Terranea Resort has kicked off its holiday season celebration with its annual Celebration of the Season: Tree Lighting Ceremony. KTLA journalist, Wendy Burch, served as this year’s Mistress of Ceremonies. The event featured carols sung by the Joanna Medawar Nachef Singers, a performance of a scene from the Nutcracker by the San Pedro Ballet, and a solo performance by vocalist Daniella Morrow.

Joining Burch for the tree lighting were the Resort’s President, Ralph Grippo, and the stars of the holiday season, Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus. Visitors to the event were encouraged by the Resort to bring an unwrapped gift as a donation to support the U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots program.

Resort President, Ralph Grippo, Wendy Burch, and Mr. and Mrs. Claus flip on the Resort’s Christmas Tree.

Of course, this family-friendly event included opportunities to share your Christmas wishes with Mr. Claus. And Mrs. Claus was quick to join individuals and families as they created their photographic memories of this holiday season.

The resort transformed the Catalina Lawn area, below the Terrace overlooking Catalina and the Pacific Ocean, into a holiday playground. Youngsters and the young at heart embarked on a train ride circling the patio area. On the lawn, children and adults alike decorated gingerbread cookies, visited the Build-A-Bear station, sipped hot cocoa, and created the ever-important postcards to the North Pole.

As the evening lingered on and the temperatures grew a bit chilly, visitors enjoyed festive dining in catalina kitchen and throughout the resort, including the new Gingerbread Lounge. Using approximately 1,500 pounds of gingerbread, the Lounge is a seven square foot structure constructed with a gingerbread brick façade and a roof covered with gingerbread shingles.

Created by Executive Pastry Chef, Pierino Jermonti, and his team, and located in the Lobby Lounge, the Gingerbread Lounge features a bar serving seasonal cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages including hot chocolate and hot apple cider, as well as a variety of sweet treats.

Chef Jermonti states that so many of our favorite holiday memories include the fragrances of spices and tastes of a variety of holiday treats. With this motivation, Chef Jermonti and his staff begin their day at 4:00 a.m. preparing these treats that are available daily at the Gingerbread Lounge through the end of December.

Chef Jermonti states that the Chai Coffeecake is filled with the taste of winter spices including chai, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cardamom. Other favorites with the incense of the holidays are Maple Pecan Pie and Sambuca Chocolate Almond Biscotti.

Of course, the season would not be complete without a selection of cookies including mini Christmas sugar cookies, lemon ginger ricciarelli, Linzer raspberry cookies, and chocolate and red velvet crinkle cookies. Rounding out the cookie offerings is a mixed selection of mini Christmas holiday cookies which includes snowballs, molasses, caramel thumbprint, and gingersnap cookies.

Lastly, the menu features peppermint chocolate bark, chocolate dipped pretzels, and caramel candy apples. And for those wanting to take a taste home with them, Chef Jermonti has packaged the Resort’s Chocolate Chip Cookie mix and Hot Chocolate mix for purchase.

Growing up on a family farm with an olive grove on the property near the small southern Italian town of Marano Principato, Chef Jermonti, recalls many Christmases where he would go to the village’s church to visit the almost life-size Biblical village constructed by some of the town’s adults recreating the journey of Joseph and Mary. The village was so large that they included motorized figures that would advance along the path of the journey. Some of the figures would eventually reach the Nativity and on the Feast of the Epiphany the three wisemen would arrive at manger.

Chef Jermonti’s reflects that his grandmother was confined to a wheelchair and could not participate in the event, but he wanted to include her in the seasonal celebration, so he created his own village in the family home for his grandmother to enjoy. He says, “Of course, it was not to the scale of the one at the church, but it my grandmother enjoyed it.”

Drawing on his memories and memories of others, Chef Jermonti and his staff created their own gingerbread village adjacent to the Gingerbread Lounge.

Completely prepared by hand, the village buildings are constructed of gingerbread bricks forming the exterior walls and gingerbread shingles forming the roofs of each structure. The building decorations include gumdrops, icing, and other traditional candies, as well as an active Polar Express train circling a track around the festive setting. Those interested in creating their own gingerbread house without the mess, can purchase a kit from Terranea.

Throughout the season the Resort is hosting a number of related events. The Joanna Medawar Nachef Singers will be performing throughout the Resort’s restaurants on December 9th, December 16th, and December 23rd from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. On December 21st, the Resort will be conducting a Winter Solstice Hike from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. From December 24th to December 31st, the Links oceanfront course is creating a holiday themed putting course.

For seasonal dining events, include Breakfast with Santa in the ballroom on December 9th from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. catalina kitchen will be featuring a Hanukkah menu from December 7th through December 15th.

For Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, the Resort’s restaurants, mar’sel, and catalina kitchen, have special menus planned for both locations. bashi, offers a blend of Asian cuisine specials that will be served all day. The ocean front eatery, Nelson’s, and the Lobby Bar & Terrace will feature a selection of unique offerings as well.

For New Year’s Eve the Resort features a family friendly New Year’s Eve Winter Wonderland Dinner in the Marineland Ballroom with two seating times beginning at 7:30 p.m. The event features live entertainment and a Champagne toast.

For adults, the Resort is hosting an old Hollywood style New Year’s Eve Extravaganza in the Palos Verdes Grand Ballroom. The evening begins at 9:00 p.m. and offers an open bar, casino games and culinary stations with music provided by DJ Ricky Rocks. In conjunction the Resort is hosting a New Year’s Eve Party at their Kids Club for children from three-years-old to twelve-years-old. The Kids Club will be open from 6:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.

With its ocean views and holiday decorations throughout the property, Terranea offers visitors a Southern California twist on the holiday season.

Terranea Resort is located at 100 Terranea Way in Rancho Palos Verdes. For more information about their holiday activities and reservations consult their website: www.terranea.com/traditions.

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Steve Tabor

This South Bay native’s photographic journey began after receiving his first 35 mm film camera upon earning his Bachelor of Arts degree. As a classroom teacher he used photography to share the world and his experiences with his students. Steve began his photography career photographing coastal landscapes and marine life. His experiences have led him to include portraits and group photography, special event photography as well as live performance and athletics in his portfolio. As a contributor and photojournalist, he has published stories about the people, places and events in and around the Palos Verdes Peninsula and beyond.

Interested in seeing more of Steve’s work, visit website at: www.stevetaborimages.com