San Diego, CA
The best things to do this weekend in San Diego: Dec. 5-7
Here are some of the best things to do this weekend in San Diego from Friday, Dec. 5 to Sunday, Dec. 7.
Friday
Ups-N-Downtown Roller Rink: During the holiday season, Escondido opens a roller rink downtown. 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, noon to 8 p.m. Saturday, noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. Open Thursdays through Sunday through Jan. 3. 155 W. Grand Ave., Escondido. $5 admission; $10 for skates rental and admission; $35 for a family pack for four. downtownescondido.com/event-details/ups-and-downtown-roller-rink-2025-12-07-12-00
Holiday Market on the Plaza: In addition to the Ups-N-Downtown roller rink, downtown Escondido is throwing a holiday shopping event taking place over three weekends. A market place set up at Maple Street Plaza will feature holiday shopping and live music. 4 to 8 p.m. Fridays; noon to 8 p.m. Saturdays; noon to 4 p.m. Sundays. Weekend Dec. 5-21. Maple Street Plaza. downtownescondido.com/holidays-downtown-escondido
December Nights: One of San Diego’s largest community events, December Nights offers live entertainment, food and drinks from around the world, and late-night access to museums. 3 to 11 p.m. Friday. 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday. Balboa Park. Free. sandiego.gov/december-nights
First Friday: On the first Friday of every month, Liberty Station’s ARTS DISTRICT offers special activities and open studios. This Friday, Addison Designs is hosting a free ornament workshop from 4 to 8 p.m with supplies provided and music and refreshments. See the full First Friday lineup here: libertystation.com/events/calendar
Alpine tree lighting: The annual tree lighting event will include an artisan marketplace, food trucks, snow area for kids, inflatables, an ugly sweater contest and visit from Santa to light the tree. 5 to 8 p.m. Friday. In the parking lot of Bethel Christian Assembly at 1929 Arnold Way. alpinebethel.org.
Tree Lighting Celebration in Carlsbad: The Forum Carlsbad holds its 23rd Annual Tree Lighting Celebration from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday with live performances, holiday characters, Santa visits and Christmas Tree Wonderlights show continuing until Christmas. The La Costa Canyon High School Marching Band performs at 6 p.m. followed by Santa’s arrival, tree lighting and a snowfall finale. Festivities continue from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 6–7, 13–14, and 20–21. A pet adoption event on Sunday, Dec. 14, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 14 Dec. 6 to 25. Visit theforumcarlsbad.com/news/the-forum-carlsbad-a-festive-holiday-season-2025.
Coronado Holiday: The Holiday Parade takes off at 6 p.m. Dec. 5 featuring local organizations, clubs and businesses with lights and costumes from t8th Street down Orange Avenue to Adella Avenue. The tree-lighting ceremony is after the parade and festivities continue to 9 p.m. with live music and holiday sing-alongs. coronadochamber.com
Escondido Christmas parade: The parade, themed, “A Merry Citrus Christmas.” takes off at 7 p.m. Dec. 5, from Juniper and Grand Avenue to Orange and Grand Avenue. https://escondidojaycees.org/christmas-parade-info
Holiday Lights: The Antique Gas & Steam Engine Museum’s annual Holiday Lights event transforms the historic museum grounds into a winter wonderland with light display. Bring the whole family to enjoy thousands of twinkling lights, animals, festive hay rides, warm drinks, delicious food and a visit with Santa. 5 to 9 p.m. on Dec. Friday and Saturday, Dec. 12-13 and Dec. 19-20. 2040 N. Santa Fe Ave. Admission is $10, in advance online; $12 at gate; free for kids 3 and younger. agsem.org/holiday-lights-2025
Petco Park Holiday Wonderland: The annual Holiday Wonderland is sliding back to Gallagher Square at Petco Park. The holiday installation features Christmas lighting displays, Santa Claus, a Christmas train, holiday craft-making, a carousel and an opportunity to sled down a hill made of real snow. There will also be a 40-foot Christmas tree, live entertainment, local vendors, food and drinks for sale. 4 to 9 p.m. Friday through Dec. 7. Dec. 10-16, 18-23. 100 Park Blvd., San Diego. $18-$25. padres.com/holidaywonderland.
Saturday
Holiday Store Pop-Up: Fans of textile art and merchandise can visit a holiday pop-up market at the Visions Museum of Textile Art. Visitors can expect to find dolls, jewelry, flower pins, painted silk clothing and scarves, origami earrings and more. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Dec. 13. Visions Museum of Textile Art, 2825 Dewey Road, Suite 100, San Diego. vmota.org/pop-up-events-in-our-vmota-museum-store/
Friends of the Library Holiday Craft & Book Sale: Book lovers can find a new read for friends and family (or for their own shelf) as well as crafts for sale and a silent auction. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Civic Center Library, 330 North Coast Highway, Oceanside. oceansidepl.librarycalendar.com/event/friends-library-craft-and-book-sale-45286
Nitro Circus: Created by Travis Pastrana, Nitro Circus brings action sports to TVs and live tours. Athletes will show off thrilling tricks and compete in motor sports. 7 p.m. Saturday. Pechanga Arena San Diego, 3500 Sports Arena Blvd., San Diego. Remaining tickets start at $87. axs.com/events/829750/nitro-circus-off-the-rails-tickets?skin=pasd
How Latinos Built San Diego: A Talk with Maria E. Garcia The author of “We Made San Diego” will share about her book and local Chicano and Latino history and contributions. A Q&A session will follow, as well as book signings for purchases. 11 a.m. Saturday. Escondido Public Library, 239 S. Kalmia St., Escondido. Free. escondido.libcal.com/event/15529199
Annual Holiday Bookstore Sale: Books, DVDs, CDs, puzzles, gift certificates and greeting cards will be on sale for half price at this holiday sale. 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Alpine Library, 1752 Alpine Blvd., Alpine. sdcl.bibliocommons.com/events/691e0263a18afa0c612b8254
Jane Austen’s 250th Birthday Celebration: Celebrate Jane Austen’s birthday with tea, a screening of “Emma” and Regency-themed crafts. 2 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday. North Clairemont Library, 4616 Clairemont Drive, San Diego. Free. Registration required. sandiego.librarymarket.com/event/jane-austens-250th-birthday-NC
Christmas show: The Masters of Harmony and Pacific Coast Harmony chorus will present a Christmas show, “Merry & Bright, Holidays in Harmony.” 3 p.m. Saturday. Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church, 3459 Manchester Ave., Cardiff. $25. https://stsconstantinehelen.ludus.com
Chula Vista parade, tree lighting and festival: The Starlight Parade and Festival returns with a parade, holiday market, children’s holiday train ride, tree lighting, live entertainment and photos with Santa. The lighting of a 25-foot tree takes place at 5:45 p.m. on the plaza at the northeast corner of Memorial Park, 373 Park Way. The parade starts at 6 p.m. and goes from H Street to E Street, featuring marching bands, decorated floats, automobiles and dance teams, among other entries. 3 to 9 p.m. Saturday. Memorial Park and Park Way. Free. starlightparade.com.
Winter Wonderland at Wells Park: There will be a movie in park, train rides, bounce house photos with Santa, games, costumed characters, crafts and letters to Santa. 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday. Wells Park, 1153 E. Madison Ave. Free. elcajon.gov/your-government/departments/parks-recreation/special-events/winter-wonderland
Encinitas Holiday Parade: Encinitas’ annual holiday parade, themed “Peace by the Pacific,” will feature floats, marching bands and decorated cars along Coast Highway from D to J streets. The event kicks off with a tree lighting and brief appearance from Santa at 5 p.m. in The Lumberyard shops courtyard, between H and I streets, followed by the parade at 5:30 p.m. 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday. encinitasca.gov
Winter Festival: Winter Wonderland highlights include visits with Santa, Victorian carolers, storybook characters and winter crafting along with holiday market and face painting. Food and drink will be sold. 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. California Center for the Arts, Escondido, 340 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido. Free. artcenter.org
Fallbrook Christmas parade: Fallbrook’s 44th annual Christmas parade, themed “Candy Cane Lane,” is hosted by the Fallbrook Chamber of Commerce. The parade features Santa, lighted floats, music, marching bands and dancers along with classic cars. 5 p.m. Saturday. Main Street in downtown Fallbrook. fallbrookchamberofcommerce.org.
Ocean Beach parade: Ocean Beach holds its annual holiday parade. The event is hosted and organized by the Ocean Beach Community Foundation and Love Thy Neighborhood and supported by the Ocean Beach Mainstreet Association. 5 p.m. Saturday. Along Newport Ave., San Diego. oceanbeachsandiego.com/resources/local-news/ob-holiday-parade
Little Italy Christmas: A Tree Lighting and Christmas Village will include live entertainment, a visit from Santa Claus, 10-foot-tall nutcrackers, holiday-themed bites and sips and Christmas Village with vendors along India Street. The traditional Italian tree lighting ceremony is at 6:30 p.m. 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday. Piazza della Famiglia, 523 W. Date St., San Diego. Free. littleitalysd.com/events/little-italy-tree-lighting
Reason for the Season light show: A free synchronized light and video show, “The Real Reason for the Season,” will run every half hour from 5 to 9 p.m. from Dec. 6 to Jan. 4 at Columbia and Date Streets in Little Italy, across the Street from the Piazza della Famiglia fountain. The light show synchronized to popular Christmas music presents a short history of the Nativity and why Christmas is celebrated.
67th annual Vista Christmas Parade: The Vista Chamber of Commerce’s Christmas parade is set Saturday. This year’s theme is “Rockin’ Around Vista–A Parade of Holiday Hits.” The grand marshal is Eric Weirather, longtime band director at Rancho Buena Vista HIgh School. There will be floats, music and marching bands, along with Santa. 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday. Downtown Vista. To see the parade route, visit vistachamber.org/christmas.
Strong Ale Festival: Over 60 breweries will be part of the two-day 27th annual Strong Ale Festival. The event showcases more than 60 ale beers and food from Pizza Port. There will also be VIP sessions where guests can try exclusive barrel-aged beers. The festival will take place in the parking lot of the Pizza Port location in Carlsbad. 4 to 9 p.m. Friday. Noon to 5 p.m. Saturday. 571 Carlsbad Village Drive, Carlsbad. $50-$100. eventbrite.com/e/pizza-port-carlsbads-27th-annual-strong-ale-festival
El Cajon holiday benefit concert: The San Diego Rescue Mission and the city of El Cajon are teaming up on a holiday benefit concert at The Magnolia. The annual Christmas Jubilee Jam is a family-friendly event that helps raise money for the San Diego Rescue Mission to provide more beds and services for the unhoused. The show includes a cocktail hour reception and is headlined by the Bill Wells Band performing holiday classics and songs made popular by Motown artists. There will also be special appearances from the St. Peter’s Chaldean Catholic Choir and Santa Claus. Attendees are asked to bring a new, unwrapped toy. 5 to 8:30 p.m. Saturday. 210 East Main St., El Cajon. sdrescue.org/jubilee-jam
Sunday
Singles in Sweaters: Combining stand-up and a singles meet-up, Singles in Sweaters is a special holiday comedy event. Expect a live dating game and an ugly sweater contest. This is for ages 21 and older. 1 p.m. Sunday. Mic Drop Comedy, 8878 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., San Diego. $25.50. micdropcomedysandiego.com/shows/338356
Kringle Mingle: The festivities hosted by Cardiff 101 Main Street include live music, children’s crafts and holiday treats, coffee and hot chocolate and vendor booths for holiday shopping in downtown Cardiff. Photos with Santa are from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Bring a toy for the Toys for Tots drive for Camp Pendleton Marine families. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. Aberdeen Drive. Free. cardiff101.com/events.
Del Mar Village Winter Taste & Sip: The Del Mar Village Winter Taste & Sip is part of the North Pole by the Sea day of family-friendly festivities from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. Festivities include photos with Santa, carolers, live music, hot chocolate for kids and annual holiday tree lighting in the Jim Watkins Amphitheater at L’Auberge Del Mar at 5 p.m. 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday. Downtown Del Mar. visitdelmarvillage.com/north-pole-by-the-sea
San Marcos holiday parade: The 28th annual Kiwanis San Marcos Holiday Parade will be themed “Light Up The Holidays.” There will be bands, floats, marching groups and Santa. 1 p.m. Sunday. The parade route is Comet Drive at Palomar College, east on Mission Road to the San Marcos Civic Center. Visit lsmkiwanis.org
Holiday market: The San Marcos Chamber Market is inviting the community to its Holly Jolly Holiday Market at North City. The public can shop for gifts from over 175 vendors with items such as skin care products, home decor accessories and handmade artwork. There will also be food vendors, live holiday music and an appearance from Santa Claus. Admission is free and parking is complimentary at North City. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. 250 North City Drive, San Marcos. northcity.com/events/holiday-market
2026 vision board class: All the supplies needed to create a 2026 vision board will be provided at this workshop. Hot cider and cookies will also be provided. 3 to 4 p.m. Sunday. CoLabCrafts, 143 West Grand Avenue, Escondido. $39.19. eventbrite.com/e/2026-vision-board-class-tickets
SoNo Fest & Chili Cook-Off: Music, chili and community are the pillars of the SoNo Fest & Chili Cook-Off, which is returning to North Park. This volunteer-led annual event brings together more than 30 restaurants and 20 breweries, two stages of music, an artisan market, ceramic bowl making, a children’s play area and a chili-tasting contest. The event is also a fundraiser for Spanish, dance and library programs at McKinley Elementary School, for which $90,000 was raised last year, according to event organizers. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Corner of Thorn Street and 32nd Street in North Park. $25-$35. sonofestchilicookoff.com
The Del Mar City Council approved an ordinance May 5 adopting attendance requirements for city commission, board and committee members due to “recent meeting attendance issues.”
The goal of the ordinance is to address “provisions that are somewhat ambiguous and subjective making them difficult to implement consistently.” A Committee Efficiencies Taskforce consisting of Mayor Tracy Martinez and Councilmember Terry Gaasterland were evaluating the issue.
The new rules are scheduled to go into effect on June 4.
“The purpose of establishing committee attendance requirements is to ensure committees function effectively with consistent member attendance and to have a fair and consistent method for handling absences, while recognizing that members may occasionally be absent due to illness or other circumstances beyond their control,” according to a council agenda report.
Previous rules said that if a commission, board or committee member reached three absences within a 12-month period, their term was vacated, according to the report.
“This procedural change will help eliminate redundancy with the Council Policy and give the Council more flexibility to amend attendance requirements in response to the City’s changing needs,” according to the agenda report.
San Diego, CA
This budget season, San Diego asked the public to take a first-ever survey. It faced some limitations.
As Mayor Todd Gloria has prepared his budget proposal for the next year, the city says its leadership has factored in a range of considerations for what to prioritize — including the results of a recent survey that led San Diego residents to give their own input.
The survey, which launched in February and closed Friday, asked San Diegans to weigh in on which city services they care most about and which ones they would feel comfortable reducing, especially as the city faces a $146 million deficit for the coming fiscal year.
It was the first time the city conducted a budget survey. But the survey, built by the city’s Performance & Analytics Department, faced some limitations.
There was no set limit to how many times a person could take it, although residents were asked to respond just once. It was technically possible for people outside the city to respond, though they weren’t supposed to. And the city only offered it in two languages, English and Spanish.
Some community members questioned how the results could accurately represent city residents and their different needs.
“Survey data can sometimes be taken as the word, but it’s not necessarily always reflective of what the full community is saying,” said Erin Hogeboom, director of San Diego for Every Child, when the budget’s first draft was released last month.
The budget the mayor proposed last month included cuts to several services, including $11 million from arts and culture and reductions to funding for parks, libraries and youth services. He is set to release his revised budget next Wednesday.
The city closed the survey on Friday. It will share a final report of the responses with the mayor early next week before the revised budget is released, said city spokesperson Nicole Darling.
By the time it closed, the survey received more than 13,000 responses from across the city, and just over 12,000 respondents included their council district. The largest share of responses, at about 2,600, came from District 3 — which covers the neighborhoods around Balboa Park and downtown. It was followed by Districts 2, 7 and 1.
The fewest responses came in District 8, which includes Barrio Logan, Grant Hill, Shelltown, San Ysidro and Otay Mesa, at 572.
Respondents were asked about which city services they most want to protect. They could also identify city services — from parks and open space to homeless programs to graffiti removal — that they would feel comfortable reducing, on a scale of very unacceptable to very acceptable.
The latest results through Wednesday show respondents are most concerned about poor street and sidewalk conditions, homelessness and housing costs. They want to protect street repairs and resurfacing, police and fire-rescue services from funding cuts, according to the city’s survey data.
Responses show that the biggest share of survey takers — 40% — prefer to see a mix of some service cuts and some new revenue to address the city’s financial crisis. Slightly fewer, 37%, said they preferred eliminating some city programs to preserve others.
Over 70% said they wanted to see new revenue come from hotel or tourism taxes. Just 15% said they want new revenue to come from additional parking fees.
The priorities recorded in the survey, centered around the city’s core services, haven’t changed in the months that the survey has remained open, Darling said.
But Bob Lehman, executive director of San Diego Art Matters, says he feels that the survey guided takers toward certain responses and didn’t provide enough context about the impacts of cuts.
The bulk of the questions listed groups of city services that survey takers could rate on whether or not they thought cutting funding for that service would be acceptable.
“It kind of shapes what your response is, when core services are listed alongside arts and culture,” Lehman said. “Without any context, people are nudged towards protecting the obvious essentials.”
The city says the groups of categories were random and that there was no limit to how many times the survey taker could select one of the ratings on the scale for those questions.
Mark Baldassare, survey director at the Public Policy Institute of California, said it’s a good sign that the city has asked for feedback from the public, especially when big financial decisions must be made. But he stresses that analyzing the survey should go beyond the top-line results.
“You have to be careful that it’s going to be representative and … that you’re looking at different age groups, different income groups and different parts of the city, to make sure that you’re not missing any important details about how city services need to be delivered in times when the budget is in stress,” he said.
The city’s survey included optional demographic questions, including a respondent’s age, income level and race and gender. But Darling says the survey wasn’t meant to be a “statistically representative sample, but rather a snapshot of resident perspectives.”
Most of the survey questions were optional. The only required response was a respondent’s ZIP code, though the survey could be submitted with a ZIP code outside of the city limits. In late April, the city said that fewer than 1% of responses were invalid or from outside the city’s ZIP codes.
On its webpage, the city asked respondents to take the survey only once — but there was no way to prevent them from submitting a response multiple times, which the city acknowledges was a limitation.
The city says the survey is just one of several factors informing the mayor’s budget decisions — with others including legal obligations, economic conditions, departmental needs and the city’s responsibility to maintain services like public safety, infrastructure and homelessness response.
“The survey is one tool to understand how residents are thinking about tradeoffs in a difficult budget year,” spokesperson Joya Patel said. “It does not drive decisions on its own.”
San Diego FC are currently mired in an eight-game winless run in which they’ve collected just three points. But this is still largely the same team that looked dominant both last year and in the early stages of this season. To help us make sense of that, we asked Dmitry Ansimov of SDFC Nation to provide this scouting report:
Notable injuries
Jeppe Tverskov, the heart of SDFC midfield is most likely out until after the World Cup due to a leg injury he suffered on April 25 in a 1–0 loss to the Portland Timbers. Goalkeeper CJ Santos has also been ruled out after a collisionwith.
Team form
The team has been in dismal form. Winless in their last seven and having lost five straight, they finally got a point at home when they tied LAFC’s rotated squad due to their CCC matchup against Toluca. However, SDFC was leading 2–0 and squandered points on a last-minute equalizer at home. Ever since the loss at Toluca, SDFC has not been the same. Toluca exemplified a gameplan that worked well to break down the SDFC high-possession, play-out-of-the-back style and MLS teams followed. Head coach Mikey Varas refuses to change tactics and lives and dies by his 4–3–3 system which makes the team very predictable. SDFC has squandered decisive late goals in back-to-back matches.
Key players
The key players to watch for are Marcus Ingvartsen, who’s found his form this season at the 9. After being out most of last season, Ingvartsen is leading the team in goals scored (7). He’s been clinical in the air and on the ground. The other player to watch for is Anders Dreyer. Dreyer is having a good season again, leading the team in goals+assists (10). Last season’s league MVP candidate is not quite where he was last year, but remains the pillar in SDFC’s attack. Defensively — Manu Duah and Luca Bombino. Duah (CB) just got his first call-up to the Ghana national team and has been fantastic this season. SDFC has seen the difference of when he’s on and when he’s off the field (due to the couple of red cards he’s received this season due to sloppy challenges). Luca Bombino patrols the LB position where he’s been extremely effective. Breaking into the team last year, Bombino has been a regular starter for SDFC since. He’s dealt with an injury that forced him out of two matches – when he came back last match, SDFC looked much better on defense, further clarifying how important he is to the team.]
One thing opposing fans should know
If San Diego wants to get a result, they’ll need to be far more clinical in the final third and far more composed in the closing moments of the match. Possession alone won’t be enough; turning control into goals is the next step. More than anything, this match is about mentality. SDFC has shown they can go toe-to-toe with top teams, but now they need to prove they can finish the job—especially away from home in a tough environment like Seattle. If they can build on the positives from the LAFC performance, stay disciplined defensively, and avoid the late-game lapses that have cost them points, this could be the moment their season finally turns back in the right direction.
Projected lineup
4–3–3: Furree; Bombino, Duah, McVey, Verhoeven; Vazuez, Godoy, Valakari; Morgan, Ingvartsen, Dreyer.
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