Candy Cane Lane brings thousands to community

By Shaamini Yogaretnam

CRESTWOOD — A west-Edmonton holiday tradition is bringing heavy foot- and vehicle-traffic into the Crestwood neighbourhood.

Candy Cane Lane, a staple in Edmontonians’ December activities, turned on the lights on Dec. 9. It attracts thousands of spectators every holiday season.

On a typical night, dozens of cars are lined up between 149 Street and 148 Street, waiting to get on to the lane, which spans from 92 Avenue to 100 Avenue along 148 Street. Although most residents on the street are willing participants in the merriment, some have opted not to string lights or put up lawn displays. There are quite a few dark gaps along the lane where not a light is seen, not even a bulb.

Those who do participate know that during the holiday season they’ll have to sacrifice their quiet residential neighbourhood and the ease of travelling on their street after dark.

“It’s a busy time,” said Angelee Zon, the vice-president of the Crestwood Community League. “We just exit out of the Crestwood community on the east side because we know the west side will have traffic on it.”

As the lane grew as an attraction, the city of Edmonton began to offer support to the residents to help deal with the number of people that come through the neighbourhood.

“The city’s been very good about it,” said Kees Den Hartigh, a resident and organizer of Candy Cane Lane.

The city provides garbage cans and helps with traffic control. This year, the city offered to help with snow removal so that guests could continue to walk and drive the lane, but fortunately the weather hasn’t been as much of an issue as it was in years past.

For the most part, the lane and its residents run themselves, said Zon. The activities on the street are a Christmas-lover’s dream, but require a lot of work from the neighbourhood and its resident elves.

The trouble with traffic and noise is definitely a concern on the lane but vandalism and theft are at a minimum.

“You get a few Grinches or people that say ‘Bah Humbug’ every year,” Zon said. “Overall, considering the thousands of people that walk up and down the street, it’s a safe and fun event.”

Candy Cane Lane has made a deliberate effort to keep the grassroots charm of the event and not turn the season into a moneymaking venture.

“Residents aren’t keen on turning this into a major festival,” Den Hartigh said. “We don’t want this [to be] a commercial strip.”

The move to keep the commercialism of Christmas away has involved saying no to advertising bids and not allowing sales on on the street. The community’s decisions have maintained the neighbourhood magic of the lane.

Zon thinks this small-scale, neighbourly attitude may have something to do with the low incidence of trouble.

“Certainly, it brings extra people. Mostly I think the feeling is we’re proud of it,” Zon said. “The people that live on Candy Cane Lane have just come to accept that for the four weeks of the season, they can’t park in front of their house.”

It’s a small price to pay for the amount of joy brought by each night’s illumination.

In addition to the lights, guests can walk the lane, book a sleigh ride and drink hot chocolate from a friendly stand run by the Price girls, who donate their proceeds to the SPCA.

Candy Cane Lane will keep its lights on until midnight on Jan. 2, 2012. In lieu of an admission fee, the lane asks that you bring a non-perishable food donation for Edmonton’s Food Bank.

If you can’t make it to the lane in person, take a look at the sights and hear the sounds of the busy street on opening weekend.

 yogaretnams@mymail.macewan.ca