With a three-day weekend to celebrate love (and presidents) 2010 looks to be a Valentine's Day for the memory banks.
Avalon's Casino Ballroom will be perfect place to take your sweetie, whether you're just fanning the flames of romance or your passion has been flaming for years. Paperback Writer, a fabulous Beatles tribute band, will take the stage from 8 p.m. to midnight to provide a soundtrack for an unforgettable evening. A full bar and a selection of desserts will be available throughout the evening to provide sustenance for the non-stop dancing.
Tickets are only $15.

New Years Eve.
Fraught with hype.
Filled with expectation.
Laden with unrealistic anticipation.
Fulfilling that propaganda would be difficult for any holiday. But for this most grown-up of celebrations, many wake up New Year's Day and think that they should have stayed home and watched the ball drop.
Want to change all that?
Catalina's landmark Casino Ballroom is one of the best spots to welcome the new year.
This black tie gala features a buffet dinner, balloon drop and dancing until the wee hours to the Yachtsman, a 17-piece big band that features some of the best music of the 20th Century.
It's not too late to make this New Year's Eve one you remember for a lifetime.
Tickets and more information are available at www.CatalinaChamber.com

Labels: Catalina New Year's Eve events; Catalina events;

Looking to get cool?
Even though you can always count on Catalina to be five to 10 degrees cooler than the mainland, even paradise gets pretty warm in the summer.
With ocean temperatures hovering at a refreshing 65 degrees, Avalon’s surrounding waters beckon, whether for plunging beneath or adventuring above.
There are myriad ways to experience all that the Pacific has to offer – here’s a few of our favorites:
Grab some snorkel gear, a bag of frozen peas (no really, that’s what the fish like) and experience marine life up close and personal in Lovers Cove.
Check out the new glass bottom kayaks at Wet Spot Rentals.
Grab a picnic lunch from CC Beau, rent a kayak or two from Descanso Beach Ocean Sports and paddle down to one of Catalina’s leeward beaches for a once-in-a-lifetime picnic.
Book passage aboard a rafting trip with Catalina Ocean Rafting and experience the wild side of Catalina.
Soar above it all – and get your feet wet – on a parasail adventure.
Whatever you choose to do, Catalina’s ocean breezes will remind you that you’re a million miles from everyday.

Labels: catalina island; catalina island activities; avalon water activities

Catalina's newest attraction gets visitors into the island's rugged interior for the Trans Catalina Trail. This hiker's dream provides dozens of miles of trail ranging from one end of the island to the other. While taking on the entire trail is multi-day camping extravaganza, visitors can explore many legs of the trail with a day-trip out of Avalon. Visit http://www.catalinaconservancy.org/ for more details.

Labels: catalina Conservancy ball, catalina Island activities, Catalina Island hiking, Catalina island vacations

Tuxedos and high heels, bowties and ball gowns may not seem like appropriate attire for taking a hike, but that’s what will be worn by hundreds of couples in the Casino Ballroom on May 2. Commemorating the recently opened Trans-Catalina Trail, “Take a Hike” is the theme of the annual Catalina Conservancy Ball, an evening extravaganza that is the primary fundraiser for the Conservancy, the organization responsible for ensuring that Catalina’s wildlands remain wild.
With dancing to the Pete Jacobs Orchestra and a plated dinner prepared by the renown Ballroom chefs, the evening promises to be filled with traditional black tie gala fun as well as several surprises. Live and silent auctions round out the evening’s activities.
While not a usual activity on a trip to Catalina Island, the Catalina Conservancy Ball offers the ideal way make a difference while on your Catalina Island vacation.

Labels: catalina Conservancy ball, catalina Island activities, catalina Island vacation

On Saturday, March 21, Avalon's iconic Casino Ballroom will host the inaugural Catalina Island Gospel Festival.
Featuring the incomparable Temptations, the Starlights and six-time Grammy winner Vicki Winans, this will be a not-to-be-missed event in one of Southern California's most distinctive musical venues.
Tickets are available now through www.Tix.com. For more information about the festival 310-510-1520.

Labels: Casino Ballroom, Catalina Island, gospel festival, Temptations

Looking for something big to see on your next trip to Catalina Island? Until mid-spring, Pacific Gray Whales can frequently be spotted between the mainland and the island. These 40-ton behemoths spend the summers feasting on fine Pacific seafood in the Arctic and the winter in Baja where they frolic, flirt, mate and give birth. In between, they take part in the longest known mammal migration, traveling about 12,000 miles.
While you may very well be able to spot a whale on your migration to the island, there’s a much better way to do it. Catalina Ocean Rafting offers two-hour trips during whale watching season designed just to experience these magnificent creatures. Gray whales probably won’t be the only wildlife on the trip either – common dolphins are also quite common, as are bottlenose dolphin, Pacific white-sided dolphin, California sea lions and much more.

Labels: Catalina Island, gray whales, whale watching