Neighbors Creating Holiday Magic On Candy Cane Lane In Pleasanton Since 1953

PLEASANTON (KPIX) - Neighbors on one East Bay street have been spreading holiday cheer every year since 1953. They call it Candy Cane Lane, but according to the city of Pleasanton, it's actually Walnut Drive – a dead end street not far from downtown.

The street has it's own radio station playing holiday music to get everyone in the spirit of the season.

"This is amazing. This is my first time coming here. One of my friends posted about it on Instagram, and wow. I didn't know this existed," says Bobby Simcock from Dublin. He brought is wife and two and a half year old daughter, Adeline, to see the lights.

"What does it feel like Adeline? Wow! That's so magical!" exclaimed Adeline's mom.

"To see her face, it's just amazing to see her face light up and so energetic and embrace the whole Christmas experience, it's really a true gift," said Simcock.

"We like sitting up on the porch, and waving, and saying hi to folks, and showing them a little bit of snow out of our snowman, because it does snow here on Candy Cane Lane," said Renee and Shareef Mahdavi.

They both came to visit Candy Cane Lane with their children when they were little. Once their kids left the house for college, they ended up moving to Walnut Drive, with the understanding that with home ownership on this street comes the obligation to decorate.

"We can neither confirm nor deny the funds that have been spent and allocated toward decorating, but let's just say, we do it joyfully," says Shareef.

"Everyone is really coordinated. You can really tell they've put a lot of effort into it, so it's much appreciated. This is incredible," said Rahim Shakoor. It was his first time visiting with his wife and son, who will be two years old in January.

"It's really cool. I live around here and it's really fun to walk down here every year and we do it multiple times," said Casey Bailey, who was out walking the lane with his daughter Chloe.

"Last year was insane. So far this year, we see pretty much the same. People want to get out. They want to connect, and it's these little decorations in our yard that seem to be doing that," said Shareef.

"No matter what's going on, there's always joy to be found and we can share that in all kinds of ways," says Renee.

The only time houses on Candy Cane Lane weren't decorated with lights was during the energy crisis in the 1970s.

Candy Cane Lane is open to cars and pedestrians every day from 5:30pm to 10pm