Four decades strong, the community continues to turn out to celebrate the holidays.

By Mary O’KEEFE

Dec. 2 marks the 45^th year of the Montrose Christmas Parade, a family tradition that has kept its small town roots throughout the decades.

Although several miles away, the Montrose Christmas Parade has Hollywood to thank for its beginning. In the early 1950s, Dennis Morgan was an MGM star. He was known for his tenor voice and starred in many films. He lived locally and several of his famous friends would often visit the area. One afternoon he and his friends created a holiday parade that traveled down Honolulu Avenue. The parade was during the day, back then, and hosted grand marshals that included fellow stars Jackie Cooper and Jack Carson. The parade became a very popular event for locals; however, when Morgan moved away from the area the parade ended.

Then in 1976 Montrose businessman Frank Roberts decided to bring the Montrose Christmas Parade back to the neighborhood. It was a way to bring business to the local shops as well as celebrate the town he loved so much.

Known as the founder of the Montrose Christmas Parade, Roberts died in 2005. That year the parade was dedicated to his memory, according to the Montrose Christmas Parade Association (MCPA).

Cheryl Davis is the parade coordinator. She and her large group of volunteers are busy working on this year’s parade. Though always a difficult choice, this year the MCPA selected Steve Pierce as the parade grand marshal.

“Steve Pierce has given his entire life to volunteering and serving his community and his country. He is a Navy veteran (having served in Vietnam) and he has served on almost every board for local non-profits and community events – the CV Chamber, CV Fireworks, Montrose Christmas Parade Association, CV Town Council, etc. He maintains the war memorial in Montrose, and is the [Montrose Shopping Park Association’s film liaison],” Davis said. “It’s a little known fact that one year, when the Montrose Christmas Parade coordinator was unable to continue due to personal reasons, Steve stepped up without skipping a beat and took over coordinating the parade. I always refer to him as ‘The Man Who Saved the Christmas Parade.’ He is everywhere in our community and he is the ultimate example of selflessness, volunteering and loving his community.”

Davis said during the time she has been acting coordinator of the MCPA she has seen the event grow.

“We always say that you’re either in the parade, watching the parade or helping and volunteering with the parade,” she said.

The MCPA is an all-volunteer group that exists solely to put on the annual parade, and the volunteers are what make the parade possible. It’s a lot of work but the results are well worth it.

“As the parade coordinator, my favorite thing is seeing and hearing the kids’ reaction to Santa. Every year it reminds me of why the hundreds of parade volunteers spend so much time to help bring this wonderful tradition to the kids, families and parade viewers,” Davis said.

Santa is always a welcome addition to the parade.

“The Montrose Christmas Parade Association wants to help the community kick off the holiday season celebrating and encouraging each other by enjoying our hometown parade featuring local schools, bands, cheer groups, churches, non-profits and scouts, and saying thank you to our business sponsors,” Davis added. 

For those who have visited the parade before they know there is another tradition attached to that event and that is the rows of lawn chairs that are placed along Honolulu in advance of the parade. There are requests the MCPA asks the public to respect.

“We ask that parade viewers not place their chairs and blankets on Honolulu Avenue before noon (on parade day) as the Montrose Shopping Park stores and restaurants are still open that day. No pop-up tents or drones are allowed for the safety of parade viewers and participants. There is temporary no parking around and within the parade perimeter from Honolulu on the north, Broadview on the south, La Crescenta Avenue on the west and Verdugo Road/Montrose Avenue on the east so carpooling and arriving early are encouraged,” she added.

For safety reasons no outside vendors, or street vendors, are allowed along the streets and sidewalks of the parade route.

So far the organizers have received several new entries and sponsors for this year’s parade.

“We started receiving inquiries about applications and sponsorship opportunities much earlier than in past years so we’re excited for this year’s parade,” Davis said. “We also hope to have additional volunteers from Glendale Community College since many of them have probably been in the parade in the past.”

For those who would like to be in the parade the deadline to submit an application is Nov. 19. For those who would like to volunteer or would like more information email info@montrosechristmasparade.com.