The traditional winter holiday season has come to an end, however, the joy the different celebrations emit can last long after the new year ball drops.
Tunnels of Joy – a festive, decorated holiday attraction and fundraiser, recently celebrated its ninth year of spreading holiday cheer. The Brentwood event hosts a monthlong celebration beginning Dec. 1 along La Costa Drive and invites the community to see holiday lights and decorated homes, as well as enjoy food and drink vendors and planned music performances from local schools.
About nine years ago, Yvette Gardizi and her family first began creating decorated tunnels over the sidewalks, adorned with Christmas lights, for people to walk through and for children to enjoy. The next year, Gardizi encouraged her neighbors to take part in the decorating, too.
As word spread to surrounding communities and cities and the number of visitors to the unique decorations grew, the neighbors attached a fundraiser to help those diagnosed with pediatric cancer. A new recipient is chosen annually to aid in the cost of medical bills and to provide financial support for these children and their families during the holiday season.
Today, hundreds of people experience the Tunnels of Joy, named after Joy Bursch, one of the neighbors who passed away due to cancer.
In November, the community group selected 6-year-old Bella Alaniz and her family for the 2024 fundraiser. Donation boxes and QR codes along the path of the Tunnels of Joy direct donations to the Alaniz family, and proceeds from merchandise, hot cocoa sales from Willy’s Bagels and Blends and other food and drink vendors do as well.
Jill Alaniz, Bella’s mother, said fundraising aside, the annual event is much needed.
“It’s so much fun for all the kids to see all those lights, and really just get into the Christmas spirit” said Alaniz, whose family has visited the event many times as a family tradition prior to Bella’s recent diagnosis. She added the contributions and support are appreciated.
“We didn’t realize how difficult chemo and radiation would really be, and going through the process … so it’s nice having the people that can relate and [the] love from everyone is just wonderful.”
Unique to many other similar Christmas decorations and attractions, the Tunnels of Joy was designed to be walkable and engaging for the whole community. Families came from neighboring cities to see the famous decorated tunnels, and to partake in the events and festivities that they hold a few nights during the season to spread holiday cheer.
Schools such as Bristow Middle, Adams Middle, Heritage High and Liberty High bring their music programs and jazz bands to perform at the Tunnels of Joy on designated days to attract more people.
Gardizi, the founder and one of the event organizers, mentioned her favorite aspects of hosting the Tunnels of Joy yearly.
“It’s a wonderful place to visit during the holidays,” Gardizi said. “Just hearing people come back year after year and getting excited about the lights, and of course, the positive impact we make on a family is worth all the effort we put in.”
Despite all the good Tunnels of Joy has provided, there are some challenges. Gardizi said increased engagement over the years has caused some traffic challenges and heavy crowds, especially on the weekends.
“Dealing with the traffic and the trash … [while] we have volunteer organizations to help clean [the trash] up, it’s still an issue,” Gardizi admits.
To help, visitors are encouraged to come see the Tunnels of Joy over the weekdays to mitigate the weekend traffic, as well as to be mindful of the trash they might leave behind so the Tunnels of Joy can remain clean and beautiful for many to see.
When asked to describe the Tunnels of Joy, Alaniz simply stated, “Love.”
Ishita Khanna is a 10th grader at Heritage High School in Brentwood.
