Preparations On Candy Cane Lane

Photo & Text © 2012 Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved.

Seems like every year in December my family and I end up taking a photo of ourselves in front of this house on Candy Cane Lane. Of course this famous street in the Ravenna neighborhood of Seattle goes by another name the rest of the year, sort of like Clark Kent :-). But this quiet lane in the shape of a loop with it's round village green (a bit of it is in the right foreground) makes a perfect drive through street for the grand Christmas and Hanukkah display the neighbors have created together each year since the 1940s. It's a very popular tradition that Seattlites have enjoyed for multiple generations. I understand real estate contracts for houses selling on this street might contain a clause about participation, so if you move in you are aware that from Saturday, December 8, 2012 - Tuesday, January 1, 2013, your street will be crowded with traffic and pedestrians enjoying the festive lighted displays. Walking through on a November day though, aside from the street's unique layout, it looks a lot like any other street in the neighborhood. And the nice folks who keep the tradition go about their normal tasks, like getting the leaves cleared up. To see this exact scene lighted at night as it might look in a couple of weeks, click here.