Encinitas's First December Weekend Now Starts Under a 1952 Pine at 4th and C

A Norfolk Island pine stands more than 90 feet tall at the corner of 4th Street and C Street, above Moonlight Beach. Brothers Peter and John Danforth planted it in 1952, when it was a three-foot sapling. In 2011 the City of Encinitas made it one of only two official Heritage Trees. In 1994, local resident Luis Ortiz asked the Danforth family if he could decorate it. They agreed, and he paid for and organized the first lighting himself. The Encinitas Historical Society has run the event since 2015 and takes care of the tree's decorations and upkeep.

This year the lighting gets a full afternoon around it. On Friday, Dec. 4, the Encinitas Chamber of Commerce is opening the first Encinitas Holiday Village & Market in part of the Moonlight Beach parking lot from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., and the tree lighting starts at 4 p.m. The parade has always been the main event of the first December weekend. The new market moves the start of that weekend from Saturday night on Coast Highway 101 to Friday afternoon on the bluff.

The Smaller Tradition Has Never Had Its Own Afternoon

The two events have been very different in size. Last year's Heritage Tree lighting, the 31st, was held Dec. 5, 2025, in the Moonlight Beach parking lot and 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 the countdown ended just as the sunset faded over the Pacific.

The next evening, the city's 68th Annual Holiday Parade went down Coast Highway 101 with more than 85 entries. The city calls it the largest parade of its kind in North County and says it draws more than 10,000 spectators.

So the parade crowd was about 20 times the size of the lighting crowd, on back-to-back nights. Before this year, the lighting was mostly a short countdown on a Friday evening. The new market is built to make that evening longer.

What the Chamber Built Around the Tree

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune's report on the launch, the Holiday Village & Market is meant to encourage families to "arrive early, stay longer" before the lighting. The Chamber is running it with the Encinitas Historical Society and in partnership with the City of Encinitas, and admission is free. The Union-Tribune said the design was inspired by European Christmas markets and listed what will be there:

• About 20 local artisan and small-business vendors selling handmade gifts, jewelry, candles, holiday décor, specialty foods and children's gifts
• Strolling carolers
• Hot chocolate and warm cider
• Gingerbread house decorating for children and families
• A holiday photo backdrop and children's activities
• A Visit Encinitas and Encinitas Chamber information booth

The same article quoted Chamber CEO Carol Knight on the goal:

"We envision families strolling through a beautiful holiday village, discovering unique gifts, enjoying festive activities and then gathering for the Heritage Tree Lighting. It has all the ingredients to become a beloved annual Encinitas tradition."

The market opens at 2 p.m. and the lighting is at 4 p.m., so there are two hours of shopping and cocoa before the countdown, and the stalls stay open three hours after it. The Union-Tribune also reported that overflow parking will be at Pacific View Arts Center, a few blocks north on F Street.

Three Days, Three Addresses

The Union-Tribune's report describes the market as the start of a holiday weekend that also includes the parade and Kringle Mingle. Each day happens in a different part of town:

On Friday, everything is at Moonlight Beach, close to the tree. On Saturday, the event stretches along the downtown section of the highway. On Sunday, it moves to Cardiff-by-the-Sea, where Cardiff 101 holds a daytime makers market with crafts and live music on Aberdeen Drive. Because the three days are in three neighborhoods, it's possible to go to all of them without going back to the same crowd twice.

Saturday is the only evening with road closures. For the 2025 parade, the city closed Coast Highway 101 at 4 p.m. and offered free parking at San Dieguito Academy, at Nardo and Melba roads, and at Ecke Sports Park/YMCA on Saxony Road. Free shuttles ran about every 20 minutes from 4 p.m. until the last downtown pickup at 8:30 p.m., stopping at the NCTD bus station on Vulcan Avenue, half a block from the route. The San Dieguito Academy lot had ADA-accessible shuttles. That was last year's plan. The city's Holiday Parade page is the place to check for this year's details.

The parade is still taking entries. Applications close Nov. 13, and late applications are accepted if space remains, with a $25 late fee. Entry fees are $75 for nonprofit groups, $150 for private groups and $200 for commercial businesses.

Why the Parade Theme Looks Back Forty Years

The city describes this year's theme, "40 and Still Fabulous!", as a look back at Encinitas history and ahead to its future. The number lines up with the city's age. Encinitas incorporated in 1986, joining New Encinitas, Old Encinitas, Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Olivenhain and Leucadia into one city. The city held its official 40th Anniversary Celebration on Oct. 3.

That October celebration took place in the same few blocks as the Dec. 4 market. It included a sandcastle exhibition at Moonlight Beach, 400 W. C Street, and screen-printing at Pacific View Arts Center, 380 W. F Street. The Historical Society's 1883 Schoolhouse, at 390 W. F Street, hosted an exhibit on how Encinitas came to incorporate. For the city's two biggest civic celebrations this fall, the anniversary and now the holiday kickoff, the city and the Chamber both picked the area between C and F streets. The Heritage Tree stands at the C Street end.

November Is a Downtown Month

The December weekend is spread across town. In November, everything happens along one stretch of downtown Coast Highway 101, and the events are organized by Encinitas 101, the downtown MainStreet association.

The Holiday Street Fair is Sunday, Nov. 22, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., on South Coast Highway 101. The fair covers six blocks of the highway. Encinitas 101's fair guide suggests parking at City Hall, 561 S. Vulcan Ave.; the Moonlight Beach lot, 409 4th St.; or the Coaster station lots, 25 E. D St.

Shop Small Saturday follows on Nov. 28, from noon to 3 p.m., with live music, sidewalk sales and specials at local businesses.

Deck the Windows: Downtown Encinitas Holiday Art Week starts the next day and runs Nov. 29 through Dec. 6. It ends on Kringle Mingle Sunday, so the decorated downtown windows will still be up when the parade comes down 101 on Dec. 5.

Between the Nov. 22 street fair and the Dec. 4 market, the Moonlight Beach lot changes from recommended event parking into the event itself.

The Saturday Mornings in Between

The weekly market keeps running through all of this. The Cardiff Farmers Market is open every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at MiraCosta College's San Elijo Campus, 3333 Manchester Ave. On Dec. 5 it's open the same morning as the parade, so you can spend the morning in Cardiff and still get downtown well before the 5:30 p.m. start. In August, our Cardiff post described how Cardiff's weekly routine runs underneath its bigger events. The holiday weekend does the same thing.

For more on the coastal city around the tree, start with our Encinitas neighborhood page.

If you'll be at 4th and C on Dec. 4 and want to talk about life in Encinitas, I'm glad to help. I follow how this city's calendar and streets change from season to season, and I can talk through which corner of Encinitas fits your plans. Reach out to Chad Basinger any time. Let's Connect.