Visalia community thrilled to see Candy Cane Lane Parade return

FRESNO, Calif. -- Thousands of people will fill the streets of downtown Visalia for the historic Candy Cane Lane Parade Monday evening.

It's a night the CEO of Downtown Visalia says many people are looking forward to after COVID precautions led to a cancellation last year.

"It's like we are back where we should be," says Steve Nelson. "We have received a lot of calls, a lot of emails saying, 'Hey, we are happy to see the parade is going on.'"

The holiday festivities kicked off Sunday night with the lighting of the Christmas Tree at the oval.

Monday night, 75 floats will take part in the parade - making it one of the largest in the South Valley.

Nelson says they are expecting anywhere between 20,000 and 30,000 people.

Seeing so many chairs out early on Main Street is a good sign.

Some local businesses will be open the entire evening selling goodies including coffee, hot chocolate, cookies, churros, and other items to keep the crowd warm.

Pam Steele and her family own Bee Hive Bake Shop and expect Monday night to be a big one.

"Hopefully exposure, because we haven't really advertised it a lot," she said.

Brenden Farrell with American Pacific Mortage says Monday is a tradition for their staff. They enjoy food inside the office and a front-row seat right outside for their families.

He and other business owners are hoping the same energy from previous years will be felt across downtown.

"It's a lot of exposure for downtown, it's good for downtown," says Luis Leal.

We also spoke to a gentleman who says his grandkids are in one of the high school marching bands and is excited to support them while getting into the Christmas spirit.