"NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE; THE WORD ITSELF SAYS, "I'M POSSIBLE"!"
-AUDREY HEPBURN |
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Real snow, jolly o’ St. Nick and a kids zone are just three of the elements that will be entertaining festival attendees at Peoria’s annual Old Town Holiday Festival. Enjoy live entertainment including holiday-themed dances, the annual high school choral contest, theater acts, music and Peoria’s tree lighting ceremony
Also featured throughout downtown are children’s crafts and cookie decorating, 20 tons of snow to play in, photos with Santa, pony rides, inflatables, carnival rides and food and drink vendors. In addition, vintage, repurposed, handmade treasures and more can be found in the Shopper’s Bazaar, managed by Front Porch Pickins. Several of the area churches will also feature activities during the event.
As many as 400 artist booths line Mill Avenue and the surrounding streets presenting unique, and hand-made artwork that offers visitors a distinctive shopping experience. While the Tempe Festival of the Arts primarily focuses on art and the artists that create it, there are also a wide variety of other activities for guests to enjoy. Live entertainment stages provide musical entertainment for festival-goers. Performances by a number of well-known local musicians keep audiences in high spirits throughout the day. In addition to the scheduled entertainment, street performers, vendors, sponsor exhibits and entertainment booths are set up for the amusement of Festival visitors.
You can also find innovative and unconventional holiday gift ideas including buttons, cards, ceramics, children’s clothing, concrete planters, floral arrangements, hand‐made jewelry, letterpress stationary, upcycled furniture, watercolors, woodworks and more at Sixth + Mill Makers. This special artisan zone will be located at 6th Street and Mill Avenue, and will boast artisan finishing salts, cocktail mixes, a lounge and “make and take” booth.
The festival connects community with people and culture of Asia and allows attendees to visit educational marketplace booths depicting the life, culture and beauty of Asian communities. It is a unique extravaganza that includes artifact displays and hands-on activities such as a traditional fashion show, Asian cuisine, calligraphy, origami, performances, games and tea ceremony.
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GILBERT FINE ART & WINE FESTIVALDecember 1st - 3rd10:00 AM - 5:00 PMGilbert Civic Center
Thunderbird Artists, leading producer of award-winning fine art and wine festivals in the Southwest, is excited for their first ever event in the East valley – the inaugural Gilbert Fine Art & Wine Festival. The festival will take place just minutes away from rapidly growing downtown. The event will feature 100 juried fine artists, a high-end boutique area, wineries pouring samples, live music and more!
In addition to Paul Hopman, the event will host juried artists from throughout the state of Arizona, United States and abroad. There will be 2,000+ pieces of art displayed, including paintings in all mediums, batiks, copper, glass, clay, stone, metal and wood sculptures, unique jewelry, photography and more. Patrons will have the opportunity to meet and converse with the artists during all three days of the event.
TASTE OF ARIZONADecember 2nd11:00 AM - 5:30 PMMesa Riverview Park
Dig into food truck vendors and restaurants at a festival featuring a free kids zone, local celebrity chef demonstrations, musical acts and beer and wine for purchase.
VIP tickets include alcoholic beverages, front row access, and more.
The World Bazaar & Phoenix Community Market is a free family-friendly event for all ages and a celebration of the diversity of the community members and local entrepreneurs in Phoenix. Enjoy delicious food, live music, and specialty holiday shopping with local immigrant and refugee-owned businesses featuring handcrafted jewelry, dresses, scarves, baskets, and a variety of artworks from around the globe!
Sample a diverse array of food and beverages including Ethiopian Coffee, Iraqi Bread, Middle Eastern Sweets, and much more! Pick up fresh produce at the New Roots Farmer's Market and celebrate your inner youth at the "KidsZone" with face painting, balloon twisting, and other culturally inspired activities.
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DIY Network's licensed electrician James Young shares tips and tricks for installing outdoor Christmas lighting properly so your joy lasts the whole season.
Be Cautious When Installing Exterior Lighting
Use a good ladder when installing your lights. Secure them with insulated holders (never use tacks or nails). Don't install your lights on trees that come in contact with power lines. Before installing your Christmas lights, plug them in to make sure all of your bulbs are working. Make sure to turn your lights off when you leave or go to bed at night.
For starters, safety first! Your source of power should come from a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) outlet. This type of outlet will shut the circuit down if there is overcurrent. We want your lights to shine, not sparks to fly! If you don't have a GFCI outlet, a qualified electrician can permanently install one outdoors for holiday seasons to come. Or, you can buy a portable outdoor unit from your local home store for less than $20.
Keep Extension Cords Out of the Way
When using extension cords, make sure they are rated for outdoor use, and keep the connections above ground, snow and water. Try to avoid high-traffic areas. Tape cords across walkways, and use the correct length needed to travel to your lights. You don't want your cords to be too long so they pile up and create walking hazards.
Always Choose Waterproof Lights
There is a variety of lights to choose from. First and foremost, always use waterproof or water-resistant lights with a tag marked underwriters lab (UL). This means the lights meet national industry standards with the American National Standards Institute. Also, when you're buying Christmas lights to use outside, make sure they are rated for outdoor use (just like your extension cords). Never use indoor Christmas lights outdoors.
Using C7 or C9 Bulbs
For a more traditional holiday light, you will want to use a C7 or C9. These are the cone-shape lights you'll find most often in home improvement and convenience stores. The difference in these lights is size and wattage, with C9 being a little bigger and easier to see from a distance. Both come in frosted or clear color bulbs and are great for illuminating both your house and trees.
You can buy these in strands of 25 bulbs or larger strands of 100 bulbs. The 25-bulb strands can be connected together (daisy chained) up to a maximum of three strands; 100-bulb strands should be connected separately. Don't connect them together! The C7 and C9 strands use a standard screw-in candelabra base for easy bulb replacement. The strands are connected so if one bulb fails it only affects itself. Buying light strands with inner fuses is a great idea to prevent excess current on the strands.
Another option for outdoor lighting is the "miniature," which costs less and consumes less power than the classic outdoor light string. It can be used around the perimeter of your home, as well as in trees. In most cases, the miniature comes in strands of 50 or 100. The strings run in series, which means if one bulb or socket fails, you can lose a whole section.
The positive thing is that most miniature bulbs have a shunt inside of them to keep the entire string of lights lit if a bulb filament burns out. The key is to quickly replace the burned-out bulb. The shunt will allow the rest of the lights to remain lit, but it will increase the voltage in the rest of the bulbs, reducing their lifetime. With miniatures, you get what you pay for, so get a quality set of lights, and don't connect more than three sets of strings.
Animated lights are great for Nativity scenes, as well as reindeer and angel displays. Animated lights are made of wire frames outlining different shapes and scenes, and they are surrounded with mini lights in different color variations and patterns.
Shimmer spheres come in shaped and circular formations, like snowballs, or stars and striped formations. They are made up of many lights in different sizes. You can even find some that twinkle. Your house will be shining with holiday cheer for the whole block to enjoy.
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