LINCOLN, Calif. — It's that time of year when neighborhoods are decked with lights for the holiday season, but for one Lincoln man, his Christmas decorations are going to a good cause — even though the rising cost of living and pandemic has impacted his operations.
On his 10-acre Lincoln property, Pete Alcala has placed more than 200 hand-painted cartoon cutouts and decorated the area with so many lights that he's actually lost count.
"The best part of it is, right now, when you get to see people and meet people and see the expressions on people's smile face," said Alcala.
It takes two months for Alcala and his family to transform his property into Pete's Christmas Walk Through. At the front entrance, there's a $5 parking fee.
"Why we made a $5 parking is because that's just going to ensure that we're going to cover kids," said Alcala.
Working with schools in his community, Alcala gets a Christmas wish list from kids and families in need. This year, things have slowed down, and he's citing the rising cost of living and the pandemic.
"You know what it's impacted? The turnout," he said. "For two years, we had not had the Christmas lights up. And so when we started up again, people were wondering, 'Is that place still open or is it not?'" he said.
Despite the slow down, Alcala was still determined to make a difference and sponsored more families this year. He said he spent around $4,000, all from donations from his Christmas walk through.
"All the money goes to families," he said.
From clothes, toys, bikes, and even electronics, Alcala said he feels called by his faith to try and help those in need, especially during hard economic times.
"I think it means more to families in need every year. It's not just this year," Alcala said.
Regardless of what's going on in the world during the holidays, Alcala said he'll always find a way to support his community.
"It's not about the money with us. It's about helping people. And if we got an opportunity to do that, I know this family will," he said.
Pete's Christmas Walk Through will be open on Christmas Day and stay open for a few days after Christmas. He is still taking donations by cash or through his Venmo account, @Petes-Christmas-Lights.
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