"The stage is open. Come play." That line still sits on Waganupa Brewing's homepage, over its Saturday Open Mic on Tap, with a note stamped across it: returning summer 2027. The taproom's Friday Night Live series also says it runs "all summer long." So by mid-November, the music that filled the Almanor taproom at 401 Peninsula Drive has gone quiet until next year.
The building is still busy, though. Its calendar has shifted from performing to making. Between now and early December, the Peninsula taproom's craft nights and its holiday fair all give you something to take home, and the listings pitch most of those things as holiday gifts. If you live in Hamilton Branch, on the East Shore, or out on the Peninsula, this short stretch of Peninsula Drive is where the gift season starts.
The stage turned into a workbench
Look at what replaced the Friday bands. Waganupa's November events page lists three maker nights at the Peninsula taproom, and the descriptions keep returning to the same idea.
The month began with Paint Your Own Pottery with Charcuterie & Clay on Saturday, Nov. 7, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Local artist Audrey DuBord of Charcuterie & Clay brought mugs, stemless cups, herb planters and serving trays to paint. The event cost $40 per person and included a charcuterie board. Waganupa billed it as a "second chance," so this was a return visit, and the listing put it plainly: "With the holidays around the corner, it's a great chance to make a one-of-a-kind gift."
Next up is Jewelry Making with Ali on Saturday, Nov. 21, from 5 to 7 p.m. Ali works behind the bar at Waganupa, and for this evening she's teaching. The $30 price includes a beer, and you pay at the door with cash, Venmo or Zelle. According to the event listing, it's a way to "get a head start on holiday gifts."
Then comes the 2nd Annual Sips & S'mores Holiday Craft Fair on Saturday, Dec. 5, from 3:30 to 8:30 p.m. Local crafters and artisans sell handmade gifts, and you can warm up with a pint and a s'more.
Taken together, it looks like a plan. The pottery night is for making a gift yourself. The jewelry night is the same idea with beads. The December fair is for buying from people who made the gifts. Every one of those evenings happens at the same address on Peninsula Drive.
Thursday is still trivia night
Only one weekly event carries straight through the season change. Thursday Night Trivia runs from 6 to 8 p.m. at $10 per person, which gets you a beer token and a slice of pizza, and the theme changes every week.
That makes Thursday the first night of the taproom's weekend. Waganupa's Almanor taproom is open Thursday through Saturday, 5 to 9 p.m., and the brewery's second taproom at 401 Main Street in Chester keeps its own schedule.
Two doors down the strip, Red Onion Grill & Bar at 303 Peninsula Drive works on a slightly wider week. Its FAQ page says it's open year-round, Wednesday through Sunday, from 5 p.m., with last dining-room seating at 8 p.m. It's closed Mondays and Tuesdays. The menu covers steak, fresh seafood and pub fare, with wines, craft beers and specialty cocktails.
Put the two schedules side by side and you get a clear Peninsula Drive evening window. From Thursday through Saturday, the taproom and Red Onion are both open after 5 p.m. A maker night at 401 can lead straight to an 8 p.m. table at 303. Red Onion is closed on three holiday dates this season: Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Tour weekend starts Friday
This post goes up on Thursday, Nov. 12, the night before the Lake Almanor Area Holiday Shopping Tour. The Lake Almanor Area Chamber of Commerce runs the tour on Nov. 13 and 14 across Chester, Westwood, Clear Creek, Indian Valley, Crescent Mills, Taylorsville and Lake Almanor.
It works like a passport:
- Pick up a booklet-style Holiday Passport at any participating business.
- Get a stamp at each participating stop. You don't have to buy anything to get one.
- If a local business isn't on the passport list, ask for a "business autograph" anyway. The Chamber's only hint is that "you'll have to wait and see why."
- Turn in a full passport for a chance at giveaways and prizes donated by participating businesses.
Waganupa has confirmed that both of its taprooms are taking part, and it lists tour hours from 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, through 9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14. The brewery's own pitch fits the stretch of road: stop in for a stamp, "and stay for a pint while you rest your feet between shops."
The Peninsula also shows up on the tour's sponsor list. Il Lago Pizza & Pasta is named as one of the event's Community Partners, along with Antler's Inn, Ayoobs Intermountain Hardware, Collins Pine, Lake Almanor Ace Hardware, Rouland Insurance Health Services and Seneca Healthcare District. If the name doesn't ring a bell, the restaurant probably will. The Chamber's dining directory still lists the Ponderosa Drive pizza-and-pasta kitchen under its former name, Tantardino's, with the same phone number. Visit Plumas now lists it as Il Lago at 401 Ponderosa Dr. with the tagline "New Name, same owners, same great Italian food!" and says its homemade pizza and pasta "has been famous on the Lake Almanor Peninsula for over 40 years." You can reach Il Lago at 530-596-3902.
The rest of the gift run, within a few hundred feet
The Visit Plumas tour page lists more Peninsula Drive shops and kitchens in its shopping and dining directory. The block is short enough that, on a dry evening, you might park once and walk to everything on it.
- Lakeside Home & Gifts, 316 Peninsula Drive: gift ideas plus home and garden decor.
- Peninsula Market, 309 Peninsula Drive: groceries, a butcher shop, deli, spirits and coffee. Phone 530-596-3500. The Chamber lists the deli counter as Wally's Peninsula Market Deli.
- Red Onion Grill & Bar, 303 Peninsula Drive, at the hours above.
- Waganupa Brewing, 401 Peninsula Drive.
The Chamber's restaurant directory marks two more Peninsula Drive spots as seasonal: Luciano's Cucina Di Pasta at 449 and Paul Bunyan Frosty at 443. Out toward the East Shore, the same directory lists Karen's Deli / Pizza at the Branch at 7640 CA-147 in Hamilton Branch. Hours change this time of year, so call ahead before you plan around any of them.
The dates, in order
The Peninsula's late-fall calendar fits on a short list. Each entry ties back to the same gift-giving idea.
- Thursdays, 6–8 p.m.: Trivia at Waganupa's Peninsula taproom, $10.
- Fri., Nov. 13, 5 p.m., through Sat., Nov. 14, 9 p.m.: Holiday Shopping Tour passport stamps at both Waganupa taprooms.
- Sat., Nov. 21, 5–7 p.m.: Jewelry Making with Ali, $30 with a beer.
- Thu., Nov. 26: Thanksgiving. Red Onion is closed.
- Sat., Dec. 5, 3:30–8:30 p.m.: 2nd Annual Sips & S'mores Holiday Craft Fair at 401 Peninsula Drive.
- Thu.–Fri., Dec. 24–25: Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Red Onion is closed.
That puts three of the taproom's Saturdays on the gift calendar: tour weekend on Nov. 14, jewelry night a week later on Nov. 21, then the craft fair on Dec. 5. Each one is set up for leaving with a gift you made or a gift someone nearby made. Open Mic is scheduled to return in summer 2027.
At Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Lake Almanor Real Estate, we keep track of the Peninsula Drive calendar the same way you do, one Thursday trivia night and one passport stamp at a time. If you're looking at a home within walking distance of these evenings, or wondering how close your own place is to this end of the lake, our team is happy to talk it through. Discover Lake Almanor Homes.
