Water color by Jennie Szaltis. Courtesy Jenniesgallery.com

• Friday, December 2:  Holiday Window Display Contest & Tree Lighting Ceremony in Balis Park.

• Theatre Jacksonville, December 2 – 17, live production of “I Love You, Your Perfect, Now Change”.  For ticket information go to www.theatrejax.com.

It’s the “perfect” date night destination during the busy holiday season! One of the longest running Off-Broadway musicals in history, I Love you, You’re Perfect, Now Change debuts on the historic Theatre Jacksonville stage in San Marco Square just in time for the holidays!

• Saturday, Dec 3rd - from 6:30-8:30pm, Live Nativity on the corner of Arbor Lane and Laurel Road.

• San Marco Preservation Society’s 21st Holiday Tour of Homes Saturday, December 3 from 4:00-8:00pm and Sunday, December 4 from 2:00-6:00pm

This year’s Holiday Tour of Homes will feature more than six homes which will be

expertly decorated for the holidays. Tickets are on sale for $20 in advance and $25

at the door. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.smpsjax.com.

• December 3 – December 21, “No Room at the Inn” at Woodside Lane (next to San Marco Movie Theatre)

“No Room at the Inn” is a community event that displays a vast array of nativity scenes, or “creches”, collected from around the world. People in the community are invited to participate by displaying their nativities with us at “No Room at the Inn.” Nativities can be family friendly original creations made by the people of San Marco from various and unique media as well as nativities collected from places around the world.

• December 9 & December 11 , “Searching for the King” Southside Baptist Church

Searching for the King is a dramatic portrayal of the search by two people separated by two millenia for spiritual life and truth. Set in a spirited Broadway style, Searching for the King combines contemporary and classic Christian music and calls you to an experience that can etch itself upon the very soul. The story combines pageantry, drama, and music provided by choirs of adults, students, and children accompanied by outstanding instrumentalists. Performances are Friday, December 9, and Sunday, December 11, at 7:30p.m.

General admission tickets to Searching for the King are free and will be available November 13. Call (904) 396-6633 or e-mail info@ssbc.org Presented by Southside Baptist Church located on the Square in San Marco, 1435 Atlantic Boulevard, in Jacksonville.

Searching for the King presented Friday, December 9, and Sunday, December 11, at 7:30p.m.

• December 10 Holiday Magic and Festival of Lights Run in San Marco Square Festivities begin at 4pm

1-Mile “Jingle Jog” fun run begins at 5:30pm, and “Festival of Lights” 5K Run/Walk begins at 6pm.

Start and finish in San Marco Square.  Luminaries light the streets of beautiful San Marco as you run with Jingle Bells on your feet and St. Nick by your side!  For more information on the run, visit www.1stplacesports.com.

Starting at 4pm, join us for San Marco’s Holiday Magic, one of Jacksonville’s largest holiday celebrations!  This family event will feature: Carolers, Bell Ringers, Santa Clause (pictures can be taken on Santa’s lap), Horse Drawn Sleigh Rides, The Little Train That Could Rides, Children’s Bounce Games, Jugglers, Toy Soldier Stilt Walkers, A Mountain of Snow, Food and Drinks, Christmas Music

• Thursday, December 15: Affair in the Square:  A Sparkling Affair.  Shop, stroll, and sip in historic San Marco 6pm – 9pm.  Enjoy extended shopping hours, wine tasting, book signing and music in the Square for this monthly “third Thursday” event.

• Saturday, December 24:  Christmas Eve and last day to shop and support your locally-owned and operated businesses in historic San Marco!

Plus, great news! To help traffic flow and encourage easy access to the San Marco area shopping and dining district, there will be no construction on San Marco Boulevard from I-95 to San Marco Square between December 2 and January 2.

In any case, in the book my wife read, among the “tips” designed to help American women look and feel more like French women (armpit hair excepted) was the admonition that one ought to walk everywhere. Walk? I have friends who have actually paid me to carry them from the sofa to the bathroom. As a culture, walking is not our strong suit. We are much better at blowing things up from afar. Still, I thought, San Marco has often been compared to a European town – in fact, Southside Baptist church always puts me in mind of the Parthenon, and on given day, one can find strange, bearded men sitting at the sidewalk tables along the square across the way, gesturing wildly and quoting from Nabokov. So, I wondered, is there something to this walking thing? This might just be crazy enough to work…

I have found that if the hypothetical walker is really ambitious and in good condition, he can begin in the morning with a light breakfast, coffee, and a newspaper at the Metro Diner on Hendricks Avenue; then, tucking his newspaper under his arm and taking his ivory-handled cane in hand, he must purposefully head north. A compass is not required: all roads lead to Taverna. Or, if he wishes, the walker can merely have his wife drop him off at the northern fork of Hendricks and San Jose Boulevard, and with a hearty farewell and a bon vivant tip of his cap, our intrepid walker is off on his day’s adventure.

He can simply take the direct route and follow Hendricks all the way to the shopping district, or he can leave the roaring traffic behind and detour through River Oaks Park, to be found on his left after he has passed the lovely Southside Methodist Church.  As a lover of nature, I recommend this, as the park is really an authentic Old Florida marsh, a narrow wedge of wilderness in the honking chaos of the city where, if he can only overlook the biohazard signs warning of bacteria in Craig Creek, the walker becomes hiker. He will traverse field and fen, thrilling to the sight of redwing blackbirds, great herons, egrets, and the occasional osprey.  He will just catch a glimpse of the turtles sunning themselves on a log, who defy the stereotype and plunge quickly into the dark water when they sense human presence. Once – and this is quite true – my daughter and I saw a three-foot alligator hunting along the bank. It was early morning, and I think he was as surprised to see us as we were to see him, and we passed him without incident as he slipped into the stream. Although the pedestrian may emerge from the marsh at any of the streets which dead-end along its edge, he will take more pleasure in walking the length of the park, past the cattails and the shells of old trees which have become tenements for the cavity-dwelling birds (don’t miss the charming, half-sunken sailboat – someone’s retirement investment gone horribly awry) to where it opens onto the vast silver river. Here we find a small pier with a small dock, built, I am told, by a local for public use; the only clue to the identity of this altruistic handyman are the initials “G.H.” carved into the gate. Often I have wondered about old G.H. Is he Gabby Hayes? Gordie Howe? George Harrison? Gregory Hines? Or is he just some wonderful old soul who understands the importance of serenity in the urban midst? In any event, go on out to the end of the pier, sit, and gaze out over the St. Johns from one of the quietest spots in town. In a bygone era, a man might have enjoyed a good pipe from this vantage point, but of course, now that we know of the dangers of tobacco, one can only sit and imagine how much his father must have enjoyed a good pipe on such a glorious day.

When the walker has properly communed with nature, he will emerge over the lip of the marsh and find himself on River Road. Again, he might really take any of the roads to his right – Maple, Elder, Arbor – but his time will be well-spent if he remains on River Road, for here one finds some of the best examples of the old and sprawling San Marco homes. The architecture ranges from Mediterranean Revival to Tudor, with some post-modernist angles thrown in for good measure. And the canopies of oaks and magnolias, God’s own handiwork, provide respite from the sun, as the sojourner at last answers the age-old Floridian’s question: What did people do before air conditioning? They sweated, dummy!

Post Card Circa 1920's

Next, the walker comes to Sorrento Road, where he will turn right. This takes him past lovely Lake Marco, which sparkles like a postcard. Oh, those lucky people who own the big houses nestled around Marco Lake, with their carefully trimmed lawns and shrubs, their charming tile roofs, their high-tech boathouses. And those lucky children, whose parents have put their swing sets on those lawns, which are so lime-green they look as if they belong on the board of a Candyland game. I wonder that I have never actually seen any child playing on them.

Heading nearly due east on Sorrento, the walker will at last find himself in the heart of San Marco’s commercial district. Here he is on his own. I have brought him here safely, but he must now trust his own tastes to determine whether he will visit Peterbrooke’s Chocolatier, or treat himself to a cuban at Black Bean, or a cup of coffee at my favorite café. Perhaps he can procure a gift for his wife at The Ward Room or one of the other fine shops. Or, if he is thirsty, he can find a cold beer at one of the watering holes in the Square. Perhaps he will cross the street and peer into the big art gallery at the expensive paintings, or find an interesting tome at the San Marco Book Store. If he finds he still has energy and does not yet require sustenance, he may wish to press on, as  Bistro Aix, Taverna, BB’s and other good restaurants are also within striking distance. Whatever his decision, he can congratulate himself and be assured of one thing: that if he can only adopt the San Marco walking tour as his daily lifestyle, he will soon be as fit as any French woman. But skip the cuban sandwich this time, just in case.

On Saturday, a complimentary trolley took guests on luminary tour, with stops at several of San Marco’s parks.  One could enjoy the display from the comfort of the trolley, or debark at a stop and wander around, picking up the trolley a while later at another of its stops.

Boarding at FEC Park, we enjoyed the ride through the candle-lined streets, stopping for a quick photo at the Duck Pond, and then got off at Davin Park to enjoy the beauty and silence of the luminaries among the live oaks.  From there we walked to the site of the Live Nativity, where another beautiful tableau depicting the birth of Christ was arranged.  Live animals quietly moved about their area, surrounding the manger where Joseph and Mary and the Christ Child rested, with the Three Wise Men.  Children and adults stood amazed at the rope line, taking in the beauty of this quiet enactment of Christmas.  Baby animals along with their mature counterparts were calmly relaxing on the straw.

Neighbor children sold hot chocolate to raise money for the First Coast Cancer Foundation; and the steaming cups of warm, chocolately milk with a few marshmallows on top were the perfect complement to the evening’s festivities.

It was a lovely display of candlelight all over San Marco, the annual San Marco Luminaria.  Thanks to all who participated!

Leigh Burdett, owner and founder, of e2ride bike tours, hosts tours of  San Marco by appointment.  Leigh has guided many riders through the wonderful neighborhoods of San Marco.  San Marco is just one of the featured neighborhoods that e2Ride Bike Tours host.  The guided tours explore the local flavor and history of Jacksonville’s great neighborhoods.  Riders enjoy the tales and local lore of the city while enjoying the seasonal fauna and flora, native bird life, rivers, lakes and oceans.

Leigh emphasizes that, “our rides are guided, yet allow flexibility for riders of all distances and skill levels to ride at their pace.”  All e2ride tours include new hybrid bikes and everything you need to have a great ride. “These are great bicycles, very comfortable and easy to ride,” commented Bonnie Davis. Bonnie and her husband Dan are avid bike riders and enjoyed spending time with fellow enthusiasts.  Each tour can accommodate parties of up to 15 people and cost varies by tour location.  All riders are provided maps that highlight stops along the route.

“We will plan tours for parties of up to 15 people and can alter our routes based on group’s interests, explains Leigh. “Out of town guests can be enjoy door service from area hotels.  “Convention and event planners are always looking for unique ways to entertain out of town guests, and this is a great activity for convention groups.”