Fullerton’s official holiday kickoff — multicultural performances, food vendors along Highland Avenue, a classic car show on Amerige, and the tree lighting at City Hall, all paired with a toy drive for kids in need.
Each December, the City of Fullerton kicks off its holiday season with an Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony on the City Hall grounds. The evening pairs a multicultural community program with a downtown street activation along Highland Avenue and Amerige Avenue — it’s both a tree lighting and a Fullerton Saturday-night street fair.
Families gather on the City Hall lawn for the program itself, which features Teen Mariachi groups, K-Nanta Drummers, and other local performers — a multicultural mix that reflects Fullerton’s broader community character. Food vendors line Highland Avenue through the evening, and a classic car show takes over Amerige Avenue. The event is anchored by a toy drive for children in need throughout the OC area.
For families in Fullerton, the Coyote Hills and Sunny Hills neighborhoods, and the broader north OC area, this is the season’s official opening.
On the Fullerton City Hall lawn at 303 W. Commonwealth Avenue, with the broader event spilling onto Highland Avenue and Amerige Avenue.
The event typically runs 5–9 PM in early December. The official tree lighting ceremony takes place during that window; the surrounding street activation runs throughout.
Yes — the city collects new, unwrapped toys and new youth pajamas for kids in need at the event each year. Drop-off tables are at the City Hall entrance.
Yes — food vendors line Highland Avenue through the evening. A classic car show fills Amerige Avenue alongside.
Yes — the Fullerton Transportation Center is a few blocks south of City Hall and serves Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner and Metrolink’s Orange County and 91/Perris Valley lines. From the station it’s a short walk north up Harbor Boulevard or Pomona Avenue to the Civic Center. Among north OC holiday events, this is one of the easier ones to reach without a car.
Fullerton City Hall stands at 303 W. Commonwealth Avenue — a Civic Center campus that anchors downtown Fullerton between the Fullerton Public Library and the Police Department. Downtown Fullerton itself runs along Commonwealth and Harbor with intact early-20th-century commercial buildings, the historic Fox Theatre, and Cal State Fullerton just up the road. The Fullerton Transportation Center (Amtrak Pacific Surfliner + Metrolink) sits a few blocks south, making downtown one of north OC’s most transit-accessible.
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