What? New Year's Eve is bearing down on you like a mail truck full of post-holiday bills and you still don't have plans? We know most New Year's resolutions last about as long as an SCV snowfall, but did you really put off last year's resolution to stop procrastinating? Time's running out and the most important party night of the year is bearing down mightily, not to mention snagging those important fiscal year 2007 tax deductions.

It's New Year's Eve in Santa Clarita and the sun has nearly completed its descent into the sea west of Ventura. Streetlights blink on across town and, as if on cue, cell phones start sounding off.

"Are you dressed yet?"

"Is the champagne on ice?"

The worldwide party that is New Year's Eve is about to visit the west coast and SCV residents are making their final plans.

It seems that even massive fires can't keep avid golfers/philanthropists away from a good time on the course for long. Case in point: the fun-fest that was the Crawford-Fleming Breast Cancer Awareness Invitational, benefiting the Sheila R. Veloz Breast Imaging Center (that was a mouthful). The tournament, which was postponed a week due to the recent blaze, was held at Tournament Players Club Valencia. Besides an intense amount of club swingers, also present was local fashion designer Tracy McWilliams, who literally donated the shirt off her back (100 of them, to be precise) to the event; TPC's Head Chef Daniel Otto, who's deft wielding of all things culinary resulted in a smorgasbord of fantastic proportions; and Myra Harbour, owner of Celebrate - Planning For An Event to Remember, who helped create the "Casino for a Cause" were all worthy of high roller status.

After a weekend of fine stemware being poised in the nearly-upside down position (ooh... there's a little more left in here...) by thousands of very loose gooses (yeah, we know it's really "geese" but then the play on words doesn't work, does it?) Santa Clarita has finally proven to So Cal at large that we can kick 'em back just as well as the next town. Sure, San Fernando Valley may be celebrating Miller Time pretty much, well, always - but we now have a whole weekend a year dedicated to public imbibing. Emphasis on "imbibe." There was a whole lot of swirling, but the "spit" part of wine tasting was lost in translation. Chock it up to our inner cheapskate nature. With wine of this exquisite of quality, it just didn't make sense to attendees to voluntarily give up the grape. But enough talk of our communal blood-vessel-breaking practices...

The Boys & Girls Club Festival of Trees has a unique way of formally kicking off the holiday season. SCV home dwellers know by now that they should see these trees before they start decorating at home. These professionally-created trees will motivate the decorator inside of you to spread her diamond-encrusted collage wings, or, more likely - to invest in a pre-decorated tree that not only gives you immense pleasure, but brings much-needed services to the children of Santa Clarita.

As the year comes to a close it's time to relax and take stock. Time to reflect on past accomplishments, new acquaintances made, old friendships strengthened and the blessings of family. It's a season of good cheer and fellowship as we unwind from the cares of the world.

Aaah... the romance of wine. There's something seemingly magical about one's love fest with wine and the pleasurable enjoyment associated with discovering new labels. Whether a novice in the complex world of wine or someone with a passionate interest in the fermented grape, it's hard not to be caught up in experiencing new wines and discovering what subtle characteristics suit our individual tastes. Prepare to engage the senses for an adventure of tastes, sights and sounds when the Loose Goose Wine Festival returns to the Santa Clarita Valley October 4 to October 7.

Late summer is the season for absorbing some culture. School's out and the offspring have parked their brains in neutral for a couple months. It's time to jumpstart those idle neurons for the coming school year. Take the kids to a museum or two and expose them to the wide array of humankind's artistic achievement, if you can drag them away from the Xbox for long enough. It's time they learned that the human soul searched for meaning long before virtual avatars inhabited 22-level electronic dungeons or virtual cities where stealing a car and assaulting innocent victims earns a more powerful engine and a resounding cheer from a gallery of thieves.

7pm at Rio Rio Churrascaria Bar & Grill
Join other friendly Santa Clarita singles as you mix and mingle in the exotic new Rio Rio Churrascaria Bar & Grill. Enjoy $5 Sangria, $5 bottled beer & appetizer specials.

Rio Rio Churrascaria Bar & Grill
27430 The Old Road
Valencia, 91355
661-253-0888

7pm at Robinson Ranch Club House
Meet and mingle with Santa Clarita's finest singles crowd while enjoying appetizer specials like coconut shrimp skewers, crab-stuffed mushrooms and baby back ribs. Guests of Robinson Ranch's singles night, held in the exquisite Club House, can also partake in wine specials & beer specials.

Robinson Ranch
27734 Sand Canyon Road
Santa Clarita, 91387
661-252-8484

Finally, there is a place where racing enthusiasts can trade their work attire for a racing helmet and fulfill their insatiable need for speed. MB2 Raceway is an exciting, challenging and professionally-designed venue located in the new Cascades Business park just off the Interstate 5. Geared up yet? There's more, race fans. MB2 is the only one-of-its-kind indoor racing complex in the Los Angeles county and the state-of-the-art facility spans over 60,000 square feet. The raceway features emission-free Italian electric race karts which reach speeds up to 50 miles per hour and are safe as well as adrenaline inducing.

There's nothing like the cool sounds of Jazz and Blues to announce that the long, hot, lazy days of summer have arrived in the city. On June 8, Keyes Lexus returned for its ninth year as title sponsor for the Valencia Jazz & Blues Concert Series, the first of 14 consecutive concerts to be held every Friday through September 7, from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Town Center Drive. The event has become a summer staple in Santa Clarita, with families arriving early to get prime listening spots. Town Center Drive takes on a street-carnival atmosphere with music, food and laughter.

So, what did you do last weekend? Dinner and a movie? How original. Who wouldn't enjoy a good movie: pay your $10, fasten your shoes to the sticky floor, breathe in the odor of stale popcorn and enjoy the furious clicking of teenage text messaging. Then sit back and suffer through 90 minutes of overpaid celebrities demonstrating their acting prowess honed via paparazzi-documented tantrums at Hollywood hotspots. Sounds good. Movies are easy and predictable. But spending a valuable night out to see a film that will hit cable in about 40 milliseconds is hardly a good use of your precious leisure time.

7pm at Roast House
Join over 100 fun singles at one of SC's best restaurants: Roast House in Saugus. Drink and appetizer specials are just the beginning. There's always a fun Singles Night surprise at Roast House! Admission is free.

Roast House
26532 Bouquet Canyon Road
Santa Clarita, 91350
661-296-3866

The sob-fest that was the Man & Woman of the Year Award Dinner disclosed two newly-crowned and shiny-license-plate-holdered volunteer extraordinaires: Inside SCV Magazine Publisher Jeanna Crawford and longtime king among men Greg Nutter. Crawford, who credited her rise to the do-gooder calling in part to a voice coach who wooed her with gummy worms, used part of her speech to recite the lyrics from "The Greatest Love of All."

Hillary Clinton said "it takes a village" to raise a child. She had a point. It's not 1955 anymore. Kids' after-school activities don't usually include a stay-at-home mom in an apron and pearls pulling fresh cookies out of the oven. If a child is lucky enough to have two involved parents, chances are they're at work for 10 hours a day. Quality time sometimes means a five-minute chat while negotiating the drive-through at McDonald's.

There is something about a beautiful, well-kept garden that brings peace and serenity. Christi Larsen is one of those people who digs in the dirt and finds comfort. More than two years ago, she lost her son Cole while he was serving in Iraq. The pain doesn't go away and the memories of her son are deep. Cole loved the outdoors, Christi said, and she thought a garden tour would be a nice way to remember Cole and help others who are in the same situation as her family.

In a valley where sports, shopping and small businesses prevail, there is a monthly event in our local community that is causing quite the buzz. Third Friday concerts have surprised the residents of Santa Clarita with their success, but have been a long-awaited solution for the increasing number of musically-gifted local youth. Guitarist front-man for artists such as Avril Lavigne, Kelly Osbourne and Ashley Parker Angel, the talented Devin Bronson was a musical pioneer as he grew up in the Santa Clarita Valley.

7pm at Salt Creek Grille
Meet and mingle with over 100 of Santa Clarita's finest singles crowd. Relax in the bar or on the new patio while enjoying drink and appetizer specials. Space is limited, so please RSVP to singles@insidescv.com. Salt Creek Grille is located at 24415 Town Center Drive in Valencia. Admission is free.

Salt Creek Grille
24415 Town Center Drive #115
Valencia, 91355
661-222-9999

Grand illusions, transformations, a disappearing banana, multiplying flowers, mentalism exercises, linking rings and a dancing scarf were among the magic feats performed at the first annual "Evening of Magic" benefiting the local Boys & Girls Club on Sat., March 10. More than 300 attendees helped bring in about $3,100 for the club. The show was put on by the International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM) of the Santa Clarita Valley.