Founding History

For more than 40 years the women of Las Candalistas have imagined, created, reinvented, laughed, cried, cooked, painted, stitched, collected, recycled, planted, researched, acted and given freely of their time, talents and hearts, so that children, the environment, and all of us in the South Bay might enjoy and appreciate life more fully in this beautiful corner of the world.

The History of Las Candalistas and Walk on the Wild Side

Background:
In 1967, a group of Peninsula women formed Las Candalistas (Candlelighters), a nonprofit organization, to serve as a fundraising auxiliary of the Child Guidance Clinic of the South Bay Children's Health Center. For the first several years, Las Candalistas members sold candles to supplement the Center's funding. As enthusiasm and friendships grew, a mutual interest in ecology and the environment emerged, and the ideas for Walk on the Wild Side developed. A site on the hillside of Portuguese Bend, California, was found - a site that best reflected the splendor of the ocean cliffs, the joy of the wooded terraces, and the brilliance of the wildflowers. Permission was granted by the Vanderlip family, and the first Walk was held on this historically rich property in 1969. The first "crowd" of 300 dined at a tailgate luncheon prepared by the members and served with their best silver, including candelabras. A Las Candalistas docent led nature walks explaining the local flora and fauna. A total of three thousand dollars was earned for the South Bay Child Guidance Clinic. With the initial Walk came dedication to service and pride in the natural phenomena of the Peninsula. This has endowed Las Candalistas with its unique identity.

Today:
Each spring, Walk on the Wild Side is held on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Building within the original framework of preservation and appreciation, the Walk has grown in size and stature. It is now a two-day event.  Always different, always expanding, the members who create the Walk have never changed the original commitment. A tranquil hillside is transformed into a happening. Our guests are invited to partake in spiritual and emotional nourishment which this beautiful area provides. In 1989, because of its increasing success and continuing philanthropic focus, Las Candalistas became an independent philanthropic corporation. In the spirit of  past  years, Las Candalistas will continue to transform a hillside in Palos Verdes and present its Walk on the Wild Side, raising money to benefit children and the environment in the South Bay.