Exploring De-Lights at Woodland Hills’ Candy Cane Lane
Even before the sun goes down on Candy Cane Lane, there is ample activity in the neighborhood. Every few houses someone is on a ladder shoring up a light display, or swinging a mallet to pound a giant lollypop or candy cane into the ground. A flattened herd of nylon reindeer slowly fills with air. Folks hum Christmas carols as they set up a cocoa and cookies fundraising table for Topanga Canyon Elementary School.
After night falls, the Woodland Hills neighborhood surrounding the intersection of Lubao & Oxnard becomes an electric holiday fairyland. A beloved San Fernando Valley community tradition, Candy Cane Lane homeowners have provided this festive feast of lights since 1952.
Reverent nativities twinkle across the lawn from cavorting Sponge Bob characters. Projection installations give a multicolored planetarium effect to giant trees. A locomotive parked at Hatteras and Lubao spits out an impressive cloud of steam every minute.
Benefits to Exploring on Foot
Although weekend nights can be packed with traffic, exploring Candy Cane Lane by car is de rigeur. Puttering along at 5 mph gives every traveler a chance to “ooh and ahh.” You can listen to Christmas carols on the car stereo or belt out a few of your own, but consider getting out and strolling around as well. You won’t want to miss the Santa Sleigh photo opp, walking under the “Magical Tree,” or the feeling you get when carloads of kids poke their heads out of windows and shout “Merry Christmas” to you.
The Granada Hills High School Marching Band will perform their annual carol through the streets. Have a cup of cocoa or a cookie for a worthy cause, and come on out for an uplifting family experience, happening right in our own front yards.
Candy Cane Lane
https://www.woodlandhillscc.net/candy_cane_lane.html
Location: Intersection of Lubao St. & Oxnard St.
Hours: until 10pm weeknights and 11pm on weekends,
second Saturday in December through the end of the year.
