In Encinitas's 40th Year, the Holiday Weekend Is Built Around the Heritage Tree

At the corner of Fourth and C streets stands a Norfolk Island pine that brothers Peter and John Danforth planted in 1952. In 2011 the City made it Encinitas's second protected Heritage Tree. Volunteers string LED lights from top to bottom every year. Longtime resident Luis Ortiz has led the lighting since 1994, and crew members from a local construction company help with the work. Volunteers told The Coast News that once the 90-foot tree is lit, it can be seen for dozens of miles out at sea.

For three decades the tree lighting has been a short Friday evening program. The parade the next night got the larger crowd. This year the order changes. The Encinitas Chamber of Commerce has built a full afternoon around the lighting, the City has themed its parade on its own 40th birthday, and Cardiff closes the weekend on Sunday. From Friday through Sunday, Dec. 4 to 6, the season opens as one connected weekend, and its first afternoon is planned around the tree lighting.

A tree on a corner, watched from a parking lot

The ceremony is held in the upper Moonlight Beach parking lot. The pine itself stands at Fourth and C, farther up C Street from the beach entrance at 400 W. C Street. The crowd watches the lights come on from down the street.

The program is run by volunteers, and they make it feel personal. The Encinitas Historical Society presents the lighting each year in partnership with the City of Encinitas, with support from the Encinitas Rotary Club. Last year's program, held Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, from 4 to 6 p.m., featured choirs from El Camino Creek, Flora Vista and La Costa Heights elementary schools. The Encinitas Fire Department brought Santa and Mrs. Claus, as described in the San Diego Union-Tribune's 2025 preview. The lighting has also traditionally been held the night before the City's parade, so the two together open the holiday season.

That has always made the tree the first event of the weekend. The Chamber is now giving it a full afternoon.

What the Chamber added to Friday

On Friday, Dec. 4, from 2 to 7 p.m., the Chamber will hold the first Encinitas Holiday Village & Market in part of the Moonlight Beach parking lot. It is free. The Heritage Tree Lighting festivities begin at 4 p.m., so the market runs two hours before the lighting and three hours after it. The Union-Tribune reported that the event is designed to "enhance the Heritage Tree Lighting celebration by encouraging families to arrive early, stay longer." The Historical Society and the City are co-hosts.

The announcement lists these plans:

• About 20 vendors selected from local artisans and small businesses, selling handmade gifts, jewelry, candles, holiday décor, specialty foods and children's gifts
• Strolling carolers, hot chocolate and warm cider
• Gingerbread house decorating and other children's activities
• A holiday photo backdrop and an information booth run by Visit Encinitas and the Chamber
• Overflow parking at Pacific View Arts Center

Pacific View Arts Center is at 380 W. F Street. The Historical Society and its 1883 Schoolhouse are next door at 390 W. F Street. If you park in the overflow lot, you will be on the same block as the group that has run the tree lighting for decades.

Both organizers describe the market as leading into the lighting. "We envision families strolling through a beautiful holiday village, discovering unique gifts, enjoying festive activities and then gathering for the Heritage Tree Lighting," Chamber CEO Carol Knight said in the release, as reported by the Union-Tribune. Historical Society President Carolyn Cope said in the same release that the lighting "has brought generations of families together." According to the report, vendor booths cost $200, Chamber members get priority, and space is limited.

Why Saturday's parade is about 1986

The City's 2026 Holiday Parade theme is "40 and Still Fabulous." City materials say the theme looks back at the city's history and ahead to its future. The number refers to the City itself, which incorporated in 1986.

The parade continues an anniversary year that began earlier this fall. On Oct. 3 the City held an '80s-themed birthday celebration. It ran from the Cardiff 101 Farmers Market to Pacific View Arts Center to Moonlight Beach and ended with BETAMAXX playing live and an outdoor screening of Back to the Future. At the 1883 Schoolhouse, the Historical Society's anniversary exhibit covered the separate histories of Historic Encinitas, Green Valley/El Camino Real/New Encinitas, Olivenhain, Leucadia and Cardiff-by-the-Sea. It also told the story of the long effort that combined them into one city, and it included oral histories from current and former mayors.

On parade night that history turns into floats. The 2026 parade starts at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5, on South Coast Highway 101 between D and J streets. Entry applications close Nov. 13. Fees are $75 for nonprofit groups, $150 for private groups and $200 for commercial businesses. Late applications are accepted if space remains and carry a $25 late fee. That gives a neighborhood group, a team or a Main Street shop about two weeks from this post to enter a float about the city's first 40 years.

Getting downtown on Saturday, using last year as a guide

The parade draws a crowd. The City's special-events supervisor told The Coast News that the December 2025 parade drew more than 15,000 people and 87 entries, with Bill Harman as grand marshal. The City's 2026 parade page lists the date, time and route. Road closures, parking and shuttle details for this year have not been posted yet.

Here is how the City handled it in 2025, according to its 2025 parade notice. This is last year's plan, not a promise for 2026.

Check the City's Holiday Parade page before you go. Updates for 2026 will appear there.

Sunday moves south to Aberdeen Drive

On the last day of the weekend the celebration moves to Cardiff-by-the-Sea, one of the five communities in the anniversary exhibit. Cardiff 101's free Kringle Mingle takes place Sunday, Dec. 6, on Aberdeen Drive. The detailed schedule lists a makers market, children's crafts and live music from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with Santa photos from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The time shown in the page header differs from the detailed schedule, so check the Cardiff 101 event page before Sunday morning.

The vendor list on the event page is mostly local makers. It includes Studio1212 Ceramics, Zomaco Fine Jewelry, Encinitas Embroidery, HayCo Studio, Rondi's Kitchen, Ocean Lane by Cyn Corona, Pinos Pooches and SEA OF SEVEN. Bach to Rock Encinitas, Rancho Coastal Humane Society and the City's Parks, Recreation & Cultural Arts department will also have booths. Across the three days, the market at Moonlight Beach and the makers on Aberdeen Drive give shoppers two separate chances to buy from local sellers.

The weeks that lead into the weekend

Downtown has a few earlier dates on the Encinitas 101 MainStreet Association calendar, plus one run at the Encinitas sign.

Deck the Windows ends on Sunday, Dec. 6, the same day as Kringle Mingle. On the Friday, the tree lighting begins at 4 p.m. in the upper Moonlight Beach lot, and the pine at Fourth and C will be lit for the season.

If this year's anniversary has you curious about how Encinitas's communities have changed over 40 years, from Olivenhain to Cardiff, we would be glad to share what we know of the city. Danielle Short & Associates has followed North County Coastal for three decades, and our door in Rancho Santa Fe is open all season. Let's Connect.