SLO County Christmas market is one of most overcrowded in U.S., study says. Where it ranks

A sprawling, vividly lit Christmas Market in San Luis Obispo County gets plenty of praise for its display of 3 million holiday lights and much more, but it recently achieved a dubious distinction.

The festive show in Cambria was ranked No. 14 on a list of 15 most overcrowded Christmas markets.

The study of more than 100 markets in North America reportedly was based on reviews posted on Yelp in November. Compilers searched reviews that included the key words of busy, busiest, crowded and overcrowded.

Those researchers work for an unlikely company to launch that kind of survey: The Canada Sports Betting website.

The site plugs the firm’s more-than-a-decade of being “a one-stop source for all things related to the online sportsbook, casino, poker and racebook betting industry.”

There may be a link there somewhere with the Christmas market, but it’s hiding.

This isn’t the first time a San Luis Obispo County entity has been singled out by an unlikely alliance between an analysis and its analyzers.

In September, Cambria was touted as being one of the most Instagrammable towns in America in a survey by the Temporary Dumpster company.

Sure, through the years SLO County’s cities have piled up so many mentions on assorted “best of” list, the honors can tend to blur in residents’ memories — and in Google.

So why do companies go so far from their own fields for surveys like this?

As the old saw goes, all PR is better than none, right?

It’s all in the name of marketing, according to a Temporary Dumpster vice president.

“Our marketing team does things like this for fun little articles to get our name out there,” Ben Reed said.

Cambria’s annual Christmas Market is underway

The Cambria Christmas Market has had lots of national and local press for years, from competing on ABC’s “Great Christmas Light Fight” contest in 2019 to making Fodor magazine’s 2020 “Quaintest Christmas Villages” list.

The market’s county permit limits attendance to 3,000 per night from the day after Thanksgiving to Dec. 31, with tickets valid only for a specific date.

That total still can constitute a crowd, especially around the vendor and food areas, Santa’s abode and perennial selfie settings, such as the Golden Gate Bridge and Christmas Tunnel displays.

This year, the market put on by Winter Event Productions increased its light count by 50%, raising the accumulated wattage to 3 million lights from 2 million in 2023. Gates are open from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Tickets are selling out; find them here.

Market organizers were upbeat about the survey results, they said in an email Wednesday to The Tribune.

“It looks like we are in good company! Those are some of the best Christmas Markets in the United States,” General Manager Mike Arnold said after reviewing the list of 15 mentioned in the survey.



“In all seriousness, we work hard each year to create a fun and memorable event for our guests,” he said. “There are always a couple of nights out of the year, including opening weekend and closing weekend, that are particularly popular with our guests and can feel more crowded than other nights.”

Survey says overcrowding is a hallmark of holiday shopping

“Whether you hate it or love it, Christmas shopping is an inevitable December activity, and as a result Christmas markets have exploded in popularity across the U.S. and Canada,” the gambling website said.

“Unfortunately, this means some of our favorite markets have become too crowded to actually get any shopping done,” the site said. “Nobody wants to be caught in the horde of holiday shoppers while on the hunt for their gifts, so we researched the markets in Canada and the USA with the biggest overcrowding issues.”

However, the event that captured the not-so-coveted top spot was the Christkindlmarkt Chicago.

More than 38% of the Yelp comments about the Christkindlmarkt studied included the key words listed above.

The full list is:

1. Christkindlmarkt Chicago (Chicago)
2. Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park (New York City)
3. Carmel Christkindlmarkt (Carmel, Indiana)
4. Enchant St. Petersburg (St. Petersburg, Florida)
5. Toronto Christmas Market (Toronto)
6. Union Square Christmas Market (New York City)
7. Leavenworth Christkindlmarkt (Leavenworth, Washington)
8. Christmas Village in Philadelphia (Philadelphia)
9. Chelsea Market (New York City)
10. Columbus Circle Holiday Market, (New York City)
11. The Great Dickens Christmas Fair, (Daly City, California)
12. Vancouver Christmas Market, (Vancouver, Canada)
13. Downtown D.C. Holiday Market at Penn Quarter, (Washington D.C.)
14. Cambria Christmas Market, (Cambria)
15. Denver Christkindl Market (Denver)

Kathe Tanner

The Tribune

805-781-7904 (voicemails only)

Kathe Tanner has been writing about the people and places of SLO County’s North Coast since 1981, first as a columnist and then also as a reporter. Her career has included stints as a bakery owner, public relations director, radio host, trail guide and jewelry designer. She has been a resident of Cambria for more than four decades, and if it’s happening in town, Kathe knows about it.