The Christmas tree lighting ceremony at this year’s Light Up Main Street event almost went perfectly.
At the end of the countdown, one by one, the giant snowflake lights outside the Old Town Newhall Library glowed white, but the Christmas tree itself lagged behind. Two, three, potentially even four seconds went by, the tree looking sadder every second.
But when it did light, the crowd cheered with measurable extra gratitude. Sometimes it takes a little imperfection – a really small one – to make you appreciate the rest of it.
That’s one of the great things about Light Up Main Street, according to Mayor Pro Tem Laurene Weste. Families can come as they are, and be authentically themselves, as community members.
“This is an annual celebration that really warms the hearts of our community. And they can bring their family and their kids and their dogs … and they can eat anything they want for one night,” Weste said. “It’s a wonderful … holiday, and we’re just so proud to be able to do this.”
Hundreds of Santa Clarita Valley residents had flooded Main Street by the time the evening lighting ceremony took place. Attractions this year included the typical Christmas-themed carnival games, like “Ring the Reindeer” and “Stocking Stuffers,” alongside a tent that may have shocked and appalled any out-of-state visitors: a homemade snowbank for kids to play in.
But Christmas, at least at Light Up Main Street, is for everyone.
Santa Clarita Valley resident Mandi May watched her three children, Logan, 2, Levi, 4, and Emma, 7, looking with apparent curiosity at an ice sculpture in the shape of a snowflake.
The trio were touching the cold ice before licking their fingers, as if they couldn’t believe that much ice could exist anywhere outside a cup.
May said that her family comes out to the celebration every year because “it’s just a fun activity for the kids to (do) … with the ice and play games.”
May, who’s originally from Ventura County, said she didn’t grow up with something like Light Up Main Street, which she described as having “a small-town feeling” that looks like it’s straight out of a holiday movie.
“It’s a great way to start everything off” for the holiday season, she said.
The requisite presence of Santa Claus didn’t disappoint.
Ana Salazar, mother of Belen, 8, and Sarahi, 4, was one of many SCV residents who took a photo with Santa this year.
It’s a way of making sure they experience “Christmas magic and the little things that make the start of the season enjoyable,” Salazar said.
And Santa Clarita has gotten back exactly what it’s given to families like Salazar’s: Bringing her two daughters regularly to Light Up Main Street has encouraged them to be a part of the community and explore other local celebrations, she said.
It was, as is typical, an all-inclusive community event on Main Street this year, from the high-brow Mission Opera’s powerful delivery of “Feliz Navidad” immediately after the tree lighting ceremony to the light-up toys available at a moment’s notice for the many, many toddlers in attendance.
And as families exited Main Street with strollers in tow, those same toddlers slumped with exhaustion but still holding onto their candy-cane wands, it was clear they had come and left as they were – imperfect, and happy.
