I love a parade. Which is why I was sad to hear that after 75 years the Hollywood Christmas Parade is no more. A few days ago parade officials announced that the holiday tradition has been cancelled due to rising costs and loss in revenue.
“This is a very difficult thing for us to have to do,” the chairman of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors told reporters at a recent news conference. “We’re disappointed and sad. But we’re out of the parade business.”
I’m sad too. I would have loved to take my young daughter to see the parade in person. And, I can just imagine what the families who have made it a yearly tradition must be thinking. No more floats, bands or celebrities to gawk at while they counted the days until Christmas.
Did you know the parade got its start in 1928 as a way for the Chamber of Commerce to lure shoppers to Hollywood Boulevard? Chamber members decorated the downtown area with live trees and Christmas ornaments to help get visitors in the holiday spirit. Over the years the parade grew in size and attracted thousands of celebrity watchers who came out to see movie stars ride on elaborate floats.
Among the Hollywood A-lister’s recruited to wave to the crowds were Bing Crosby, James Stewart, Ronald and Nancy Reagan, Charlton Heston and Natalie Wood. Chamber members say singing cowboy Gene Autry was also a major parade supporter.
But, alas, in recent years, the tide turned and the parade struggled to attract celebrity participants and a national television audience. In fact, according to financial records, the chamber lost about $100,000 in producing last year’s $1 million event.
So where are the celebrities when you need them? The chamber (and subsequently the parade) subsists on member dues, so why not appeal to some of the stars who sit, smile and wave from their posts on the floats? Why can’t they kick in a few bucks from their own bank accounts to keep this Hollywood tradition alive for another generation of fans?
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