Chula Vista’s downtown district will be in holiday mode as the annual Starlight Parade and Children’s Faire is coming to town.
The fair runs from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, and will be followed by the Starlight Parade from 6 to 8 p.m. on Third Avenue, between E and H streets.
The parade will feature more than 120 entries including local marching bands, children choirs, military veterans, drum corps, fire trucks and youth sports teams parading down Third Avenue.
Chula Vista Councilwoman Pat Aguilar said she always enjoys Chula Vista’s holiday tradition.
“It’s wonderful to see the sidewalks of Third Avenue lined with families and little kids, and seeing the kids cheering and waving is amazing,” Aguilar said.
This year’s parade theme will be Honoring Our Veterans, which is dedicated to all service members in Chula Vista.
The parade’s grand marshal will be Carlos “Danny” Carreon, a U.S. Navy veteran and volunteer for Veterans Connect at the Chula Vista Civic Library; he was named 2017 Chula Vista Veteran of the Year.
The parade is in its fourth year since being revived from a brief hiatus after the economic downturn wiped out city funding for the event.
Although the city still does not fund the event, Aguilar and Councilman Steve Padilla teamed up to get $80,000 worth of donations to make the parade possible. Aguilar said about half the budget went into paying for police.
“The only way the city can have events like the parade or HarborFest is to convince companies to sponsor them and in return they get a lot of publicity out of it as well as getting to help the community,” she said.
New this year is a free Children’s Faire in Memorial Park. The fair will feature a snow hill, a gingerbread bounce house, a chair for children to ride on, and visits with Santa and Mrs. Claus.
The city of National City and the Chamber of Commerce will hold their annual Twilight Tree-lighting Ceremony with a visit from Santa Claus on Dec. 17 from 5 to 8 p.m. at Kimball Park at 12th Street and D Avenue.
