Most days, the Old Oak Tree is something you drive past. It stands in the Diablo Road median between West El Pintado and Interstate 680, with traffic on both sides. Its trunk and limbs rest inside a ring of steel columns that most people stopped noticing years ago. On Friday, Nov. 27, from 5 to 8 p.m., the stretch of Diablo Road beside it becomes the gathering point for what the Danville Area Chamber of Commerce calls the 50th annual Lighting of the Old Oak Tree, a "golden anniversary."
The tradition and the danger to the tree started at the same time. The road widening that gave the town a ceremony also left the tree stranded in traffic. At the Chamber's 50th edition, the steel around it is the reason there's still a tree to light.
Four Lanes, One Median, a New Tradition
According to a 2008 history piece in Danville San Ramon, the ceremony began in 1976, after Diablo Road was widened to four lanes. The same article says the widening "created some problems for the oak, too." With road on both sides, the tree now sat in a high-traffic spot, and people began to worry that the traffic was stressing it.
The Chamber estimates the valley oak is about 350 years old. That means it had been standing for roughly three centuries before Diablo Road became a four-lane road. Starting in 1976, the ceremony drew a crowd to that newly widened road each November.
The Diagnosis in 2000
The worry turned out to be justified. In 2000, arborists told the Town that the tree was unstable and unsafe for the public because its roots were rotting. Marcia Somers, then the Town's assistant manager, explained the findings to Danville San Ramon in 2008:
"They do quite extensive readings of the health of the tree and what they found is there had been some decay at the root crown."
The Town Council then weighed its options. The Danville San Ramon account lays them out:
- A steel framework spanning all four lanes of Diablo Road, built to catch the tree if it fell. Estimated cost: $150,000.
- Taking the tree down, an idea one council member raised.
- A support frame around the tree itself. Residents organized as the Support the Oak foundation and raised money toward its cost.
The third option won. In early 2001, the Town put up a 16-foot steel frame on six columns that surrounds the trunk and branches. It cost $70,000, less than half the price of the frame that would have spanned the roadway. The Chamber's 2026 history of the event states that the support structure "was installed to prevent the tree from falling," and the oak "continues to be the most notable landmark in the Town of Danville."
Every lighting since 2001 has been held under a tree that stays upright because of a vote and a neighborhood fundraiser.
A Landmark That Became the Town's Symbol
The tree mattered to Danville well before the frame. When the Town incorporated, it used the oak's silhouette for the Town logo, according to the same 2008 article. Somers described its place in town this way: "It's really a gateway, you know, the main entrance into town. I think it holds a lot of positive memories as well as symbolism for people here in Danville."
The ceremony has adapted when it needed to. In 2020, Danville San Ramon reported that the lighting would be an online video on Nov. 25 at 6:15 p.m. Afterward the oak stayed lit for the season and open for public viewing. In 2021, the Town announced the event was back in person, rain or shine, on Friday, Nov. 26.
The crowd has kept growing. The Chamber's 2024 letter to downtown businesses expected more than 5,000 residents, family and friends. For the 50th, the Chamber's sponsorship letter puts attendance at an estimated 10,000 people. They gather on Diablo Road for the lighting and then spend the evening on Hartz Avenue in the downtown shops and restaurants.
What the 50th Lighting Includes
The Chamber's event page lists this year's program in order. First come holiday songs from the Danville Girls Chorus, the Monte Vista High School Chamber Singers and the San Ramon High School Chamber Singers. Father Christmas and the Snow Angel then greet the crowd, and a procession heads down Diablo Road and through downtown to more entertainment and holiday treats. The event is co-sponsored by the Chamber and the Town of Danville. Sponsorships help keep it free to attend.
The evening has two parts that build on each other:
- At the oak. The music, the lighting and the arrival of Father Christmas and the Snow Angel all happen on Diablo Road beside the tree.
- Downtown. The procession carries the crowd from the oak into the downtown blocks. Businesses there can sign up through the Town to appear on an event activity map with their special hours, promotions and offerings.
You can also take part directly. The Chamber is recruiting volunteers to walk with the Snow Angel down Hartz Avenue, staff activities and direct guests. It welcomes individuals, local organizations, students who need volunteer hours and groups of friends.
How the 2024 Evening Ran
The 2026 traffic plan comes from the Town, which posts its advisory on danville.ca.gov in the days before the event. In 2024 the advisory went up on Nov. 27, two days ahead of the lighting. The 2024 schedule below shows how a recent edition ran.
| 2024 timing | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1:00 p.m. | Lane restriction on eastbound Diablo Road's number one lane, from El Pintado Road to the oak, for stage setup |
| 4:00 p.m. | Full street closures began downtown |
| 5:15 p.m. | Program started at the tree |
| 6:15 p.m. | Lighting ceremony |
| 6:35 p.m. | Father Christmas and the Snow Angel walked downtown to visit businesses and families |
| 7:30 p.m. | Diablo Road expected to reopen, per the Chamber schedule |
| 8:30 p.m. | All roads expected to reopen, per the Chamber schedule |
The Town's 2024 advisory listed closures from 4 to 9 p.m. on these stretches:
- Diablo Road, from Hartz Avenue to 50 feet east of the oak
- West El Pintado Road, between Diablo Road and the Community Presbyterian Church south-lot entrance
- Front Street, between Diablo Road and the Front Street Municipal Parking Lot entrance
- Prospect Avenue, between the Clock Tower Municipal Parking Lot entrance and Front Street
- Hartz Avenue, between Linda Mesa Avenue and School Street, plus northbound Hartz Avenue from Hartz Way to School Street
Local News Matters reported the same closure map for 2023, so the layout has stayed steady. For parking in 2024, the Chamber said all Danville municipal lots and the Community Presbyterian Church lot at 222 West El Pintado Road would be open. The Town also pointed drivers to the surrounding public streets.
The 2024 schedule also shows how the closures and the program fit together. That year, Diablo Road closed to cars by late afternoon, the program started at 5:15, and the lighting followed at 6:15. When Father Christmas set off downtown at 6:35, the crowd followed the same route the procession takes, from the median where the oak stands into the downtown blocks.
Two More Downtown Dates Around the Lighting
The Town calendar has two more downtown events around Thanksgiving week:
- Art and About Holiday Stroll, Sunday, Nov. 15, noon to 4 p.m., on Hartz and Prospect Avenues.
- Holiday Show: The Best Intentions, Saturday, Nov. 28, 8 to 10 p.m., at the Village Theatre, 233 Front Street. That's the night after the lighting.
The stroll comes first, on the same blocks the procession will fill twelve days later. The theater show closes out the lighting weekend a block off Diablo Road.
If the oak's 50th lighting has you thinking about which part of Danville fits your next chapter, from the streets that walk to Hartz Avenue to quieter pockets farther from downtown, Emon Komeily is glad to talk it through, before the holidays or after. Let's Connect.
