Christmas in the Park

Christmas in the Park

Christmas in the Park Christmas in the Park is an annual holiday tradition that takes place in the heart of Downtown San José at the Plaza de Cesar Chavez. For over 30 years, this whimsical event has brought people from all over the Bay Area together during the holidays.

For the first time in 41 years, holiday season revelers won’t be able to stroll through the fanciful displays of Christmas in the Park in downtown San Jose. But the annual tradition isn’t going away, it’s transforming into a drive-thru event at spacious History Park.

Safety Concerns: But safety concerns due to the coronavirus pandemic and the possibility that crowds as large as Christmas in the Park draws might not be allowed forced the nonprofit’s board to come up with an alternative plan and a different venue, appropriate physical distancing and crowds would have to be limited at the six park entrances, likely creating unsafe crowds in line.

So with the blessing of the city and the cooperation of History San Jose, a plan was created to move the displays to the outdoor historical museum at the corner of Phelan Avenue and Senter Road.  The hundreds of trees decorated by community schools, nonprofits and businesses also will dot the park’s acreage.

There will be some serious adjustments, though. Because Christmas in the Park earns a good chunk of its revenue through vendor sales — which won’t be available at History Park since people will be in cars — an admission fee will be charged for the first time. One day a week — Mondays are in the current plan — will be free, and it will be less expensive to visit during the day than at night.

CALLING ALL ARTISTS:

The Leigh Weimers Emerging Artists Awards program is now accepting applications from artists who are Santa Clara County residents and have not achieved widespread recognition in their chosen medium of visual arts, performance, film, music or even technical arts like lighting.

Four artists will be chosen to receive unrestricted $5,000 grants in honor of Leigh Weimers, my predecessor in this space who championed local arts in his column for 40 years.