Home > Los Angeles > Events > December

Hollywood Santa Parade - Los Angeles Hotels .com

For 75 years, the Hollywood Christmas Parade spread holiday magic to young and old. In 2007, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce dropped the historic event due to funding problems; however, a hefty dose of Christmas cheer courtesy of the LA City Council has saved the parade.

Now renamed the Hollywood Santa Parade, the annual festivities are scheduled to continue as normal on the Sunday after Thanksgiving along Hollywood and Sunset boulevards. Perhaps the most popular parade in LA, this event draws hundreds of thousands of people to see the elaborate costumes, magical Christmas scenes, and celebrity-studded floats.

Christmas cheerleaders and horseback Santas are venerated crowd pleasers, as is the annual Christmas Parade Celebrity Grand Marshal. Past Marshals have included Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jimmy Stewart, Mickey Rooney, and Regis Philbin. (Fun fact: David Letterman was discovered by NBC when he broadcast the event.)

Traditionally, at the end of the parade, sultry stars such as Bette Davis or Evelyn Venable flip the switch that lights the Christmas trees lining the streets of Hollywood, thereby officially beginning the holiday shopping season.

URL: http://www.hollywoodchamber.net/icons/parade.asp