Hundreds of Canyon Lake residents celebrate the lighting of the tree at the Canyon Lake Lodge Sunday and participate in a variety of free holiday activity at the 40th Annual Tree Lighting Festival. Children lined up to sit on Santa’s lap, rock climbed and played in bounce houses. Music rang from all corners of the event and food was sold from several food trucks. Photo by Dawn Rankins
100s kick off holidays
Hundreds of Canyon Lakers eager for the holidays to begin, crowded into the Canyon Lake Lodge area to harken the arrival of Santa Claus and the season Sunday.
Hosted by the Canyon Lake Property Owners Association and the Canyon Lake Junior Women’s Club, the 40th Annual Tree Lighting Festival welcomed Santa, snow and the lighting of the massive tree in front of the Lodge.
Free festivities also included a large petting zoo, a 360 photo booth, a bounce house, face painters, a ferris wheel and a rock climbing wall. Food trucks were also on hand along with other vendors.
Photo by Dawn Rankins
Children enjoyed bouncing around in the gingerbread bounce house then sliding down the slide to reunite with their parents. Young and old enjoyed the petting zoo and kids climbed to the top of the rock wall to see who could ring the bell. The ferris wheel allowed riders to enjoy the views of the lake and festivities below.
The highlight for many of the children was seeing Santa arrive in the Canyon Lake Fire Engine. Excitement could be heard as little ones were yelling, “Santa is here, Santa is here.”
Santa made his way from the fire engine towards the front of the grass area where he walked up the red carpet to hit the magic button on the Christmas Tree star to officially light the Christmas tree.
After a big Ho-Ho-Ho, the crowd gathered for a big group photo before Santa made his way up the stairs of the Lodge to his special chair where kids could come and sit on his lap and wish him a very Merry Christmas and let him know what they wished for for Christmas.
Photos by Dawn Rankins
The Junior Women’s Club held its annual toy drive and donated all the unwrapped toys received on Sunday to Street Carts of Canyon Lake who in turn will donate the toys to International Christian Adoption Services Temecula and Bethany Christian Foster Services Riverside. Anyone who donated a toy Sunday received a raffle ticket for one of the three raffle prizes donated by various businesses in Canyon Lake.
The Canyon Lake Junior Women’s Club also sponsored Santa this year. While children and their families waited in line to see Santa, many of the little ones received lighted necklaces.
“We wanted to give the kids something to distract them from the wait until it was their time to see Santa,” Erin Adams-Halfon said. “It’s just a little something we wanted to give to the kids.”
Photos by Dawn Rankins
