Police, Downtown Visalians increase safety for Candy Cane Lane Parade
Sheyanne N Romero
In just a few weeks, streets in downtown Visalia will be jam-packed with bundled-up residents.
The 74th annual Candy Cane Lane Parade is back at 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 2 in downtown Visalia.
Attendees often show up hours before to get a good spot.
The problem is that some early birds ignore the long-standing rule that chairs are not to be set up before 3 p.m.
The tradition of roping (and sometimes chaining) together chairs has caused an annual uproar with business owners and the Downtown Visalians Association over the years.
"We're asking citizens to work with us," said Steve Nelsen, Downtown Visalians president. "We want everyone to enjoy the parade."
Like the last few years, Nelsen and his team will be on the lookout for people who set up before the roads are closed. Anyone who tries to tie their chairs together with ribbon, rope or chains before 3 p.m. risks having their set-up taken down.
"We still don't have a city ordinance that states chairs aren't allowed on the roadway," Nelsen said. "We haven't totally addressed an ordinance, but we need to look at it."
Despite multiple attempts, Nelsen hasn't been able to garner support from his fellow council members for a parade chair ordinance.
This year, police and Downtown Visalians were in talks on how they could have a safer parade. They decided to have entrance and exit routes throughout the route.
Parade marshals will be stationed at different locations throughout the route to prevent pedestrians from blocking the parade.
"Everything we've done, we've done for safety reasons," Nelsen said.
In addition to the restriction on early setup, people will not be allowed to back their pick-up trucks onto the street.
"They think this is a city parade," he said. "But, this is put on by three people in this office. When you look at the size of the parade, that's a big feat."
Typically, around 30,000 people attend the annual parade.
New this year is a partnership with Fox26 News. The parade will be broadcast live on kmph.com. the Fox26 News mobile app, and Fox26 Facebook page.
It will also air on CW59 at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 7. It will air again at 6 a.m. on Christmas Day on Fox26.
This year's theme is Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree.
Parade packets can be picked up at Downtown Visalians' office, 120 S. Church St.
The office is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Sheyanne Romero covers Tulare County public safety, local government and business for the Visalia Times-Delta and Tulare Advance-Register newspapers. Follow her on Twitter @sheyanne_VTD. Get alerts and keep up on all things Tulare County for as little as $1 a month. Subscribe today.