58th Annual Daisy Avenue Parade

In the heart of the Wrigley District of Long Beach, Calif. marches a parade that has been going strong for 58 years now.  This tight little community hosts a Christmas parade that is unlike any other in the city in that it may be smaller than the Belmont Shore Christmas Parade but it has all of those in the community working together to host a wonderful event.

"Daisy Lane", as many who have been around the parade before have called it, was held on Saturday December 10 and hosted floats from the boy scouts, Long Beach Firefighters Association, and high school bands coming from the Long Beach Unified School District.  Long Beach Wilson High School is usually a hold out on this parade every year but for the past couple years have come to enjoy marching in this Long Beach tradition. "I'm really glad that we get to do multiple Christmas parades now instead of just the one in Belmont Shore," say's Wilson senior Arturo Juarez. Other bands to be included in this years program was the Cabrillo High School marching band,  Jordan High School J-Town band and the local favorite who had marched this parade in honor of their late band director Marvin Marker, the Long Beach Junior Concert Band (LBJCB).

Marker used to be the parades announcer every year and would announce a very exciting and eventful parade but two years ago Marker had done his last Daisy Lane parade due to a heart attack brought on by Diabetes.  This year along with last years parade, LBJCB has worn a black arm band around their uniforms to honor the memory of their fallen director.  "The black armband is a subtle reminder of the man who started our band and who was such a big part of Daisy Lane," says LBJCB alumni drum major Ian Wright.

The parade wraps around both sides of Daisy Avenue where there is a park-like center divider that holds parade goers, parade announcers and officials, and it also holds Christmas decorations set up by both the City of Long Beach and the community themselves.  The good thing about this particular parade in Long Beach is that participation is completely free so as long as a participant could get their application in on time, they can be in the parade. The difference between this parade and the Belmont Shore Christmas parade for example is that participants must obtain a sponsor from the Belmont Shore Business Association (BSBA).

The 5 p.m. step-off is perfect for a nighttime even such as this because it gets the community excited for the evening along with the Daisy Avenue events that happen on this day.  These included a Snow Day in which the city brought is mounds and mounds of snow so that attendees can play in the snow.  There was also a movie night shown in the median on Daisy Avenue and other post parade shows provided by the parade goers themselves.