Ready to Cast Off : Holidays: Parade of Lights at Channel Islands Harbor will feature 32 boats. It’s dedicated to Oxnard residents.

A flotilla of 32 decorated boats is scheduled to participate in the 28th annual Parade of Lights at Channel Islands Harbor tonight, an event that this year is dedicated to the residents of Oxnard.

Parade sponsors will keep an eye on the weather, but say only a torrential rain would force them to postpone the parade until Sunday evening.

While the theme of the holiday parade is “Back to the Fifties,” sponsors have chosen to recognize the Oxnard community following the Dec. 2 shooting rampage at an unemployment office that left five dead.

“We want to dedicate the Parade of Lights to the entire community,” said Susan O’Brien, the parade coordinator for the sponsoring Channel Islands Harbor Assn. of Lessees.

“Not only are the victims and their families suffering, but the whole community is grieving,” O’Brien said. “We hope this will be part of the healing process.”

Officers from the Oxnard Police Department will ride aboard the “Sea Warrior,” a 31-foot power boat, as a tribute to the Oxnard police detective killed in the shootings.

A flyover by Santa Claus--towed by a helicopter--will mark the beginning of the parade at 7 p.m., and parade organizers say they don’t believe a storm predicted for this morning will interfere.

“We’ve only canceled the parade once in 28 years,” O’Brien said. “Last year, the wind blew up to 6 p.m. and then died down. We try to go through with the parade no matter what, but if all else fails we would go to Sunday at 6 p.m. We tell people to dress warmly.”

A strong winter storm is expected to drop half an inch of rain in the coastal areas of Ventura County this morning, with gradual clearing expected in the afternoon, said James McCutcheon, a meteorologist with WeatherData Inc.

“The storm is strong, but the wind and cold temperatures will probably be more of a factor than the rain,” McCutcheon said.

Strong winds, combined with seasonal high tides of seven feet, will create the threat of flooding in low-lying areas this morning and again Sunday morning, McCutcheon said. But Ventura County Sheriff’s Lt. Gary Cook said oceanfront flooding is not expected to be serious because local beaches are still at their maximum width this early in the rainy season.

High temperatures today should be in the upper 50s and low 60s, with lows tonight dropping into the 40s and low 50s, McCutcheon said.

During the Parade of Lights, boats will circle the harbor twice and will be visible from nearly every area of the harbor. Organizers suggest that spectators try to park off Harbor Boulevard on the harbor’s west side, where parking is most plentiful.

“The Greaseman,” a radio personality for station KLOS, is the parade’s grand marshal and will ride in the lead boat.

Judges will award prizes for the boats in three categories--commercial, individual and yacht club entries--and will award for the first time a “People’s Choice Award.”

Don Ruggles, a docent for the Ventura County Maritime Museum, was busy Friday putting the finishing touches on a display aboard the sloop White Star. Assisted by a friend, Louis Pfeiler of Grants Pass, Ore., the retired Camarillo farmer said different teams of volunteers were preparing the museum’s entry.

“This is a case of a couple farmers trying to work on a boat,” Ruggles quipped as he prepared to test the lights. “We’re just a couple of grunts who do what we’re told.”

Jokes aside, Ruggles said the museum will gain visibility with its entry in the Parade of Lights.

“It’s considered the decent thing to do to participate in the parade,” Ruggles said. “A lot of people have put an awful lot of time in on the parade.”

KADY television will provide live coverage of the parade on Channel 63 from 7 to 8 p.m., while KXBS-FM Radio 96.7 will broadcast live from the parade from 7 to 9 p.m.

Next week, Ventura Harbor will host its own Parade of Lights, beginning at 6 p.m. Saturday.