Fall refresh in Carlsbad Village

Christine Davis
Executive Director
Carlsbad Village Association

Carlsbad Village has long been home to colorful street banners that hang year-round on light poles throughout the downtown area. During the holidays the street banners are changed out for seasonal designs featuring festive wreaths on doors, cups of hot cocoa, and even snowmen on the beach. Street banners blend into our cityscape, so well sometimes that we forget they are there, but they continue to act as a visible community messaging system.

During the pandemic, the city installed “Mask Up” street banners both in and outside of the Village as an effective health-related public service campaign. Most, if not all, cities did the same, knowing that banners are an effective way to deliver a consistent message. But when the blue and white banners finally came down, they left behind a visual void that was just begging to be filled. But this time the goal was to fill that space with images to promote what we love and cherish the most about Carlsbad. And the goal was to do this using mostly photos taken by local photographers. Back in October 2021, the Carlsbad Village Association assumed management of the banner program on behalf of the City of Carlsbad and in early 2022 new, vibrant banners sporting images of our iconic flower fields, beaches, nature trails, and even a Shop Local and Dine Local message started to appear not only in the Village but in some of the retail and commercial districts throughout the city.

This month, additional poles in every district in the city were incorporated into the program and now also play host to the colorful street banners. There will be a total of 195 banners in the program upon completion. To keep things fresh, you will notice that amongst the street banners that promote our active beach culture and love of the outdoors, we have added new fall-themed images to welcome in the season. With our 70-degree weather and bright blue skies, it is sometimes hard to embrace fall like Chicagoans do, so we are hoping that the images of pumpkin pie and children enjoying the season provide a bit of encouragement.

In just a couple months you will start to see the fall and year-round banners replaced with holiday-themed banners. The Carlsbad Village Association is currently working with local photographers to curate new images.

If you are interested in submitting an image for review, please contact [email protected] for image requirements.

As you are shopping and dining in the Village, the Forum, Bressi Ranch, or elsewhere in the city, stop and look up to enjoy one of the many different images promoting the best of Carlsbad. It is our goal that the banners flying high above will always put a smile on your face.