Sleigh bells are ringing and Fontana is listening. On Saturday, December 8, 2007 snow will be glistening and the areas surrounding the Art Depot at 16822 Spring Street will literally become a Winter Wonderland.

Following the annual Christmas Parade from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. on Arrow Boulevard, thousands of people from throughout the Inland Empire will go to the downtown civic center area to have a blizzard-sized good time.

"Entertainment at this year's Festival of Winter will include live bands, real snow, an ice skating rink, pictures with Santa, and more," says Doug Johnson, community services coordinator for special events.

There will be a variety of dance performances with Polynesian dancing inspired by Hawaiian traditional dance. Two bands are slated to perform on the Aloha and Kahuna stages.

The Aloha Stage will be a real blast from the past for many surf fans.

"The Beach Toys will be performing live at the 2007 Festival of Winter. They will be covering many of The Beach Boys classic songs that everyone knows and loves. The Beach Toys even dress and act like the real Beach Boys . Their style and music will be a perfect fit for the theme of this year's festival, Aloha Christmas," says Johnson.

The effect will be mesmerizing as many reminisce of days filled with sand, waves, and cars while singing and dancing the afternoon away.

The feature band at the Kahuna Stage, north of the Art Depot, will be Wave Invasion, an instrumental surf band that plays TV songs, movie themes, and top 40 hits. Visitors to the Kahuna Stage will also learn a move or two from the luau performance offered by Hula for Health. A magic show, story telling and Christmas Carols are also scheduled.

Roving in and out of the crowds will be a beach magician, beach juggler, and ukulele player. Children will slide and bounce in the inflatable entertainment section. Participants of all ages will pass most of the day enjoying the special ice rink,the Snow Zone, or taking train rides and having pictures taken with Santa and the live reindeer.

At the Community Services Information Booth, participants can drop off unwrapped toys and/or canned goods for donation, pick up directions to events, gather information about the City of Fontana, sign up to receive the Community Connection e-newsletter, and register to win prizes.

Food and craft vendors will be selling holiday items to eat or purchase gifts for families or friends. Also, at the Art Depot will be a featured display for the Artist Showcase Latin Expressions, featuring the work of Roger Triviņos. This is a great opportunity to get indoors to enjoy a refreshing walk through the gallery discovering all the wonders offered at the Art Depot. While there, make sure to stop by the Open Studio event where people will be learning to make their own Hawaiian leis.

Aloha Christmas and the Festival of Winter will end at 6:00 p.m. with the singing of Christmas Carols and walk to Fontana City Hall at 8353 Sierra Avenue for the annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony which will run from 6:00 to 6:40 p.m.

"It is sure to be a fun day for everyone in attendance," adds Johnson.

Parking for the day's events is available in the City Hall parking lot on Nuevo and Spring Street. To find out more about the event, please call the Community Services Department at (909) 428-8360 or visit online at www.fontana.org or www.fontanarecreation.org.