With Thanksgiving now behind us and Christmas right around the corner, the holiday spirit is already buzzing among businesses and Christmas Market goers in the small town of Cambria.
Friday evening, the Cambria Christmas Market made its debut for 2022, and ahead of its opening, city streets could be seen filling up quickly with cars, tourists and locals ringing in the holiday season.
"I definitely notice the difference. There is way more people in the town right now, even compared to last week," said Pete Anderson, who lives in Cambria.
"I'd say it is almost bumper-to-bumper traffic for once in Cambria, and that is due to the Christmas Market up the hill," Aaron Linn, owner of Linn's Restaurant told KSBY.
Linn says the yearly market brings a big boost to local businesses in town, especially during the weeks in-between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
"The Christmas Market kind of brings us business when after this Thanksgiving week is up," Linn admitted. "Like next week, early December is typically quiet, but with the Christmas Market it kind of continues."
Tickets to the market can be purchased online for prices ranging between $15 and $20.
Richard Dorman, who was in Cambria this week from Northern California, says he made sure to secure tickets for his group more than three months in advance.
"We come down every year to have Thanksgiving with friends of ours in Paso, and we heard about this last year, but we were too late to get tickets, so we made sure we got tickets early on," Dorman said.
Other tourists say they were too late in securing their admission for opening night.
"All the tickets were just sold out, it has been really busy," said Shawn DeGuzman, of Monrovia, California,
But DeGuzman says that didn't stop them from enjoying their holiday getaway.
"We are just hanging out, exploring the area. We went to a couple beaches, went on a little hike, went shopping a little bit and just ate some food," DeGuzman told KSBY.
And while Cambria dad Pete Anderson says he wasn't planning on attending the Christmas Market Friday evening, he admits he has been relieved to see an influx of activity in his hometown.
"I highly recommend to anybody sitting on the fence, come check out Cambria! Come downtown, come support the local businesses," Anderson said.
The Cambria Christmas Market continues through December 23. On days that are not sold out, tickets to the market can also be purchased at the door, with free admission for children five years and younger.
