By Misty Cryer
The Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce has added a multitude of new “enhancements” to the Christmas on the Pecos experience—for locals and tourists alike.
Last week’s edition of the Carlsbad Local presented a preview of the weekend events added to Christmas on the Pecos over the last four years. Additional enhancements to the event include expanded decorations, new attractions, a new boat, and the introduction of Christmas on the Pecos mascots, with goals for future improvements. Weekday discounts on boat rides are offered for locals, along with potential advertising opportunities for local businesses.
“We had about 44,000 people come last year for Christmas on the Pecos,” said Jill Barkley, Tourism Director for the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce. “That is just how many people were in the park area from December 1 to December 31,” she said, explaining that five days were missed because the event started on November 25, and analytics become available on December 1. “Of those 44,000 people, 70% of them were non-local, so that’s huge for tourism in Carlsbad,” she added.
“We are still trying to get our local people out there because we want them to experience what we did for Carlsbad,” said Barkley. “We encourage our locals to come out Monday through Thursday. We give a discounted rate; it’s only $10 for the county residents to come out Monday through Thursday,” she said.
“This really isn’t Christmas on the Pecos specific, but we will have it for Christmas on the Pecos: we purchased a mobile tourism kiosk,” said Barkley. She said the advertising options are not “set in stone,” but the hopes are that local establishments will advertise on the kiosk, potentially offering a discount for people who attended the event by showing a ticket without having to print coupons, adding that the kiosk will be used in other events as well. “We have a really great visitor guide,” Barkley said, for people who really do not like that type of technology.
“Last year, we had kind of a revision of our logo for Christmas on the Pecos, and we introduced a new mascot, which is kind of strange that, you know, for 32 years, Christmas on the Pecos had been happening and didn’t have a mascot,” said Barkley. The two mascots are Ripple the Pecos Elf and his side-kick Chile the Road Runner, she said, adding that a plush version of Ripple the Pecos Elf will be in the ticket office.
“Another thing new this year—we now have a third boat we’ve added to our fleet,” said Barkley. “We purchased a smaller boat that only seats 14 people—sometimes people just want a more intimate setting—this is a brand-new pontoon boat; it’s got more luxury seating,” she said. The new boat, the Pecos Diamond, is an addition to the large boats in the fleet, the Rudolph and the Noel. Due to feedback received that the Rudolph was a little too crowded when seating 65, Barkley said, “I’ve knocked that down to 60 this year because, again, I do want people to have a pleasurable experience when they are out there and enjoy Christmas on the Pecos.” She said the Noel seats 50. “Last season, we made some huge additions to some decorations that were in the park, so when you get on the boat, there’s a few decorations that we have by the golf course. There was really nothing to see until you get down to the train bridge, so I felt like that whole west side of the park was dark, and I really wanted to do something in the park, so we bought the 26-foot musical animated Christmas tree that sits on the island that kind of ties the two sides together,” said Barkley.
Other enhancements mentioned by Barkley include a light maze, a light tunnel, mountains with lights that sync to Christmas music, Elf Town featuring nine miniature elf houses, an 18-foot dome, a smaller dome, a Santa sleigh, and other photo ops, with added lights to the new walking bridge and the rocket slide. “We added a 16-passenger train so people can take a 15-minute ride through the park,” she said.
Barkley said that people who don’t want to take the train ride can walk through the maze, light tunnel, and Elf Town. “That stuff is totally free,” she said, adding, “The train is just a little special if you want to do something extra. It’s only $5 to ride the train; it’s just a little kiddie train. I’m not trying to nickel and dime people. We want people to really come out and enjoy the experience, and we want our local people to come out.”
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