Burbank on Parade is making some tweaks to its ‘aloha’ celebration

Last year’s Burbank on Parade was arguably the busiest day in the event’s history. The occasion was expanded to include a fun run/walk before the parade and a street festival afterward, but the additions proved to be too much for organizers to handle.

Despite the success of the pre- and post-parade activities, the annual event, which will have an “Aloha” theme this year, will scale back its offerings, doing away with the fun run/walk and shifting the family festival into a smaller space, according to Joanne Miller, chairwoman of Burbank on Parade.

Last year’s festival took place on Olive Avenue between Verdugo Avenue and Victory Boulevard and included a car show, various informational booths and food trucks spread along the street, but Miller said the festival’s expanse was too big.

“It was a pretty large area and was hard to control,” she said. “So when I say we’re scaling down, it’s not scaled down in quality; it’s scaled down in area.”

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Instead of taking place on the street, the festival, along with a luau, will be held in the parking lot behind the Joslyn Adult Center, 1301 W. Olive Ave. There will be live entertainment, food trucks, a car show and other family activities.

The parade, which will wind down Olive Avenue from Keystone Street to Lomita Avenue, is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. April 29, with the luau and festival kicking off at 12:30 p.m.

“We’re going to have a full-on luau, with the exception of no roasted pig,” Miller said. “But we’ll have hula dancers and a fire twirler.”

Before last year’s parade, participants could run, walk or bike down Olive without having to worry about any vehicles during the “mini-CicLAvia.” The event was a hit, but Miller said organizers had to cut it because of insurance issues.

“We’re going to concentrate on making this the best and biggest celebration so far,” she said. “As a small committee, it was a very big undertaking, overseeing all those events. So we’d rather do a smaller event and have it be successful and have everyone love it rather than a whole bunch of events and not be successful.”

anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com

Twitter: @acocarpio