Venture Gallery presents the paintings of Susann E. Cate Lynn, our featured local artist for January.

In her latest exhibit, Unpaved Paradise, Lynn focuses on natural, undeveloped locales that elicit a calm and peaceful feeling. These open spaces provide the “unpaved paradise” that people rely on for recreation and a connection with nature. Walking in a forest, hearing a red-shouldered hawk and the wind through the trees, or walking by the ocean is uplifting and healing.

Venture Gallery is open 10am-6pm daily. Susann E. Cate Lynn's artwork will be featured through January 2024. Venture Gallery is located at 260 Alvarado Street in Downtown Old Monterey. Visit our website to shop online for work by our local artists.

The New Monterey Business Association congratulates the winners of our 2023 Lighthouse District Holiday Display Contest. We had so many good entries this year that we awarded two winners in each category!

Best Holiday Displays with Lighting
Bon Ton L'Roy's Lighthouse Smokehouse
794 Lighthouse Ave

Paprika Cafe
309 Lighthouse Ave

Best Holiday Displays, Minimally Lit
Mattress Nation
296 Lighthouse Ave

Second Chance Thrift Store - The Bridge
443 Lighthouse Ave

We encourage residents and visitors to come down to Lighthouse Avenue in New Monterey and view the many creative, amusing, and beautiful holiday displays in the windows of shops and restaurants.

Great news for fans of hosteling in general and Monterey Hostel in particular: Monterey Hostel at 778 Hawthorne Street is being renovated and is planning to reopen in the spring of 2024! But they need your financial help to get them the last mile.

The nonprofit HostelingOn took over the vacant property in early 2021 to redevelop and save the hostel, which first opened in 2000 and closed in 2020 because of the pandemic. Construction will wrap up in early 2024 and they are currently working to raise $50,000 to fund beds, mattresses, and bedding so they can begin welcoming travelers from around the world. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation here.

Monterey Hostel offers clean, safe, and affordable overnight lodging where travelers can connect with one another, share resources to reduce their impact on the planet, and experience the natural beauty of the Central Coast. The nonprofit is committed to making Monterey Bay more accessible by offering communal and private lodging to school groups, families, and travelers. Help make it happen!

HostelingOn is leading the industry by designing facilities that are more relevant to a post-pandemic climate where large dormitories and shared bathrooms are no longer sustainable. Their forward-thinking design and architecture introduces compartmentalized floor plans so each dorm and private room can be self-serving to allow reasonable social distancing. The design also increases the accessibility features of all properties to better serve travelers with accessible needs. They believe strategic architectural design is key to enabling hostels to operate efficiently and sustainably.

Mando's Restaurant, serving casual Mexican and American cuisine, offers catering! Whether it's a holiday gathering, a birthday party, or a company event, we're happy to help you make it special. Call Armando at 831-601-2537 for details.

Looking for fresh tamales this holiday season? We serve tamales year-round for dine-in and take-out at our restaurant, and they're available in quantities of 12 for catering. Mando's is located at 570 Lighthouse Avenue in Monterey,

Uh-oh, did you forget someone on your shopping list? Do not despair. There's always gift cards. Lucky for you, we have a directory of gift cards you can buy from your favorite Downtown Campbell retailers and restaurants.

Downtown Campbell Gift Cards

The Downtown Campbell Gift Ideas Gallery is up for 2023! Anything you buy in Downtown Campbell or through this gift ideas gallery supports a small locally owned business that is a key element of what makes your community what it is. When you buy a gift through a local mom and pop retailer, your gift is a gift to your community as well as a gift to a loved one.

View Gift Ideas Gallery

From now until the New Year, you can get a $60 gift cards at Blue Line Pizza for only $50! That's a 20% bonus! Just use the offer code GCHOLIDAY2023 to claim your discount when you order your gift cards from Blue LIne Pizza.

When selecting the amount of the gift card you wish to purchase, you can enter in any multiple of $60 up to $240 and receive the 20% bonus when you check out with the GCHOLIDAY2023 offer code. You must enter the offer code to receive the discount.

Discount breakdown

• $60 cards are $10 off ($50)
• $120 cards are $20 off ($100)
• $180 cards are $30 off ($150)
• $240 cards are $40 off ($200)

You can also enter an amount that isn't a multiple of $60, but you will only receive a $10 bonus per $50 your spent. This means if you order a $100 card, you will only get $10 off. To get the full 20% bonus, the gift card amount has to reach $120.

Keep your child's holiday break packed with excitement at Campbell Recreation! From Winter Wonderland Engineering with LEGO to World Cup Soccer, Tennis TDA Rally, and Discovery Archery – we've got the perfect mix of fun and learning. Hurry, register now to ensure your child stays busy and entertained all holiday long!

Haute Beauty Guide has a wonderful selection of gifts and stocking stuffers for the holidays, including hair clips, bath bombs, gemstone bracelets, candles, and Christmas ornaments. The shop also has a fantastic sale on lucite games such as dominoes, checkers, tic-tac-toe, and more, all now marked at only $50 (orig. $110-$325). These are beautiful, timeless pieces.

Haute Beauty Guide is located at 71 Pearl Street in Downtown Old Monterey. (Don't let the construction next door fool you - we're still here!) Regular hours: Tue-Sat, 10am-2pm. Beginning Dec. 18: 10am-4pm. Christmas Eve: 10am-1pm.

The Retro Fix II TURBO in Downtown Campbell, is the Bay Area's largest go-to shop for classic retro gaming and Japanese collectibles. You'll find it all here, from the original Nintendo and SEGA Genesis to the PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Godzilla, Pokemon, Ultraman, to Gashapon and beyond.

It's also a super chill gaming lounge located inside a historic building that has a colorful history of its own. At the Retro Fix, you can kick back on a couch, rent game stations of all varieties by the hour, order restaurant food and drinks, and enjoy your favorite games. They even have gaming stations with large CRT TV screens for those of you who want to experience the old school games exactly as they were meant to be played.

They also host events for gaming and collectibles enthusiasts with weekend swap meets specifically for toy collectors, anime lovers, and retro gaming enthusiasts (of course). In fact, they have a RetroMania swap meet coming up this December 10th from 11am to 5pm that'll feature modern and retro gaming vendors and probably some sellers of collectibles too.

The Retro Fix II TURBO is located in Downtown Campbell at 400 E. Campbell Ave.

Great news for lovers of delicious Mexican food: La Casa del Sazon caters! Now you can enjoy their authentic family recipes, made from scratch, at holiday celebrations, family gatherings, birthday parties, office lunches, corporate events, and weddings.

View their menu online or stop by the Monterey restaurant at 431 Tyler Street, meet their friendly staff, and try it yourself. You'll find a variety of traditional favorites as well as delicious vegetarian, gluten-free, and Blue Zones dishes, and all tortillas are made fresh in-house. To book catering, please email Dakota or call 831-595-5823.