Video / Photos: Disney VoluntEARS Host Winterfest Village In Support of Altadena Christmas Tree Lane

The 2025 ceremony had a bittersweet tone because of this year's devastating fires.

In the wake of the Eaton Fire that devastated the foothill communities of the San Gabriel Mountains this past January, the city of Altadena, California is in the process of rebuilding. But thankfully the town was still able to host its annual Christmas Tree Lane Lighting Ceremony and Winterfest this evening, with a little help from The Walt Disney Company.

Disney's main contribution to Altadena's 2025 Winterfest was the Disney VoluntEARS Village, which includes arts & crafts for attendees and appearances by fan-favorite characters such as Goofy, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Stitch, and Pluto. You can watch a walkthrough of the village in the embedded YouTube video below.

Watch Disney VoluntEARS Village at Altadena Winterfest 2025:

I also made a pass through the Disney VoluntEARS Village to shoot some vertical video and chat briefly with the characters. Those videos are available to watch in the embedded X post below.

But outside of that experience, the main event of this evening's festivities was the Christmas Tree Lane Lighting Ceremony, a tradition in Altadena dating back more than a hundred years. This year's ceremony was hosted by actor Edward James Olmos from Battlestar Galactica, Selena, and Stand and Deliver.

Watch Altadena Christmas Tree Lane FULL Lighting Ceremony 2025:

Below you'll find my photo gallery from the Disney VoluntEARS Village.

I also spent some time walking around the rest of the Altadena Winterfest and checking out the other tents, booths, and food trucks that were scattered around the area.

As a fun side note, during one of the performances leading up to the Christmas Tree Lane Lighting Ceremony, a local high school band played music from Marvel Studios' Avengers movies.

Before I left I made a point to pass through the Disney VoluntEARS Village one last time to see what it looked like illuminated after dark. That's when I noticed that Pluto happened to have swapped out with Goofy.

This was a really unique event that I had never experienced before, despite having lived in Los Angeles for over a quarter of a century. It was really nice to see the community come together in this way for the holiday season, and as an outsider I can tell they were quite appreciative of Disney's contributions to the event.

Mike Celestino
Mike serves as Laughing Place's lead Southern California reporter, Editorial Director for Star Wars content, and host of the weekly "Who's the Bossk?" Star Wars podcast. He's been fascinated by Disney theme parks and storytelling in general all his life and resides in Burbank, California with his beloved wife and cats.
View all articles by Mike Celestino