Holiday lights add a bright touch to San Jose’s History Park
Christmas in the Park’s Drive-Thru Light Show is open and back at History Park in San Jose, where it offers the perfect complement to the Victorian-era buildings on the grounds.
“We have been waiting to come back to History Park for a while,” said Christmas in the Park board chair Stacey Holden, whose mother was on the original board. “History Park is a special place in and of itself, but it really is magical when you combine it with this.”
The Light Show was born during the height of the pandemic in 2020. County health restrictions on large gatherings meant that Christmas in the Park couldn’t stage its traditional holiday display at Plaza de Cesar Chavez — which is currently up and running through Dec. 31 — so it put everything at History Park and turned it into a drive-thru event with a massive light display, accompanied by music.
Its popularity caused massive traffic jams in the neighborhood, though, and it moved to Lake Cunningham Park in 2021 and 2022. Christmas in the Park Managing Director Debbie Degutis said they’ve taken steps to reduce the backup by creating a better traffic management plan and selling fewer tickets for each time slot — times that will be enforced, she emphasized.
It doesn’t take too long to make the circuit through the park — especially if you’re not in bumper-to-bumper traffic — but it really provides a whole new way to look at History Park. History San Jose CEO Bill Schroh says it adds to the festive holiday atmosphere, where the Southern Pacific locomotive is outlined with twinkling lights and the front of the Pacific Hotel is decorated with giant, illuminated snowflakes. The Electric Light Tower fits right into the scene, too.
Degutis said the event also has evolved into providing a large amount of funding for the nonprofit that runs Christmas in the Park, which keeps the downtown walk-through event free for everyone. So when you get your ticket — $30 for most cars — you can feel good about supporting a San Jose tradition. You can get more information and buy tickets at www.christmasinthepark.com.
“We love the location. It’s full of charm,” Degutis said. “That’s what we’re doing at Christmas in the Park. We’re bringing back the charm, taking care of our heritage and our memories. And that’s what this park is all about.”
HOLIDAY WEEKEND: A couple of South Bay holiday traditions are back this week, with the 67th annual Los Gatos Children’s Christmas Holidays Parade stepping off — rain or shine — from Almendra and North Santa Cruz avenues at 11 a.m. Saturday. Rick Miller, who has served as the parade’s chairman for the past decade, will also be its grand marshal this year, leading a lineup of marching bands, scout troops, service clubs and elected officials.
And later Saturday, the annual Carol of Lights celebration returns to downtown Campbell at 4 p.m., with a petting zoo, donkey rides, bounce houses, crafts, live music and a community stage featuring local dance teams. Once again, there won’t be any snow — partly because of cost, not to mention the previous snow vendor doesn’t serve Campbell these days (and when it comes to snow, neither does Mother Nature). But visitors are encouraged to wear their “ugly” sweaters despite the lack of cold stuff.
ALL ABOARD: Caltrain’s Holiday Train will be bringing joy and collecting toys through the Peninsula this weekend. With Santa Claus and a few friends on board, the festively decorated train will start in San Francisco each day at 4 p.m. with stops in Redwood City, Mountain View, Sunnyvale and Santa Clara on Saturday and Millbrae, Burlingame, San Mateo and Menlo Park on Sunday. You can get the full schedule at www.caltrain.com/holidaytrain, and don’t forget to bring an unwrapped toy for the Salvation Army and Marines Toys for Tots.
SOUNDS GOOD: Singer/songwriter Ren Geisick says she’s excited to expand “Ren’s Winter Wonderland,” her holiday show at City Lights Theatre Company in San Jose, to two nights in its ninth year (including a virtual version in 2020). That’ll be good news for people who haven’t been able to enjoy the regularly sold-out concert featuring original and classic songs about winter, Christmas and Hanukkah. The 7 p.m. concerts on Dec. 3 and 10 also will feature guest vocalists Amy D., Kira Hooks and James Lanman and the band includes John Worley on trumpet and Oscar Pangilian on sax. Go to www.cltc.org for tickets.
THE WRITE STUFF: The 11th annual LocalLit event is back in-person Dec. 2 at the King Library in downtown San Jose for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. Book fans will get a chance to meet and hear from authors who live in the San Jose area, who’ll share their stories and experiences in writing their books and getting them published at the free event, which starts at 2 p.m. Among the authors taking part are Anne Marie Todd (“The Valley of Heart’s Delight”), Eddie Garcia (“Summer in the Waiting Room”), Jane Kuo (“In the Beautiful Country”), Keenan Norris (“Chi Boy”) and Marc Jedel, a former high-tech marketer turned author who’s working on his sixth book in a Silicon Valley mystery series about a software engineer who turns amateur sleuth.