More than 550 passengers came aboard the city of Santa Clarita Transit’s classic wood trolley for a Holiday Lights Tour on December 11, 12, 18 and 19, 2015. The tour was offered for the first time in 15 years, and once again it was received with great fanfare from cheerful residents and their families.
The Holiday Light Tour took caroling riders to a dozen of the most elaborate holiday street displays in the Santa Clarita Valley. Three one-hour trips were completed on each of the four nights aboard the city’s festive, decorated trolley. Prior to the event, the transit office received numerous calls from residents suggesting various streets as tour stops. After visiting all of the recommended sites, as well as the usual favorite Santa Clarita must-see streets, two separate routes were developed (one for each weekend) in order to reach as many displays as possible.
“I’m glad we were able to bring this special tradition back again this year. It’s a memorable experience we get to provide to the community,” said city of Santa Clarita Transit Manager Adrian Aguilar. “These tours have a deeper significance too. We use them as a way to collect donations for those less fortunate,” added Aguilar.
As with past Holiday Light Tours, Santa Clarita Transit gave back to the community by collecting donations for the Santa Clarita Valley Food Pantry, a non-profit volunteer group that distributes donated foods in the community. Over 900 pounds of canned goods and toiletries were donated. Transit staff and a team of local volunteers spent the morning of December 23 loading donations into the trolley and transporting it to the SCV Food Pantry.