Hooray for Hollywood--Sunday Is Parade Day

The 60th annual Hollywood Christmas Parade--featuring floats, movie stars, circus animals, fireworks, marching bands and Santa Claus himself--will take place Sunday from 6 to 8 p.m.

Charlton Heston is grand marshal of this year’s extravaganza. Joining him will be more than 100 other celebrities, 20 floats, 60 classic antique convertibles, 14 marching bands and 12 equestrian units.

For the second year in a row, the hometown favorites, the Hollywood High School marching band, will be featured prominently. Known as the Marching Sheiks, the band had not marched in the last eight parades before last year’s because it was considered too small, too ragtag and not up to parade standards.

The band rejoined the parade last year, helped by donations of instruments and uniforms. This year, the band is 30 members strong “and building,” said Abbe Shorr, director of the Performing Arts Center, a magnet school program located at Hollywood High School.

“The band has been doing great things,” Shorr said. “We’ve been playing at (Walk of Fame) star openings and other events, and we’re ready to go.”

Santa Claus will ride a 62-foot sleigh (actually a float) sponsored by contributions from members of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.

Because of the expected crowds, several streets will be closed. Parade-goers are urged to be on the parade route by 4:30 p.m. The Hollywood Freeway off-ramp at Sunset Boulevard will be closed at noon, and the ramps at Normandie Avenue and Hollywood Boulevard will be closed at 2:30 p.m. At 4:45 p.m., the parade route will be closed to all traffic.

The 3.2-mile route starts at Sunset Boulevard and Van Ness Avenue. Marchers will head west on Sunset Boulevard to Highland Avenue, then north on Hollywood Boulevard, then east to Bronson Avenue.

East-west traffic will be diverted to Franklin Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard. Motorists traveling north or south through Hollywood should travel either west of Highland Avenue or east of Western Avenue.

The parade is being produced by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and underwritten by corporate sponsors. The McDonald’s Operators’ Assn. of Southern California is the official sponsor.

The parade will be televised live on KTLA, Channel 5, and will be rebroadcast twice in Los Angeles. Tribune Entertainment will also distribute the broadcast to more than 150 cities nationwide and offer it as a Christmas Day special to more than 80 countries.

Here are some parade facts and highlights, as provided by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce:

* It has never rained on the Hollywood Christmas Parade. In 1965, rain made the streets slick, but the skies cleared in time for the procession.

* The only non-human grand marshals have been Mickey and Minnie Mouse in 1987, in honor of Hollywood’s 100th birthday.

* One year, Santa’s float got stuck in traffic at the end of the parade route and he was besieged by a group of children, who climbed aboard his float. The police were called to Santa’s rescue, and as he was whisked away in the back seat of a patrol car, a chorus of children’s voices could be heard saying, “Santa got busted.”

* Another year, the Santa float was delayed by paramedics because a woman in the crowd gave birth on the street. By the time the float proceeded down Hollywood Boulevard to end the parade, television viewers had to watch Santa through the rolling TV credits, prompting angry phone calls from around the country.

* In 1964, 3-year-old Randy Harris of Santa Ana successfully eluded police officers and parade security guards to get aboard Santa’s float. He climbed into the merry gent’s arms and asked for a choo-choo train.

60th Annual Hollywood Christmas Parade

Facts and Figures

Time: Today, from 6 to 8 p.m.

Grand marshal: Charlton Heston

Route distance: 3.2 miles

Participants: More than 100 celebrities, 20 floats, 60 classic antique convertibles, 14 marching bands and 12 equestrian units

TV coverage: KTLA, Channel 5

Traffic Tips

Parade-goers are urged to be on the parade route by 4:30 p.m.

Hollywood Freeway off-ramp at Sunset Boulevard will be closed at noon, and the ramps at Normandie Avenue and Hollywood Boulevard will be closed at 2:30 p.m.

Parade route will be closed to all traffic at 4:45 p.m

East-west traffic will be diverted to Franklin Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard. Motorists traveling north or south through Hollywood should travel either west of Highland Avenue or east of Western Avenue.

RTD buses will be allowed to use the parade route until just before the parade, then will be diverted to Franklin Avenue or Santa Monica Boulevard and La Brea Avenue.

Seating and Tickets

Spectators can watch the parade from any part of the parade route. Reserved grandstand seating is available at the KTLA-TV camera location for $20 per ticket. The grandstands will run along Sunset from Van Ness to Bronson. Additional “adjacent” grandstand seats will be available from Bronson west to Gordon Street for $15. To buy tickets, call (213) 462-2394.

Parade Lore

It has never rained on the Hollywood Christmas Parade.

The only non-human grand marshals have been Mickey and Minnie Mouse in 1987.

One year, Santa’s float got stuck in traffic at the end of the parade route and he was besieged by a group of children. The police were called, and Santa was whisked away in a patrol car. A chorus of children’s voices could be heard saying “Santa got busted.”

In 1964, 3-year-old Randy Harris of Santa Ana successfully eluded police officers and parade security guards to get aboard Santa’s float. He climbed into the merry gent’s arms and asked for a choo-choo train.