8 Fun Things to Do This Thanksgiving Weekend

Put down the fork and TV remote for a while and check out these things to do in Sonoma County.


In case you’d like to put down the fork and TV remote for a while this Thanksgiving weekend, and get yourself (or your relatives) out of the house, here are a few fun things to do in Sonoma County: 

Explore the hiking trails in Annadel State Park.
Explore the hiking trails in Annadel State Park in Santa Rosa. (Photo by Kent Porter)

Take a Hike

Walk off that extra helping of pumpkin pie (or the heated political discussion with your ultra-conservative uncle) while enjoying the natural beauty of Sonoma County. Popular local parks with panoramic views include Annadel State Park (also a mountain bike destination), Taylor Mountain Regional Park (which features disc golf), Hood Mountain Regional Park, Sugarloaf Ridge State Park and Sonoma Coast State Park.  Or take a contemplative walk in real Japanese Shinrin-Yoku (forest bathing) style at Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve. Just make sure you arrive here early — the un-silenced smartphone selfie and segway crowd tends to have a disruptive influence on zen.

Take a "forest bath" in Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Preserve. (Photo by Kent Porter)
Take a “forest bath” in Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Preserve in Guerneville. (Photo by Kent Porter)

Catch a Concert

What better way to get in the holiday spirit than with some festive music? The world renowned Vienna Boys Choir will perform classical Christmastime pieces, including Schubert’s Ave Maria and Wade’s O Come, All Ye Faithful, at Weill Hall on Sunday, November 27.

The Vienna Boys Choir will perform classical Christmastime pieces at Weill Hall, Green Music Center, on Sunday, November 27. (Photo courtesy of the Green Music Center)
The Vienna Boys Choir will perform classical Christmastime pieces at Weill Hall, Green Music Center, on Sunday, November 27. (Photo courtesy of the Green Music Center)

Also on November 27, the acclaimed San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus will return to the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts for the third year with their popular show “Home For The Holidays,” featuring classic holiday favorites and a lot of humor.

The San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus performs "Home for the Holidays" at the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts on November 27.
The San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus performs “Home for the Holidays” at the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts on November 27. (Photo courtesy of San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus)

See a Stage Performance

If you didn’t already get your dose of drama at the Thanksgiving table, you can enjoy a real “holiday circus spectacle” at Le Cirque de Bohème at Cornerstone Sonoma, November 25-27, watch a bitter hateful man transform into a kinder gentler version in “A Christmas Carol” at 6th Street Playhouse, November 25-27, or see a savage comedy about a family in feud following a funeral in Joshua Harmon’s critically acclaimed play “Bad Jews” at Left Edge Center, Luther Burbank Center for the Arts, November 25-27.

Scrooge (Charles Siebert) with Tiny Tim (James Coté)
Scrooge (Charles Siebert) and Tiny Tim (James Coté) will take the stage at 6th Street Playhouse in Santa Rosa, November 25-27. (Photo courtesy of 6th Street Playhouse)

Watch Trees and Tractors Being Lit

If you’re dreaming of a white California Christmas, you can watch bright lights being lit during a number of local tree lighting celebrations, including Winter Lights – Downtown Santa Rosa Tree Lighting on November 25, the Geyserville Tree Lighting and Tractor Parade on November 26 (5-8 p.m.), and the Forestville Holiday Tree Lighting on November 27 (4 p.m. to dusk). Or see the 100,000 sparkling lights at the Historic Sonoma Plaza.

Antlers were added, Saturday Nov. 24, 2012, to a gravel truck prior to the Geyserville tractor parade . The parade included farm equipment, fire trucks and tractor trailer rigs. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2012 Kent Porter
Antlers on a gravel truck at the Geyserville Tree Lighting and Tractor Parade. (Photo by Kent Porter)

Experience the Peanut Version of Family Fun

Get ready for a real whimsical weekend in the company of Charlie Brown, Snoopy and Co as cartoonist and storyteller Joe Wos performs “Once Upon a Toon” skits and cartoon workshops for kids of all ages at the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, November 25-26. And don’t forget to get your skates on, and pose for a selfie with Snoopy, at the Redwood Empire Ice Arena

Chisa Tatsumi, left, and Sakiko Yazawa, tourists from Japan, pose as their friend, Yuka Shimada, takes their photo with Snoopy at the Redwood Empire Ice Arena in Santa Rosa, on Wednesday, November 4, 2015. (BETH SCHLANKER
Chisa Tatsumi, left, and Sakiko Yazawa, tourists from Japan, pose as their friend, Yuka Shimada, takes their photo with Snoopy at the Redwood Empire Ice Arena in Santa Rosa. (Photo by Beth Schlanker)