Cambria Pines Lodge kicks off holiday lights display amid COVID-19. Here’s what to expect
COVID-19 may have canceled the popular Cambria Christmas Market in 2020, but Cambria Pines Lodge is offering community members different ways to view its famous holiday lights display.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the hotel’s Lights at Cambria Pines show was originally offered only to guests staying at the Lodge and other Moonstone Properties lodgings from Friday through Jan. 2. The holiday display is closed on Dec. 24 and 25, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Recently, Cambria Pines Lodge added dinnertime diners to the list of people who can see the show. That happened around the same time San Luis Obispo County sank back into the state’s purple tier of COVID-19 restrictions, which requires restaurants to stop serving meals indoors.
To see Lights at Cambria Pines, a limited number of people can make dinner reservations at the Lodge for a show night and pay a cover charge — about $20 per person, with a four-guest minimum. (The cover charge does not include the cost for the meals.)
After enjoying dinner, diners can stroll through the light show, a a revised version of previous years’ Cambria Christmas Market.
According to cambriachristmasmarket.com/dining, the cover charge for groups of four diners is $80 and $160 for groups of eight. Table reservations are only available for four or eight people due to COVID-19 guidelines, and the Lodge is unable to accommodate other reservation counts.
Those arriving for dinner by vehicle who want to park on Cambria Pines Lodge property also will have to make onsite parking reservations — one reservation per table for four diners, two per table for eight. Carpooling is recommended. Additional public parking is available at the Brambles in East Village, but no offsite shuttles are provided this year.
As long as the county remains in the COVID-19 purple tier, Lodge dining accommodations will be in the outdoor restaurant or outdoor tent dining areas.
All guests must wear masks while on the property, and other health and safety precautions will be strictly observed and enforced, the hotel said.
Thousands of people have visited the Cambria Christmas Market each year during the holiday season for nearly a decade. But mounting such an ambitious display for that many people just wasn’t feasible or safe during the COVID-19 pandemic
What to expect at Cambria Pines Lodge holiday lights
As organizers explained, “Although the display will be a smaller footprint than normal, overnight guests will still be able to celebrate the magic of the holidays in a more intimate setting, enjoying more than 2 million lights, while still socially distancing.”
According to the Lights at Cambria Pines website, “The display area will have a one-way path, a reduced number of guests, and there will be increased sanitization procedures for all shared areas. Masks will be required for all employees and guests while in the light display area.”
The display will still include the popular Tunnel of Lights, as well as a glowing replica of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge and giant lit-up ornaments.
Santa will be busy in his workshop area. Youngsters can wave at the jolly gent and drop off letters to the head elf. Santa also can pose in the background for photos, according to Cambria Pines Lodge owner Dirk Winter, but there won’t be any in-person visits.
Booths will offer beverages, plus food including authentic German treats, pizza, sweets and other treats.
Winter said retail booths will offer ornaments, German smokers, German Santas, nutcrackers, puzzles and games, small carved animals, blankets and light-up toys for kids.
The train ride and some other activities will not be available this year for guest safety, due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Some eagle-eyed people may also be able to briefly see portions of some displays from short portions of Burton Drive, Eton Drive and other areas. Those “glimpses will be very limited this year,” Winter said.
The holiday glow from the light show should shimmer over the hillside as usual.
For more information about Lights at Cambria Pines, visit cambriachristmasmarket.com/lights-at-cambria-pines-2.
This story was originally published November 30, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
