Toluca Lake Hosts Sparkling Holiday Open House

Part of the charm of Toluca Lake is its small town village flavor. Friday night, thousands of local residents and visitors strolled down Riverside Drive from Pass Avenue to Sancola to celebrate an old fashioned Christmas Open House.

Friday celebrated the 45th year of the event, where local retailers and restaurants deck their establishments with holiday decor and roll out the red carpet offering free mulled cider, hot cocoa, coffee, wine and hors d'oeuvres for guests. This year the open house also offered free live music and retail booths in the parking lot next to .

"The Chamber hosts the yearly event to welcome visitors to the village of Toluca Lake and introduce them to the many holiday items available from local merchants," said Toluca Lake Chamber of Commerce Board Member Richard Bogy.

The evening began at 5 p.m. when gave live weather reports on the nightly NBC news program from the lawn in front of the .

The local weatherman and comedian also conducted on air interviews with members of the marines and Toys for Tots while the River Oaks Chorus sang Christmas songs.

Producer/director Garry Marshall welcomed the crowd and plugged his latest movie New Year's Eve, before Santa and his elves made an appearance. The event was officially launched when Coleman lighted the giant Christmas tree.