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
Fall is here! But that doesn’t mean the summer fun has to stop. Canyon Lake has your October loaded with great events for the whole family.
This will be the 10th annual Canyon Lake Car Show, a family friendly event that brings in more than 300 classic and custom pre 1973 vehicles, plus food and merchandise vendors. Following the event there will be a Car Show Dinner-Dance with live entertainment at 6:00pm at the lodge. Admission for the dinner-dance is $25. As Canyon Lake Events go, this is always a community favorite. Here’s the schedule but you can also get more information on the Canyon Lake Car Club website.
Schedule:
7-9am Classic cars park and shine
9am Show begins
9-11am Judging
2pm Temescal High School Drum Line
2pm Live charity auction for the Progeria Foundation
3pm Car Show awards
3:30 Cruise around the lake
The Canyon Lake Farmers Market will hold its annual Pet Parade in the Towne Center Free to all pets as long as their in costume. Some of the categories in the pet costume contest are Cutest, Spookiest, Funniest, Most Original and Pet/Owner Look Alike. There will be prizes!
Members of the Jr. Women’s Club and the Family Matters Club are combining forces to present the inaugural Renaissance Faire at Holiday Harbor.
The North Ski Area will be busy with the “PB Challenge 3,” which stands for “personal best.” Skiers will be put to the test, to beat their personal best. The slalom starts both days at 8 a.m. Come out and cheer on your local skiers to beat their personal best. It will be a lot of fun to watch!
The annual Parade of Frights will be held in the Towne Center on In addition to trick-or-treating for candy at local businesses, there will be carnival games and costume contests.
Canyon Lake Community Theatre is hosting “a trip down memory lane” at Indian Beach. In addition the Community Theater Group is hosting a benefactor dinner and concert. This is a multimedia event showcasing 20 years of the club’s musicals.
The Family Matters Club will hold its 2nd annual Halloween Carnival at Holiday Harbor. The free event will offer game booths, prizes, tattoos, costume contest and face-painting. Snacks will be available for purchase.
That is your guide to Canyon Lake Events for October, so get out and enjoy the changing of the seasons and activities in Beautiful Canyon Lake.
As a reminder, the Canyon Lake Golf Course will be closed for Maintenance – On Monday, October 5 through Friday the 23, for annual over-seeding and maintenance. The Country Club Restaurant will also be closed Oct.12 through Oct.15. When the course re-opens expect the fairways and greens to be ready for a great fall/winter season.
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
Every year this event gets better and better as Canyon Lakers come up with more creative lighting displays for their vessels. Growing by a few entries each year, the parade keeps getting bigger and makes for a great evening of entertainment and not surprisingly coincides with a lot of local Christmas parties.
The parade starts at 5:00pm on Saturday at the East Bay launch ramp and makes a full run down the East Bay through the boat tunnel, all the way up to the north end of the Main Lake and back down to finish at Holiday Harbor. If you live on the water or are partying with friends on the water, then you’ll have a front row seat almost anywhere on the lake.
If you don’t have a back deck to view from, here’s a list of public areas that are excellent vantage points: On the East Bay, Indian Beach, Roadrunner Park and Diamond Point Park all offer great views and lots of space to get comfortable with lawn chairs and a thermos of hot cocoa.
On the Main Lake, Holiday Harbor is a great venue and also happens to be where the boats finish the cruise at. Additionally, you can get refreshments and hot cocoa at the park while you’re watching. Sunset Beach offers the largest area to spread out and bring the family and offers the opportunity to see the parade twice as it passes by that area of the lake on it’s route. The boardwalk around the lodge and pool area near the Lighthouse is also a great area to get up close and personal.
If you live on the west side of Canyon Lake, then Moonstone Beach off of Whirlaway Ct. is a great viewing area. If you’re new to Canyon Lake or just visiting, refer to our map below for viewing locations.
If you are planning on photographing the parade, here are a few tips.
Want to catch some other fantastic Holiday Light Boat Parades this year? Try a few of these (click the links for more details and routes):
Newport Beach Boat Parade | Dec 18th-22nd – known as the oldest Holiday Boat Parade in the US at 105 years strong.
Dana Point Harbor Parade | Dec 13th & 14th – 39 years running and a pretty easy drive from Canyon Lake over Hwy 74.
Naples Long Beach Boat Parade | Dec 21st – always a fun event and close to Second street shopping and dining.
Marina Del Rey Boat Parade | Dec 14th – this long running event features a fireworks show (same day as Canyon Lake parade unfortunately).
San Diego Bay Parade of Lights | Dec 15th – almost 100 boats participate each year.
Remember to dress warm and bring a blanket and maybe some warm drinks to sip on. It’s cold down by the water.
Photo credits: MDR Boat Parade, Naples Boat Parade & Port of San Diego via Flickr.com
Well, it was a great boat parade this year with even more entries than last and some very creative efforts. We even had a fire breathing dragon! Here are a few photos taken from Indian Beach.
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By Justin Bevins | Featured
Tis’ the season for Christmas cheer, when we play and listen to Christmas music, start to see Christmas lights strung up on buildings brightly lit up and colorful, and people are wrapped up and bundled just like the Christmas presents under the tree… There are Christmas events that have become tradition such as watching Christmas Parades and watching Christmas Tree lighting ceremonies. One of the area’s most popular places to visit during this Holiday Season is the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa in Riverside which is about a forty minute drive from Canyon Lake.
What happens at The Festival of Lights? Once the sun goes down, the historic Mission Inn is transformed into a beautiful holiday vision ~ the entire property is decorated in splendorous Christmas decor, lit with over 4 million lights plus a spectacular fireworks display. The Mission Inn’s 21st Annual Festival of Lights is running through January 4th, 2014.
The extravaganza also includes appearances by Santa Claus, the world’s largest mistletoe measured at 12 feet by 8 feet, more than 400 animated figures, snow, horse-drawn carriage rides and of course, the beautifully lit and decorated Christmas Tree located in the lush and elegant hotel lobby.
If you’re thinking of dining at the Mission Inn while you’re there to view this Holiday spectacle, being a 4 diamond hotel; you’ve definitely got fantastic dining choices to boot! There’s Duane’s Prime Steaks & Seafood where you can indulge in top notch meals, there’s delicious signature comfort food at the Mission Inn Restaurant ~ where you can dine indoors or outdoors situated in the Spanish-inspired courtyard garden area of the inn, or you can get that Italian cafe feel at Bella Trattoria Italian Bistro. Additionally, there’s the eclectic lounge type of aura at 54 at Duane’s where you can taste great wines paired with sushi and tapas and to close up the night, have a signature cocktail at the Presidential Lounge ~ appropriately named since it formerly served as a guest room for President Roosevelt and was the venue for Richard and Pat Nixon’s wedding. Let’s not forget dessert at Casey’s Cupcakes! Now…. If you’re thinking of staying the night (or two), there’s the Inn’s superior in-room dining via room service which is served from 6am-11pm and 6am-1am (Fri & Sat).
During the Festival of Lights timeframe, the Mission Inn is featuring eleven various all-inclusive room packages from their Holiday Lights and Delights room package to one called Santa’s Suite. The others are appropriately named as well and details can be found on the Inn’s Festival of Lights webpage. We can’t forget to mention that the Mission Inn has special Christmas and New Years Dining, too!
So, make sure to check out the Mission Inn’s Festival of Lights this holiday season and give you and your family a treat! Happy Holidays!
By Justin Bevins | Featured
Canyon Lake sure is a one-of-a-kind community and if you live here you know that Canyon Lakers have their own language, customs, and idiosyncrasies. Wondering if you’ll fit in here or if you truly are a Canyon Laker?
You own more than one set of any of the following: golf clubs, fishing poles, water skis, wakeboards or paddleboards.See you around the lake. Happy Holidays!
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
The Canyon Lake Wakeboard Club is hosting it’s final tournament of the year Saturday at the Lake Elsinore Channel. Riders of all ages and abilities will be competing for points and prizes as they finish up a great season of riding.
The Wakeboard Club has been supporting the sport in our community for years and their volunteers work tirelessly because of a love for the sport. A lot of great wakeboarders call Canyon Lake home and have developed their skills over the years riding in the club tournaments… guys like Jacob and Eddie Valdez who grew up on the backwaters of Canyon Lake. Great riders and instructors like Brent Baum and Noah Petrich help support the club activities and events throughout the year.
The Lake Elsinore channel is a great location for contests because of ample parking, easy access, and a panoramic view of the action. If you want to check out the tourney this weekend, head down to the channel next to Storm Stadium after 9:00 am. If you want to get in on the action and get a few pulls behind the boat, get there at 8:00 am for registration.
Check out the Wakeboard Club’s website for more information about this weekend and their other events.
If you’re hungry after riding or watching the action in the channel, head next door to Storm Stadium for their annual Oktoberfest celebration from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm Saturday… or come back Sunday from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. Showcase breweries include Hangar 24, Bootleggers Brewery, Karl Strauss, New Belgium, and Sam Adams.
You can expect great German food, an Oompa band and lots of great activities for all ages in typical Storm Stadium fashion. There will also be a wide variety of local artisans, crafters, and businesses with their own booths.
The Rotary Club of Lake Elsinore has sponsored this great event for three years running and it never disappoints. You can purchase tickets on site. Admission is only $5.00 – beers and food are separate. Or you can purchase one of the taster packages. Bring your lederhosen and please drink responsibly.
* Wakeboard photos and logo courtesy of Canyon Lake Wakeboard club and Glen Burk Photography. Oktoberfest photos attributed to Storm Entertainment.