Murrieta lights its tree at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5, at Town Square Park & Amphitheater. The wreaths on display around it come from residents, and each one has to be claimed online by 11:45 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 25. If you're reading this on Thursday, Nov. 19, that's six days away. Most of the city's December plans are set by that date.
For a Bear Creek household, Murrieta's holiday season isn't spread across the month. Two events share one Saturday at 11 Town Square, three free Thursday nights in Historic Downtown surround it, and the only part that needs planning ahead is a $20 wreath. Here is the calendar, working back from Dec. 5.
The Countdown Runs Backward From Dec. 5
The City of Murrieta runs its Festival of Wreaths through an Eventeny application. A household buys a wreath, takes it home bare, decorates it, and brings it back finished for the festival. The steps come in this order:
- By 11:45 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 25: submit the Wreath Participant Application and pay $20.
- Monday, Nov. 30: wreath pickup starts.
- Nov. 30 to Dec. 5: decorate at home. That gives you five evenings, counting the night of pickup.
- Saturday, Dec. 5: bring the finished wreath to the festival. The city sets it on a City-provided wreath stand.
- After the event: the wreath can go home with you for the rest of the season. Taking it home is allowed, not required.
The rules on the Eventeny page all come from the fact that the wreaths hang outside. Decorations have to be family-friendly, sturdy enough to survive the trip and an evening outdoors, and securely attached. Any lights have to be battery-operated. A string of plug-in lights from the garage won't qualify, so plan around battery-operated lights from the start, because finding that out on the Thursday before the festival leaves very little time to fix it.
The application is open to community members, families, businesses and organizations. A household, a youth team or a small business can each claim a wreath and get the same stand on the same night.
Dec. 5 Is Two Events, Eight Hours Apart
The Saturday wreaths go on display also starts with a morning event at the same address, so the day has two separate trips to 11 Town Square.
Donuts with Santa, 9 to 10:30 a.m. Admission is one nonperishable food or pet item per child, and the first 500 kids get free donuts. The city's listing says Animal Friends of the Valleys will be there with pets available for adoption, and dog or cat food, treats or cat litter count as a child's donation. If your household has more dogs than canned goods, a bag of kibble covers a child's admission just as well as a can of soup. With donuts capped at 500 kids, arriving close to 9 a.m. matters more than it would at the evening event.
Tree Lighting & Festival of Wreaths, 5 to 7:30 p.m. The city's event page lists live music, local vendors, photos with Santa and the community wreath display. The annual tree lighting is at 6 p.m. The $20 wreath fee pays for the wreath itself.
For a family with a wreath entered, the evening starts with carrying it in, and the 6 p.m. lighting comes an hour after the festival opens. That hour is enough time to get the wreath on its stand, find it again among the others, and still be in place for the countdown. The festival has Santa photos in the evening too, so a family that skips the 9 a.m. donuts still gets a Santa visit that day.
Three Thursday Nights Surround the Saturday
Murrieta Market Nights take place in Historic Downtown Murrieta on the first and third Thursday of each month, from 5 to 9 p.m. The city lists local vendors, food trucks, artisans with handmade goods, live music and family-friendly activities, and admission is free. The three remaining dates this year line up with the wreath calendar:
- Thursday, Nov. 19: tonight, six days before the wreath deadline.
- Thursday, Dec. 3: two days before the festival, in the middle of decorating week.
- Thursday, Dec. 17: the last market of the year, after the tree is lit.
The Dec. 3 date fits the wreath calendar best. Artisan vendors on the same streets as Town Square sell handmade goods, so a household still deciding how to finish its wreath can shop for it two days before the display. The city's December listings describe the same mix of food trucks, vendors, artisans and live music as the rest of the year.
The Drive In Has Its Own Calendar
From Bear Creek, most trips downtown start on Clinton Keith Road, and this fall the city scheduled a repaving there. On Sept. 1, the Murrieta City Council voted 4-0 to award R.J. Noble Company a $5,067,921.44 contract to rehabilitate about 3.8 miles of pavement, Valley News reported. About 1.9 miles of that is Clinton Keith Road from the western city limit to Mitchell Avenue. The other 1.9 miles is Jefferson Avenue from Nutmeg Street to Los Alamos Road. The council file lists the work as grinding, asphalt overlay, signs and striping, and detector loops.
The bid terms explain why most Bear Creek drivers would rarely run into the work. On Clinton Keith, crews were limited to nights, 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., in a workweek running from Sunday evening to Friday morning. The Clinton Keith repairs and repaving were due by Oct. 30, within an overall contract period of 85 working days from a Sept. 14 notice to proceed. Jefferson Avenue was on a different schedule, with daytime work from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and lane closures only between 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
Compare that schedule with the holiday dates. Dec. 5 is a Saturday, which falls outside the contract's Sunday-to-Friday night window, and the festival ends at 7:30 p.m., well before 9 p.m. The Thursday markets are different, because they close at 9 p.m., the same hour the night window opened. If any work on Clinton Keith were still underway, a drive home from Market Nights would be the trip most likely to meet it.
The Dates in One Place
| Date | Event | Time | What it takes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu., Nov. 19 | Murrieta Market Nights | 5 to 9 p.m. | Free |
| Wed., Nov. 25 | Wreath application closes | 11:45 p.m. | $20 |
| Mon., Nov. 30 | Wreath pickup begins | Starts that day | Application on file |
| Thu., Dec. 3 | Murrieta Market Nights | 5 to 9 p.m. | Free |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Donuts with Santa | 9 to 10:30 a.m. | One food or pet item per child |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Tree Lighting & Festival of Wreaths | 5 to 7:30 p.m., tree at 6 p.m. | Bring the decorated wreath |
| Thu., Dec. 17 | Murrieta Market Nights | 5 to 9 p.m. | Free |
At Temecula Valley Homes, a Murrieta calendar like this one is part of how we think about southwest Riverside County. If you're in Bear Creek and wondering how your home fits into the season ahead, Jeff Engstrom can put together a clear, numbers-first picture of where it stands. Request a Free Home Valuation, and get your wreath application in before Nov. 25.
