For the third consecutive Christmas season, the sidewalk outside the San Fernando home of Cesar and Kimberly Molina is illuminated with a “candy cane” archway.
The local couple and their equally festive neighbors – who live on either side of the Molina house on Kewen Street, off Brand Boulevard – all enjoy decorating their homes with bright, colorful lights and an array of Christmas decorations. This year, the trio of homes upped the ante by recently hosting a free “Kewen Cane Lane” neighborhood celebration.
Families strolled under the archway, viewed the neighborhood decorations, and enjoyed free cookies and hot chocolate while taking photos with the Grinch and Santa Claus, who each made a special appearance.
“What a blessing it was to see all the kids excited to see Santa,” recounted Kimberly, who dressed up as an elf and enjoyed the festivities alongside the couple’s two youngest daughters. “To hear [the kids] tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas was the best. It brings so much joy to my heart. I look forward to [creating] many more traditions like this.”
Cesar and his neighbors estimate that close to 1,500 people attended the Dec. 12 event, most from San Fernando, and others said they were visiting from Chatsworth, Reseda, Santa Clarita and even as far as Palmdale. The great turnout inspired him to make it an annual tradition.
“It does get expensive,” – given the cost of electricity, decorations and treats, he acknowledged. “Next year, we might ask for a little help from local sponsors or something like that.”
The Molinas said they hope more neighbors join in to try to “make it a little bit bigger and a little bit better every year.”
“It’s very satisfying to see people come out and hear people say positive things – that feedback is really inspiring, especially from the children,” said Cesar, who noted that several kids said they loved seeing all the lights and decorations, especially because they didn’t have any at their own homes.
“Hearing those comments … and seeing the smiles on the kids’ faces is really great,” he said.
The Molinas were originally inspired to start doing something a bit grander for the holidays “because we were seeing fewer and fewer people celebrating Christmas.”
“We just wanted to inspire more people to get into the Christmas spirit,” he said. “With all the negative stuff going on in the world, all the things that we really can’t control, we just wanted to do something to help people have a more positive outlook here in the city of San Fernando.”
The Molina home is located at 713 Kewen Street in San Fernando. The “Kewen Cane Lane” neighborhood decorations will remain on display through the end of the Christmas season.
I remember when I was a child in Guadalajara, Mexico. That we used to celebrate Xmas time by participating in the neighborhood parties close to our local church. It was a festive time with food games and fireworks. Not sure why they don’t practice those traditions here since our Hispanic heritage is big and some of the areas in Los Angeles county.