The La Jolla Town Council will host the 50th annual Christmas Parade & Holiday Festival on Sunday, Dec. 2. This year’s theme is “Christmas Cheer “¦ for Fifty Years!” Marching bands, drill teams, dancers, equestrians and more will step off at Girard Avenue and Kline Street at 1:30 p.m., winding their way west to Prospect Street.
The full Holiday Festival begins at 9 a.m. with the La Jolla YMCA Arts and Crafts Faire along Silverado Street, where browsers will find handmade arts, crafts, food and a kids activity zone until 4 p.m. The entertainment stage on Herschel Avenue will highlight local musicians, talented children and others from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Then, at 10:30 a.m., the staging area on Kline Street will fill with horses, cars, bands and floats that will march down the decorated village streets.
“We’ve been busy putting up all our holiday decorations, including poinsettias, and we put a tree up,” said Deborah Marengo, president of Promote La Jolla, the village’s merchant association.
This year’s Christmas Parade marshals include Grand Marshal Tracy Jarman, City of San Diego Fire Chief; Cultural Marshal Mary Wayne, Philanthropic Marshal Las Patronas, Military Marshal Jay Kopelman and Civic Marshal Jimmy Canale.
The La Jolla Town Council organizes the parade with the assistance of volunteers, including those from the YMCA, Rotary, Toastmasters, La Jolla Recreation Center, Promote La Jolla and Kiwanis.
“It will be a fun day for all,” the Town Council said in a press release. “Contributions of all kinds … are essential and welcome.”
Following the parade, at 3:30 p.m., the La Jolla Recreation Center will open its doors at 615 Prospect St. for a cider and cookies reception.
There will be some road closures to make room for the parade. Beginning at 6 a.m., Silverado Street between Girard and Ivanhoe will be closed. Starting at 8:30 a.m., street closures will take place along Herschel Avenue, Kline Street, Drury Lane and Draper Street. Girard Avenue will be closed from Kline to Prospect streets. St. James Church and La Jolla Presbyterian will have a towaway delay. For more information or exact times, visit www.ljparade.com.
There will also be a no-parking zone on Friday, Nov. 30 at the corner of Kline and Herschel streets. The parade route will have no parking zones between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.
For the exact route, go to www.lajollaymca.org or www.ljparade.com.
Related activities include a Holiday Open House from 1 to 3:30 p.m. at the La Jolla Historical Society’s Wisteria Cottage, near the end of the parade route at 780 Prospect St.; a production of “The Velveteen Rabbit” by San Diego Junior Theatre at 2 p.m. at the Firehouse, 7877 Herschel Ave.; and La Jolla Stage Company’s performance of “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens at 8 p.m. at Torrey Pines Christian Theater, 8320 La Jolla Scenic Drive North.