On Thanksgiving morning, Foothill Boulevard closes to cars between Loma Vista Drive and Gould Avenue. So do Civic Center Drive, most of Town Center Drive, and Angeles Crest Highway south of Town Center Drive. Runners and walkers use the streets instead, starting at Olberz Park.
This is the Community Center of La Cañada Flintridge's 33rd Annual Thanksgiving Day Run & Food Drive, and it falls on Thursday, Nov. 26. The City calls it a local tradition and a community favorite for three decades. CCLCF calls it the organization's biggest fundraiser of the year. The registration money stays with the Community Center. The food goes to La Crescenta.
The morning, in the order it happens
Everything starts and finishes at Olberz Park, One Civic Center Drive.
- 6:45 a.m. Bib pickup and race-day registration open at Olberz Park.
- 7:45 a.m. Warmup for the adult 5K run/walk.
- 8:15 a.m. The 5K starts.
- 9:10 a.m. Warmup for the Kids' Mile.
- 9:30 a.m. The Kids' Mile starts.
Top finishers get awards, and every child who runs the Kids' Mile gets a medal.
If you want to skip the early line on race day, CCLCF has a pickup window two days before. Bibs and T-shirts are handed out on Tuesday, Nov. 24, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Community Center, 4469 Chevy Chase Drive. You can also register in person there.
Registering now costs more than registering in August
The price goes up the closer you get to race day. Plus applicable fees, here is what each window costs according to CCLCF's run page:
| Registration window | Adult 5K | Child 12 and under | Kids' Mile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug. 1 to Sept. 30 | $40 | $30 | $20 |
| Oct. 1 to 31 | $50 | $40 | $25 |
| Nov. 1 to 25 | $60 | $50 | $30 |
| Nov. 26, race day | $65 | $55 | $35 |
The November rates are in effect for the week this post comes out. An adult registering now pays $20 more than someone who signed up in August. Waiting until race day adds another $5. For a household with two adults and two children under 12, the November price is $220 before fees, which is $80 more than the same entries would have cost in August.
All of that goes to CCLCF. The Community Center says the run's proceeds support the development of inclusive programs for the surrounding communities. The run is the Center's biggest fundraiser of the year, which means the size of the Thanksgiving turnout plays a large part in what the Center can offer in the year ahead.
The food drive runs all month
The food drive runs through November. CCLCF is setting out drop bins at the Community Center and at selected local organizations during the month. The drive asks for three kinds of donations:
- Nonperishable food
- Hygiene products
- $25 gift cards to local grocery stores
Canned goods take care of the pantry shelf. A grocery card lets a family buy what a canned-food drive can't supply, like produce, milk or whatever the holiday table needs that week.
You don't have to run to give. The bins are out all month, so a household can donate on any November errand along Foothill.
Where it goes: Sue's Garden, at Highlands Church
The donations go to Sue's Garden in La Crescenta, which distributes them to local families in need.
Sue's Garden is a food ministry that Rebecca Fletcher founded in 2008. It gives food and hygiene items to local families going through a period of hardship. Volunteers run the whole operation. According to Crescenta Valley Weekly's November 2025 holiday giving roundup, the volunteers work out of Highlands Church at 4441 La Crescenta Ave. Food goes out twice a month.
It started smaller. In 2021, Sue's Garden's Debra Coffeen told Crescenta Valley Weekly that the effort began by collecting backpacks and school supplies and grew into a food ministry.
The connection to the La Cañada Community Center isn't new, either. In 2023, Crescenta Valley Weekly reported on a CCLCF donation to the pantry. Coffeen, then the president of Sue's Garden, told the paper the gift would go toward equipment, perishable food and another refrigerator.
That list matters for donors. Extra refrigerators and money for perishables are what let a pantry hand out more than cans, and the $25 grocery cards on this year's request list fill the same need. So for a resident deciding what to put in the bin, a gift card may help as much as a bag of nonperishables.
The streets that close, and the lots that stay open
You'll feel the run even if you're nowhere near it. The full closures surround the Town Center and the civic center. Here is the City's list for the 33rd run:
| Street | Closed section |
|---|---|
| Foothill Blvd | Loma Vista Dr to Gould Ave |
| Angeles Crest Highway | South of Town Center Dr, with no access to Valley Sun Ln |
| Civic Center Dr | Full closure |
| Town Center Dr | Southwest corner of Olberz Park to the roundabout |
| Cornishon Dr | FIS lower field to Foothill Blvd |
The Town Center parking lot near Panera and HomeGoods stays open, but the City says access will change to one way in and out. If you're picking up last-minute Thanksgiving groceries or a forgotten pie plate that morning, expect a slower trip in and out of that lot.
Parking at Olberz Park is reserved for VIPs and staff. The parking map linked from the City's event page suggests four other lots:
- Lanterman Auditorium, 4491 Cornishon Ave.
- The Community Center of La Cañada Flintridge, 4469 Chevy Chase Dr.
- Target/Town Center, 935 Foothill Blvd.
- The Caltrans lot at Hampton Road and Foothill Boulevard
The City keeps the closure list and parking map on its Thanksgiving Day Run & Food Drive page. Check it before Thanksgiving morning so the closure list and lot directions are in hand before you leave the house.
Eight days later, Festival in Lights at Memorial Park
The next big community date on the civic stretch of Foothill comes a week and a day after Thanksgiving. The City's calendar lists Festival in Lights at Memorial Park, 1301 Foothill Blvd., on Friday, Dec. 4, from 4 to 6:30 p.m. The City's event listing describes a light display with "stained glass" art, shimmering installations and interactive pieces meant for all ages.
Between Thanksgiving and Festival in Lights, Foothill Boulevard closes for one event and Memorial Park hosts the other. The two dates are eight days apart. On Thanksgiving morning, the street fills with runners and walkers, and the donations from La Cañada's bins end up at a church on La Crescenta Avenue.
We're grateful to live and work in a town where the biggest fundraiser of the year also stocks a pantry next door. If a home question comes up this season, from what your house is worth to when to list, Haynes Group is glad to talk it through. Request a valuation or book a consultation, and we'll see you at Olberz Park on the 26th.
