El Piano Rojo was jam-packed last Sunday, as the grapevine had worked overtime following the previous night’s performance by Dame Edna impersonator, Michael L. Walters. So many turned out for the second and final show that the performance was delayed while additional seating was brought in.

In addition to the national holidays and celebrations that will be observed during 2014, there will be all kinds of special happenings going on in the Lake Chapala area.

“Julio Hummingbird was tiny, about the size of a chocolate bar, but he didn’t mind being small until one evening when he visited his favorite bird feeder in the garden of Señora Sanchez. There sitting right on top of it was Oscar Oriole, big, bad, beautiful and bold.”

Thousands of pilgrims began swarming the small Jalisco town of Cajititlan de los Reyes as of December 31 to pay devotion to the town’s religious patrons Gaspar, Melchior and Balthazar, better known as the Wisemen of the Orient.

If you want to get 2014 off to a light-hearted start, don’t miss Ajijic’s wild and wacky Año Nuevo parade to be put on January 1 by residents of the west-end Barrio de Guadalupe. 

Recently Lake Chapala’s web-boards have been deluged with inquiries from people concerned as to the whereabouts of Viño Blanco, the white donkey formerly owned by the late Peter Moir. She was adopted by Yves and lived by his restaurant on the lakeshore until the restaurant moved. Since then, as one of her fans wrote in panic, “She’s disappeared!”

Long-time Ajijic resident Denny Allison qualifies as a jolly-spirited Christmas fanatic. Over more than two decades of residence he has accumulated a collection of holiday decorations so huge that he and his Mexican wife spend more than three weeks arranging more than 1,500 pieces that adorn practically every inch of their entire west-end abode.

The foyer at Chapala City Hall is the venue for the huge exhibition of landscapes depicting Biblical tales that is on loan from the town of San Antonio Tlayacapan.

Across Mexico the spiritual celebration of Christmas for Roman Catholics culminates on the night of December 24 with the Misa de Gallo (Rooster’s Mass) commemorating the Messiah’s birth.

Lakeside Presbyterian will be celebrating the season in these three meaningful ways.

As the holiday season comes to a frantic peak early next week, the parish churches in Chapala and Ajijic will present live representations of the Nativity aimed at bringing people together to focus on the true meaning of Christmas.

Ajijic Rotary Dog Assisted Therapy (ARDAT) dog Lucas and his handler, Sergio Barajas, recently visited a group of excited students at the Basilio Vadillo school in downtown Ajijic.

The Lake Chapala Duplicate Bridge Club is celebrating the renovation of its facility and is inviting all bridge players, snowbirds and permanent residents, to visit them to enjoy an afternoon of bridge.

Look for a big assortment of paintings, photographs, sculptures, etchings, ceramics and hand-crafted goods at the Festival Internacional de las Artes running all day Saturday and Sunday, December 14 and 15.

On Sunday, December 8, the congregation of the Little Chapel by the Lake recognized Tony Rojas for his dedicated service to Youth With A Mission. 

The Lakeside Carolers started up five or six years ago when a group of friends realized how much they missed caroling at Christmas time.  The group decided to carol at some of the Lakeside convalescent/independent living homes and has continued to do so one day each December.

Native folk representing 13 communities in the state of Michoacan will showcase their crafts, customs and regional cuisine at the Ajijic Plaza during the Union de Pueblos Purépecha Festival to be held Friday, December 13 through Sunday, December 15.

A full day of colorful activities, all wrapped around the slogan “Mexico and its roots,” are in store for lakesiders who turn up for the Festival de Charreria on  Saturday, December 7 at Ajijic’s Lienzo Charro bullring.

Here’s just the thing to get you in the Christmas spirit: a stunning display of nacimiento (creche) scenes.  In fact, 236 in total from all over the world. 

December will be chock-full of special events geared to warm hearts and spread holiday cheer among the less fortunate folks in the lakeside area. If you’re feeling the spirit of giving, mark the following happenings on your calendar: