The City of Chula Vista and the Chula Vista Downtown Association are gearing up for the Starlight Festival, and after a long hiatus due to the COVID pandemic, the community Starlight Parade is back again this year.
Chula Vista Mayor John McCann said he is proud to bring back the Starlight Festival along with the Starlight Parade.
“The Starlight Parade is part of our heritage and our history,” he said. “Even when I was a child, we looked forward to going to the parade and participating in the parade. It is something that everyone that I talked to asked to bring back.”
The Starlight Parade is on Dec. 3, with Starlight Festival festivities beginning at 3 p.m., said McCann.
“It will include a holiday market, live musical performances, kids’ crafts, and Santa will be there for photos,” he said. “We will then have the tree lighting at 5:45 p.m. which will kick off the parade. I believe this will be an incredible, unforgettable event for all, and we are very honored to have it come back, and it is going to be a family-fun event.”
McCann said the Starlight Parade is different from other parades in the region being held at night, believing it once was named the largest nighttime parade around.
“When you look at other parades, like the Mother Goose Parade, they have essentially stopped. This really is one of the few parades left in San Diego County,” he said. “Come down and enjoy. Bring the entire family, your friends, and your neighbors. You will be very impressed and see why people just love it. When I was a child, then as a parent, and now as a grandparent, we want to make sure that our families enjoy the festivities of the season.”
McCann said the Chula Vista community is strong and that is one reason the city was able to bring it back this year. McCann said they were a little worried about the turnout of parade entries this year being the first time it is back after a long hiatus, but as of right now, the parade has more than 150 entries registered to participate.
“People’s participation has exceeded our expectations and that is why we are really excited about this. You know you have a great event when you have more people wanting to attend than we can accommodate,” he said.
In tandem with the Starlight Parade, the Downtown Chula Vista Association is transforming Third Avenue into a holiday wonderland with the 25-foot-tall Christmas tree and Santa making his grand appearance in a Chula Vista Fire Engine.
DCVA District Manager Dominic Li Mandri said that he is happy the parade is back and that the DCVA is ready to go with the ongoing festivities that go along with the community holiday celebration downtown.
“The Starlight Festival will be making its grand debut in downtown Chula Vista on Dec. 3,” he said. “We did the Starlight Festival, but the city is bringing back the parade after a hiatus, so we are very excited and grateful to be partnering with the city on this amazing program.”
Li Mandri said with the festival, there are a few hours before the tree lighting and parade for attendees to join in the festivities downtown.
“There will be community performances on the stage, as well as live music,” he said. “The Chula Vista Express will be making a return. Photos with Santa will begin at 3 p.m. There will also be a Holiday Market, a spinoff of our traditional Sunday Farmer’s Market, as the Market will pivot to change into a holiday market running until 7 p.m.,” he said.
There are plenty of activities to do for all ages, said Li Mandri.
“We encourage the Chula Vista community and residents of South Bay to come down to downtown Chula Vista to welcome back the parade,” he said. “The Christmas tree will be at Memorial Park right across from the Kalaveras restaurant downtown. The tree lighting will have comments from dignitaries, the tree will be lit around 6 p.m. kicking off the parade.”
“There are going to be plenty of sites to see,” he continued. “Marching bands, dancing, classic cars. It is definitely going to be a fantastic program. We would not have been able to realize the festival portion of this event without the generous support of the City of Chula Vista as well as Wyyerd Fiber, our additional sponsor for the event.”
