By Robin GOLDSWORTHY and Mary O’KEEFE

Hear the words “4th of July” and visions of fireworks come to mind but the celebration would not be the same without a community parade. For those in Sunland-Tujunga fireworks are the way the night ends but the parade is the way the celebration has begun for over 40 years.

The parade, which started at Vons on Foothill Boulevard in Sunland and traveled to Sunland Park, had between 4,000 and 5,000 people standing along the route. Congressman Adam Schiff was part of the parade as well as Los Angeles City Controller Ron Galperin, Assemblymember Raul Bocanegra and Monica Rodriguez representing District 7 City Council. The grand marshals were local historians Marlene and Lloyd Hitt.

“We had a great team of volunteers,” said Michelle Ramage, Sunland-Tujunga-Shadow Hills Rotary treasurer.

The Rotary organized the parade while the Sunland-Tujunga Neighborhood Council took the lead for the evening’s fireworks. Ramage said the two organizations work closely on July 4th, though volunteers came from several organizations, all with same goal of making sure everything ran smoothly.

“Parades are difficult logistically,” Ramage said. “But we get a lot of help. The city is really good with closing the streets.” She added that good communication is key to last minute problem-solving.

The theme of the parade this year was “Unity in Community.”

Unity can describe the Sunland-Tujunga-Shadow Hills Rotary Club, which was established in November 1938 and has been a crucial part of the community since its beginning.

 “We are proud to have a service club that is still so active in our community,” Ramage said. She added the community is so diverse it was nice to see everyone working together.

“It was a good old-fashioned parade,” she added.

There were some issues, but they were minor, like those who ignored the rules against water balloons, but the Los Angeles Police Dept. was on hand and kept things “tame.” There were about 70 entries in all, including classic cars and very creative floats.

“Little kids were having a blast,” she said.

  Mary Okeefe, robin goldsworthy