60th Annual Downey Christmas Parade

This December marks the 60th annual Downey Christmas Parade which was held on December 4th at 1:30 p.m. and hosts participants from all over the Downey area including Long Beach, Norwalk and North Park.  The start of the parade is at the corner of Lexington and Downey Avenue and traveled south on Downey to Third Street, then east to the Civic Center where the parade ended.

Every year at the end of the parade there is a festival of sorts that is put on by the City of Downey to celebrate the holiday season.  Downey High School band hosts a booth in which they sell cooked food, cold beverages and warm beverages to those who are cold at the end of the parade.  Dustin Willis, an alumni of Downey High School talks about the convenience of the booth to the parade goers, "We receive hundreds of people every year at the booth especially for the hot cocoa and water that helps parade goers warm and refreshed waiting for the award ceremony."

The Downey Christmas Parade is also a competitive parade in which entrants are judged in different categories that include, float design, high school and youth band, and individual groups coming out of the community.  Contestants from the high school and youth bands category include Downey High School Marching Band, Norwalk All-City Youth Band, and the Long Beach Junior Concert Band.  Floats in the parade included the Country Inn of Downey, the Downey Elks Lodge, the Downey Rose Float Association and Divine Talent Kids Music.

"The parade almost didn't happen this year from my understanding," say's Willis.  Due to the closure of the streets at Lexington and Third Street, mobility in and around Downey would be greatly hindered and most parade will have to deal with the closures if they are coming from out of the area.  There were about 200 entries in this years parade and it was estimated that the Chamber of Commerce for Downey had taken out about $2 million in liability insurance for the event.  No parade is without some sort of police presence and the Downey police was out in fine fashion making sure that parade goers were enjoying a safe and fun parade.  The city has planned to reimburse the Downey Police Department and the public works service $10,000 for their involvement and service to the parade.

This years Downey parade hosted some great weather and even better participants.  Downey and Warren High School bands showed the crowd a great show along with the floats and walking participants.  Next year if you are looking into going to a Christmas parade in the southland, check out the Downey Christmas Parade for you might enjoy the pomp and circumstance of the parade and the festivities held at the Civic Center.