Candy Cane Lane: How this Edmonton tradition got its start

For 57 years, Candy Cane Lane has delighted Edmontonians with its colourful lights and festive decorations. CTV News Edmonton's Matt Woodman explores the lane's

Once upon a time in Edmonton a group of friends decided to start a holiday tradition. They built Christmas yard displays and welcomed their neighbours to enjoy the view. This story, told by the daughters of one of the founding families and another long-time resident, is how Edmonton’s Candy Cane Lane began.

‘Tis the season

Every December, the Crestwood neighbourhood transforms into a stunning holiday display that spans blocks, winding down 148 Street between 99 Avenue and 92 Avenue.

Children laugh and wagon wheels crunch in the snow as families walk past yards covered in twinkling lights and decorations. Jingling sleigh bells and Christmas carols can be heard between the sound of the slow moving cars cruising down the streets, their occupants treated to a view of Christmas exhibits lovingly curated by the residents of Candy Cane Lane.

Walking or driving the lane has been a tradition enjoyed by many Edmontonians for decades, but not everyone knows how it started or that its humble beginning dates back to 1968, when the Matcham family along with some friends brought an idea to life.

Getting lit

Peggy Garritty moved to Edmonton in the 1960s with her parents Ron and Esther Matcham. Garritty says her parents had seen a street in Saskatoon all decorated for Christmas before they moved and that they “just loved it.” They pitched the idea to their friends, who also happened to live next door and decided to try and re-create it.

“They were just four neighbours who spent a lot of time together and enjoyed each other’s company,” Garritty said.

Her dad got the stencils from the people in Saskatoon and she remembers him cutting out the shapes in the garage, and then the neighbours coming over to help paint.

So in December 1968, four houses on 95 Avenue put wooden candy canes and snowmen on their front lawns along with some simple strings of lights.

“It was really exciting that first time,” Garritty said. In the following years more and more neighbours asked to join in. “It just kinda grew organically.”

Peggy’s older sister, Pat Richardson, never lived on Candy Cane Lane. She was attending University in Saskatoon when the family moved, but she does remember visiting every Christmas. She recalls sitting on the front step giggling with her sister as they watched the cars and people pass by.

“It was just a community thing that brought out the spirit of Christmas,” Garritty remembers of the early years. Her dad would sit in the front window “absolutely thrilled” to see all the people and cars going by.

Even though their parents are credited with starting Candy Cane Lane, the sisters say they didn’t really “organize” anything and that it “just grew on its own.”

But they did all agree to turn their lights and displays on together.

“They said that they got lit,” Richardson said with a laugh referring to the night they would all light up.

The Matcham family took a lot of joy from watching the visitors parade through their neighbourhood. It was so busy their family would wait until after Christmas dinner to walk the lane and look at everyone’s yard.

Oh, that house

Aimee Branting and her husband moved into their first home, in Crestwood, in 1980. As first-time homebuyers they were excited to buy Christmas lights and decorate their new house. Branting had heard about Candy Cane Lane but she didn’t know much about it or where it was.

Upon learning how close they now lived to the holiday light display, the Brantings jumped aboard and began to put more thought into their own home’s decorations. Around 1985 their street, 92 Avenue, was officially included as part of Candy Cane Lane.

“There was a house that had an old fashioned candy apple corvette, so people wanted to see that corvette,” she remembers.

If you’ve ever been to Candy Cane Lane, you will probably recognize Branting’s house. A carpenter, Branting’s husband built a wooden sleigh and reindeer that they still put out every year. In the early years, the light displays took up so much power that the rest of their house would have to sit in the dark and they couldn’t do things like use the washing machine when the lights were turned on. It was also a shock to receive a power bill “triple the normal” amount.

Branting’s yard display hasn’t changed too much over the years, with just a few tweaks or additions. The biggest difference now is that they’ve switched to LED lights. At first she was hesitant to make the change, worried about the cost of replacing all their lights, but when it became apparent how much of an energy saver they were, they “couldn’t afford not to switch.”

And they can now run the washing machine while their display is on.

It wouldn’t hurt to ask

In the early 1990s, Branting and her friend Lori Birchill came up with an idea to give back to their community over a cup of coffee.

“She says we’ve got all this traffic coming down, why don’t we start a food bank drive … it’s free of charge so it wouldn’t hurt to ask for a donation or two,” Branting said of her neighbour Birchill.

They called Edmonton’s Food Bank to pitch their idea and they asked their neighbours if they would put out boxes, thinking they’d collect a few bags of groceries. As it turns out, they got more than a few bags.

“The lady that was the first drop off, she said my living room’s full, my hallways are full and they’re still coming. This was at like 8 p.m.”

On the first night they collected 1,000 kilograms of food and on Christmas Eve they collected 5,000 kilograms, Branting said.

“It’s a great and fun tradition to be part of,” Marjorie Bencz, executive director of Edmonton’s Food Bank, said of the annual food drive that now takes place on Candy Cane Lane.

Although the amount of food collected each year varies and is usually reflected in good or bad weather, in good years they’ve collected up to 30,000 kilograms of food.

Branting said she still gets excited to see the collection bins go out every year and that helping people “is just as big” as the displays that go up.

Myths, facts and volunteers

Does the city help out with power costs? Branting gets asked this question a lot and the answer is “a big fat no.”

Is it mandatory to put up lights if you live on Candy Cane Lane? Another common question Branting hears and again the answer is no, there is no pressure to participate for those that choose not to decorate.

“The challenge is what you put on yourself,” she said. There are no expectations on homeowners whether they put out one string of lights or fill their yard with ornaments, and Branting says this is what makes Candy Cane Lane special.

This year, Candy Cane Lane lit up on Dec. 12 and will stay lit until 11 p.m. on Jan. 2.

Open street nights, when the lane is closed to vehicles and visitors are welcome to a quieter visit, made their debut in 2021.

The ETS Holiday Lights tour is another way to view the lane. It’s operated by ETS drivers who volunteer their time to drive people to various light displays. Starting at City Hall, the tour travels down to the legislature grounds and then heads to Candy Cane Lane. A drive past the river valley ends the tour before returning to City Hall.

“When we’re performing elsewhere we do like to bring a little of Edmonton with us,” Krista Deady of The Willows said in 2018. The trio of singers originally from Edmonton returned to the city to perform a concert raising money for Edmonton’s Food Bank, including a song they wrote about Candy Cane Lane.

For 40 years, EMS staff have volunteered their time to take kids staying in hospital on a tour of Candy Cane Lane. The Candy Cane Lane Express, which originally began with ambulances but later partnered with the city to use transit, is just another example of how the Matcham’s idea of creating and spreading Christmas cheer has grown beyond anything the family could have imagined.

“They would be so proud,” the Matcham daughters said of their parents.

The tradition continues

This December marks 57 years since the Matchams and their friends put up that first display and 45 years since the Brantings moved onto 92 Avenue. Among all the changes and infills that now speckle the neighbourhood, the Matchams’ house, the one that started it all, is still standing.

It’s now owned by someone else who grew up on the lane, according to the sisters. They also say it looks exactly the same and the original snowman and candy cane still go up every year.

Richardson and Garritty both live in St. Albert with no plans to move back to Candy Cane Lane, although Garritty’s sister-in-law lives there now so the family does get together over Christmas to walk the neighbourhood. The sisters say they can still feel their parents’ spirit on the lane.

“When you see it now it’s just the joy of who they were,” Richardson said.

As for Branting, she’s not sure her yard display will get much bigger as they have “run out of room” and she has no plans to ever leave Candy Cane Lane.

“Our starter home has become our retirement home,” she said with a smile. “We’re not going anywhere.”