Vista's Arts & Events Year
The year in Vista arts and events — Moonlight season, the Strawberry Festival, the farmers market and the tree lighting — in the order they come around.
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The year in Vista arts and events — Moonlight season, the Strawberry Festival, the farmers market and the tree lighting — in the order they come around.
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Vista packs an unusually deep arts-and-events calendar for its size — Broadway under the stars at the Moonlight, the Strawberry Festival, a Saturday farmers market, a couple dozen breweries and the December tree lighting — but it's scattered across a dozen sites. This is the year in one place: what comes around and roughly when, with a link to each organizer for exact dates and tickets.
In 139 days
Vista Christmas Parade
Early December (a Saturday) 2026 · Vista Chamber of Commerce
exact dates vary — confirm before you go
The decades-old community parade down Vista Village Drive — floats, school bands and marching groups. It marked its 67th year in 2025.
exact dates vary — confirm before you go
The downtown kickoff to the holidays — the tree lighting by the Cinépolis theatres, student choral and dance performances, and holiday character visits.
Late April – September 2027 · Brengle Terrace Park
exact dates vary — confirm before you go
The city-run outdoor amphitheatre's summer season — 'Broadway's Best Under the Stars' (2026 is the 45th) plus the 'Moonlight Presents' concert, tribute and family nights. Shows run most weeks from late spring into early fall.
Bring a picnic and a jacket — it's an outdoor venue and the evenings turn cold, even in summer. Gates open before showtime.
Late May (a Sunday) 2027 · Downtown Vista
exact dates vary — confirm before you go
Vista's marquee day and a nod to its strawberry-and-nursery roots: hundreds of vendors, five music stages, carnival rides, a 5k/10k, international food and a beer-and-wine court. Free to walk in; some activities are paid.
How these dates work
Fixed dates — feast days, holidays — recur every year and are worked out forward from today, so this stays right without updates. Dates marked as approximate move year to year. The exact hours, and whether an event runs at all in a given year, are set by the host: confirm with them before you set out.
Fuller calendars: Moonlight Stage Productions — The full Broadway and Moonlight Presents season, with exact dates and tickets. · Vista Farmers Market — Every Saturday, 8 a.m.–noon at the County Courthouse lot — the county's longest-running market, rain or shine. · Downtown Vista — What's on downtown — events, the AVO Playhouse, dining and the 'Hop Highway 78' craft-brewery cluster.
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