About 800,000 people every year make a visit to Plaza de Cesar Chavez in downtown San Jose part of their holiday tradition.

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Of course, it’s not to visit the “Plumed Serpent” statue or relax on a bench overlooking the Tech Interactive. No, for five weeks spanning Thanksgiving weekend to New Year’s Day, the two-acre park’s biggest draw for nearly 50 years has been Christmas in the Park — a kitschy and whimsical collection of animatronic displays, hundreds of decorated trees and a chance to visit with Santa himself.

Ted Lopez, who took over in August 2025 as executive director of Christmas in the Park, said his own family has had a Christmas in the Park tradition as long as he can remember. “We always have to take a photo under the big tree,” he said. “That’s just a staple

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