Montrose Christmas Parade brings holiday cheer down Honolulu Avenue
Holiday cheer filled the air in Montrose Saturday evening at the 39th annual Montrose Christmas Parade.
Thousands of onlookers lined the sidewalks of Honolulu Avenue, many setting up chairs and even tents for a good view of the longtime community tradition.
This year’s parade featured a few thousand participants, including school marching bands, cheer teams, community organizations, Cub Scout troops, elected officials, local veterans and law enforcement.
Many in the crowd were seated, but not 2-year-old Daniel Sneed, who stood in a cozy Spider-Man robe watching the parade go by.
His favorite part about the parade was seeing Santa Claus “in a helicopter,” refering to the Glendale police helipcopter that flew St. Nick over the parade route to kick off the festivities.
“It’s awesome,” said his father, Joshua Sneed. “We’re seeing a lot of people we know.”
The annual event was put on by the Montrose Christmas Parade Association with support from the city of Glendale, the Montrose Verdugo City Chamber of Commerce and the Montrose Shopping Park.
Roughly 25,000 people attended this year’s parade, according to Dan Konkel, member of the board of directors for the Montrose Christmas Parade Assn.
Konkel said for him, the holiday event signals the start of the Christmas season, particularly with the joy that spreads among the participants.
“To see all the kids, all the bands get excited… you start seeing this level of energy that occurs,” Konkel said. “It’s a blast to watch.”
The sights and sounds of the season were everywhere, from the lights and decorations on the floats, cars and wagons to the Christmas tunes being played by the marching bands.
The parade’s Grand Marshall this year was ABC7 reporter Rob Hayes. Other parade dignitaries included U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), Glendale Police Chief Robert Castro, Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station Captain Bill Song and Glendale Mayor Ara Najarian.
Billy Naphen, wearing a santa hat, and Kecia Wyman, sporting reindeer antlers, cozied up under a blanket in chairs to watch the floats, horses and hot rods roll by.
Wyman said they’ve been coming to parade practically as long as it’s been around.
“Every single one since I was in elementary school,” she said.
Wyman and Naphen, lifelong Montrose residents, said the best thing about the event is how it gathers the community together.
Toddler Mane Galoyan had one of the better vantage points of the parade, sitting on the shoulders of her father, Hanri Galoyan.
“We’ve been coming every year (and we) really enjoy it,” said Hanri Galoyan, who also brought his wife, Zvart, and 7-year-old son, Gor. “We’re glad we have this opportunity.”
Gor said his favorite thing about the parade was watching all the police officers ride by.
Several law enforcement teams were represented in the parade, including deputies from the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station and Glendale police officers, as well as volunteers with the Montrose Search and Rescue Team. Some team members on dirt bikes rode loops around the squad’s bigger vehicles to cheers from the crowd.
“All the community (is) here tonight,” said La Crescenta resident Katy Ireland. “Everyone we pass we know and we see all our friends in the parade.”
Ireland watched the parade with her 9-year-old daughter, Darcy, and Darcy’s friends Maddie Flanagan, 11, and Alexa Johnson, 9.
The standout for Alexa was “seeing Christmas smiles on everyone’s faces.”
Those smiles were contagious, it turned out.
Amid the cheers and waving hands were the near-constant season’s greetings of “Happy Holidays” and “Merry Christmas” — many offered with a warm grin.
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Ryan Fonseca, ryan.fonseca@latimes.com
Twitter: @RyFons
