See’s Candies is now available at the Moraga farmer’s market (most weeks) as well as the Rheem Valley Shopping Center. It’s being run by the Kiwanis to support local organizations mostly in Lamorinda. So if you want to show your support and/or don’t want to go all the way to Walnut Creek then check them out and pick out a nice box of chocolates.
The City of Walnut Creek has approved six popup kiosks at Liberty Bell Plaza in downtown Walnut Creek where Il Fornaio is located at the corner of Mt. Diablo Blvd. and Broadway. They have recently been installed; check out what they look like in the photo above. According to a new website promoting the kiosks:
Liberty Bell Plaza, will become Pop Up Plaza, and provide an opportunity for retail designers actively looking to enter the Walnut Creek area, but have been unsuccessful in finding an available location. The plaza is designed to be a collection of designers and brands not available in the East Bay. The project will be kept fresh and exciting by limiting the opportunity to one through three month.
The Liberty Bell design incorporated into the kiosk design is a nice touch:
Stay tuned for which popups will be opening… What would you like to see at these kiosks?
From the Lafayette Art Gallery website:
Started your holiday shopping? We invite you to shop locally and support the arts this season at Lafayette Gallery’s annual holiday show. We are proud to present original artwork, jewelry, ceramics and sculptures created by our 23 members. We have an extensive collection of affordable gifts crafted exclusively for holiday gift-giving.
Thank you for the continued support of both the public and local businesses. We hope that you visit our Gallery on Lafayette Circle and see our the many different gifts of original artwork. And stop by the Sculpture Garden for our last show until April.
Join us at our holiday reception on Friday, November 30 from 6:30 to 8:30. Meet the artists, enjoy refreshments and music.
Yesterday I had a chance to drop by the Walnut Creek Ice Rink which is open until January 13th. In previous years I always went in December or January but this time I went early and was amazed at how relatively empty it was, even on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. I would definitely recommend checking this out sooner rather than later as it can get extremely crowded!
Check out the open rink:
General admission is $11 Monday – Friday and $15 on weekends and Friday at 5pm. Unfortunately there is no children’s admission but kids 3 and under are free.
Here are the open skate times:
General Public Skating Hours (excluding holiday periods)
Monday – Thursday
12:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Friday
12:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Saturday
11:00 am – 11:00 pm
Sunday
11:00 am – 8:00 pm
Holiday Period Admission
November 19 – 25 every day, all day $15
December 22 – January 6 every day, all day $15Holiday Period Public Skating Hours
*Monday, Nov 19–Wednesday, Nov 21 Holiday Period 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
*Thursday Nov 22 Thanksgiving 11:00 am – 6:00 pm *Friday Nov 23 Holiday Period 11:00 am – 11:00 pm *Friday Dec 21 Holiday Period 11:00 am – 11:00 pm *Monday Dec 24 Christmas Eve 11:00 am – 7:00 pm *Tuesday Dec 25 Christmas Day 11:00 am – 6:00 pm *Wed-Thurs Dec 26 – Jan 3 Holiday Period 11:00 am – 9:00 pm *Monday Dec 31 New Year’s Eve 11:00 am – 12:30 am *Tuesday Jan 1 New Year’s Day 11:00 am – 9:00 pm *Friday Jan 4 Holiday Period 11:00 am – 11:00 pm
Art and Science of Eyewear, the Lafayette eyeglass store that branched out to downtown Walnut Creek on N. Main St. several years ago is closing up shop and will focus on their Lafayette location at La Fiesta Square. A poster on the door notes:
We have consolidated our efforts into our flagship store in Lafayette to better serve you! Open since 1996, our popular downtown Lafayette location is just 3.8 miles from here and 2 blocks off the Central Lafayette Highway 24 Exit.
From the Ice Skate Walnut Creek website:
Saturday, November 17, 2012
11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Festivities to include:
- Free Skate 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
- Face Painting
- Music
- Magician
- Skating Performances
- Food & Beverages
- Raffle Prizes
and more!
On the way to check out the Le Gateau Elegant bakery on Newell I passed by the white building getting demolished to make way for condos. As you can see from the above photo, they are demolishing it top down, floor by floor, I imagine because they can’t get enough of a perimeter to demolish the whole building at once.
Traffic-wise it’s kind of annoying. I had to make a right then do a u-turn in a few places, but after a while I’d get used to it.
Recently I received an email from a reader who attached this photo of downtown Walnut Creek pointing out the lack of garbage cleanup. Has anyone noticed the garbage situation getting worse in downtown Walnut Creek? I haven’t noticed anything out of the ordinary or maybe I haven’t been paying enough attention.
From an email:
Today at 5:00 we are having our ribbon cutting ceremony with the Chamber of Commerce. At the ceremony, we will also be partnering with DoGood Vines to promote Venture as an official Drop Off site for Central County Homeless Outreach. Customers that drop off socks, hats, gloves or blankets now through end of December will receive a 2-for-1 voucher to Town Hall Theatre’s “It’s a Wonderful Life”.
It’s good to see Venture in Lafayette helping out with local charities.
photo by Flickr user The-Tim
Thanks to realtor Brian Sparr for compiling this list of home and condo sales for Beyond the Creek. Sales for Walnut Creek, Lafayette, Orinda and Moraga are included. Both PDF and Excel reports are included below:
October 2012 Sales (PDF format)
October 2012 Sales (Excel format)