Parade Marks Bicentennial of Mission

No more than a few hundred people gathered along Brand Boulevard in San Fernando on Saturday to watch the bands, Scouts and dignitaries representing 200 years of the San Fernando Valley.

But the modest parade in the modest corner of the Valley not only marked the bicentennial of the San Fernando Mission but also gave area residents a chance to celebrate the tight-knit community that took the mission’s name.

“Years ago they used to have parades every year, every June,” said Joe Lozano.

Now a city of 22,580 tucked between mountains and freeways, San Fernando was a place where many, like Lozano, dropped stakes in the postwar boom and never left. Those early residents still visit with neighbors over backyard fences, savoring the small-town feel that was somehow spared from the Valley’s grinding sprawl.

Brand Park, adjacent to the mission in the Los Angeles community of Mission Hills, served as the terminus of the 1 1/2-mile parade. A festival featuring music, food and crafts followed in the park and will continue today after a special Mass at the mission.