HIGHER ELEVATION HOLIDAY: Snow and Southern California meet up to waltz every now and again, but, of course, not everywhere. You have to know the places where flakes are more likely to fall, and while you understand those flakes won't fall with frequency, you do get that a SoCal snow town or two does actually exist. One such snow town is Julian, and while its frostier days are more unusual than typical, it lends the historic Gold Rush destination some Christmassy cred. That means that even if snow doesn't fall on Saturday, Nov. 26 (and snow, typically a winter event, is not expected), you know you're in a place that embraces a certain greeting-card-y sweetness due to its mountain-high elevation, its chance-of-snow-a-tude during January and February, and its ability to embrace the sweeter side of the season. That season revs up the Saturday following Thanksgiving with several deck-the-halls-ian happenings around the snug, easy-to-stroll city. Get ready to watch...
THE COUNTRY CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTING, and visit with Santa, and saunter along the Main Street for a peek inside some shops and a piece of apple pie. (True, autumn is wrapping up, but digging into the autumnal treat is a must in Julian, regardless of the date on the calendar.) Music, live choral presentations, cheerful home tours, and more are on the afternoon-to-evening schedule. There are more holly-and-ivy events happening around the town throughout the final month of the year (and into January), so throw on your mountain-cute scarf and plan your jaunt to a (maybe-possibly) snowy SoCal spot. True, it doesn't flurry often, but fingers crossed you pick the right day to arrive, if you want some snowplay fun.
