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Walking with Purpose: Candy Cane Lane, Community, and the Living Legacy of The Concrete Rose Project


Every December, the streets of Lynwood, California come alive with music, laughter, and the unmistakable warmth of community during the city’s beloved Annual Candy Cane Lane Parade. What began decades ago as a modest holiday procession has grown into a signature civic tradition—one that celebrates togetherness, cultural pride, and the power of local leadership.


Candy Cane Lane is more than a parade. It is a living symbol of Lynwood’s spirit: families lining the sidewalks year after year, small businesses and community organizations marching side by side, city officials walking shoulder-to-shoulder with residents, and generations sharing a moment that belongs to all of them. It is a reminder that cities are built not just by buildings and policies, but by relationships, memory, and care.


This year, among the business and community leaders preparing to walk the route was WanJean, artist, cultural strategist, and founder of The Concrete Rose Project (TCRP)—standing proudly on the far right of the photo, surrounded by women equally committed to service, leadership, and legacy.


Showing Up Is the Work


WanJean’s presence at Candy Cane Lane is not symbolic—it is consistent.

Across Los Angeles County, she has spent years engaging directly with city officials, civic leaders, nonprofits, educators, and local businesses, building trust city by city, block by block. Whether through cultural art initiatives, community-based storytelling projects, or large-scale public monuments, her approach is the same:

Listen first. Build relationships. Then create something that lasts.

Parades like Candy Cane Lane matter because they place leaders inside the community, not above it. They are where conversations begin, where partnerships are seeded, and where shared values become visible. For WanJean and TCRP, these moments are not one-day appearances—they are part of a long-term commitment to cultural investment and community uplift.


Why Candy Cane Lane Matters to the Mission


The Concrete Rose Project exists to honor overlooked stories, elevate cultural excellence, and create public art experiences that reflect the dignity, resilience, and brilliance of Black and Brown communities.


Candy Cane Lane reflects that same spirit.

It is a space where:


  • History and tradition are passed forward

  • Small cities make big statements about unity

  • Culture is celebrated in public, not hidden away

  • Leadership is measured by presence, not titles


These values align directly with TCRP’s mission to transform everyday spaces—streets, walls, gathering places—into sites of meaning, pride, and remembrance.


From Parades to Permanent Impact


What begins with a parade walk often leads to something larger.


Through relationships formed at events like Candy Cane Lane, WanJean has advanced conversations around:


  • Public art installations and murals

  • Cultural monuments and storytelling exhibits

  • Youth and artist engagement opportunities

  • City-supported cultural programming

  • Long-term creative placemaking initiatives


Each handshake, each conversation with a city official, each shared moment with residents strengthens TCRP’s ability to move from vision to execution.


Why Your Support Matters


The Concrete Rose Project is powered by people who believe culture deserves investment—not someday, but now.


When you donate to TCRP, you are supporting:

  • Artists who reflect the communities they serve

  • Cultural projects that become permanent public assets

  • Partnerships with cities across Los Angeles County

  • Stories that might otherwise be erased or ignored

  • A future where art, history, and community are inseparable


Candy Cane Lane reminds us that traditions endure because people show up for them. The Concrete Rose Project exists because people choose to invest in meaning, memory, and legacy.


Walk With Us


WanJean’s walk in the Lynwood Candy Cane Lane Parade is one step in a much larger journey—one that stretches across cities, generations, and stories waiting to be told.

If this work resonates with you, we invite you to walk with us too.


👉 Support The Concrete Rose Project

👉 Donate. Partner. Share the mission.


Because culture doesn’t survive on applause alone—it survives when people believe in it enough to invest in it.


 
 
 

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