Page 87 - 2015 Travel Guide to California

SAN FRANCISCO’S DE YOUNG
Museum, above.
Heritage & Culture
Early Mexican and Spanish explorers and
settlers in the Bay Area left their mark,
mostly in place names but also in historic
buildings from that era. San Francisco’s
Mission Dolores, established in 1776, is the
oldest building in San Francisco and the
oldest intact original Mission in Cali-
fornia. The patchwork design of its
beamed ceilings resembles local Native
American basket weaving. Other old mis-
sions are found elsewhere in the Bay Area:
in Sonoma, San Rafael, Santa Clara, San
Jose and Santa Cruz.
Vestiges of San Francisco’s colorful past,
when the 1849 Gold Rush catapulted it from
a hamlet to a large city almost overnight,
can still be seen in thousands of 19th-cen-
tury Victorians and quaint old quarters
such as Alamo Square and Jackson Square.
The Bay Area is home to world-class
museums, including the San Francisco
SPECIAL
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EVENTS 2015
CHINESE NEW YEAR PARADE March 7, San Francisco chineseparade.com
CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL April 11-12, 18-19, San Francisco nccbf.org
BAY TO BREAKERS May 17, San Francisco baytobreakers.com
CARNAVAL May 23-24, San Francisco carnavalsanfrancisco.org
ETHNIC DANCE FESTIVAL June 1-30, San Francisco worldartswest.org
STERN GROVE FESTIVAL June 14-Aug. 16, San Francisco sterngrove.org
GAY PRIDE WEEKEND June 27-28, San Francisco sfpride.org
KITE FESTIVAL July 25-26, Berkeley highlinekites.com
ART FESTIVAL Sept. 5-7, Sausalito sausalitoartfestival.org
HARDLY STRICTLY BLUEGRASS Oct. 2-4, San Francisco hardlystrictlybluegrass.com
ART & PUMPKIN FESTIVAL Oct. 17-18, Half Moon Bay miramarevents.com
UNION SQUARE TREE LIGHTING Nov. 27, San Francisco macys.com
FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS Nov. 27, Yountville yountville.com
Museum of Modern Art, the de Young
Museum and California Academy of Sci-
ences in Golden Gate Park. In Oakland,
there’s the Museum of California and, in
Palo Alto, the Cantor Arts Center at Stan-
ford. A lively art scene is found
throughout the region and dozens of the-
ater, opera, symphony and dance
companies are based here.
Diverse cultural influences thrive in
pockets spread throughout the region,
including many from Asia: Japantown
and Chinatown in San Francisco, another
Chinatown in Oakland and thriving Viet-
namese and Southeast Asian communities
in South Bay cities. Mexican and other
Latin American influences can be found
throughout, particularly in San Francisco’s
Mission district, while Italian immigrants
left their indelible mark in San Francisco’s
North Beach and Sonoma and Napa wine-
growing areas.
Family Fun
Spend a day at the Santa Cruz Beach Board-
walk, a century-old amusement park
famous for The Giant Dipper, a 1920s-era
roller coaster.
On the San Mateo County coast, Half Moon
Bay’s mid-October festival features pumpkin
carving and pie-eating contests, while in
nearby Santa Clara, California's Great
America theme park thrills visitors with the
most water rides in Northern California.
San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf and
Pier 39 are lined with shops, restaurants,
street performers and even a colony of sea
lions that wow crowds. The pier also offers
an antique carousel and the Aquarium of
the Bay, with more than 20,000 marine
animals. Over in Golden Gate Park, the Cal-
ifornia Academy of Sciences draws
families with its penguin exhibit, a walk-
through rainforest and aquarium with a
live coral reef tank.
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