On December 13, 2025, the Holiday Stroll was underway in Old Town La Verne when the La Verne Walk of Honor held its first dedication at Mainiero Square for commemorative pavers along D Street. The ten honorees were chosen by a six-member committee across categories that included education, religion, sports, community leadership and volunteerism, as La Verne Daily reported.
This year both events return on Saturday, December 5, 2026, eight days earlier on the calendar. The bigger change is who pays for them. The tree lighting, the Santa photos and the plaques are now funded mostly by the merchants' nonprofit and a volunteer committee. The City's part shows up in a council report as overtime hours, material costs and a waived fee, each priced to the dollar.
Who covers the cost of the stroll now
The Holiday Stroll has been an Old Town tradition for many years. It used to belong to the Old Town La Verne Business Improvement District, which budgeted district funds for materials while the City provided staff at no charge. According to the October 5, 2026 council agenda report from Community Development Director Eric Scherer, most Old Town events now fall to the nonprofit Old Town La Verne Business Association. The Association pays for the majority of the stroll and relies on City crews for specific pieces of it.
The same report explains why this year's request went to the full council. The City used to support weekend community events without asking for reimbursement. Then staff began tracking the hours that Police, Fire and Public Works employees spent on them, mostly paid as overtime. Under a newer policy, partnership requests like these need council authorization. The council approved both the Holiday Stroll and Walk of Honor agreements at its October 5 meeting, according to the City's meeting summary.
Here is how the Saturday is split between the City and the two organizers, according to the agenda report:
| Item | Holiday Stroll | Walk of Honor |
|---|---|---|
| Organizer | Old Town La Verne Business Association | La Verne Walk of Honor Committee |
| City staff time | About $1,792.50, overtime | About $4,050, regular hours |
| Materials | $69.40, reimbursed by the Association | $1,180.75, reimbursed by the Committee |
| Other City support | About $388 in vendor business-license fees waived | None listed |
| What City crews do | "No Parking" signs, street closure setup, trash cans, power boxes, lighting | Remove ten concrete sidewalk panels on D Street, build forms, pour new concrete, set plaques |
Add it up and the City puts in about $6,230 in staff time and waived fees for both events combined. The organizers cover every dollar of materials. The vendor fee waiver has a stated purpose. The Association asked for it to encourage a full vendor area on the closed section of Third Street.
The vendor street opens hours before the tree is lit
The stroll's current format grew out of that arrangement. The agenda report describes a closed portion of Third Street that lets vendors set up earlier in the day, with Santa photos and the tree lighting held after dark. The result is a full afternoon on Third Street with the tree lighting saved for nightfall.
Last year's schedule shows how the day ran. According to the City's 2025 event listing, the stroll centered on D Street and Third Street. The craft fair opened at noon, Santa photos ran from 3 to 5 p.m., and live music and the tree lighting started at 5:30 p.m. Businesses stayed open later and offered refreshments and deals. The Business Association's events page listed live music, Santa and the Christmas tree lighting, with hours of 1 to 7 p.m. That page is the place to watch for this year's details.
Ten more sidewalk panels come out on D Street
The Walk of Honor is the part of the day that stays after the vendors pack up. A community group first presented the idea to the City Council in April 2025. Each year it honors ten people who helped shape La Verne with plaques set into the Old Town sidewalk. A QR code near each plaque links to lavernewalkofhonor.com, where visitors can read about the honorees.
The committee raised the money for the first ten plaques, bought them from a local business and paid for the materials. City crews installed them during regular working hours. Timing was tight last year, and Public Works staff had to work overtime to finish before the unveiling. The committee paid those overtime costs as well. This year's request is the same: ten more D Street panels removed and repoured with new plaques, with an unveiling ceremony on December 5.
The 2025 class is already in the sidewalk, according to La Verne Daily:
- Jon Blickenstaff
- Harvey M. Case
- Glenn Davis
- Marlou and Norm Faustini
- Dan Harden
- Delia Heredia
- Mike Montes Morales
- Dr. Peggy Deal Redman
- John Marion Roynon
- Dave Zylstra
With twenty plaques in place by the evening of December 5, a walk down D Street will read like a short local history, and the committee's plan is to add ten names a year.
How December 5 fills from morning to night
The stroll and the plaque ceremony aren't the only things on the City calendar that Saturday. Brunch with Santa and Friends runs from 9 to 11 a.m. at the La Verne Community Center, 3680 D Street, according to the City's December 5 calendar listing. That puts Santa on D Street at both ends of the day.
Using last year's timing as a guide, a full Saturday could look like this:
- 9 to 11 a.m.: Brunch with Santa and Friends at the La Verne Community Center, 3680 D Street.
- Around noon: Vendors open on the closed stretch of Third Street. Last year's craft fair started at noon.
- Afternoon: Walk the D Street plaques and scan the QR codes, then browse Old Town shops during extended hours.
- Mid to late afternoon: Santa photos. Last year they ran from 3 to 5 p.m.
- After dark: Live music and the tree lighting. Last year both started at 5:30 p.m.
A familiar Bonita Avenue shop under a new name
An Old Town shop on Bonita Avenue has a new owner heading into the season. La Verne Daily reported on November 6 that Serendipity, at 2144 Bonita Avenue, is taking the name Serendipity Jeneration Too under owner Wendy Norton, who has plans for the space.
The stroll is one of several Old Town events that depend on outside organizers. The City's report names the Wine Walk, the Beer Walk, the Cool Cruise and Cruisin' La Verne car shows, the Fourth of July celebration and the Halloween event in Old Town as non-City events that rely on City support. The terms vary. The car shows were approved with no reimbursement required, while the Wine Walk agreement requires reimbursement up to a cap.
The team at Justin Tye Real Estate Group follows the people and budgets behind La Verne's traditions, from Third Street vendor fees to D Street plaques. If you own in La Verne and want to know what your home is worth this season, ask us for a free home valuation and we'll show you the local numbers behind it.
