The community will once again line the streets of Montrose for the highly-anticipated Christmas Parade.

By Charly SHELTON

For the 40th year, the Montrose Christmas Parade queues up to head down Honolulu Avenue on the first Saturday in December, this year falling on Dec. 3. Groups from across the Crescenta Valley and Glendale will come together in the holiday spirit to walk, dance, ride, drive, skate, trot and roll down the street in front of thousands of excited onlookers.

The parade really is for the community, especially the youth and the kids in the community,” said Cheryl Davis, parade coordinator for the Montrose Christmas Parade Association, the organizers of the event. “It features a lot of the scouts, a lot of youth groups and bands, and really – it’s for the kids in the family. And we hope that everyone comes out and has a great time because we are an all-volunteer group. The Montrose Christmas Parade Association only exists to put on this parade; we don’t do anything else.”

Each year, the Parade chooses a grand marshal to highlight. In 2013, the grand marshal was the Montrose Centennial, honoring those who have made a great impact on the community over the last 100 years. 2014 welcomed grand marshal Johnny Harrison, who has supported GUSD schools for many years. And 2015 welcomed ABC7 reporter Rob Hayes as the grand marshal. This year, the grand marshal for the Christmas Parade is our Hometown Heroes.

“Ed Waldheim [founder of J’s Maintenance], Betty Porto and the McClure family – Joe, Julie and Andi – are all huge community supporters. Ed obviously is most well known for Relay for Life, but he also offers his community room in his office to anybody who wants to meet. I know Relay for Life, all kinds of Scout groups, Montrose Christmas Parade Association – everybody meets in his community room. And Ed [and J’s Maintenance] donates their time for the parade, for Oktoberfest, to clean up after all kinds of different events.

“Betty Porto is the owner of Porto’s Bakery and is very active in the Glendale community with donations and helping at those events. And the McClures, who run Montrose Travel, are also incredibly generous to the community. But what really is so sweet is that their holiday party is the same day as the Christmas Parade and, even though they can’t be in it, they always are a platinum supporter of the parade. So I can’t thank them enough because it really wouldn’t happen without their support.”

Also expected in the Parade as honorary guests are actors Bill Chott, who played Principal Laritate on “Wizards of Waverly Place” and Cheryl Texeria, who plays Katy Hart on “Girl Meets World.” Among the entries will be four equestrian units, seven groups of first responders, 11 bands and one drumline among the 120 entries in the parade.

After 40 years of parades and having been planning this year’s event since June, the MCPA has it down to a science. One change from previous years, though, has to do with street closures. Pedestrians are known to walk out in the traffic lanes when the streets become choked with onlookers so, to prevent any issues, more streets are closed off than in previous years.

“I do have to warn people that on Montrose Avenue, when you come southbound, you either have to turn left onto Waltonia Drive or you have to turn right onto Florencita Avenue. I just want to get that word out,” Davis said. “They’re just closing Montrose Avenue right there so you have to turn one way or the other. I think that was an issue last year.”

Other than that, it will be business as usual for Davis and her staff of volunteers who put on the parade each year. For those who would like to see the parade in person on Saturday, Dec. 3, it starts off at 6:10 p.m. from the corner of Honolulu and Rosemont avenues, heading east along Honolulu Avenue traveling through the Montrose Shopping Park to its conclusion at the intersection of Honolulu and Montrose avenues. Arrive early to get a good seat and dress warmly.

For those who would rather stay at home, the parade will be recorded and rebroadcast on GTV6 on local access at a later date. For more information, visit montrosechristmasparade.com.

  Charly Shelton