The city’s historic Old Poway Park turns back the clock for a holiday celebration that now spans two weekends.
Holiday Movie in the Park
Grab your PJs and bring a blanket down to Old Poway Park on Saturday, Dec. 7 for a family friendly event featuring the holiday movie, The Polar Express! The movie starts at sunset, but there will be train rides (see fare information), photo opportunities, and milk and cookies with Santa from 4 to 6 p.m.
Christmas in the Park
The following weekend, Santa leaves his sled at home and arrives via the railroad at the annual Christmas in the Park from 3:30 to 8:30 p.m. both Friday, Dec. 13 and Saturday, Dec. 14. This old-fashioned holiday tradition includes a tree-lighting ceremony (6 p.m. on Friday), visits/photos with Santa, caroling, live music, horse-drawn hayrides, and night-time rides around the park on the Poway Midland Railroad.
Admission is free and children of all ages can take part in free crafts and view the model train display. Train rides and/or decorating gingerbread cookies are offered for a nominal fee. Shop for unique handmade originals by our artisan's located on the boardwalk around the Hamburger Factory. We are excited to introduce the Children’s Entrepreneur Market, a non-profit empowering young entrepreneurs, featuring over 50 creative and unique booths.
We've reimagined the event layout to make the experience even more festive and family-friendly, and opened a sensory room to provide a quiet and welcoming space for visitors who need a moment of calm.
Santa Visits
New this year: we are introducing a ticketing system for visiting Santa to make your experience more enjoyable. Tickets can be purchased for $5 at the booth in the Carriage Turn, where you'll receive a designated return time to visit Santa. Your family's visit with Santa includes a souvenir photo and cookies from Dirty Dough in Poway. Santa visits begin at 6:30 p.m. on Friday (following the tree lighting ceremony) and run throughout the event (3:30 to 8:30 p.m.) on Saturday.
Interested in volunteering?
Please visit our volunteer sign up page for more information on our volunteer opportunities and to sign-up!
Shuttle Locations Available
Free Shuttles to and from the event will be available from two different locations. Locations include the Poway City Hall Parking Lot, 13325 Civic Center Drive; with the additional location at the Poway Adult School Parking lot located at 13626 Twin Peaks Road. Shuttles will run throughout the event.
Christmas in the Park is sponsored by the City of Poway and the Old Poway Park Action Committee.