The New Encinitas Holiday Market Runs on the Heritage Tree's Clock

In 1994, a local resident named Luis Ortiz asked the Danforth family whether he could decorate the tall Norfolk Island pine on their corner above Moonlight Beach. They said yes. He paid for it himself, rallied his neighbors, and started what the Encinitas Historical Society now calls one of the city's most cherished holiday traditions.

This year a second event has been added to it. On Friday, December 4, the Encinitas Chamber of Commerce holds its first Holiday Village & Market in the Moonlight Beach parking lot. The schedule shows which event leads. The market was built to fit around the tree lighting, and the rest of the city's 40th-year holiday weekend follows the same pattern. Each piece started with a local group or a single person, and each one was added to what came before.

A Market Scheduled Around a Countdown

The Chamber's event page lists two time blocks for December 4. The Holiday Village & Market runs from 2 to 7 p.m. The 32nd annual Heritage Tree Lighting runs from 4 to 6 p.m. The Chamber says the market "will take place immediately before and begin to wind down during" the lighting. That puts the shopping hours in the afternoon and leaves the evening to the tree.

The idea is to get families there early. The Chamber describes decorated vendor booths modeled on Europe's Christmas markets, hot chocolate and cider, strolling carolers and gingerbread-house making. All of it is meant to bring people in during the afternoon so they stay for the lighting. Admission is free.

Chamber chief executive Carol Knight explained the reason to The Coast News in September:

"It occurred to me there's not really a holiday market here in Encinitas."

In the same article, Knight called the pairing with the Historical Society's lighting and the city parade the next evening "a great marriage." She said the Chamber hopes the market "becomes an annual Encinitas tradition."

The market is small and local. The Chamber is aiming for about 20 booths, at $200 each, with preference going to Chamber members and invited local businesses. The Coast News reported in October that the planned goods include handmade gifts, jewelry, candles, boutique merchandise, seasonal decorations, specialty foods, wellness products and children's gifts. Businesses could also sponsor individual pieces of the evening, such as the hot chocolate, the gingerbread station, a holiday photo spot or the carolers.

The city is also involved. The City Council voted unanimously on September 9 to approve a memorandum of understanding with the Chamber covering about $1,600 in event costs, mostly permits and oversight, along with promotion through banners, fliers and online outreach.

What the Market Is Built Around

The tree has been there much longer than the lighting. Brothers Peter and John Danforth planted it in 1952 as a 3-foot sapling. It now stands more than 90 feet tall at the corner of 4th Street and C Street, overlooking Moonlight Beach. In 2011 the City of Encinitas named it one of only two official Heritage Trees.

The lighting has passed through several hands. It began with Ortiz in 1994. Since 2015 the Encinitas Historical Society has organized it and taken care of the tree's decoration and upkeep, with help from the City of Encinitas, sponsors, the Encinitas Union School District and volunteers. For 2026, the Chamber's listing also names the Encinitas Rotary Club and the Solana Beach Rotary Club as supporters.

Last year shows how big the evening already was before the market. The Historical Society says the 31st lighting on December 5, 2025, in the Moonlight Beach parking lot drew about 500 people. EHS Chair Jim Filanc hosted. Mayor Bruce Ehlers gave a holiday message, four children's choirs sang, the Free Verse band played, and there was a visit from the North Pole. The countdown and lighting happened just as the last of the sunset faded over the Pacific.

That sunset timing explains the market's hours. A 4 p.m. start for the lighting puts the countdown at dusk. A market that opens at 2 p.m. gives people two hours to arrive, park and shop while it's still light out. Once the tree is lit, the booths start closing.

Saturday Is the City's Birthday Party

The next evening, December 5, the city's Holiday Parade starts at 5:30 p.m. on South Coast Highway 101 between D Street and J Street. This year's theme, "40 and Still Fabulous," marks four decades of cityhood. The city's parade page says it reflects "on our history and looking forward to our future."

The parade theme fits the rest of the weekend, because the city itself was formed by combining existing communities. Encinitas incorporated in 1986 from five communities: New Encinitas, Old Encinitas, Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Olivenhain and Leucadia. Former mayor Sheila S. Cameron took part in the incorporation. In a Coast News commentary, she wrote that the special election was called on June 3, 1986, the first mayor and council were sworn in October 1, and the first City Council meeting took place October 3.

The city held its anniversary celebration 40 years to the day after that first meeting. On Saturday, October 3, 2026, there was a free 1980s-themed day with a sandcastle exhibition at Moonlight Beach, a celebration at the Cardiff 101 Farmers Market, chalk art, line dancing, a BETAMAXX concert and an outdoor showing of Back to the Future. The Historical Society opened the 1883 Schoolhouse at 390 W. F Street for a history exhibit covering settlement, incorporation and oral histories from current and former mayors. The December parade extends that anniversary year onto Coast Highway 101.

Parade entries are open to the public. The city lists entry fees of $75 for nonprofit groups, $150 for private groups and $200 for commercial businesses. Applications close Friday, November 13. Late entries are accepted if space allows, with a $25 late fee.

The Whole Weekend in One Table

Each event has its own organizer: the Chamber, the Historical Society, the city and two MainStreet associations. The main events fall on three straight days, December 4 through 6, in two parts of town, and a weeklong art event downtown runs alongside them.

Encinitas 101's Deck the Windows holiday art week runs downtown all week and ends the same Sunday as the Kringle Mingle. People walking to the market Friday or the parade Saturday will pass through it. Cardiff 101's Kringle Mingle moves the weekend south to Aberdeen Drive, with local makers, music, children's crafts and Santa. Its event page has the day's schedule.

The Run-Up Starts in November

Several events before December 4 lead into the weekend, and most come from the same organizations.

• Holiday Street Fair, Sunday, November 22. Encinitas 101 lists it from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. downtown. Its event page also has the music-stage lineup.
• Shop Small Saturday, November 28. From noon to 3 p.m., with live music, sidewalk sales and local specials. Encinitas 101 says each community will offer limited-edition prints.
• Cardiff 101 Holiday Passport, November 28 through January 31, 2027. A discount program with more than 20 Cardiff businesses that lasts well past the weekend.

Together these spread local shopping events from late November into the end of January, and the busiest stretch is the first weekend of December, when the market, the tree lighting and the parade happen on back-to-back days. The newest addition is the Friday market. Its hours depend on the tree lighting. The lighting is a 32-year-old tradition that started when one resident asked a family for permission to decorate their pine tree.

If the parade or the tree lighting has you thinking about which part of Encinitas suits you best, whether that means walking down to Moonlight Beach on a December evening or staying close to the Cardiff events, I'm happy to talk it through. Reach out to Sue Otto-Calkins and Let's Connect.