Sunset magazine writer Peter Fish had a stellar time walking Fresno's Christmas Tree Lane last year and the result is a charming feature in the latest issue. Here is a little excerpt:
If you grew up in the suburban West, you've probably seen other Christmas Tree Lanes. They don't prepare you for Fresno's. It happens that I'm visiting on one of the lane's pedestrian-only Walk Nights. As I shuffle with the crowd, which tonight numbers about 10,000, I get the strange feeling we're all crossing some border into Christmas, a foreign land with its own language and customs and visa requirements...It's difficult, in the confines of a magazine page, to list all the components of [Dean] Alexander's Christmas display. I see chugging trains, Mickey Mouse, clock towers, and colored laser beams illuminating a blizzard of artificial snow.
"My family thinks I'm a fanatic," Alexander says. I think, Your family might be onto something. But I also think, If you can't be fanatical about Christmas, what can you be fanatical about?
We stand admiring the falling fake snow and flashing lasers. Alexander says he doesn't mind when the lane shuts down December 26. "It's a demanding job."
Just then, an older woman steps onto his lawn. She looks as if she wants to complain — about the crowds, the lights, the energy use. She wants to know who is responsible for this display. Alexander says, "I am."
"God bless you," says the woman. The spirit of Christmas has triumphed for another year.
To read the entire article, click here.
I go down Christmas Tree Lane every year and there are some nice displays but many are the same as they have been for years. It really bugs me that they have find the reindeers and the names are spelled incorrectly. I have alot of typos but Ireally can spell. I would like to attempt the walk this year if I am physically able. It seems like it would be fun. It is also quite beautiful on Cindy Lane and the surrounding streets. It is off Alluvial just east of Peach I think the first or second street east of Peach.
Don't go unless your driving an SUV at least 4 feet off the ground.
All the soccor Moms with their kids block the views.
Just a word of warning.
The above comment by Jackie indicated that the reindeer on the Lane was spelled incorrectly. For clarification, Donder not Donner is correct spelling for Santa Reindeer, which is how it is spelled on Christmas Tree Lane. The poem by Clements Clarke Moore called “A Visit from St. Nicholas” popularly know as “Twas the Night Before Christmas” spells the Reindeer as Donder.
Great article it is a wonderful holiday celebration. The walk nights are my favorite.But a little recognition to the man" Shawn Caglia" who has been putting up the lights on the trees himself for the past twenty years would have been nice.
Great article. I grew up in Fresno and Christmas Tree Lane has always been a tradition. However I was a little dismayed to read in the article that all the work was done by volunteers. I happen to know that Shawn Caglia of Caglia Plumbing and Electric has been putting up the lights on the trees for over 20 years. While the volunteers are certainly responsible for keeping the lane open, they shouldn't ignore the contributaion of Mr. Caglia and his employees.