Christmas Parade & Holiday Festival setfor Sunday, Dec. 4 along Girard Avenue
With the theme “Christmas in the Future,” the 59th annual La Jolla Christmas Parade & Holiday Festival is poised to take place earlier than usual this year, stepping off 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4 from Girard Avenue and Kline Street, accompanied by an antique aircraft flyover the Village parade route.
The more than 100 participants will travel west on Girard Avenue, and then south on Prospect Street, where the approximately 90-minute procession will end at the La Jolla Rec Center (615 Prospect St.), the site of the Holiday Festival.
Dozens of floats, bands, marching units, equestrians and vintage vehicles comprise the La Jolla Christmas Parade & Holiday Festival, in addition to special appearances by Abdullah the Camel, fire engines and assorted beauty queens. The Old Black Goose, a 1915 vehicle provided by La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club, will transport Santa Claus down the streets to the Holiday Festival at the Rec Center.
The Festival will include a Kids’ Zone with pony rides, inflatable bounce houses and educational activities, stage entertainment, information about community organizations at Candy Cane Lane, and FOCAS’ annual dog adoption event. Also, courtesy of La Jolla Sunrise Rotary, children will have the opportunity to take their picture with Santa. The stage entertainment begins at 2 p.m., culminating in the Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony at 4:30 p.m.
There will be No Parking and Tow-Away Zones on Girard Avenue from Prospect Street to Torrey Pines Road, Prospect Street from Girard Avenue to La Jolla Boulevard, Kline Street from Ivanhoe Avenue to Fay Avenue, Hershel Avenue from Silverado Street to Torrey Pines Road, and stretches of Ivanhoe Avenue and Torrey Pines Road.
• What to know more? Visit ljparade.com
— María José Durán