old town

When strolling down Front Street, it’s easy to imagine what Temecula must have looked like during its earliest days. This weekend, those images become a reality when the City of Temecula’s Western Days once again brings cowboy shoot outs, hoedowns and good old fashioned country grub to the streets of Old Town.

Kicking off with the Rod Run earlier this month, the City of Temecula’s Springfest is in full swing, with festivals and activities from March through May that cause Old Town to burst at the seams with revelers, entertainment, food and fun. This weekend, March 21st and 22nd, banjo players, fiddlers and other musicians will take over Front Street when the popular spring fling, Temecula Bluegrass Festival, returns.

Hot rods were at the center of the T-Bird’s universe (don’t tell the Pink Ladies) and, considering the annual Temecula Rod Run is one of the biggest and most anticipated events in Old Town each year, these bitchin’ Camaros are obviously a big part of life in the Inland Empire as well.

How well do you know Temecula landmarks? In this column, I’ve included a handful of unique and sometimes bizarre photos of items that can be found in public places all over Temecula. Take a look at the photo and see if you can figure out what and where exactly it is, then click the link for the answer.

he City of Temecula is celebrated for bringing top-notch artistic opportunities to the members of the community and well as visitors and currently there are a number of city-sponsored art exhibitions available for viewing around town.

The weather outside has been about as frightful as it can be in Temecula and, at Pennypickle’s Workshop’s annual Winter Wonderland, they say let it snow! Let it snow! On Friday evening, December 19th (rescheduled from December 12th) at 5:00 pm, Pennypickle’s will open its doors to the community for a grand celebration of the holidays.

It may seem like the holiday season just got started but, the truth is, the time is now to make your New Year’s Eve plans to make sure you get tickets to the right experience for your situation. Whether it’s an elegant date night or an early celebration for the whole family, What’s Up? Temecula has everything you need to know about all the New Year’s happenings in town so you can make your reservations and check one more thing off that to-do list.

One of the most vivid memories I have of my childhood is the old Sparkletts Water Show at Sea World in the eighties. There was just something about those lights changing color to different types of music that just blew my young mind. Now the kiddos in Temecula can have the same psychedelically awesome musical experience with Snowbell Rockin’ Nights at City Hall, Thursdays through Sundays in Old Town.

It just isn’t Christmas until you see Snoopy and the Peanuts gang skating around to the song “Christmas Time Is Here,” and now you and your family can recreate this iconic winter scene as the Temecula on Ice Skating Rink returns to Old Town this week. Temecula on Ice features a state-of-the-art skating rink, comfortable skates (not the old-school ones that give you blisters!).

The holiday season is in full swing and two of Temecula’s most popular twinkling traditions light up the city with yuletide cheer this week, with the annual Christmas Tree Lighting at the Duck Pond on Thursday and Santa’s Electric Light Parade through Old Town on Friday night. “Temecula is growing into a big city but we still cherish the home town events that make Temecula special, especially during the holidays,” Dawn Adamiak, Recreation Supervisor for the City of Temecula said.