By RHEA-FRANCES TETLEY
Staff Writer
The Blue Jay holiday parade will be marching through town this Saturday, Dec. 7 down Highway 189 through the center of Blue Jay, stepping off at 2 p.m. The 2024 parade theme is “Our House is a Very, Very, Fine House.”
This year marks the 46th year of this colorful annual parade, which some have honored as the shortest annual holiday parade in the USA. This year’s grand marshal is Jensen’s Finest Foods of Blue Jay.
The parade begins at the entrance to the business district of Blue Jay and ends at the intersection with North Bay Road, where the parade, its floats and bands just magically “disappear.” Those watching the parade sit and stand on both sides of the highway in front of the businesses, so bring chairs or blankets for the parade. The very best viewing location is within earshot of Gloria Loring, this year’s parade mistress of ceremony, and the DJ, who will be playing music before and after the parade. They are located at the crosswalk in the middle of town.
Highway 189 through Blue Jay will be closed at 1 p.m. to allow the floats and entries the opportunity to line up. The highway will reopen at 3 p.m.
The parade according to Polly Sauer, the parade coordinator for the Women’s Club of Lake Arrowhead, is longer in length than previous years, with 1,900 feet of entries, where in the recent past the longest parade was 1,500 feet. In case of pouring rain or a snowstorm, the parade will be canceled, and not rescheduled, as the parade is always scheduled “weather permitting.”
The 44 entries in the parade are a veritable “whose who” of the mountain communities with almost all of the service clubs and nonprofit organizations represented, many businesses and three marching bands – the MPH, Rim High and the nationally famous Mountain Fifes & Drums Corps will be performing along the parade route. Many other groups will be doing small demos of their activities. As always, Santa will arrive in town on the SkyPark float at the end of the parade. The Blue Jay parade is a fun afternoon on the mountain and it is free to attend, but arrive early to get a good parking spot.
It is recommended that parade goers come warmly dressed and be prepared to be outside in town for two to three hours for the parade. While waiting for the parade to begin and afterwards, the stores along the route want to remind everyone they will be open for holiday shopping business, hot drinks and food.
The Blue Jay holiday parade is again being coordinated by the Women’s Club of Lake Arrowhead which has been benefitting the mountain communities for almost 100 years, since its founding in 1926. The purpose of the club is lending support to the civic, cultural and educational advancement of the community while promoting social unity among its members and the community. They raise funds to donate to various projects as one of the member organizations operating the Blue Jay thrift store. To learn more about them or to contact them, visit their Facebook page: Women’s Club Lake Arrowhead.
All additional details and the parade sponsors are listed at www.bluejayparade.com and Like/Follow/Share this event on Instagram @bluejayparade.
0 Comments