City to shine for Hospitality Night

Forest Avenue will be transformed into a holiday promenade tonight for Laguna Beach’s 51st Annual Hospitality Night.

Lights will twinkle on the streets while community members gather on Forest Avenue to celebrate a Laguna-style holiday.

The night will see a parade with a special guest all the way from the North Pole “” Santa Claus himself.

The historic pepper tree in front of City Hall, 505 Forest Ave., will be lit in a special ceremony at 6 p.m.

The tree will shine through the holiday season with 18,000 lights.

Local music talent will cheer crowds on stage and around the street.

There will be a bell choir and community sing-along at 5 p.m. followed by a performance by the Laguna Beach Community Band at 5:15 p.m.

From there, Thurston Middle School and the combined El Morro and Top of the World elementary school bands will take the music program up to the tree lighting ceremony.

On the main stage from 6:10 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. will be performances by Lagunatunes, Rob Eller, Omalley Jones and Mike Soto, to name a few.

The San Clemente Scots Bagpipers will also be on hand to welcome the holidays with some traditional sounds of the Scots.

Children will be able to visit with elves in a Santa’s Workshop put on by the Assisteens while adults enjoy hors d’oeuvres and drinks in the shops of Forest Avenue.

Miss Linda’s Castle’s Musical Theater students will perform at 6:40 p.m. on the main stage in front of Santa’s hut. Calling themselves the MLC Show Kids, they will perform a parody from “Hairspray.”

The night will be capped off by a presentation of the classic Christmas film “It’s a Wonderful Life,” starring Jimmy Stewart at 9:15 in South Coast Cinema, 162 S. Coast Hwy. Tickets are free, but limited to two per person. Tickets can be reserved by calling the Chamber of Commerce, (949) 494-1018.