Christmas Tree Lane walk nights over in Fresno? ‘Too large to manage effectively’

In the past 30 of its 100-plus years, Christmas Tree Lane’s walk nights have become a tradition of their own.

For two nights each year, the Van Ness Avenue holiday light display barricades itself off from its normal vehicle traffic and becomes pedestrian-only for a pair of community outings that “illuminate the true human spirit” of the lane, to quote Marek Warszawski in a column he wrote for The Bee last year.

On Tuesday, organizers of Christmas Tree Lane announced they are suspending the walk nights this year.

“The popularity and growth of these two walk nights has taken on a life of their own,” the group wrote on social media.

That has made it “nearly impossible for our small group to put it on in a way that ensures the safety of the 35,000 people who attend.”

“The size of these events has become too large to manage effectively,” it wrote.

“Our small group would need to transfer these nights to a larger organization better suited to running this event.”

Which organization that might be is unclear.

Christmas Tree Lane is operated by a two-man committe under the umbrella of the Fig Garden Home Owners’ Association. The volunteer group represents 2,000 households in the area around Van Ness Avenue from Shaw to Shields avenues and from Blackstone to Fruit.

In an interview with The Bee on Wednesday, committee chair Dan Gallagher said there haven’t been any conversations about who might take over the walk nights, but he’s open to the idea as a “Hail Mary pass” to keep the them running in the future.

“I love this event so much,” he said.

“I’m not willing to put the final nail in the coffin right now.”

In past years, the task of blocking cars and other safety concerns fell to the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office. Last year, the department had 50 deputies, a medic and a dispatcher on assignment for the night. Other law enforcement agencies were also present, including the California Highway Patrol and the Fresno Police Department.

Christmas Tree Lane started with 1920 with a single house and a single tree. It has grown to include nearly 150 houses along a two-miles strecth of Van Ness Avenue from Shields to Shaw and has earned national recognition, including a mention in Sunset Magazine in 2007 and spots on two separate reality TV Christmas competition shows.

The first walk-only event happened in 1992. It ran for just one hour.

The following year, organizers gave pedestrians a full night; and by the early 2000s, it was running two walk-only nights, typically on the first and third Tuesdays in December.

This isn’t the first time organizers have suspended the walk nights. They were put on pause for three years during the pandemic. At the time, organziers said they couldn’t satisfy requirements set by the county health department.

The walk nights may be paused, but the rest of Christmas Tree Lane will continue as it has for more than a century, with a focus on having the most magical experience possible, Gallagher said. The lane will open to cars sometime in early December. Organizers need to meet with law enforcement before announcing an official date.

Once open, the avenue will be lit nightly through Dec. 25.

This story was originally published August 20, 2025 at 3:16 PM.