Solana Beach's Holiday Season Starts and Ends at La Colonia

Solana Beach's 2026 holiday season begins Saturday morning at La Colonia Community Center and ends on December 13 at La Colonia Park. The City lists both at the same address, 715 Valley Avenue. The Fletcher Cove tree lighting falls in the middle of those four weeks. It has the ocean behind it, and this year it adds a snow hill. The first and last stops of the season share an address, and that is where to start planning.

Saturday, November 14: three events in one day

This Saturday has the city's busiest single-day calendar of the fall. The three events run from morning to evening, and each one is in a different part of town.

• 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.: The Solana Beach Civic & Historical Society holds its 73rd Annual Holiday Boutique at La Colonia Community Center.
• 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.: The City's World Kindness Day clothing swap takes over the lawn outside Fletcher Cove Community Center, with a Fixit Clinic running alongside it.
• 4 to 6 p.m.: The City Hall Gallery hosts an opening reception for Stephanie Missan's exhibit "Beneath the Palms."

The boutique and the swap overlap from 10 to 2, which gives you a four-hour window to get to both. If you shop early at La Colonia, you can still finish on the Fletcher Cove lawn before 2. If you miss the reception, "Beneath the Palms" stays up at City Hall through December 15, which covers the rest of the season.

The boutique's number also matters. A 73rd annual event is older than most of the businesses on Cedros Avenue. For comparison, the coastal tree lighting is on its 21st year. The Society's boutique has been the town's holiday kickoff since long before the cove had a tree.

Friday the 13th, on Highway 101

One stop the day before belongs on the calendar. The renovated Voco Solana Beach–Del Mar at 621 S. Highway 101 holds its ribbon-cutting Friday, November 13, at 2 p.m. The Coast News reported that the celebration will include room tours, refreshments and drawings for overnight stays.

The hotel matters for the season because of its restaurant and bar, 101 & Vine. That gives this stretch of Highway 101 a new place to meet before or after an event. The 80-room property is the first in San Diego County to run under IHG's Voco brand. The owner is Pacifica Host Hotels, which also runs La Valencia Hotel in La Jolla and Hotel Indigo San Diego Del Mar.

The coastal middle: Fletcher Cove on December 6

The 21st annual Holiday Tree Lighting at Fletcher Cove starts Sunday, December 6, at 4:30 p.m. The event is free. Mayor Lesa Heebner and the City Council flip the switch, and Santa arrives with a fire-truck escort at 5:20 p.m. The City and its Parks and Recreation Commission are adding something new this year, a snow hill for sledding and a snow-play area.

You get 50 minutes between the 4:30 start and Santa's 5:20 arrival. For families with sledders, that is the time to get on the snow hill before the crowd turns toward the fire truck. The City's page also lists sweets, hot cocoa and cider.

The cove itself is in better shape than it was last December. In April 2026 the City finished its beach-access improvements at Fletcher Cove: a newly paved ramp and sidewalk, stainless-steel handrails on the ramp and stairs, two shower stations, and a dissipator grate that slows stormwater so the beach keeps its sand. A sign along the ramp now shows what changed and where. Measure S, the City's one-cent sales tax, paid for the work. This is the first tree lighting since that ramp opened, so heading down to the sand after the lights come on is easier than it has been in past years.

If December 6 is your night out, the Belly Up calendar lists Anuhea's "All Is Bright Tour" at 8 p.m. the same evening. That leaves time for dinner between the two.

The weeks in between

The time between the bookends fills up on Fridays and at the Belly Up. Here are the dated events from November 20 through the second tree lighting, in order, after the November 13 and 14 events covered above:

Two of these dates require you to plan ahead. The Society's Holiday Luncheon at Lomas Santa Fe Country Club requires reservations by December 1. It honors Holly Smith Jones, the Society's 2026 Distinguished Citizen. The Santa's Sleigh Ride starts and ends at the fire station at 500 Lomas Santa Fe Drive, and it begins at 2:30 on a Friday afternoon.

Friday, December 11, has the most going on of any day in the stretch. The sleigh ride starts at 2:30, and the Belly Up's Groovemas happy hour follows at 5:30.

Dinner on Cedros between events

Encore Sushi is the newest addition to the Cedros Design District. It opened this fall at 112 S. Cedros Ave., in the space Kai Ola Sushi left in June. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that chef James La previously worked at Kai Ola and at Samarai Sushi.

Encore's own site describes an upscale-casual sushi bar where La cuts each piece to order. The menu runs from nigiri and sashimi to signature rolls, poke bowls and new-style sashimi. Its hours fit around this calendar:

1. Tuesday through Thursday, 3 to 9 p.m.
2. Friday and Saturday, noon to 10 p.m.
3. Sunday, noon to 9 p.m.
4. Closed Monday. Happy hour runs Tuesday through Sunday, 3 to 5:30 p.m.

Encore opens at noon on both tree-lighting Sundays, so you can eat a late lunch on Cedros before either one. Happy hour ends at 5:30, which works on Belly Up nights with 7:30 or 8 p.m. shows. The restaurant also hosts private holiday parties for up to 50 guests, and its site says December dates are booking now.

Back on Valley Avenue on December 13

The season ends where it started. The Holiday Tree Lighting at La Colonia Park, 715 Valley Avenue, runs Sunday, December 13, from 5 to 7 p.m. The City co-hosts it with the La Colonia Community Foundation. The mayor and council flip the switch here too, and Santa arrives with his elves at 5:20 p.m. Instead of cider, the cup to look for is Mexican hot cocoa. For details before you go, the Parks and Recreation Department is at 858-720-4430.

The two lightings are a week apart on the same Sunday slot, and both schedule Santa for 5:20 p.m. The difference is the setting. Fletcher Cove has the ocean behind the tree and the new snow hill. La Colonia has the park the City calls historic and the same address as the community center where the boutique opened the season a month earlier.

One road project will be part of some trips across town this season. On October 28 the City broke ground on the Lomas Santa Fe Corridor East Improvements. The work covers Lomas Santa Fe Drive from Santa Helena, near I-5, to the city line at Highland Drive. The Coast News reported that Tri-Group Construction holds the $7.4 million contract. Work starts with the medians, moves to the south side of the road and finishes on the north side, with completion expected in late summer or early fall 2027.

City Engineer Austin Frisby told The Coast News that the plan keeps one lane open in each direction for the whole project. He said crews will work around "school drop-offs and holiday vacations." When the work is finished, that stretch will have a multiuse trail, bike lanes, drought-tolerant landscaped medians, a new traffic signal and new paving. For this December, it means allowing extra time on Lomas Santa Fe between Santa Helena and Highland Drive.

If your holiday plans include hosting at home this year, or wondering what your place is worth with the lights up, Kara Kay and our team are happy to help. Request a home valuation, and we'll give you a clear, local read on your Solana Beach home, whether you're a few blocks from Fletcher Cove or a short walk from La Colonia Park.