The tallest decoration in Encinitas this season was planted in 1952. It's a 90-foot Norfolk Island Pine at 400 B Street, next to Moonlight Beach, and the city named it a Heritage Tree in 2011. On Friday, Dec. 4, at 6 p.m., it lights up for the year.
The lighting opens a weekend that holds most of the city's holiday season. The tree lighting, a Chamber of Commerce market, the 40th-anniversary parade, Cardiff's Kringle Mingle and the last day of a downtown art week all land between Friday afternoon and Sunday. The City's agreement with the Encinitas Historical Society describes the goal as "a weekend of free public community events." Most of what happens in late November leads up to those three days.
Day | Event | Where | When |
|---|---|---|---|
Friday, Dec. 4 | Heritage Tree Lighting | 400 B Street, by Moonlight Beach | 4–7 p.m., tree lit at 6 p.m. |
Friday, Dec. 4 | Holiday Village & Market | Moonlight Beach parking lot | Same day |
Saturday, Dec. 5 | Encinitas Holiday Parade | South Coast Highway 101, D to J streets | Starts 5:30 p.m. |
Sunday, Dec. 6 | Cardiff Kringle Mingle | Aberdeen Drive, Cardiff | Daytime |
Sunday, Dec. 6 | Deck the Windows, final day | Downtown Encinitas | Art week runs Nov. 29–Dec. 6 |
Friday Starts at the Foot of B Street
The Heritage Tree Lighting runs 4 to 7 p.m. It's free and has live music and children's activities. The City provides the site, and the Encinitas Historical Society co-hosts. The tree is lit at 6 p.m., at the end of the program. If the lighting is what you're coming for, aim for 6.
In the Moonlight Beach parking lot next door, the Encinitas Chamber of Commerce is putting on the free Holiday Village & Market the same day. Local vendors will sell holiday gifts, art and food. City Council approved the Chamber's agreement in September and described the market as a complement to the tree lighting. The City supplies the venue, extra parking, staff coordination and promotion. The Chamber plans and runs the event. Because both events are in the same few hundred feet near the beach, you can shop the market and watch the lighting without moving the car.
Saturday Moves Up the Highway
The next evening, the crowd moves a few blocks south to the parade route. The 2026 Encinitas Holiday Parade starts at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5, and runs along South Coast Highway 101 between D and J streets. The theme is "40 and Still Fabulous," a look back at the city's history and ahead to its future, and entries are asked to celebrate Encinitas history and culture.
The parade takes entries from groups and businesses. The application deadline is Nov. 13. After that, entries are accepted only if space remains, and there's a $25 late fee. The 2026 entry fees:
- Nonprofit group: $75
- Private group: $150
- Commercial business: $200
The City adds a 3.7% fee to credit card payments.
Moonlight Beach on Friday and the D-to-J stretch on Saturday are close together. For anyone who lives within walking distance of downtown, the whole weekend through Saturday night fits inside about a mile of Old Encinitas.
Sunday Belongs to Cardiff
On Sunday, Dec. 6, the weekend moves south to Cardiff-by-the-Sea. Cardiff 101 Main Street hosts the free Kringle Mingle on Aberdeen Drive, with local makers, children's crafts, music, holiday treats and photos with Surfing Santa.
That same day is the last day of Deck the Windows, Downtown Encinitas's holiday art week, which starts Nov. 29. For one Sunday, both coastal Main Street districts south of Leucadia have something on. A Cardiff morning followed by a walk past the downtown windows on the drive home makes a full day.
November Leads Up to It
The pre-weekend events are spread out, and each one leads to the next.
- Friday, Nov. 20: Lightscape opens at San Diego Botanic Garden and runs through Jan. 3, the longest event on the calendar. More on it below.
- Sunday, Nov. 22: the Holiday Street Fair from Encinitas 101, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Saturday, Nov. 28: Shop Small Saturday in two districts. Encinitas 101 runs its version from noon to 3 p.m. with live music, sidewalk sales and local specials. Cardiff 101 has a limited-edition Cardiff-by-the-Sea poster offer and a holiday savings passport good through Jan. 31, 2027.
- Sunday, Nov. 29: Deck the Windows begins downtown and runs into the big weekend.
The street fair and Shop Small Saturday are the shopping events. The Holiday Village & Market on Dec. 4 is the last chance for local holiday gifts before the parade.
Lightscape Runs on Its Own Schedule
San Diego Botanic Garden's event has its own timeline. This is Lightscape's fifth year at the Garden. It runs nightly from Nov. 20 through Jan. 3 on a one-mile trail through the Garden's 37 acres, and it's produced with Sony Music.
If you've been before, here's what's new for 2026:
- Airquarium: a school of colorful fish that seem to leap out of the Bamboo Pond.
- Haze Arches: a row of lit arches wrapped in haze.
- Moon and Stars: a full moon hung low, surrounded by hundreds of stars.
- Spark Ballet: lanterns hung in the trees and set through the gardens, flickering as if fairies were inside.
- Flock: glowing birds, from white doves to bluebirds.
Winter Cathedral, the light tunnel, and the field of lit Bluebonnets are back.
Tickets start at $28 for adults and $18 for children, and kids 2 and under get in free. Prices change by date, and military members and Garden members get discounts. Parking is $15 per car if you buy ahead and $20 on site, where space is limited. Ticket sales are final, though you can exchange up to 48 hours before your visit. Entry is timed, with slots every 15 minutes from 5 to 8 p.m. Lightscape stays open long after the Dec. 4–6 weekend, so it's the easiest place to take guests who arrive after the parade.
The other big event after the weekend is indoors. Encinitas Ballet's Nutcracker, presented by the City, plays Dec. 12 at 1 and 5 p.m. and Dec. 13 at 1 p.m. at the San Dieguito Academy Performing Arts Center.
North 101 Is Under Construction This Season
All of the weekend's events sit south of Leucadia. On North Coast Highway 101, the City's Leucadia Streetscape Segment C and the drainage project that goes with it run from Jupiter Street to La Costa Avenue. Work began in March 2024. The City's Sept. 17 update set late fall 2026 as the target for finishing, and it says driveways and businesses stay reachable throughout. The new roundabouts at Jupiter Street and Moorgate Road have been finished since spring. By July, northbound traffic was on new pavement through them, and parking pods were open on the finished east side.
When finished, Segment C adds wider sidewalks, bike lanes, a crosswalk and pedestrian signal at Avocado Street, new streetlights, benches and hundreds of new trees. The construction has been hard on businesses along the road. In July, The Coast News reported that a Leucadia 101 Mainstreet Association survey of 20 corridor businesses found average sales declines of 25% to 40% over the prior year. The story named Leucadia Cyclery, The Leucadian Bar, Leucadia Donut Shoppe and Sip-N-Sea among the shops affected. The City's project page asks residents to "support our local Leucadia businesses during construction."
Leucadia does have a weekly holiday-season stop that doesn't change: the Leucadia Farmers Market, every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Oak Crest Middle School, 675 Balour Drive. Holiday shopping on North 101, or a stop for a box of donuts before the Kringle Mingle, keeps Leucadia in the season.
If you're weighing whether to list a North County home during this holiday stretch or wait for the new year, Graham & Kelly Levine can walk through the timing and the presentation with you. Schedule a Strategy Session.
