For many visitors, a trip to California marks a true milestone, whether it’s finally climbing Half Dome at Yosemite, seeing if their footprints match their favorite celebrities’ on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, making like American royalty at Hearst Castle or celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary at The French Laundry in Napa Valley.
As the Golden State gets ready to ring in the New Year, the tourism industry is announcing its own milestones and celebrations, making 2015 the perfect time to visit and check California off anyone’s bucket list.
“There’s no other place that celebrates and inspires dreamers like California,” said Caroline Beteta, President & CEO of Visit California. “Many of our attractions were built on dreams, from our famous theme parks to iconic resorts, parks and celebrity restaurants. This coming year, many of these places are celebrating a major milestone – from the 125th anniversary of Sequoia and Yosemite national parks to the 100th anniversary of Balboa Park to the 60th anniversary of Disneyland – with celebrations and special programs that will make any visitor feel like a VIP.”
Many attractions and resorts are celebrating anniversaries in 2015, with special offers and programs that you won’t want to miss:
The Great Outdoors
Yosemite and Sequoia National Park’s 125th Anniversaries
Two of California’s most iconic national parks are staking their claims on the biggest milestone for 2015 – their 125th birthdays – and you’re invited to the party! Yosemite National Park will celebrate the 125th anniversary of becoming a national park throughout 2015. To mark the milestone, the park will offer a series of special events that will culminate on its anniversary on Oct. 1, 2015, such as National Park Week, April 18-26, which will feature free admission (April 18-19), educational exhibits, games, sustainable food tastings and ranger-led bike rides and talks.
Established just five days prior, Sequoia National Park – California’s oldest national park – will celebrate its 125th birthday with special programs such as Junior Ranger Day activities on April 18 and a Dark Sky Festival on Sept. 11-13, and free admission on 12 key holidays such as Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 19), Presidents Day weekend (Feb. 14-16), the 125th Anniversary day (Sept. 25) and Veterans Day (Nov. 11). Sister national park Kings Canyon will commemorate its 75th anniversary with special activities and events as well.
Balboa Park’s 100th Anniversary of Panama-California Expo
San Diego’s Balboa Park will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Panama-California Exposition with a year-long festival in 2015. The event series will highlight the history of the region and park – often referred to as the Smithsonian of the West – through breathtaking performances, awe-inspiring exhibitions, and historical experiences.
Iconic Attractions and Entertainment
SeaWorld San Diego and Hollywood Wax Museums Turn 50
SeaWorld San Diego is celebrating five decades of inspiring guests with unique entertainment, thrilling rides, and more up-close encounters with amazing sea life now through Sept. 7, 2015. SeaWorld’s 50th Celebration also features new interactive experiences, shows and pathway performances, daily prizes and a new Explorer’s Reef™, which immediately immerses park guests into an undersea oasis, with touch pools filled with cleaner fish, sharks, rays and other sea creatures that guests can reach in and touch.
The Hollywood Wax Museum, America’s longest running wax museum featuring ever-changing, astonishingly life-like celebrity statues, will celebrate its 50th birthday in 2015 with a special anniversary event in December 2015. More details will follow in fall 2015.
Starline Tours Celebrates 80th Anniversary
Starline Tours, Los Angeles’ oldest and largest sightseeing tour company offering celebrity tours, will celebrate their 80th anniversary with special promotions. Anyone turning 80 in 2015 can take one of four tours for free throughout their birthday month, and bring a friend along. Younger visitors can play along by posting a picture of a Starline tour – including selfies, of course – to any of Starline’s social media channels for a chance to win monthly prizes such as an $80 gift certificate and a grand prize of GoPro Hero camera, mount and other accessories valued at $500.
Napa Valley Wine Train and Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Honor a Century of History
Wine lovers and history buffs can hop aboard the Napa Valley Wine Train and celebrate the 100th birthday of its recently restored vintage cars in 2015. To commemorate the milestone, the wine train organizers will soon announce new partners who will expand the company’s winery tour offerings in 2015.
Marini’s at the Beach is celebrating 100 Sweet Years at the historic Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk with a series of special events and opportunities for guests to win free candy and create their own taffy flavor. The iconic confectioner has served the same recipe for salt water taffy, candy apples, caramel corn and hand-dipped chocolates since 1915.
Pier 39 Celebrates the 25th Anniversary of the Sea Lions’ Arrival
This Jan. 16-19, San Francisco’s landmark PIER 39 celebrates the 25th anniversary of the sea lions’ arrival with educational Sea Lion Encounter Walking Tours, refreshments, special discounts and more.
Breakaway Tours Turns 20
Breakaway Tours, which features extensive tours of the Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo County wine regions, will commemorate their 20th birthday year with several promotions, including: $30 off two tickets during San Luis Obispo County Restaurant Month in January; Sweetheart Specials in both counties throughout February (to be announced in January); and a special Cheers to Beers Brewery Tour that will launch in March in both regions.
Iconic Surfboard Shop Celebrates 50 Years in Ventura
Walden Surfboards, one of the original California heritage surfboard labels , will celebrate its 50th anniversary. Owned and still operated by Steve Walden, known as the “Father of the Modern Longboard,” the shop sells boards around the world. In early 2015 the shop will announce plans for a special block party celebration as well as special edition surfboards benefiting charities.
Spectacular Cities
City of Coronado Marks 125 Years
The City of Coronado, a luxury island resort community across the bay from San Diego, celebrates its 125th birthday on Dec. 11, featuring a Mayor’s Dinner at the historic Hotel del Coronado. The Cultural Arts Commission will launch a 125-day countdown series of special events starting in August, such as a concert on the bay, an Oz celebration highlighting Oz author and Coronado resident L. Frank Baum and art exhibitions.
Cities of Lake Tahoe, Marina Del Rey and Sea Ranch Celebrate 50th Anniversaries
The City of South Lake Tahoe will host events every month beginning in January 2015 to honor its 50th anniversary. Highlights includes a “Big Chill” event at Lakeview Commons featuring a chili cook-off and snowman making contest; Golf Classic at Bijou Golf Course; anniversary concert/BBQ at Live at Lakeview; City Treasure Hunt; a city Proclamation along with history tours/open houses. Marina del Rey, a stylish Los Angeles coastal community, will honor its 50th birthday with a year-long series of special events, including a big birthday bash on April 10.
The City of Sea Ranch is marking half a century of history with a variety of special programs through spring 2015. Programs hosted by this unique Sonoma County coastal town will include a new Sea Ranch Audio Walking Tour – open by appointment or to Sea Ranch Lodge guests – which focuses on architecture, beautiful landscapes and historic moments. The iconic Sea Ranch Chapel will celebrate its 30th anniversary April 11 with tours, educational forums, a reception at the Del Mar House and a group officiated wedding vow renewal ceremony. They will also host an Architectural Tour, Wine Tasting & Auction on May 9, Memorial Day Weekend BBQ on May 24, and a world premiere concert by the avant-garde Kronos Quartet on May 23-24.
Another 50-year-old gem is the town of Shelter Cove in Humboldt County on California’s North Coast. Located along California’s wildest beach wilderness — a favorite of adventuresome hikers, surfers and mountain bikers – the town is planning to host a number of events to mark the milestone, including live music, speakers and tours of the (retired) Cape Mendocino Lighthouse. More details will be announced in early 2015.
Historic Hotels
San Francisco Bay’s Claremont Hotel Club & Spa and Clift Hotel Turn 100
Claremont Hotel Club & Spa — which has hosted Hollywood celebrities, famous musicians and historic figures over the past century — will celebrate its 100th birthday this coming year with special room packages, wedding and group offers, social media contests and more. Dating back to the Gold Rush, this grand dame resort, located on the border of Berkeley and Oakland, will also commemorate its centennial with an extensive facelift in 2015, which will include updates to its 279 guestrooms, public spaces and dining outlets. The hotel in 2015 will become a Fairmont property but will retain its historic name.
Located steps from Union Square and originally built by acclaimed architect George Applegarth to accommodate visitors to the World’s Fair, CLIFT San Francisco celebrates a century this year. Reinvented in 2001 with an eclectic design from Philippe Starck and Ian Schrager, the hotel will mark the milestone with special parties each quarter starting with a dinner featuring rising stars, San Francisco legends, and historians, as well as special promotions and social media contests throughout the year. Nearby, the legendary Fisherman’s Wharf restaurant Scoma’s will honor its 50th year with a dining room facelift and an exclusive commemorative wine stopper for diners who purchase of a bottle of wine with dinner in 2015.
Sugar Bowl Resort Marks 75th Year
Lake Tahoe’s Sugar Bowl Resort, one of the oldest in the region, will celebrate its 75th anniversary this winter with a season-long schedule of events and celebrations. Throughout its history, Sugar Bowl has pioneered many ski industry milestones including building the first chairlift in California and building the first gondola on the West Coast.
Omni La Costa Resort and Boreal Mountain Ski Resort Celebrate 50 Years
The historic Omni La Costa Resort in Carlsbad (northern San Diego County) resort will celebrate its 50th anniversary this coming year with a commemorative book, installation of a “Legend of La Costa” visual historical gallery, 50th anniversary sweepstakes, “50 Years of Memories” consumer contest, room packages and more. Lake Tahoe’s Boreal Mountain Ski Resort will recognize their 50th year with an early 2015 winter season series of events – such as an amateur snowboard contest on Jan. 10 and an anniversary party Feb. 21-22. The resort will open a new pirate-themed terrain park in late January and offer special deals throughout the season.
Luxe Hotel Marks 20 Years on Rodeo Drive
The four-diamond Luxe Rodeo Drive Hotel, the only hotel on the world-famous shopping street, will celebrate its 20th anniversary next year as a Luxe Hotel by offering special promotions and events (to be announced in early 2015).
Milestone Events and Exhibitions
DeYoung Museum Hosts Centennial Exhibit for Panama-Pacific International Expo
To mark the 100th anniversary of San Francisco’s world’s fair the DeYoung Museum will launch a special three-month Jewel City exhibit Oct. 17. The fair celebrated the historic opening of the Panama Canal and the city’s reconstruction after the 1906 earthquake with global pavilions showcasing innovation, industry and the arts. The Jewel City exhibit revisits this vital moment in the inauguration of San Francisco as the West Coast’s cultural epicenter, reassembling a representative cross-section from the original display, including approximately 250 works by major American and European artists.
Grgich Hills Celebrates 35th Anniversary of Historic Wine Showdown
Grgich Hills Estate – whose winemaker Mike Grgich made history by beating French chardonnays during the 1976 Judgment of Paris – will celebrate the 35th anniversary this year of “The Great Chicago Chardonnay Showdown,” the largest blind tasting of a single varietal. The event further solidified Napa Valley’s place on the world wine map when Grgich again won and earned the nickname “King of Chardonnay.” The winery will host a celebratory dinner May 16 hosted by Mike Grgich, featuring some amazing examples of chardonnay, including the limited production 2012 Paris Tasting Commemorative Chardonnay that will be released in May.
Santa Barbara International Film Festival Turns 30
To celebrate the 30th birthday of the celebrity-studded Santa Barbara International Film Festival, which takes place Jan. 27-Feb. 7, the event will boast an additional day of “beefed up” films, movie star appearances and events. Hotels will host special lodging packages and restaurants will offer prix fixe menus.
Pacifica Fog Fest Turns 30
The Pacific Coast Fog Fest celebrates its 30th year of sun, sand, surf – and of course the spectacular fog that adds so much character to the San Francisco Bay Area. Held in Pacifica just south of San Francisco, the Fog Fest takes place Sept. 26-27 and will commemorate the occasion with special activities, live performances, parade procession and contests, as well as a special celebrity appearance that will be announced in early 2015.
Redondo Beach Lobster Festival Claws its Way to 20 Years
One of Los Angeles County’s premier wine and food festivals, the 20th Annual Redondo Beach Lobster Festival will commemorate its two-decade milestone by dialing up the entertainment and tastings, from exclusive lobster tastings created just for this event, craft beer tasting, and kid’s activities to stand-up paddle boarding lessons.
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