I love a parade, but I love being in a parade even more. Just like the past few years, I will be in the sixth annual Main Street Parade. I will be driving a little yellow electric car and my co-pilot will be a long-haired dachshund named Dudley. Dudley is the inspiration for my fourth book “What About Wally? Co-Parenting a Pet With An Ex” available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
The Main Street parade is put on by the Ocean Park Association and has for the past six years done a wonderful job of bringing the community together in a happy and fun event that reminds me of a more genteel time in American history.
If you haven’t attended the parade I want to encourage you to come out and cheer on the firefighters who will be in the parade, the school students who decide to have a presence and the various public organizations who will be in attendance. In years past there have been electric car enthusiasts (who I am sure will be out in force again this year), tree people and representation from the various scouting associations.
Each year there is a classic car group that makes me want to buy an old car and fix it up, but I don’t have the time or disposable income for such a hobby. But each year the cars get prettier and there are more of them for you car buffs.
Part of the fun is the pre-parade decorating of the floats and cars that are entered. Starting as early as 7 a.m. there are cars starting to line up on Main Street in front of the Civic Auditorium and back toward City Hall and the participants begin to adorn the cars with flags, banners and other assorted plumage to make for a festive event.
Being in a parade is a ton of fun. You get to be the center of attention for approximately 3 seconds and then move on to the next block. The kids are all laughing and usually screaming for someone to throw them some candy (which we are told not to do from the car, but some do anyway).
I enjoy being in the parade and seeing people from year to year that I sometimes only get to see while I’m driving down Main Street at 3 mph. Taking part in this little homage to small town America is a great reminder of how small our town is. Even though we are part of the greater Los Angeles world, we definitely have a small town feel and it shows on days like the Fourth of July.
The parade terminates at the Santa Monica/Venice border and there usually are some vendors who have created a party atmosphere.
This year the parade promises to be just as wonderful as years past and I hope to see you along the parade route. Bring the kids, bring the dogs and come enjoy a bit of Americana.
David Pisarra is a family law attorney focusing on father's rights and men's Issues in the Santa Monica firm of Pisarra & Grist. He can be reached at dpisarra@pisarra.com or (310) 664-9969.
