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Chanukah will light up the night on Sunday, Dec. 9, with a block-long menorah celebration featuring music, food, crafts, and a bouncy house as part of this year’s 24 HoliDAYS on 24th Street.

Noe Street north of 24th will be closed to traffic from 3 to 6 p.m. for the Chanukah Wonderland, co-sponsored by Chabad of Noe Valley and Just for Fun gift store.

At the event, children can have their picture taken with biblical hero Judah the Maccabee. They also can help build a six-foot Lego Menorah, which will be lit at 4:45 p.m. There will be free Chanukah favorites like gelt (chocolate coins), dreidles (a spinning top), and latkes (potato pancakes).

The other 23 nights of this third 24 HoliDAYS will be full of holiday cheer too, including store discounts, free music and literary events, and visits from Santa and his reindeer.

Zephyr Real Estate is hosting three free hayrides on 24th Street in a covered wagon pulled by draft horses. Pickup and dropoff will be at Walgreens on Castro at Jersey Street on Saturdays, Dec. 1, 8, and 15 (usually starting by noon).

Santa lands his sleigh at the parklet outside of Just for Fun, 3982 24th St., on Saturday, Dec. 8, from noon to 2 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 16, from 2 to 4 p.m. On Tuesday, Dec. 18, he will be joined by his live reindeer from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. (Santa only shows up at 4:30, presumably due to his lack of transportation.)

Santa will also stop by Hill & Co., 3899 24th St., on Saturday, Dec. 15, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., lured by the promise of hot chocolate from Bernie’s Coffee and Gianna’s Holiday Cookies from Whole Foods Market. Greg Bartning of Bella­Imaging will be available to take photos.

There will be plenty of free entertainment for toddlers too. Small Frys, 4066 24th St., will host five weekday morning picture book readings featuring authors to sign them. Pixie Hall Studios will be at the store for a craft event on Tuesday, Dec. 18, at 10 a.m., and Terra Mia Ceramics will have free holiday face-painting at its store at 1314 Castro St. on Friday, Dec. 14, from 3 to 5 p.m.

The parklets and parking lots will be alive with holiday music, ranging from a brass quintet from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music to the a capella Clef Divers to the Buds, described as “Grateful Dead meets Fleetwood Mac playing Dylan.” 

Costumed carolers from the classical SF City Chorus will stroll down 24th Street on Dec. 8, 15, and 22, from 5 to 6 p.m., and singer/songwriter Mayya Feygina and students from the Ruth Asawa School of the Arts perform at the east parklet near Martha’s Coffee on Thursday, Dec. 20, 4 p.m.

That same day, 5 to 7 p.m., the Cliché Noe gift shop at 4175 24th St. will offer a wine and cheese reception for local artist Ranny Viquez and her “lost doll, altered art, and collage” jewelry.

Some events, like the Dec. 6 Wine Walk, are familiar, but others are not. See Jane Run, 3910 24th St., will host one of two HoliDAYS benefits. In Miles for Meals, participants pledge how many miles they will run during the first two weeks of December. Pledged money will go to the women’s shelter La Casa de las Madres.

Olive This Olive That, 304 Vicksburg St., will host Hot Chocolate and Hot Toddies, a benefit for hurricane Sandy survivors, on Tuesday, Dec. 18, 4 to 7 p.m. Guests are invited to design a card and write a message to a family affected by the hurricane. A portion of all sales will go to a relief organization.

24 HoliDAYS on 24th Street is sponsored by the Noe Valley Merchants and Professionals Association, the Noe Valley Association, and local businesses, including Zephyr Real Estate, First Republic Bank, Alain Pinel Real Estate, Cliché Noe, Whole Foods, and Just for Fun.

For specific dates and times, visit www.noevalleymerchants.com and click on 24 Holidays.