New Time for Yule Parade Brings Peace for Sponsors

After a two-year time-out, the Huntington Park Christmas parade drew more than 120,000 spectators Sunday to a peaceful afternoon procession that featured 20-foot balloons, three elephants and brightly costumed kindergarten-age Korean fan dancers.

Once plagued by gang rowdiness and shaky financing, the 2-mile-long parade returned to Pacific Boulevard in a new, earlier time slot that organizers hoped would attract families.

“Families don’t feel comfortable coming out at night,” explained Dante D’Eramo, executive manager of the Huntington Park Chamber of Commerce, which sponsored the parade.

Once Lured the Unruly

Before the parade was canceled two years ago, it was held at night and attracted groups of gang members who wandered through the crowd, throwing bottles at each other, spectators and parade participants, said Lt. Dan Leili of the Huntington Park police. This year, Leili said, the parade “has been real smooth.” He said police had made “one minor arrest for ‘plain drunk.’ ”

Standing along the parade route, Jose Cuellar, 28, a shipping clerk who held his 6-year-old daughter Christina on his shoulders, confirmed that the new time for the parade made a difference.

“At night, (there was) rowdiness,” he said. “In the daytime, it’s a whole lot better.”

The 20-foot balloons, which included Frosty the Snowman, were a new feature at this year’s parade. They are smaller versions of the 60-foot balloons in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade in New York City.

“We would probably have (the larger balloons) if we didn’t have Christmas decorations along the parade route,” said D’Eramo, in a reference to strings of lights across Pacific Boulevard. Bill Lamos, parade coordinator, said, “They would be laying on their back the whole way. Maybe we’ll do that next year.”

Cost Was a Factor

As it was, the Toy Soldier, one of the tallest balloons in the parade, had to do the limbo every time he went under a string of lights.

With the parade budget at $80,000, cost was also a factor, D’Eramo said. The larger balloons, with a rental cost of $60,000 to $80,000, compared to the $14,000 fee for the smaller ones, would have swamped the budget.

The mere fact of holding the parade marks a success for the Chamber of Commerce, which staged six carnivals to raise parade funds and is managing without support from the city, D’Eramo said. In 1986, the Huntington Park City Council canceled the parade, arguing that it was unable to spend $100,000 to sponsor it.

“The city for the first time this year was unable to assist,” said D’Eramo. “This year we have had to pay for the police.” He estimated the cost of police at $15,000.