Mad Hatter Holiday Parade in Vallejo

The Vallejo Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) has began its sixth annual Celebrate the Holiday Season in Vallejo campaign to promote the city and its many seasonal events. The campaign has been developed by the Vallejo CVB in cooperation with Vallejo Main Street, Vallejo Chamber of Commerce and their Shop Vallejo First program and the Vallejo Times-Herald.

Led by Six Flag Discovery Kingdom’s Holiday in the Park, Vallejo has become the number one place in the San Francisco Bay Area to celebrate the holiday season. Now a family tradition, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom presents its seventh annual holiday spectacular. Celebrate the most wonderful time of the year while viewing twinkling lights, meeting Santa and his helpers, singing Christmas carols and munching on holiday treats. Guests will also be able to enjoy their favorite rides and attractions along with Santa’s Workshop, Candy Cane Lane, Winter Wonderland, Reindeer Village, Toy Land, and Blitzen's Wonderland Mountain. Sing and Dance along with the songs at the park’s all-new holiday shows, such as Happy Holidays, Looney Tune Christmas. And don’t miss the nightly tree lighting ceremony or your favorite animal act.

“No other place in Northern California has anything like Holiday in the Park. That and all or other seasonal events make Vallejo a true destination for the holidays,” said Mike Browne, Executive Director of the Vallejo Convention & Visitors Bureau. “With our affordable lodging, unique shopping, and great dining, Vallejo is the perfect city to enjoy and from which to base your Bay Area holiday activities.”

Vallejo’s Mad Hatter Holiday Parade & Festival also returns this year on Saturday, December 7. Grand Marshalls for this year’s parade is Ultimate Fighting Championship contender Mark Muñoz and Olivia Jasmine, former VOENA singer and American Idol finalist. Watch Santa arrive on a fire breathing Trojan Horse, meet the Ladybug and the Gypsy Time Travelers. Peer through the oversized Steampunk Kaleidoscope and ride in the Mad Hatter’s Giant Sofa. The evening ends with a tree lighting ceremony, a lighted boat parade and finally the Mad Hatter Costume Ball.

Visitors will want to plan to spend the night and take in many other Vallejo holiday favorites like the 27th Annual Messiah Sing-A-Long, the 17th Annual Christmas Concert at St. Peter’s Chapel, a Christmas concert by the Vallejo Choral Society, a Teddy Bear Tea and Vallejo’s13th annual Kwanzaa Celebration.

From Vallejo visitors can also enjoy a scenic roundtrip ferry ride to San Francisco for fabulous shopping and holiday sights at PIER 39 or the San Francisco Ferry Building without fighting holiday traffic. And Vallejo is just short drive from the Jelly Belly Candy Company, the Napa Valley Wine Train and such great wineries as Castello di Amorosa, Winterhawk Winery, Vezer Family Vineyards and V. Sattui.

For a complete list of holiday events and great hotel deals in and around the Vallejo area, please visithttp://www.VisitVallejo.com, or call (707) 642-3653 for a special holiday brochure.

Care Coalition Grand Marshal At Gasparilla Parade

Care Coalition, an agency within the U.S. Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base which supports wounded, ill or injured Special Operations Forces and their families, has been chosen as the Grand Marshal for the 2014 Seminole Hard Rock (SHR) Gasparilla Pirate Fest Parade of Pirates.

“We’re grateful that Care Coalition accepted our invitation to be a part of this monumental city event,” said SHR President John Fontana. “We’ve worked with them in the past, and when the decision making came down to it, we all agreed these folks are true heroes and should be properly honored as such.”

The SHR Gasparilla Pirate Fest Parade of Pirates is scheduled for Saturday, January 25 at 2 p.m. and will include colorful costumes and festive music. It will also contain more than 90 elaborate floats, 14 marching bands, over 50 distinct Krewes and the infamous YMKG pirates.

The Care Coalition was founded in 2005 and has about 80 employees, half based locally at MacDill Air Force Base. The employees are a mix of active and retired military, plus civilians with special skill sets, registered nurses and social workers.

“Our nation’s elite forces like the Green Berets, Army Rangers and Navy SEALs protect our freedom on a daily basis,” added Fontana. “We couldn’t think of a better way to thank them for their service than shining the spotlight on them on a day of celebration in Tampa Bay.”

In September, SHR announced it would be the title sponsor of the Gasparilla Pirate Fest for the next three years.

“The Gasparilla Pirate Fest is a very important celebration for the Tampa Bay community and now with the inclusion of Care Coalition we are ensuring our community is highlighting all of our assets, and USSOCOM right in our backyard is one of them,” said Fontana.

“The Pirates of Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla are very excited to have Care Coalition serve as our Grand Marshal in the 2014 Parade of Pirates,” said Captain Jim Von Thron of Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla. “We look forward to showcasing these hometown heroes in Tampa’s signature parade on January 25th!”

About Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tampa recently completed a $75 million expansion, making it the world’s sixth-largest casino, based on gaming positions or number of seats at a table or slot. This ultimate entertainment destination features 118 table games including Blackjack, Mini and Midi-Baccarat, Pai Gow Tiles and Poker, Three Card Poker and Texas Hold ‘em Poker, along with over 5,000 slot machines and a smoke-free poker room with 50 tables offering high stakes action. 

The luxurious High Limit Table Games Room features 17 tables for blackjack and midi-baccarat and offers higher table limits, a personal cashier and attentive bartenders. For the sixth year in a row, the American Automobile Association (AAA) has awarded this 250-luxury room hotel its prestigious Four Diamond rating. Guests can enjoy a new pool area and restaurants including the Hard Rock Cafe Tampa, part of Hard Rock’s 142 globally recognized rock ‘n’ roll themed restaurants, the award-winning Council Oak Steaks & Seafood Restaurant, and Rise Kitchen & Bakery™, which features freshly baked breads and entrees made with fresh ingredients. 

The new Asian gaming complex Jubao Palace features 17 table games and an accompanying 15-seat, quick service noodle bar. Valet and more than 5,000 free, self-parking spaces are available. The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa is located off of I-4 at North Orient Road and Hillsborough Avenue, between I-75 and I-275, about 10 minutes east of downtown Tampa. 

For more information, please call 1-800-937-0010 or visit us online at http://www.seminolehardrocktampa.com orhttp://www.facebook.com/seminolehardrocktampa. 

Follow us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/SHRTampa.

Cheer To Santa Claus Parade with Interactive Photo App

For the past 109 years, The Santa Claus Parade has been creating magical memories in Toronto, thanks to the generosity of local businesses and Torontonians. Private donations, corporate float sponsors, and, of course, Santa and Mrs. Claus, all help make the Parade a world-class celebration of the holiday season.

Inspired by the Toronto community’s generosity, the team at BNOTIONS & SE3D Interactive are gifting Parade goers with a photo app that will add plenty of cheer to the Parade and the upcoming holiday season. SantaSnaps, available for iOS and Android, allows users to interact with all their favourite holiday characters and create fun photo moments and lasting memories. Parade goers will be delighted to stick Rudolph noses on their family, surprise their sweethearts with mistletoe, photobomb their friends with dancing elves, and more.

“A big part of the BNOTIONS culture is giving back. Most of our community initiatives are focused on tech, so we saw this as an opportunity to create something that can benefit the hundreds of thousands of people who attend and watch The Santa Claus Parade,” said Paul Crowe, Partner at BNOTIONS. “Every year my Facebook feed is full of pictures of friends and their families at the Parade. This is our chance to help them add some more holiday-inspired fun and creativity to those photos.”

SantaSnaps pays tribute to The Santa Claus Parade’s storied history while giving users a taste of the latest in technology. It is the perfect way for people to fill the time before the parade starts and in between floats, not to mention a great way to take photos over the busy holiday season.

“Everyone on our team has fond childhood memories of what an exciting, magical experience it was going to The Santa Claus Parade,” said Aaron McLean, Creative Director at SE3D Interactive. “Since so many Parade goers take pictures with their mobile phones, we felt there was an opportunity to give people a really special photo experience. By combining the latest 3D augmented reality gaming and photo technologies, we created a fun, easy way for people to engage with some of the coolest technology out there.”

Ready to make your holiday photos shine? Get the app for iOS on the App Store and for Android on Google Play.

Download SantaSnaps today!

[iOS - App Store] - https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/santasnaps/id730568605?mt=8
[Android - Google Play] - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bnotions.scp&hl=en

SantaSnaps - New Holiday Photo App by BNOTIONS and SE3D Interactive (Promo Video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iM_ZhkoURUA - Video courtesy of JeffHiggins.ca

About BNOTIONS

BNOTIONS is a Strategic Innovation Firm, excelling in Mobile & Data. They are the partner of choice for organizations with the desire to disrupt through innovation. They deliver large and complex deployments, but are small enough to retain a boutique approach to best-in-breed quality and agility. Their proprietary approach delivers measurable, effective, data-driven product innovation, from strategy to product launch and beyond. They help organizations of any size think and act like a start-up. More information can be found at bnotions.com.

About SE3D Interactive

SE3D Interactive is an agency passionate about using the advanced technology and the concept of play to reach audiences. SE3D Interactive works with top clients, creating and delivering solutions that includes 3D games, augmented reality, gesture and large projection applications. More information can be found at se3dinteractive.com.

About The Santa Claus Parade

The Santa Claus Parade is the largest children’s parade in North America and largest outdoor entertainment event held in Canada every year. More information on the Parade, including even more exciting Parade details, can be found at http://www.thesantaclausparade.com

Aitkin, MN Presents 22nd Annual Fish House Parade

It’s that time of the year again for Minnesotans to bundle up and gather together to watch a river of ice fishing houses make its way up to over 365 of the state’s lakes. On Friday, Nov. 29, the Aitkin Area Chamber of Commerce will host the 22nd Annual “World Famous Fish House Parade,” starting at 1 p.m. CT.

This year’s Grand Marshall is current Miss Minnesota Rebecca Yeh, a 20-year-old from Nisswa.

The parade is held every year on Black Friday, giving residents a chance to celebrate with a day of fun, food and friends. The parade is open to anyone who would like to enter a float with an ice fishing theme.

There are many great activities to enjoy during the day, including scoping out good deals throughout town at participating retail establishments, and eating at Downtown Aitkin’s delicious restaurants.

Aitkin will also play host to other fun activities to celebrate the day, including a craft show in the historic Opera House at the Butler Building (301 Minnesota Avenue North) from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., featuring specialty jams and jellies, mittens and scarves, and a full range of beautiful handmade crafts.

Santa and Mrs. Claus, along with Miss Minnesota, will also stop by between 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. to make a special visit.

The United Methodist Church will also host a Spaghetti Feed from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Starting at 3 p.m., The Landing will be serving a special Soup Dinner, featuring Prime Rib and Vegetable Soup, until it’s all gone.

The end of the parade will feature the “Super Discount Ball Drop,” when the last float will be shooting the multicolored balls into the crowd, giving attendees a chance to win different discounts at participating Aitkin businesses.

 For more information on the “World Famous Fish House Parade,” visit the Aitkin Chamber of Commerce’s official website, www.aitkin.com, call (218) 927-2316, or email upnorth@aitkin.com.

Fantasy Fest Parade in Key West.

Tens of thousands of revelers gathered in bizarre costumes for the annual Fantasy Fest parade in Key West.

The parade took over Duval Street Saturday night with more than 40 motorized floats, bands and marching groups crowding the road.

Leading the pack was endurance swimmer Diana Nyad, 64, who recently became the first person to swim from Cuba to Key West without a protective shark cage. She sat on a float shaped like Key West's Southernmost Point marker, surrounded by marchers dressed as jellyfish.

Several floats and marchers embodied the theme of this year's festival, "Super Heroes, Villains… & Beyond," including a group of Wonder Women dancers, Transformers in elaborate robot costumes and a Batman that hovered over a 40-foot Gotham City float.

Paraders also memorialized "Heroes to Zeros" on a float that poked fun at professional sports players that use steroids. The float featured a giant syringe and a group of nurses and baseball players.

While the fun is over this year, it's not too late to start planning for the next Fantasy Fest. Next year's fest theme will be "Animéted Dreams & Adventures" and it is scheduled to take place Oct. 17-26.