“Light Up the Downtown” Holiday Celebration December 5, 2025, at 5:30 pm!

This Friday, December 5th, Downtown will be the place to be to kick off the holiday season! Join us from 5:30 – 8 pm, as Atascadero’s Downtown will be the happening place to be to experience the magic of the holidays! Festivities will begin at 5:30 pm in the Sunken Gardens, with the annual countdown to light up Historic City Hall at “Light up the Downtown!”  Be a part of the lighting experience as City Hall, Sunken Gardens and the surrounding areas come to life with over 3,000 lights as part of the 2nd Annual Holiday Lighting Display, “Garden Lights & Winter Nights!” transforming the area into a beautiful holiday paradise on display through January 11th!

Festivities will kick off at 5:30 pm with musical performances by the Fine Arts Academy Honor Choir and Atascadero Community Band! Then starting at 6 pm, enjoy the traditional countdown to light up Historic City Hall with our Mayor and Councilmembers, followed by Santa in the Model-A Firetruck making his way around Sunken Gardens and onto the final approach on the West Mall side of City Hall. Take a ride on the complimentary horsedrawn hayrides, warm up with free hot chocolate from Lighthouse Coffee and take a complimentary tour of Historic City Hall by the Atascadero Historical Society!

On this special evening enjoy the Holiday Sip & Shop brought to you by the Atascadero Chamber of Commerce with adult beverages available from 20+ participating businesses in the Downtown. Tickets can be purchased in advance at www.atascaderochamber.org.  Businesses will be decorated and open for holiday shopping, and dining too!

PLUS, Musical Holiday Walk Around the Lake will be in full swing on Saturday, December 6th from 5:30 – 9 pm! This special evening will offer caroling, musical groups, refreshments and holiday decorations as your stroll around Atascadero Lake. Plus, the Central Coast Zoo will have the gift shop open until 6:30 pm for those unique gift ideas and you can also visit Santa from 5:30 – 8 pm at the Zoo Garden Event Center! This event is brought to you by the Atascadero Lake Neighborhood Association. 

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS! Thank you to each of you for your contribution and support of the fantastic line up of holiday events!

Light up the Downtown include Platinum sponsors: Avila Traffic Safety & Souza Construction; Gold Sponsor: MGP Coatings; Silver Sponsor: 5 Star Rain Gutters, Cielo Ristorante, Waste Management. Special Thank you to the Atascadero Fire Association for the Model-A Firetruck!

Garden Lights & Winter Nights Holiday Lighting Display sponsors include Platinum Sponsor: City of Atascadero; Presenting Sponsors: Atascadero Tourism Business Improvement District (ATBID), and Souza Construction; Gold Sponsors: Avila Traffic Safety; Silver Sponsors: Central Coast Community Energy (3Ce), H&R Block Atascadero, Paso Robles, and PG&E. Our holiday lighting display is designed by the Christmas Light Guy Company.

For more information about all the upcoming City and City sponsored events in Atascadero, go to www.visitatascadero.com/events. If you are interested in volunteering as one of our Elves for Light up the Downtown on December 5th or Winter Wonderland on December 12th, please contact tbanish@atascadero.org.