, like commuting to work great distances every day, but it’s worth it. We put together a list of the things that we hear people express thanks for the most often in the community. Here they are in no particular order:
Wow! We have some amazing sunsets. If you’ve never gone down to the lake at dusk and just marveled at the beauty of the sunset over the water, you are really missing out. Try it sometime. Head down to Indian Beach, Holiday Harbor, or the aptly named Sunset Beach and soak it in. It’s a great way to end the day.
Relatively speaking Canyon Lake is very affordable. Housing prices are reasonable especially for the area and the amenities. The taxes are low at just over 1% for every property in the area including new homes which is almost unheard of in most housing tracts. And our HOA at $248 is still a bargain for everything we enjoy. Look at new home tracts all around and many of their HOA’s are $100-$200 a month and they might get a park, a swimming pool, and some landscaping for the community. Go to Orange County and the same limited amenities will cost $300+. We have a private lake, gated security, 14 parks and beaches, equestrian center, tennis courts, lodge, campground and so much more. It’s really pretty amazing that our dues pay to maintain all of that and much of it’s use is free or extremely cheap.
The lake that draws so many of us here is an incredible resource. We have the ability to boat, fish, water ski, wakeboard and more. And the best part is you’re in the water in 5 minute from anywhere in the community. Do you realize that there are only about a half dozen places in California where you can park your boat on the water right outside your back door. It’s such a unique recreation body of water.
Canyon Lake certainly has some crime, but it’s so minor compared to many other communities. Violent crimes are so rare and most of the local crime is minor vandalism and theft. And for a city with nearly 15,000 inhabitants, the crime rate is pretty low. Overall, it’s still one of the safest cities in California every year.
5. Vibrant Community and Interesting PeopleIf you’re open to meeting people, there is no shortage of interesting, colorful people in Canyon Lake. We have movie stars, world class athletes, amazing artists, self sacrificing public servants, and more than a handful of heroes not to mention all the good folks who have lived here at one time or another and left their mark on the community and humanity. Want to meet some of them? Just get out to the many events that are held inside the community every year.
It’s been said that Southern California is America’s playground. And we are smack dab in the middle of it. Snow skiing an hour and a half away. The beach less than hour. Los Angeles, San Diego, and Palm Springs all easily drivable. There is so much richness, culture, art, and recreation all around us in every direction, that it’s hard some days to narrow down what to do!
The lake and our location and climate bring us some amazing winged wildlife – spotted owls, blue herons, hawks, ducks, geese and more. If you are a bird watcher or wildlife enthusiast, you don’t have to go far to see some beautiful species.
Our closeness as a community brings out the philanthropy and giving in others. Not many places have so many people willing to help out others in the community by volunteering their time and money the way Canyon Lakers do. And special recognition really goes to the many clubs that give so selflessly through their events and fundraisers like The Lions, Jr. Women’s Club, CLAWS and many others. And let’s not forget the Tuesday Work Group that does a lot of beautification projects on the golf course for free.
What else can we say? It’s the day before Thanksgiving and the temperature is 72 degrees and it’s a beautifully sunny day with not a cloud in the sky.
It would be an understatement to say that Canyon Lake is a recreational community. With events like, Fiesta Day, Taco Tuesday, Christmas Boat Parade, The Car Show, 4th of July Spectacular, Weekly Farmers Market and more it’s impossible to get bored around here! To have so many well organized events that are within a walk or golf cart’s drive from your home is really something special that most cities and communities would envy.
Canyon Lake really is something special and a place to be thankful for. What part of our community are you thankful for and what other blessings do you have this Novemeber that you want to say “Thanks” for? Leave us a comment and let us know.
By Justin Bevins | Canyon Lake Events
The Canyon Lake Car Club is sponsoring it’s annual Car Show this weekend at the Lodge. Hundreds of car collectors from the community and locally will by shinin’ and showin’ all day Saturday. The October Car Show is always a spectacular event.
Canyon Lake has an exceptional group of car collectors and most weekends, you can see a few classics cruising around the lake. It’s not really a surprise to know that there are hundreds of classic cars in the community making a big garage a coveted thing around here.
Each year the Car Club with it’s 158 members participates in events and rides all over Southern California. They also volunteer and donate time and proceeds to help good causes, local and national charities. Silent auction proceeds from this year’s event will benefit the Progeria Research Foundation.
So what can you expect to see at the Car Show this weekend? You’ll see a variety of pre 1973 custom rods, muscle cars, woody’s and probably a few unique autos you’ve never heard of. There will be Mustangs, GTO’s, T-Birds, Classic Corvettes, Convertibles, Sedans, and maybe even a Studebaker or two. It’s a fun event that will feature classic music, food, drinks, vendor booths and more.
Get there between 9:00 am and 3:00 pm and leave yourself lots of time to see all the sweet rides. There will be a cruise around the lake at 3:30 which should be fun to watch – it’s not often you see a classic car caravan of this size on the road. The weather should be perfect this weekend with temps in the 70’s so it’s a great time to get out and see some cool cars.
If you have a pre- 1973 classic car and are interested in joining the Canyon Lake Car Club, you can get more information on their website.
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By Justin Bevins | Canyon Lake Events
It’s that time of the year again when the Canyon Lake Community Theatre and Performing Arts Association puts on it’s annual production in the park. The stage at Indian Beach has already been transformed into a professional looking set for this year’s performance of Little Shop of Horrors.
The Community Theatre group has been performing at Indian Beach since 1992 and has put on some amazing productions over the years including The Wizard of Oz, Annie Jr., Nunsense, and many others. Every year this group of local performers entertains residents with at least one grand production in the park and other smaller performances throughout the season. This local group of performers and crew take their craft very seriously and never disappoint.
This year’s production runs starts Thursday night and runs the 19th – 21st and then again next week the 26th – 28th with shows starting at 7:30 nightly. There is a special Benefactor Dinner and Show on Friday Sept 20th starting at 5:45. Tickets for the benefactor event are $35.00 and include dinner. All other shows are $15 for assigned seating and $12 for general open seating with discount tickets available for seniors, students, and children. Thursday night each week is family night with tickets costing only $8 for general seating. Contact the ticket hotline at 951-746-4619 to reserve tickets.
Here is a little more information about the Little Shop of Horrors directly from the Canyon Lake Community Theatre website:
A down and out skid row floral assistant becomes an overnight sensation when he discovers an exotic plant with a mysterious craving for fresh blood. Soon “Audrey II” grows into an ill-tempered, foul-mouthed, R&B singing carnivore who offers him fame and fortune in exchange for
feeding its growing appetite, finally revealing itself to be an alien creature poised for global domination!
Come out for a fun evening in the park and support our local artists. We’ll see you out under the lights.
By Justin Bevins | Canyon Lake Events
Well, maybe not officially over but Labor Day has passed so no more big summer holidays. Taco Tuesday is finished for the year. No more Friday night movies at Holiday Harbor.
But don’t let that stop you from having some fun in Canyon Lake because fall is a great time for events and really probably the best time for getting on the water. Average daytime temperatures typically run in the 70’s and 80’s and the water temp is still close to 80 degrees. Most of the summer crowd have put the boats away so there is much less traffic on the lake this time of year. It’s really ideal if you want to get some wakeboarding or waterskiing in.
It’s also a great time to play golf or maybe learn the sport for the first time. Cooler temps make the golf course much more enjoyable and if you want take lessons, the guys at the pro shop offer outstanding instruction at a reasonable price. Just keep in mind that the golf course is closed for over seeding for 3 weeks in October so check with the pro shop to get the exact dates.
The fall season is also a great time for events in Canyon Lake with a full calendar of great things to do. Here are a few of our favorite activities:
Sunday Brunches – The Lighthouse is open every Sunday 10:00 am – 2:00 pm for brunch and there is no better time or place to relax and take in the beautiful fall days.
Miss Canyon Lake Pageant – Tickets are still available for Saturday night’s pageant and the crowning of Miss Canyon Lake. You can purchase tickets at the event for $10 so come out and support all the ladies who have worked so hard to represent Canyon Lake.
Ski Tourney – The Canyon Lake Ski Club is running their fall tourney this weekend at the North Causeway. If you want to see some impressive rooster tails, get out there Saturday and Sunday at 8:00 am and cheer on the skiers. For big air, head to the Ski Jump Lagoon at noon Saturday.
Little Shop of Horrors / Canyon Lake Community Theatre – The biggest event of the year for the Community Theatre! Come out to Indian Beach for an evening of entertainment under the stars while the Theatre rolls out Little Shop of Horrors. It really is an impressive event for Canyon Lake with a professionally built stage and great talent from the community. Shows run in the evenings for two weeks September 19th-21st and 26th-28th. Shows start at 7:30.
Western BBQ – Come out for some great grub at Eastport Park October 5th from 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm.
Car Show – The Canyon Lake Car Show will be at the lodge again this year on October 12th and you can expect to see some amazing hot rods and classic cars. Lots of other fun events that day
Chili Cook-off – One of our favorite events every year is the chili cook-off at Holiday Harbor. Typically over 20 great cooks show up to vie for 1st place but your taste buds are the real winners. Beer and wine are usually available and the cost is reasonable. This year’s event is October 19th.
Oktoberfest – This rowdy and fun event will be held in the Towne Center this year on September 21st from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm and will feature all the great food, drink, and fun that Oktoberfest is known for.
Art Walk – The Canyon Lake Art Association will be showcasing some great community artists on October 19th and 20th during the Open Studios Tour. Pick up your map and get more details at the POA office starting October 16th. You don’t really have to walk; we suggest the golf cart. 😉
We’ll see you out there!