No sane driver in South Florida would willingly sit for hours in traffic — but come Dec. 1, there is one exception.
Every year, people from all parts of Miami-Dade County will make the trek to Enchanted Place in North Miami to see the neighborhood come alive with holiday lights.
A long line of cars, many blasting holiday music, will crawl down the street, appropriately named after the nearby Enchanted Forest Elaine Gordon Park. There, passengers marvel at the multicolored lights coiled around tree trunks while twinkling stars sway from its branches. Some have snowmen on their driveways or Star Wars characters on the roof. Others have reindeer and animatronic nutcrackers.
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“I always tell everybody who's interested in buying [and] gonna live on this street, you need to like Christmas,” said Ken DiGenova, the president of the neighborhood's homeowners society.
He inherited a 36-year tradition of rounding up his neighbors to festoon their houses with holiday lights and decorations. It started with two households who engaged in friendly competition over who had the more festive decorations. Soon enough, the holiday spirit spread down the block.
DiGenova works with AT&T Pioneers, a volunteer organization that supports initiatives to assist needy communities. With their help, he rents a bucket truck and offers to install the lights for all of his neighbors. DiGenova said that he does not force anybody to participate, but he found that people wanted to get into the holiday spirit.
“It's just not me. I thank my neighbors all the time. Without them, it wouldn't look like this,” he said.
Marsha Baim used to live on Enchanted Place. She was in the neighborhood Sunday night and wanted to take her four-year-old daughter to see the lights.
“I did not know that it was the crazy Christmas light street, but once, you know, you get into the spirit, you can't not want to participate,” she said.
Because Baim grew up Jewish, she wasn't used to decorating for Christmas. But even she got festive, stringing blue and white lights and a Star of David. She doesn't miss it though. This year has been especially busy.
“It's a great environment. It's fun to do with the kids. It's like a fun holiday thing. It's not that fun to live here during this time because you literally can't get in and out — you need like an extra hour,” she said.
Since moving away, she’s been surprised by the increased volume of traffic as the location gets more exposure on social media.
The growing support, year after year, has overwhelmed DiGenova. One year, he said he was brought to tears when a child came up to his door with a note, thanking him for the lights.
“It just choked me to death, you know? Like … I didn't realize how many people we made happy,” he said.
The neighborhood tradition has attracted generations of families — like Taryn and Victor On-Sang who have been going to the Enchanted Place since they were young. Now, they're parents in their thirties, and they're bringing their own kids.
“We all like the lights and it's so close to home, and [it’s] just something that we look forward to every year,” Taryn On-Sang said.
The Christmas lights turn on every day at sunset and will stay up until Jan. 6. Neighborhood volunteers monitor and help direct the traffic, as well as take donations that go toward community organizations like the Ronald McDonald House.
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