As city leaders decide to keep a popular San Jose holiday event downtown under the same management through 2027, organizers say funding remains challenging.
The San Jose City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to sign a three-year deal with Christmas In The Park Inc. to continue running the 35-day event in Plaza de Cesar Chavez — with the possibility of extending the agreement another six years. While Christmas in the Park drives almost $20 million in revenue per year for the city and its downtown businesses, the 44-year-old San Jose event continues to struggle with consistent funding.
Organizers needed $100,000 just last year after three key sponsors pulled out because of poor economic conditions.
Mayor Matt Mahan recommended exploring an alternative site where the event can safely accommodate its 700,000 annual visitors. He asked city employees to evaluate other downtown park locations such as Arena Green and the Guadalupe River Trail, as well as St. James Park or Discovery Meadow, which may be more suitable for the visitor experience.
“No one should be surprised that we could look at other venues, whether downtown or elsewhere,” he said at the meeting.
Debbie Degutis, managing director of Christmas in the Park, said she doesn’t feel pressured by Mahan’s order to explore new locations. Organizers are focused on addressing their budget deficit.
“Christmas in the Park has an immediate need to make up our $250,000 deficit, and that has our attention,” she told San José Spotlight. “We look forward to discussions with our city partners to better understand the short and long-term vision for downtown during the holidays.”
The holiday event has been at Plaza De Cesar Chavez for half a century. Degutis said organizers know the park better than almost everyone else.
“It’s not clear yet what is solved by moving our event to another park,” she said.
City officials oversaw the operation of Christmas in the Park until 2011 when the event transitioned into a community-based model, with the help of longtime residents like Degutis whose focus is on keeping attendance free through fundraising efforts.
To help meet the event’s annual budget of $1.75 million, organizers plan to continue the drive-thru light show that premiered during the pandemic. The drive-thru light show generates about $300,000 annually. The planned site for the 2025 drive-thru is the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds.
City officials also provide Christmas in the Park organizers with about $500,000 in kind support, including a warehouse at the Central Service Yard for event storage and maintenance. It costs $750,000 to run the event. Along with the drive-thru light show, donations from the community continue to be Christmas in the Park’s biggest revenue source.
“We hope the community will step up with their support,” Degutis told San José Spotlight.
Contact Vicente Vera at [email protected] or follow @VicenteJVera on X.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.