Executive Summary
Councilmembers LeBlang and Musgrove have requested that an item be placed on the agenda for City Council discussion regarding the future of the San Marcos Holiday Parade.
The Holiday Parade has been a longstanding San Marcos community tradition. Historically, however, the parade has not been organized or produced by the City. For many years, the event was organized by the local Kiwanis organization, with the City supporting the parade through financial and in-kind resources.
Earlier this year, the Lake San Marcos Kiwanis Club indicated that it was considering ending its role as parade organizer. In response, City staff began evaluating potential options for continuing the parade and subsequently worked with Kiwanis to explore whether additional City funding, volunteer support, or modifications to the parade route could provide a viable path forward. Following those discussions, Kiwanis provided formal confirmation in July that it would not host the 2026 parade.
Since receiving that confirmation, staff has continued working to identify a feasible alternative. No community organization has agreed to assume responsibility for producing the parade. As a result, continuing the Holiday Parade in 2026 would likely require the City to assume a substantially greater role in planning, funding, and producing the event.
Discussion
The annual Holiday Parade began in 1995 and has traditionally followed an approximately 2.5-mile route beginning at Palomar College and ending at the Civic Center. Historically, Kiwanis has been responsible for the overall organization of the event, including logistics, permitting, sponsorships, marketing, traffic control planning, and coordination with participating agencies and community partners.
The City's role has primarily been supportive. Beginning in 2017, the City entered into an agreement to assist with certain parade costs, including traffic control. City support was subsequently expanded to include additional financial and in-kind assistance. Although the formal agreement expired at the end of 2022, the City continued providing support generally consistent with the prior arrangement.
As the future of Kiwanis' involvement became uncertain, staff evaluated several potential parade delivery models, including continued community organization with City financial support, a City-hosted model utilizing professional event management, City support limited primarily to public safety or in-kind services, and allowing the parade to conclude if a sustainable community organizer could not be identified.
Following Kiwanis' formal confirmation that it would no longer host the parade, City staff contacted a number of community organizations regarding potential involvement, including Rotary, Friends of San Marcos Parks and Recreation, Universidad Popular, Boys & Girls Club, Chamber of Commerce, and others. Several organizations expressed a willingness to potentially assist with volunteers or specific components of the event; however, none expressed an interest in assuming overall responsibility for organizing and producing the parade.
Staff also evaluated the possibility of using professional event management consultant services to minimize the impact on existing City staff. The City-hosted contractor model previously presented to Council was estimated at approximately $146,000, which included $65,000 for consultant services, $24,000 for part-time staff support and the remainder being fixed costs such as sheriff services, traffic control, insurance, etc.
More recently, staff has continued working with community partners to develop a more cost-effective alternative in which the City would assume overall responsibility for the parade while utilizing community organizations and volunteers for appropriate event functions. Preliminary estimates indicate that approximately $50,000 to $70,000 in City funding would be needed for fixed event costs and temporary/part-time staffing support. This estimate does not include the cost of existing full-time City staff who would be required to support the planning and delivery of the event. Existing staff responsibilities would include planning, coordination, contracting, communications, public safety and operational coordination, and day-of-event support. The parade is also typically hosted the day after the City’s long-standing Tree Lighting event, which requires significant staff time and serves a very similar audience, including some overlap in performance groups.
Transitioning the Holiday Parade from a community-organized event to a City-produced event would represent a significant change in the City's role and create an ongoing expectation for City funding and staff resources. At the same time, the parade is a longstanding community tradition that provides an opportunity for local schools, nonprofits, community organizations, businesses, and residents to participate in a shared community event.
Given these considerations, City Council direction is sought as to whether the City should proceed with planning and funding a City-produced Holiday Parade for 2026.
If Council directs staff to proceed, staff would return with any necessary budget appropriation and related actions and continue developing the event plan in partnership with interested community organizations.
Environmental Review
The proposed action is not a “project” as defined under Section 15378 of the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines (California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Division 6, Chapter 3, Sections 15000-15387), and is therefore not subject to environmental review pursuant to Guidelines Section 15060(c)(3).
Fiscal Impact
There is no fiscal impact associated with providing direction at this time.
If Council directs staff to proceed with a City-produced Holiday Parade in 2026, the final funding requirement would depend on the event plan, route, public safety and traffic control requirements, sponsorships and community partnerships, and other operational considerations.
Any required budget appropriation would be presented to the City Council for approval.