Candy Cane Lane residents share what the holiday display means to them

The bright lights twinkle, Christmas music blares and sounds of laughter fill the air. With every Christmas season comes this familiar feeling, but within the Corpus Christi community, you’ll find one small neighborhood that serves the main source of this spirit.

“Candy Cane Lane started with a dream,” said longtime resident Marshall Bocanegra. “A dream that would bring joy to friends and families.

“That dream came from a lady named Irene, that’s my mom,” Bocanegra said. “She had the idea of her whole street being lit up with giant candy canes.”

According to Bocanegra, the ever-evolving neighborhood community known as Candy Cane Lane actually started back in 1991, when he was just a little boy.

“We started bringing our family together to make cookies and hot chocolate, to give out to the neighbors, and that’s how it all started,” Bocanegra said.

Over the course of those 32 years, the tradition grew along with him. As it went from just their family, to a couple more neighbors, to neighbors across the street, to the whole neighborhood — and eventually visitors.

“Little by little, we started to ask the neighbors, ‘Hey would you be OK with having one of these in your yard?’ and they were of course all for it. So then we would come and install them, run the cords and all that stuff,” said Linda Bocanegra, Marshall’s wife, who later joined in on the tradition.

It’s really something Bocanegra and the majority of his family stay actively involved with to this day, as he put it.

“Four of our family members actually live in this neighborhood. We have my uncles, my brothers, my sister, and then my parents as well.”

“So we’re all in the area and trying to give back to the community somehow,” Bocanegra said.

Cheryl Martin, a 21-year-old resident, said Candy Cane Lane hasn’t just served as a pretty attraction over the years, it’s also turned the once disconnected community into something greater.

“I think because most of us have been here so long, we’ve become very close,” Martin said. “We help each other, and you know, your neighbors kind of become like your family.”

According to her, the biggest gift of Christmas is time — time spent doing the things you love with the people you love.

“Last year we took one of our neighbors and her grandson to see the lights,” Martin said, describing one of the ways she enjoys the gift of time. “They didn’t have a golf cart, and they didn’t want to walk around. She wasn’t able to walk so we got to take them in our golf cart and help them see all the lights.”

That’s what Christmas should be all about, as she puts it.

Jose Lopez, who has lived in the area for five years, said he’s glad to be a part of the community for several reasons.

“Togetherness, and seeing the smiles of the kids walking by. You know, that’s what I like to see. That’s why I decorate, for them,” Lopez said.

“We’ve been here five years but I’m glad to be a part of it, because before I lived here, I would come and visit and think, ‘Wow I want to be a part of that,’” Lopez said, mentioning his familiarity with his neighbors as well.

“I’ve met my other neighbors, all of them. My neighbor here is a high school friend, and my other neighbor right here is a good pie maker, he makes me pies,” he said as he pointed to nearby houses.

Many community members donate their proceeds. From the views to profits made from sales, it’s about giving back to the community.

“A lot of the stuff that we do get we love to give back,” Bocanegra said.

“You know it’s not always about making money, so we never try to turn down any kids or any parents, if they can’t afford pictures or toys. You can see that, how much they want it, we just give it back, give it to them,” he said.

This feeling of togetherness and community is really what the residents of Candy Cane Lane feel it’s all about.

“To me it’s about celebrating what matters, it’s not about the gifts. It’s more the people and the memories,” Martin said.