ILLUMINATED FANTASIES
Illuminated spectacles add sparkle to winter’s chill
An illuminated 400-foot long dragon glows above the crowds at the Lantern Light Festival. This year’s festival will be held in Vallejo.
Every year, Bay Area homeowners like Frank Rehm — and fellow illumination engineers in the 14 other neighborhoods and popular destinations listed below — go to wonderfully over-the-top lengths to mount dazzling displays of holiday lights around their homes, gardens, parks and other outdoor spaces. For such displays, we can thank the British royals and an engineer from Thomas Edison’s shop for amplifying a centuries-old German tradition. Yes, according to Smithsonian magazine’s short history of why we love holiday lights, medieval Germans started placing candles on the Tannenbaum, or Christmas tree, to light the dark winter months. Prince Albert, the German husband of Queen Victoria, brought this tradition with him to England. When an engraving was published in 1848 showing Victoria, Albert and their children decorating a candlelit evergreen, the Christmas tree became an instant mainstay of middle-class households on both sides of the Atlantic. Of course, flickering candle flames were always a safety hazard, so Edison colleague Edward Hibberd Johnson invented a string of 80 electrified red, white and blue glass bulbs that he wrapped around a tree. Johnson followed up that brilliant idea by showing his tree to a reporter. “One can hardly imagine anything prettier,” wrote W.A. Croffut, a writer for the Detroit Post and Tribune. Some 135 years later, tens of millions of Americans routinely wrap strings of lights around their trees, homes and businesses for the holidays. Among them: Rehm, his wife and three adult sons, who will decorate their Antioch home and property with about 70,000 mostly red-and-white lights. For Rehm, creating “Candy Cane Lane” is a family and community tradition going back to the late 1990s. “We have kids in their 20s stopping by who don’t remember a Christmas without coming here,” Rehm said. “It’s neat to have this tradition going on.” Some Bay Area light displays are the work of entire neighborhoods, while others come courtesy of places like Woodside’s Filoli estate, the Oakland Zoo and the Santa Clara County Parks Department — and even a cemetery in Oakland. Here are some of the best holiday light shows in the Bay Area, some of which also offer visits with Santa and performances by local school choirs. Unless otherwise indicated, you can visit most of these nightly, after sundown and at no cost.
1 Candy Cane Lane Frank Rehm’s extravaganza is not the only reason to visit Camby Road in Antioch this holiday season. His neighbor Richard Confetti also decks his house with thousands of LED lights and provides a radio station playing music that people can tune into as they pass the light show. Rehm, a professional photographer, also takes photos of families with Santa for $10. Where and when: 2921 Camby Road, Antioch. Dusk to 10 p.m. weekdays and to 11 p.m. weekends Dec. 2 to Jan. 8. Rehm will take photos with Santa, Dec. 6-8, Dec. 13-15 and on Dec. 20, 21, 22 and 23. http:// californiachristmaslights.com. 2 Mattos Orchard Lights Like Rehm, J.R. Mattos is another in that rare class of passionate holiday-lights hobbyists, who go all out for the holidays. Every year, he and his family transform their San Jose apricot orchard into a North Pole-themed winter wonderland. Mattos promises that this year’s display will offer a big new surprise — which he won’t divulge until the switch is flipped. Where and when: 1545 Stone Creek Dr., San Jose, 5 to 10 p.m., Thanksgiving through Jan. 4. 3 Historic estate lights in Woodside The century-old Filoli estate in Woodside does the holidays in grand fashion, with elegantly decorated Christmas trees and other decorations filling the ballroom and other main rooms of the stately mansion. But what’s especially magical are the 15 miles of lights arrayed around Filoli’s worldrenowned, English country-inspired gardens. You can also take a break from strolling the extensive gardens with a visit to the holiday wine bar, located on the mansion’s terrace. Special holiday teas also are offered on select Tuesdays and Sundays. Where and when: 86 Cañada Road, Woodside. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. daily, with additional evening hours, 4-8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, Nov. 23 to Dec. 30. Filoli will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. $10-$35, https:// filoli.org.
4 Deacon Dave’s world-famous display Last year’s light show at Dave Rezendes’ Hillcrest Drive home in Livermore featured 610,000 lights, which is one reason that Casa del Pomba, or “House of the Dove,” has been showcased on cable and international TV. HGTV once ranked it among the biggest home displays in the United States. Every year, Renendez, a deacon for St. Michael Catholic Church, introduces a new theme, which he will announce this year on opening night, Nov. 30. This 37th annual display opens at 6:30 p.m with a colorful procession through surrounding streets that ends at Casa del Pomba. Where and when: 352 Hillcrest Drive, Livermore. Gates close at 9 p.m. but lights stay on until midnight. www.casadelpomba.com. 5 Christmas Tree Lane, Alameda Alameda’s Christmas Tree Lane is a co-operative effort put on by more than 50 homes. Local school bands and entertainers will perform on different nights throughout the season. Santa also will stop by on some nights. Where and when: 3200 block Thomson Avenue, between High Street and Fernside Boulevard, Alameda, Dec. 1 through New Year’s Eve. Santa will visit nightly from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Dec. 8 to Dec. 23. www.facebook.com/ christmastreelane 6 San Jose’s Christmas in the Park Once again, San Jose’s two-acre Plaza de Cesar Chavez will be transformed into a land of lights and holiday displays. Christmas in the Park also features visits with Santa and special events, including an opening night celebration and parade on Nov. 29. Where and when: Plaza de Cesar Chavez, daily, Nov. 29 through Jan. 5; www. christmasinthepark.com. Zoolights at the Oakland Zoo Hundreds of thousands of lights and laser light shows brighten trees and buildings around the zoo. Watch them while riding on the Outback Express Train or sailing over the zoo in a gondola up to the Landing Cafe, where you can warm up with hot cocoa. Santa also will be hanging out in his workshop most nights. Where and when: 9777 Golf Links Road, Oakland. 5:30-9 p.m., Dec. 6 through Jan. 5, closed Dec. 24 and 25. Admission $11-$12, www.oaklandzoo.org. 8 Los Gatos’ Fantasy of Lights Enjoy a 1.5-mile drive through a “fantasy land” of lights, animated figures and a 90-foot twinkling tree at Vasona Lake County Park. You can also walk through the park on Dec. 7 and 8, using 3-D glasses to enhance the visual experience. Where and when: The route starts at 333 Blossom Hill Road, Los Gatos; nightly from 6 to 10 p.m. The walk-thru is 4-9 p.m. Dec. 7 and 8, and tickets cost $5 for children, $10 for adults. The drive-thru runs from 6-10 p.m. Dec. 10 through Dec. 30, except on Christmas day, and costs $20 per car. You must purchase tickets in advance at the Santa Clara County Parks Department website. www. parkhere.org. 9 Merry-go-round The famous Tilden Park carousel becomes a winter wonderland during the holidays, with trees festooned with lights and Santa handing out candy canes. Special events include breakfasts with Santa and a Scoobydoo Happy New Year Dinner Celebration for kids from 5:30 to 8 p.m. on Dec. 31. Where and when: Tilden Regional Park, at the intersection of Central Park Drive and Lake Anza Road, Berkeley. Holiday celebrations begin Nov. 18 and continue through Jan. 6. Closed Dec. 24 and 25. From Dec. 2 to 23, the Merry-go-round is open 4-8:30 p.m. weekdays and noon-8:30 p.m. weekends. From Dec. 26 to Jan. 6, the Merry-go-round is open 11 a.m.-5 p.m. www. tildenparkmerrygoround.org.
10 Lights for the departed Visiting a graveyard at night might sound like a thing you’d only do for Halloween, but Oakland’s Mountain View Cemetery is noted for how it celebrates Christmas. Its creative light displays are shaped into skaters, snowmen, a toy train and a reindeer sleigh, as well as arrayed around buildings, arches and the cemetery’s front fountain. Where and when: Mountain View Cemetery, 5000 Piedmont Ave., Oakland; 5-9 p.m., Dec. 1 through Jan. 1. www.mountainviewcemetery. org. 11 & 12 California Christmas Lights must-sees The California Christmas Lights website (formerly known as Lights of the Valley) is the place to go to find homeowners in your Bay Area town who are getting into the holiday spirit. Some select homes on the site have earned the designation “must see” over the years. That means their owners are known for getting into the spirit big-time. http:// californiachristmaslights.com Where and when: Two particularly enchanting displays are at 3671 Chelsea Court, Pleasanton (aka “Widmer World”), 6-9 p.m., Dec. 1 to 31 http://widmer-world.com; and 467 Knottingham Circle, Livermore, Nov. 30 to Dec. 31. 13 & 14 Lights of the city Lace up your skates and enjoy turns around the ice rinks at San Francisco’s Union Square and Embarcadero Center — under the lights of grand hotels, skyscrapers, giant twinkling Christmas trees and, in the case of Justin Herman Plaza, the historic Ferry Building. These are signature San Francisco holiday events, and a great way to end a day of shopping and gazing at window displays. Where and when: Union Square ice rink, 333 Post Street, 10 a.m.-11:30 p.m. daily through Jan. 20, $13-$18, including skate rental; http://unionsquareicerink.com. Justin Herman Plaza, 10 a.m.-9:30 p.m., Sunday-thursday, 10 a.m.-11:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday; $7-$12 plus $5 for skate rentals; http:// embarcaderocenter.com. 15 Lantern Light Festival Last year’s Chinese lantern light spectacle at the Alameda County Fairgrounds has moved to Vallejo this winter for a six-week stretch that showcases massive illuminated silk dragons, towers, arches and other colorful shapes, some as much as 30 feet high and 300 feet long. The festival offers carnival rides, live entertainment and food booths, too. Where and when: Solano County Fairgrounds, Vallejo. 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursdays and Sundays, until 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, Nov. 28-Jan. 26. $18-$40. https://lanternlightfestival.com