North County Chamber Cancels Holiday Festival

The San Diego North Chamber of Commerce has decided to cancel the Carmel Mountain Ranch Holiday Festival, set for Dec. 4, due to unexpectedly high costs not likely to be covered by festival revenue.

"This is just such a big loss for us that we don't want to continue with it [to] the detriment of taking away from our other members," Chamber President Debra Rosen said.

"Costs have gone up so much it just came down to dollars and cents."

Rosen, after evaluating the projected costs with street fair staff and getting the input of some board members, decided on Friday to cancel the festival.

The holiday event, which displays hundreds of vendors and showcases local performers on a stretch of Carmel Mountain Road, was expected to draw 15,000 visitors this year. Rosen estimated that the festival,, cost about $30,000 to put on but didn't come close to drawing that much revenue.

"It doesn't even come close and we can't justify taking money out of our membership to subsidize a street fair that doesn't benefit the members directly," Rosen said.

About 70 vendors had signed up to participate and all will receive full refunds in the next few days, she said. Booth rental costs ranged from $112 to $175 for chamber members, and from $475 to $600 for nonmembers. Arts and crafts booths were $125.

Rosen cited the increased costs of police staffing, barricades, restrooms and other items in the decision to cancel the festival, which is one of the chamber's smaller events. San Diego Womens Week is the chamber's largest annual event, followed by RB Alive!