Bonfante Gardens adds Snoopy and holiday parade to annual
Holiday Lights event
By Betsy Avelar Staff Writer
Gilroy – It’s not often it snows in Gilroy, but at Bonfante Gardens, Kyle Hinaga, 4, twirled in the snow for the first time during the third-annual Bonfante Gardens Holiday Lights celebration.
The Holiday Lights event takes place every year from the end of November through Christmas. The park declined to release attendance numbers, but the ice rink was crowded, the benches for the stages were filled and dozens of people walked through the isles of the park Saturday evening.
“He loves it here,” said Ken Hinaga the boy’s father as he waited and waited for his little boy. “We were supposed to leave 10 minutes ago.”
Like Kyle, many children were captivated by the magical holiday event at Bonfante. Large lighted soldiers stood at attention on each side of the entrance sign shadowing the many displays of lights waiting to entertain the eye. The atmosphere was saturated with holiday music and on “Candy Cane Lane.” Sycamore trees protruded from the wooden bridge and huge candy canes hung from the branches. The smell of churros warmed the chilled air.
A large Christmas tree sat to the right of the entrance populated with colorful shiny bulbs and not far off, lighted palm trees hovered near the ice rink.
The ice rink was added to the park a year ago, and this year Jan Mangawang, 9, pushed a bright green cone while gliding on the thick ice of the arena to keep her balance as she skated for the first time.
“It’s really fun,” she said. “First I got to try it with a cone, and then you don’t need it because you get better at it.”
Kelsey Phillips, 9, sat on a bench fastening her skates near a large heating lamp. She is a dancer that steps in for the regular dancers, a second string dancer from Selma. She is staying the night at a hotel with her brother, father and grandmother.
“We’ve never been here before, it’s pretty,” said Kathy Philips, her grandmother.
And next year, even more people will have the opportunity to visit, said Trevor Wilson, marketing manager at Bonfante Gardens. The 16-day event will be extended to 18 days for 2007.
New additions to the event this year included a holiday parade and the visit of Snoopy, a fictitious PEANUTS character who paraded around the park hugging and poking children.
Visitors like Emily Rosa, 10, of Vacaville came specifically to see the lights.
“We got some season passes and we came to see the lights,” she said while standing under the Snowflake Palace, where a buffet is served and performances take place. It is decorated with rows of long icicle white lights and adorned Christmas trees line the outside of the bench area. Not only did Rosa eat turkey, stuffing, apple pie and hot chocolate for dinner, but she also participated in the entertainment since she was called up to the stage to sing “Rudolf The Red Nose Reindeer.”
Other activities involved taking pictures with Santa at Santa’s workshop. There, children colored and wrote letters to the jolly red-suited man.
But all magical things must end as Kyle Hinaga later learned when he left the snow machine with his family.
With his face covered in snow, he exclaimed: “Look at my face, Dad.”
Bonfante Gardens is a non-profit organization, California’s only horticultural theme park designed for families and the 16-day holiday lights celebration event takes place on the 35 developed acres. The event will run through Saturday.
Betsy Avelar attends Gavilan College and is an intern for The South Valley Newspapers. Reach her at 847-7216 or ba*****@************ch.com.
