"We would be first in Valley to do this," Vice Mayor Carla Mead told the Buellton City Council in August. "Something to compete with Solvang fireworks." The Santa Ynez Valley Star reported the line from the council's August 24 meeting. That night the council voted to put a 300-drone show above River View Park on December 6.
The valley's holiday season already runs as a relay. Each town lights its tree on its own night, in a set order, over four days in a row. Buellton holds the last spot, Sunday. This year the city is spending public money to make that last night a real destination.
Four Nights, Four Trees
From Thursday, December 3 to Sunday, December 6, the four main town celebrations each get their own evening. Here is the full sequence in one place.
| Night | Town | Event | Tree lighting | Where |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday, Dec. 3 | Santa Ynez | Santa Ynez Country Christmas | During the 4 to 6 p.m. event | Santa Ynez township |
| Friday, Dec. 4 | Solvang | Julefest Tree Lighting Ceremony | Begins 5:30 p.m. | Solvang Park, 1630 Mission Drive |
| Saturday, Dec. 5 | Los Olivos | Olde Fashioned Christmas | During the 2 to 7 p.m. event | Throughout town |
| Sunday, Dec. 6 | Buellton | Buellton Winter Fest | 5:30 p.m. | River View Park, 151 Sycamore Drive |
Santa Ynez goes first, and the organizers say so. The Santa Ynez Valley Foundation calls Santa Ynez "the first town in the Santa Ynez Valley to light their tree for the season." The free Thursday event has children's activities, Santa, holiday music, dance performances and treats.
Solvang follows on Friday at 5:30 p.m. in Solvang Park. The program includes ballet from Fossemalle Dance Studio, The Voice Studio Youth Choir and caroling. It ends with the tree lighting and a park-wide light-up as the ballerinas circle the tree. Solvang's own Julefest page calls December 4 to 6 its Tree Lighting weekend.
Saturday Is the Day to Plan
Saturday, December 5 has the most going on, and each event has its own hours.
- Solvang's Julefest Parade, 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. More than 400 participants in over 50 contingents fill the village streets with marching bands, horses, dancers, classic vehicles and floats. This year's theme is "Nisser & Nordic Nights," and Mr. Claus visits after the parade.
- Future Perfect Wines' Holiday Maker's Market, 3 to 5 p.m. The tasting room at 2933 San Marcos Avenue, Suite 101, in Los Olivos hosts local vendors. Visit the Santa Ynez Valley pitches the market as a warm-up for the Los Olivos tree lighting that evening, and its directions read "Just look for the disco ball."
- Los Olivos Olde Fashioned Christmas, 2 to 7 p.m. Expect twinkling lights, hot cocoa, music, ornament decorating, photos with Santa and the lighting of the town tree.
You can fit all three into one day. The parade ends at 1:30 p.m., and the market closes at 5, two hours before the Los Olivos celebration wraps up at 7.
The $29,500 Bet on the Last Night
Buellton holds Winter Fest every year, and the drone show is this year's addition. Discover Buellton's Winter Fest page lists it as "NEW THIS YEAR."
The council took two meetings to decide. According to the Santa Ynez Valley Star, members discussed the idea on August 10 without reaching agreement and returned to it on August 24. City Manager Scott Wolfe presented three vendors, each quoting three show sizes:
- Lowest option: $10,000 for 100 drones
- Highest option: $41,000 for 400 drones
- Chosen option: $29,500 for 300 drones from Electric Sky, a Los Angeles drone-show company
Mayor David Silva moved to approve the middle option, and the motion passed 4 to 1. The city's council minutes record the same vendor, cost and vote.
The debate shows what Buellton hopes to get from the money. Silva described the show as a matter of civic identity, saying Buellton "needs identity, pride" and that "people here want amenities, things building civic pride." He added that "more economic ripples could come from this." Mead pointed to Goleta's show, which she said "gets people from all over," and called a drone display "safer, and better for the environment" than fireworks.
Councilmember Hudson Hornick cast the lone no vote. He was concerned that the show would become "an annual budget item" before the city knew what a sensible amount to spend would be. Lewis suggested sponsorships to recover some of the cost. Buellton Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Kathy Vreeland said that was possible but "a big ask" for local businesses.
The drone show itself will settle Hornick's question. If Winter Fest draws a crowd this year, the cost will be easier to justify next year.
Sunday Is Now a Full Day
Buellton has built a full day around the drone show. Winter Fest runs from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., per the Central Coast Tourism Council listing.
- Breakfast with Santa at the Buellton Rec Center is ticketed and needs a reservation. There are two seatings, 9 to 10 a.m. and 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.
- The Holiday Village at River View Park opens in the afternoon. It is free and has vendors, music, beer and wine, and 20 tons of snow.
- The Christmas tree lighting is at 5:30 p.m., closing out the valley's four nights of tree lightings.
The same park also hosts the Santa Ynez Valley Holiday Lights Festival, a separate ticketed event that benefits the Santa Ynez Valley Botanic Garden. Its first weekend is December 4 to 6. It returns December 11 to 13 and December 18 to 20, open 5 to 9 p.m. each of those nights, so Winter Fest falls on the festival's opening weekend.
According to the festival's ticket page, advance tickets are $30 for ages 13 and up and $15 for ages 12 and under. At the door they are $35 and $20, and children 2 and under get in free. Inside the garden you'll find lights, Santa photos, falling snow, a holiday market, food and drink, marshmallow roasting, entertainment, and children's rides including a mini Polar Express. Alcohol sales are 21 and over.
That means on December 6, one Buellton park has a free village, a tree lighting, a drone show and a ticketed light garden next door. No other town's night in the sequence packs in as much.
Solvang Adds Firsts of Its Own
Solvang's season is longer than the four-night sequence. Julefest runs from Friday, November 27, 2026 through Sunday, January 3, 2027, and Solvang says this year's edition has "some new facets." Two are labeled new, and both fall on the weekend after the tree lightings.
Julefest & Kultur, the Solvang Museum Crawl, Saturday, December 12. Solvang calls the crawl "a first for Solvang." Four museums offer holiday extras for visitors who make it to each one.
- The Hans Christian Andersen Museum, above The Book Loft, hosts Elsa from Frozen from 11 a.m. to noon, with story time at 11:15.
- The Elverhøj Museum of History & Art is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. with three scavenger hunts, child-friendly axe throwing, Danish corn hole, a Viking rune activity, Danish Christmas crafts, and Bjørn Wiinblad's art in the gallery. Picnics are welcome on the rear lawn.
- The California Nature Art Museum, home to Thomas Dambo's troll Lulu Hyggelig, has hands-on crafts, a S'mores Cart from 3 to 5 p.m., and Santa Barbara's DJ Darla Bea from 1 to 4 p.m.
- The Solvang Viking Museum covers the history of the Viking Yulefest. Children ages 8 to 12 who complete a kids' Viking quiz get a Thor's Hammer necklace.
Elf The Musical, Friday and Saturday, December 11 and 12, at 6 p.m. A local student-led theater company performs it at Solvang Festival Theater with young performers from the valley.
The returning events fill out the rest of the calendar.
| Date | Event | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Saturdays, Nov. 28 and Dec. 5, 12, 19 | Christmas Matters Holiday Carolers | Downtown Solvang, 5 to 8 p.m., weather permitting |
| Wednesdays, Dec. 2, 9, 16, 23 | Julefest Maker's Market | Solvang Park, 3 to 7 p.m., next to the Solvang Farmers Market, rain or shine |
| Saturday, Dec. 12 | Photos with Santa Paws | Solvang Park, 10 a.m. to noon, Therapy Dogs of America's third year |
| Sunday, Dec. 13 | 43rd Annual Solvang Nativity Pageant | Santa Ynez Valley Presbyterian Church, 1825 Alamo Pintado Road, 4 p.m. |
| Thursday, Dec. 31 | Copenhagen Countdown | Solvang Park, 2 to 4 p.m., Molly Ringwald Project, Denmark's midnight at 3 p.m. |
| Friday, Jan. 8, 2027 | Solvang Christmas Tree Burn | 5 p.m., supervised by Santa Barbara County Fire, weather permitting |
Solvang ends its season with fire, and Mead had Solvang's fireworks in mind when she made the case for drones. Buellton's show comes almost five weeks earlier, on the closing night of the valley's tree-lighting run, December 6.
If you are weighing a property decision here this season, from a quiet sale to a second home near Los Olivos or Solvang, Locale Group would be glad to talk it through between tree lightings. Request a confidential consultation.
