Holiday Guide 2023
San Luis Obispo County’s News and Entertainment Weekly. Annual Holiday Guide for 2023!
Cover Story
Holiday Guide 2023
The season of celebration is here and so is our annual issue dedicated to all things holiday! Off-centered cheer: Shake up your holiday table with showstopper dinners that aren’t just turkey or ham BY BULBUL RAJAGOPAL Celebrate SLO Town style: Downtown SLO hosts a variety of holiday activities BY GLEN STARKEY SLO for the holidays:…
Celebrate SLO Town style: Downtown SLO hosts a variety of holiday activities
“I love a parade, the tramping of feet, I love every beat I hear of a drum. I love a parade, when I hear a band, I just want to stand and cheer as they come.” If you love a parade, you’ll get a chance to line the streets of downtown San Luis Obispo with…
SLO for the holidays: Not every Cal Poly student can make it home for the holidays, so where do they go?
First-year biology student Rabeeya Asif was in a ghost town. The streets were empty, the coffee shops void of almost any people except employees, the Central Cost air was brisk and piercing. Yet it was Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s campus—normally bustling and overflowing with student activity—during Asif’s Thanksgiving break. “It was weird,” Asif—now a…
Celebrate with seniors: Volunteering and holiday spirit go hand in hand for two local organizations
Give a little For more information on volunteering for Senior Angels of the Central Coast, visit seniorangelsofthecentralcoast.org. To help out at Be a Santa to a Senior, check out beasantatoasenior.com. For some, immersing oneself in the holiday spirit involves volunteering time to be with elderly residents who might need a helpful hand to hold, and…
Former Paso mayoral candidate alleges physical altercation with city manager
Paso Robles City Manager Ty Lewis is facing an assault allegation from former mayoral candidate Michael Rivera, who claims that Lewis physically removed him from a meeting causing damage to his shoulder. “I am a 70-year-old man and do not tolerate being physically abused by a much younger person like Mr. Lewis or anyone for…
Five Cities firefighters getting new staff, new equipment
Cost of living adjustments and new equipment are in the works for Five Cities Fire Authority (FCFA) firefighters. During the Nov. 13 Grover Beach City Council meeting, City Manager Matthew Bronson shared updated information on necessary equipment purchases, updated staffing levels, and the Oceano Community Service District’s fire service. Bronson told New Times in an…
EV charging stations to be installed in Santa Rosa and Johnson parks
Two of San Luis Obispo’s public parks are about to see the nighttime presence of electric vehicles. On Nov. 14, the SLO City Council unanimously approved changing the municipal code to include a draft ordinance that allows electric vehicle charging from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. in Santa Rosa and Johnson parks’ parking lots. Public…
County devises alternate ways to close Bob Jones Trail gap
The coveted missing puzzle piece required to finish the Bob Jones city-to-sea trail remains elusive to San Luis Obispo County officials. So much so that county staff developed alternatives to change the scope of the 30-year-old project altogether, ones that don’t rely on eminent domain—an issue that has kept the Bob Jones trail from moving…
Templeton keeps policy that independent study students’ can’t participate in sports
Kelly Henchett kept her message to the Templeton Unified School District (TUSD) board simple during its Nov. 9 meeting. “The community and the students are only asking for one thing,” Henchett said. “We are only asking for the ability for independent study program students to have the opportunity to try out for sports—not to play,…
Chef Candice Custodio launches supper club, cookbook, and more
Catch Candice Peruse Chef Candice Custodio’s slew of upcoming events and appearances or inquire about private gigs, in-person and virtual classes, and the release of her cookbook, The Versatile Chef, at chefcandice.com, clubsupsup.com, and on Instagram @chefcandice and @clubsupsup. If you’re a local foodie, chances are you know Candice Custodio. She’s the founder of Latin…
SLO County invites community input on Pier Avenue reconstruction
Oceano’s Pier Avenue is getting a makeover, and San Luis Obispo County wants residents to chime in about what changes they’d like to see. “Pier Avenue is just such a gem for the community of Oceano, but there’s really not a future vision or blueprint on how Pier Avenue should evolve,” said Jake Hudson, SLO…
Duane Betts & Palmetto Motel play a Numbskull and Good Medicine show at The Siren on Nov. 17
After spending a decade playing alongside his famous father, Allman Brothers founding member Dickey Betts, in his band Dickey Betts & Great Southern, then forming and touring with Brethren of the Coast, then becoming a touring member of folk-rock group Dawes, then forming The Allman Betts Band with Devon Allman, son of Gregg Allman, Duane…
DeRose Therapy Group in SLO hosts a Mental Health and Wellness Symposium
For those who are passionate about mental health and wellness or those simply interested in learning more about overall well-being, DeRose Therapy Group in San Luis Obispo will be hosting an event to help answer all of those curious questions. “We’re going to spotlight about 12 different businesses in the community that are wellness focused…
SLO Rep brings the holiday cheer with 10th annual production of A Christmas Story
Experience the tradition Catch the show for yourself at SLO Rep (888 Morro St., SLO) Nov. 17 through Dec. 23. For tickets and more information on show times, visit slorep.org/shows/a-christmas-story-2023. There may be no better showcase of the wonder, chaos, and downright absurdity of the holiday season than the iconic Warner Bros. movie A Christmas…
From Splash with love
Almost 40 years ago, I moved to this incredible community from Colorado. Initially, I worked as a manager at F. McLintocks Saloon downtown (many of you know me from back then). There I met and became friends with so many SLO locals, and I came to love this amazing and diverse community. A few years…
Prolific choreographer brings The Nutcracker to Arroyo Grande
The Santa Maria Civic Ballet and Everybody Can DANCE present their annual, collaborative production of The Nutcracker, choreographed by Diane Rose Zink, at the Clark Center for the Performing Arts in Arroyo Grande on Nov. 25, at 7 p.m., and Nov. 26, at 3 p.m. As the show’s artistic director, Zink has helmed this unique…
‘Alternative facts’ and political talking points
In the Nov. 9 issue of New Times letters section, John Texeira makes some salient points about how the national debt and the costs of inflation are impacting us all (“Bidenomics led to inflation, increased costs”). Unfortunately, he misread some of the factors leading to these problems. The national debt is indeed an issue, but…
Scrooge returns to the Great American Melodrama for The Holiday Extravaganza
The Great American Melodrama’s 2023 production of The Holiday Extravaganza is scheduled to open on Nov. 17. Performances of this annual holiday production will run through Dec. 31. The three-act show includes the venue’s traditional retelling of A Christmas Carol, a fractured fairy tale opera segment, and a holiday-themed vaudeville act. For more details, call…
An opportunity that’s now lost forever
As a 93-year-old Holocaust survivor, I have always been proud to be a Jew. I have no desire for that pride to diminish. However, a unique opportunity has been lost forever. The inhuman barbarism that Hamas released on Israel on Oct. 7 provided an ideal chance to show the world that Jewish values of life…
The Holdovers delivers laughter and tears
THE HOLDOVERS What’s it rated? RWhat’s it worth, Glen? Full priceWhat’s it worth, Anna? Full priceWhere’s it showing? Downtown Centre Alexander Payne (Election, Sideways, Nebraska, The Descendants) directs this dramedy set in 1970 starring Paul Giamatti as Paul Hunham, an unliked and ill-tempered history teacher at Barton Academy, a remote New England boarding school. Over…
Censorship in our schools and elsewhere must not be tolerated
Those who question authority are often censored. The most profound thinkers have traditionally been censored. Schools should not be a place for indoctrination by either the right or left, depending on who’s in power. Traditionally, classics like Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Catcher in the Rye, and works by Judy Blume…
Fingernails
What’s it rated? R When? 2023 Where’s it showing? Apple TV Plus What would you do to discover if the person claiming to love you is truly in love? What would you do to be assured you were really in love with your partner? In this Apple Original film, Anna (Jessie Buckley) and Ryan (Jeremy…
Diablo, replaced
California has enough clean, renewable energy to replace the power from the Diablo Canyon Power Plant several times over, but the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) doesn’t know it. Rather, the CPUC is in the grip of the idea that California must keep the Diablo Canyon Power Plant operating for five or 20 years beyond…
The Sting
What’s it rated? PG When? 1973 Where’s it showing? The Palm Theatre of San Luis Obispo on Nov. 18 (1:30, 4:15, and 7 p.m.) and Nov. 20 (7 p.m.) George Roy Hill (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Slaughterhouse-Five, Slap Shot) directs this seven-time Academy Award-winning film (including Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, and Score)…
Shouldering responsibility
Did Paso Robles City Manager Ty Lewis manhandle losing City Council and mayoral candidate Michael Rivera at the City Homelessness Strategic Plan Working Group meeting on Nov. 6, as Rivera alleges? Rivera wasn’t part of the committee, but he was asked by committee member Ron Cuff to attend in his stead. When Lewis learned of…
Off-centered cheer: Shake up your holiday table with showstopper dinners that aren’t just turkey or ham
Family gatherings for Oceano resident Lisa Price and her folks rarely followed the traditional route. Her dad wanted a party for his celebration of life. When he passed away, Price did just that. The family scattered his ashes at Pirate’s Cove and welcomed 100 people at Price’s house afterward with a taco truck and a…
