Rotary Club of Carlsbad to host 38th Holiday Tree Lighting ceremony

By SDCN Editor

Carlsbad, CA–The Rotary Club of Carlsbad will host the 38th annual Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony on December 3 at the Carlsbad Village Faire.

The annual tradition will take place from 2:15 to 4:45 p.m. in the south parking lot of the Carlsbad Village Faire shopping center at 300 Carlsbad Village Drive.

The festivities begin at 2:15 p.m. with the arrival of Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus, and his elf in an antique fire engine.

Carlsbad Mayor Keith Blackburn. Santa and Mrs. Claus will be handing out free candy canes to children at the event. As the children line up for free visits and photos with Santa, the entertainment starts with the Renaissance Institute of Music Orchestra, followed by the Carlsbad High School Jazz Band, the Carlsbad High School Lancer Dancers, and XCalibur dance teams. 

Families will enjoy holiday sing-alongs, a magic show and storytelling for the kids, and crafts, courtesy of the Carlsbad Library’s Learning Center. Free cookies, coffee, and cider will be served at the event.

Mayor Blackburn will officially light the tree at 4:30 p.m. which for the next three weeks will be one of the city’s most-photographed landmarks.

Event organizer Thomas K. Arnold said the tree lighting ceremony was established to give Carlsbad families a chance to enjoy a free, old-fashioned holiday festival. 

“Each year the crowd gets bigger,” Arnold said. “The entertainment is truly first-class, and seeing the look of joy on the children’s faces when they see Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive is simply priceless.”

Cory Orcutt, general property manager for the Carlsbad Village Faire, said the center has hosted the tree-lighting ceremony since 2006. 

“It’s a fantastic family event,” Orcutt says.

The Rotary Club of Carlsbad was chartered in 1939 and is part of Rotary International, a worldwide organization of more than 1.2 million business, professional, and community leaders. 

Members of Rotary clubs, known as Rotarians, provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world. There are more than 32,000 Rotary clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas. Clubs are nonpolitical, nonreligious, and open to all cultures, races, and creeds. 

The Rotary Club of Carlsbad meets each Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn on Palomar Airport Road.