Peninsula Moves!

By Alex Eisenhart, @AlexOnTransit

Santa at the Firehouse Toy Drive @ Belmont Firehouse 14

Santa Claus will be visiting Belmont’s Firehouse 14 on Thursday, December 13, from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. for a toy drive event sponsored by the City of Belmont’s Parks and Recreation Department. Only a block away from the Belmont Caltrain station, this event is a great opportunity for the kids to meet Santa and local firefighters, and to donate new toys for children in need. In addition to riding Caltrain, attendees can also get to the firehouse via SamTrans routes 60, 62, 67 and 260. Event information can be found on City’s Parks and Recreation Facebook page.

All-You-Can-Eat Crab Feast @ SoMa StrEat Food Park in San Francisco

The Bay Area’s first and largest food truck park is hosting its 6^th Annual All-You-Can-Eat Crab Feast on Sunday, December 16, from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. In addition to wild-caught Alaskan Dungeness crab legs, the all-you-can-eat menu includes garlic noodles, salad and iced tea. Other alcoholic/non-alcoholic beverages will also be available for purchase. Adults pay a $60 flat rate and kids under 12 get a discounted ticket price of $25 (plus service fees). Tickets can be purchased ahead of time through Facebook or Eventbrite. If you want to avoid driving and parking in the city, the San Francisco Caltrain station is about a 20 minute walk away from the event (which wouldn’t be the worst health decision following an all-you-can-eat experience). Alternatively, riders can also connect to BART at the Millbrae Transit Center for service to the 16^th St & Mission station, which is about a 15 minute walk from the food park. Check Caltrain’s weekend schedule to plan your transit to/from the event.

The Nutcracker @ San Jose Center for the Performing arts

Bay Area theatre companies are providing ample opportunity to enjoy this annual holiday entertainment tradition. Following last week’s run of The Nutcracker in Redwood City, San Jose’s Center for the Performing Arts is kicking off its second and final weekend of the beloved ballet, featuring the Cambrian Symphony’s 52-piece orchestra along with both locally and nationally recognized dancers. You can catch the last performances in San Jose this Friday, December 14, through Sunday, December 16. Evening performances take place Friday and Saturday along with two matinee showings Saturday and Sunday. Ticket and event information can be found online. To save money on parking, consider taking Caltrain into San Jose Diridon station. You can either walk the 15 minutes to the theatre or transfer onto a Mountain View-bound VTA light rail for service to Convention Center Station. Check Caltrain’s latest schedules to plan your transit to/from the show.

Caltrain Electrification Pubic Meeting @ San Carlos Adult Community Center

Caltrain is hosting a community meeting on Wednesday, December 12, at 6:30 p.m. in the San Carlos Adult Community Center to discuss continued construction activities for the Caltrain Electrification project in San Carlos. Upcoming construction will consist of utility potholing and installation of the overhead contact system foundations and poles. This project is a key component to Caltrain’s modernization effort to electrify the rail corridor between San Francisco and San Jose. For those aptly interested in taking public transportation to this particular meeting, the community center is conveniently located just 8 minutes walking distance away from the San Carlos Caltrain station and even closer to bus stops along SamTrans route 61 and 295.

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