Photo gallery and video: La Jolla 'homespun' parades sparkle on the Fourth of July

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Jake (left) and John Hannan said they were happy to be riding on their “Land Speeder” float, named “These are Not the Droids You’re Looking For,” in the Bird Rock Fourth of July Parade. John said he was dressed as a space firefighter. (Elisabeth Frausto)

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About 15 floats rolled down Beaumont Avenue in the Bird Rock Fourth of July Parade, most of them keeping with the “May the Fourth of July Be With You” theme. (Elisabeth Frausto)

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Lowell and Anne Jooste roll out the barrel on Beaumont Avenue in the Bird Rock Fourth of July Parade. (Elisabeth Frausto)

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Cub Scout Pack 4 leads the 2021 Bird Rock Fourth of July Parade, as it has every year since the parade started. (Elisabeth Frausto)

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This Bird Rock Fourth of July Parade float, called “Cart Vader,” was made from recycled materials found in Bird Rock alleyways. (Elisabeth Frausto)

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Captain America (Bird Rock resident Chris Franklin) gives out handfuls of candy as he walks his neighborhood’s July 4 parade. (Elisabeth Frausto)

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Musicians play from balconies as people line up for the Barber Tract neighborhood’s Fourth of July parade on Monte Vista Avenue. (James Rudolph)

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Residents wave banners and balloons in La Jolla Woods’ July 4 parade. (Elisabeth Frausto)

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Christopher Chang drives his motorized car in the Fourth of July parade in La Jolla Woods. (Elisabeth Frausto)

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Zoe dresses the patriotic part for the La Jolla Woods parade July 4. (Elisabeth Frausto)

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Residents parade in the La Jolla Woods neighborhood near Cliffridge Park on July 4. (Elisabeth Frausto)

By Elisabeth FraustoStaff Writer

July 6, 2021 12:41 PM PT

Several La Jolla streets were decked in red, white and blue on July 4 as residents celebrated Independence Day with parades.

In Bird Rock, a few hundred people lined two blocks of Beaumont Avenue between Camino de la Costa and Mira Monte for the 42nd Fourth of July Parade, which skipped 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions.

This year’s “Star Wars”-themed parade, titled “May the Fourth of July Be With You,” featured about 15 floats rolling by as spectators cheered from decorated lawns and chairs.

Captain America — also known as Chris Franklin — has participated in the parade for seven or eight years. He said he loves the tradition. Bird Rock is “one of the last remaining Norman Rockwell communities I’ve seen, and I’ve been all over the U.S.,” he said.

Lowell Jooste, owner of LJ Crafted Wines in Bird Rock, rolled a wine barrel down Beaumont. The parade is “incredible,” he said. “They do amazing stuff every year.”

When asked if the barrel had one of his wines in it, he said, “We told the kids it’s … a barrel of fun!”

At the end of the parade route, musicians played on a truck-bed stage as vendors sold snacks and other items.

Residents of the Barber Tract had their own traditional parade down Monte Vista Avenue, with musicians and decorated carts.

And in the La Jolla Woods neighborhood near Cliffridge Park, a small band of neighbors put together a parade complete with dressed-up dogs and children pedaling decorated bicycles as adults waved banners, balloons and flags.

It was a fun sight, resident Marianne Pekos said. “It’s homespun.” ◆