Pomona reviving its downtown Christmas parade

POMONA - December 2008 came and went without a holiday parade.

This year, the parade is back with a new name, a new route and a new home in the city.

Starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, the Pomona Christmas Parade, as it is now known, will travel along Second Street and Park Avenue, said Larry Egan, executive director of the Downtown Pomona Owners Association.

"We've had an absolutely marvelous response," Egan said, adding the parade will be a true community event.

The more than 100 entries include high school marching bands, high school Jr. Reserve Officers' Training Corps groups, Scouts, service clubs, community-based groups, elected officials and others.

Floats, classic and antique cars and equestrian units will all be part of the parade, Egan said.

And, of course, there will be Santa and Mrs. Claus.

This is the first time the association is spearheading the parade organizing effort. It did so with the help of downtown business people and other volunteers.

The new route and new location are bringing the parade back to the area where it began in the the 1940s.

According to newspaper accounts, the parade started out as an outgrowth of the Christmas Preview, an annual event that drew visitors to downtown, where the streets were decorated and merchants displayed the newest merchandise for the season.

In 1948, four marching bands paraded from different parts of downtown and came together at Second and Garey Avenue. The bands then headed in different directions to offer outdoor performances.

In 1949, a parade with bands and a grand marshal moved along Second between Rebecca and Elm.

The 1948 appearance of the four marching bands was done with the involvement of the Pomona Jaycees, from that time on the primary organizer of the parade.

The organization's last Christmas parade was the 2007 edition. In 2008, financial difficulties and low Jaycee membership made it difficult for the service organization to carry out the large-scale event, which was held on East Holt Avenue.

Carolyn Hemming, president of the downtown association, said she'd like it to have a long-term connection with the parade.

"If all goes well, I see it becoming an annual event," she said, adding the association has included the 2010 parade in its budget.

She said nearly 1,700 people will march or ride in the parade.

"It seems like people were excited to participate," Hemming said.

The association budgeted $15,000 for this year's event but Hemming said costs may come in under $10,000.

Egan said the participation of numerous volunteers has made it possible to hold down costs.

The event is a community parade giving everyone interested in taking part the chance to do so, Hemming said.

Community groups and nonprofits were not charged to participate, she said, and only businesses were asked to pay a fee.

"Our goal was to involve the entire city and bring (the parade) back to the center of the city because this is the heart of town," Hemming said.

Several city representatives worked with the association to prepare for the parade.

As a result, the city Community Services Department opted to move Holiday Lane activities from Huntington Street to the Civic Center Plaza.

For eight years, Holiday Lane took place on Huntington Street, a project of former Councilman George Hunter.

One of the reasons for the move is budget constraints, said Mayela Aguilar, Pomona community services manager, but another reason is that the new parade route ends at Park Avenue and Eighth Street, a short walk from the Civic Center Plaza.

"We're hoping the participants of the parade will follow the parade and attend our event," Aguilar said.

So after the parade ends, starting at noon and ending at 4 p.m., Holiday at the Plaza, a free event, will offer visitors family-friendly activities.

The Pomona Concert Band, student musical groups and folkloric dancers will entertain.

Service groups will have information booths. Local food vendors will be on hand. Other activities will include children's arts and crafts and plenty of snow to play in.

Santa and some of his elves will also be on hand with St. Nick taking time to have his picture taken with children.

Bringing the Christmas parade back downtown is an important step in the revitalization of the area, said Mickey Gallivan, president of the Historical Society of Pomona Valley.

"If we're going to have a downtown it needs to be the center of the city," she said. That center is "where you have all big events."

Gallivan remembers attending the parade downtown.

The event took place at night years back, so families, including her own, would bundle up for the event.

The streets were decorated with colorful holiday decorations and lights, which added a little extra sparkle to the area, she said.

Having the parade back downtown will recapture some of that feel, she said.

"It's just cozier, more friendly and neighborly," she said. "It's more like the spirit of Christmas and community."

 

HOLIDAY CELEBRATION

The Pomona Christmas Parade is scheduled to begin its trek along Second Street and Park Avenue at 10 a.m. Saturday.

The parade will end at Eighth Street and Park.

After the parade, Holiday at the Plaza will begin at the Pomona Civic Center Plaza, 505 S. Garey Ave. The free event will run from noon to 4p.m.

Food, entertainment, children's activities and snow will be part of the event.

Holiday at the Plaza will be a drop-off point for those wishing to contribute new, unwrapped toys to the Pomona Police Department's Santa Cop program.

Toys collected through the Santa Cop program will be distributed to needy children in the city.

The Pomona Christmas Parade will require some street closures from 9:30 a.m. to noon. The closures:

Mission Boulevard between White and Garey avenues.

Garey from Mission to Monterey Avenue.

Second Street between Gibbs Street and Park Avenue.

Park from Second to Eighth.

Pomona police recommend drivers use White or Towne avenues as north-south alternates and Holt Avenue as an east-west alternate.