Keeping with tradition Santa arrives in the Old Black Goose

The charming community of La Jolla includes approximately 42,000 citizens living on the hilly topography enclosed by the 92037 zip code along the coast. On Sunday, December 2rd, 2007 The La Jolla Christmas Parade lures 20,000 locals out of the hills and from the beaches to sit on the sidewalks of the village and watch the spectacle. This year the theme of the parade is "Legends of the Season". Another 1,200 people, from all over San Diego, participate in the form of marching bands, ROTC units, drill teams, dancers, scout troops, float builders, equestrians, car aficionados, politicos, promoters, and pranksters.

The goal of the parade is to celebrate a tradition and assist the community's participation, particularly of its youth (for whom this may be an initial venture in civic service), without jeopardizing the financial health of the La Jolla Town Council. Community donations finance the parade. Volunteers organize and staff the parade. The committee co-ordinates with the YMCA, Rotary, Toastmasters, La Jolla Recreation Center, Promote La Jolla, and Kiwanis in continuing the holiday traditions of those organizations. In the selection of its parade marshals the committee emphasizes values of education, philanthropy, culture, and service, by honoring local citizens of achievement.

With a tradition of 49 years behind it, the Christmas Parade has a momentum that gathers the enthusiasm of the holiday and combines it with the competitive instinct. The Parade Judges award prizes for building floats to encourage the efforts of that labor intensive activity. It provides stipends to the marching bands reflecting the value of their musical talent.

The Parade day starts at 9:00 in the morning with the YMCA's Holiday Festival, a street fair along Silverado Street, with arts, crafts, and food for sale, and entertainment. The hectic mustering of the different units begins at 10:30 - equestrians, vehicles, marchers, floats, flags and banners-and requires that many of our village streets are closed to parking on parade day. The combination of activity and inconvenience tests the patience of all. Volunteers learn the hard lessons of tact, diplomacy, safety and cleanliness, as well as logistics. Over the years the consensus in the village has been "The Parade is worth it". "Its one day a year " The different aspects of the parade (fundraising, mailings, publicity, announcing, disabled seating and access, first aid, sanitation, street closures, and the dreaded clean-up) require neighborhood talents and assistance at all levels -- and the committee can always use more volunteers.

Every year the business community, realtors, merchants, restaurateurs, teachers, police, parents and children get involved. Tensions between commerce and holiday, religion and rationality, conservative and liberal can and are explored symbolically. Discussions of themes, and costumes, designs and images often evolve into shared understandings and common efforts. Fixing problems and forestalling complaints yield a feeling of accomplishment. New traditions transform older ways of doing without upheaval. Friendships are formed. Lessons are learned. The La Jolla Town Council maintains a Christmas Parade Fund, overseen by the Executive Board. The All volunteer Parade Committee actively solicits Parade Sponsors and donations of all kinds to help produce the Parade. Contributions and donations of all kinds -- services, money, equipment are essential and welcome! Please review the sponsor and other information and contact us at info@ljparade.com. The holiday may provide us with inspiration but it is the perspiration of many people working together that sustains the tradition of the Christmas Parade.

And don’t forget – post-Parade, there is the La Jolla Rotary reception – a fun day for all.

For more information, browse this website (especially for sponsor forms) or contact the La Jolla Town Council Office, e-mail info@ljparade.com.