Between Oct. 18 and Dec. 13, the City of Solana Beach holds four big community gatherings. Three of them are at the same address, 715 Valley Avenue. La Colonia Park hosted Día de los Muertos in October. It hosts the Veterans Day ceremony on Wednesday, Nov. 11, and it closes the season with a tree lighting in mid-December. Fletcher Cove has one night in the middle of all that. This year it brings snow.
So if you're planning the next six weeks, start with the park east of the freeway, then work the coast in around it.
The season already started on Valley Avenue
On Sunday, Oct. 18, La Colonia Park held the city's annual Día de los Muertos celebration from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The City of Solana Beach and the La Colonia Community Foundation hosted it together. This year's theme was the 40th anniversary of the City of Solana Beach. There were photos from across the city's history, more than 40 altars, Danza Azteca San Luis Rey blessing the altars at 10 a.m., the MiraCosta Ballet Folklórico Club, a classic car show by Viejitos Car Club, and Mariachi Del Mar. In the city's announcement, the hosts said the event honors "the ancestral legacy of La Colonia de Eden Gardens."
The foundation is a big part of why the park carries so much of the calendar. As The Coast News reported, the La Colonia Community Foundation launched in early 2019, and its work included planning the annual Día de los Muertos event. Board vice president Lisa Montes said the group's aim was to connect with the wider Solana Beach community and to tell La Colonia's story. The foundation is also co-hosting the December tree lighting at the park.
Wednesday, Nov. 11, the courtyard gets its day
The Veterans Day ceremony is on Wednesday, Nov. 11, from 11 a.m. to noon at La Colonia Park. The City and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5431 are hosting. The program includes:
- The Camp Pendleton Young Marines as color guard
- A dove release by "Feathers from Heaven"
- The Santa Fe Christian School Band
- A guest speaker, plus city dignitaries and representatives from all branches of the Armed Forces
- Light refreshments afterward
The setting is the reason to go in person. The park's Veterans Honor Courtyard is lined with 12-inch tiles bearing the names of U.S. veterans. The Coast News covered the courtyard when it won an honorable-mention achievement award from CPRS District 12. Then-Mayor Mike Nichols called it "a very special project for our community" and credited community contributions for making it meaningful. On Nov. 11, the park that holds those names is also the park that holds the city's ceremony.
If you haven't been to the park in a while, it has changed. A skate park opened in 2019. In May 2024 a new tot lot opened after six months of construction. The Coast News put the rebuild at about $1.1 million, covering rubberized surfacing, play structures and slides for different ages, swings, better drainage, picnic tables, a seating wall, and accessible play features. As of a February 2025 report, a larger park expansion and community-center upgrades were still in planning, with no funding identified at that point.
Parking at the park gets tight on event days. For Día de los Muertos, the city asked people to carpool, bike, walk, or take public transit, and that advice works for any crowded day on Valley Avenue.
The weeks between: City Hall, then Cedros on Sundays
Three days after Veterans Day, the city marks World Kindness Day on Saturday, Nov. 14. Solana Beach is an official partner of City of Kindness, and the city is hosting a blood drive and a clothing swap that day. Solana Beach Community Connections also holds a Senior Games Day on Nov. 12.
The quieter piece of the season is already underway at City Hall. From Nov. 2 through Dec. 10, Solana Beach Community Connections is collecting items for holiday baskets, which it delivers to local seniors who live alone. The drive ends three days before the La Colonia tree lighting, so donations can go in any week between now and early December.
On Sundays the coast side keeps its own rhythm. The Solana Beach Farmers Market sets up every Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. at 444 S. Cedros Ave., at the south end of the Cedros Design District, with about 60 vendors. Here are some names worth knowing before you go:
| Section | On the current list |
|---|---|
| Farmers | JR Organics, Lone Jack Orchards, Mountain Meadow Mushroom, Smit Ranch |
| Food court | Chez Christophe, Global Tacos Grill, Yakitori Sawa & Sushi, 28 Thai |
| Bakery and pantry | Le Rendez-Vous French Bakery, San Diego Honey, Flagstick Coffee Co |
| Artisans | MAE Knives, Yaab Candles, Earth + Clay Collective |
The food court opens at noon along with the rest of the market. The market is closed on Easter, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day. None of those dates falls on a Sunday this December, so the market runs every Sunday of the holiday stretch. That includes both tree-lighting Sundays. Vendors rotate during the year, so check the market's current list before going.
The newest table on the street is a few blocks north. Encore Sushi opened this month at 112 S. Cedros Ave. in the 1,700-square-foot space that Kai Ola Sushi left in June. Its grand opening was Oct. 23. The chef is James La, who has made sushi in North County for years, and in the Union-Tribune's report on the opening he described the concept this way:
"Sushi is a live performance. The counter is our stage, and every piece is cut the moment it's ordered."
Partner Chris West told the paper that "Encore is the gateway, the first stop where a night on Cedros begins." For Sunday planning, the hours matter most. Encore opens at noon on Sundays, the same minute the market does, and stays open until 9 p.m. Happy hour runs 3 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, with select $5 offerings, and the restaurant is closed Mondays.
Dec. 6 at Fletcher Cove, now with a sledding hill
Fletcher Cove's night is Sunday, Dec. 6. It's the 21st annual Holiday Tree Lighting, hosted by the City and its Parks and Recreation Commission. Festivities start at 4:30 p.m. with sweets, hot cocoa, and cider. Mayor Lesa Heebner and the City Council flip the switch on the tree, and Santa is scheduled to arrive by fire-truck escort at 5:20 p.m.
What's new this year is a snow hill for sledding and a snow play area. On the 2026 announcement, the city labels it with a capitalized "NEW!"
This is also the first tree lighting since the cove's access project was finished. The city marked the work with a ribbon-cutting in April 2026. The project added an updated ramp and walkway, handrails, a stormwater dissipator grate, and new and improved showers, which the city described as improving beach accessibility. The Union-Tribune covered the ribbon-cutting. If a stroller or a wagon full of sleds is part of your Dec. 6 plan, the rebuilt ramp is the route down.
The city hasn't posted parking or shuttle details for the evening. The Solana Beach Coaster and Amtrak station is on Cedros Avenue, so the train and the walk from Cedros are easy options. You could also make a day of it with the market from noon to 4 and get to the cove for the 4:30 start.
Dec. 13, back where the season began
One week later the season goes back to Valley Avenue. The City and the La Colonia Community Foundation host the Holiday Tree Lighting at La Colonia Park from 5 to 7 p.m., with sweets, treats, and Mexican hot cocoa. Mayor Heebner and the City Council light this tree too. Santa arrives with his elves at 5:20 p.m., the same time he's due at Fletcher Cove the week before.
The city's event page calls the night a Sunday in one paragraph and a Saturday in the next. Dec. 13, 2026, falls on a Sunday. Parks and Recreation can confirm at 858-720-4430.
Here's the full run of the season:
- Sun., Oct. 18: Día de los Muertos, La Colonia Park, already past
- Nov. 2 to Dec. 10: Holiday basket drive for seniors, City Hall
- Wed., Nov. 11, 11 a.m.: Veterans Day ceremony, La Colonia Park
- Sat., Nov. 14: World Kindness Day blood drive and clothing swap
- Every Sunday, noon to 4 p.m.: Farmers market, 444 S. Cedros Ave.
- Sun., Dec. 6, 4:30 p.m.: Tree lighting and snow hill, Fletcher Cove
- Sun., Dec. 13, 5 p.m.: Tree lighting, La Colonia Park
La Colonia Park holds three of the season's four big gatherings, from the altars on Oct. 18 to the Veterans Day ceremony on Nov. 11 to the last tree lighting on Dec. 13.
Our team at Colucci & Co. spends these Sundays on the North County coast just like you do, and we're always glad to trade notes on the season. If you're thinking about a move around the holidays, or you'd just like to know how this time of year plays out on your block, book a complimentary consultation and let's talk.
