The annual Normanview neighborhood Holiday Light Festival, Candy Cane Lane, lit up for its seventh season on Friday.
It started in 2013 with just seven homes on Champs Crescent and now features nearly 400 homes with over 20,000 lights.
“It’s absolute happiness. You see the eyes of the children just open wide and sparkle, and hear their laughter,” said Normanview resident and Candy Cane Lane volunteer Darlene Cross.
“It’s to get people into the spirit of Christmas, the act of giving and joy of the season, whatever that may mean to people,” said co-founder Brian Runge.
The displays across the neighborhood are free to see. The main site at 19 Champs Cres. offers a walk-through exhibit that features one of a kind and original displays.
“We have some displays that are over 20 years old that we put up. We change displays up every year. We’ve probably got 135-140 inflatables,” said co-founder Mark Jaegli.
The festival held by the Normanview Residents Group (NRG) attracts a high number of visitors.
It’s open from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. nightly from Dec. 6-23, weather dependent.
Over the last seven years, over 64,000 visitors have walked through the main site, in addition to the estimated 36,000 drive-by views.
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The annual festival would not be able to light up without the help of its volunteers. Every year the festival needs over 50 volunteers “elves” to help greet visitors, control traffic, operate concession sales and assist visitors with photography.
The festival is still seeking volunteers for this year, currently only 30 percent of the spots are filled. Interested volunteers can email volunteer4ccl@gmail.com
Ticket prices for the main site are:
- Children under 2 — Free
- Children 2-13 —$1.00
- Teens 14-17 — $2.00
- Seniors 60+ — $3.00\
- Adults 18-59 — $4.00
All profits will be donated to Souls Harbour Rescue Mission, Habitat Homes and NRG Community Grant Program.
The City of Regina developed a traffic plan for those visiting Candy Cane Lane .
New traffic restrictions will be in effect from Dec. 6–23 between 6:30 and 9 p.m.
- A temporary one-way street — drivers should access the crescent from the east at Seventh Avenue North.
- No visitor parking on Champ Crescent — residents will have parking permits.
- A disability drop-off zone near the event location.
- A loading zone at the front of the property hosting the event.
- A signed pedestrian crosswalk will be installed at Seventh Avenue North.
The city is reminding drivers to watch for signs and pedestrians and to use caution taking in the sights of Candy Cane Lane.
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