41st Spirit of San Pedro Holiday Parade By Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor
L
ast year, everyone joked that 2020 was the longest year on record due to the COVIDpandemic. But it’s been 21 months since we’ve been able to gather and celebrate in a holiday street parade. Fortunately, the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce was able to pull it together to make this year’s holiday parade happen. In past years, more than 9,000 spectators lined the streets to view the holiday floats, little league teams, classic cars, boy and girl scouts, high school bands, equestrian units, and volunteers through downtown San Pedro. This year’s theme is a generic holiday theme and the number of participants are fewer than in 2019. But the headliners that made the last parade special are participating in this one, including Timmy, the beloved oversized rubber ducky who first made an appearance at the Tall Ships Festival in 2014, who will be on a float. The parade will carry this inflated creature of cuteness through the streets of San Pedro, starting at 13th and Pacific and ending at 6th and Palos Verdes. Fans can take [See Spirit, p. 4]
Special Holiday Parade Edition
San Pedro City Ballet’s Nutcracker float from the 2018 Spirit of San Pedro Holiday Parade. Below, a float from the Los Angeles Harbor Holiday Afloat Parade. File photos
58th Annual LA Harbor Holiday Afloat
Center in Wilmington and takes approximately 90 minutes to cover the entire parade route through the Los Angeles Main Channel. Officials and community leaders will take part in the parade as judges or passengers on approximately 60 participating vessels of all shapes and sizes, from tugboats to tall ships. Spectators may view the procession from several points along the LA Waterfront, including: • Banning’s Landing Community Center, 100 E. Water St., Wilmington • Cruise Ship Promenade, Harbor Boulevard and Swinford Street, San Pedro • Battleship IOWA, 250 S. Harbor Blvd., San Pedro • Downtown Harbor, 504 S. Harbor Blvd., San Pedro • Ports O’ Call Village, 1100 Nagoya Way, San Pedro • 22nd Street Landing, 141 W. 22nd St., San Pedro • SS Lane Victory, 3600 Miner St., San Pedro • Holiday Harbor, Cabrillo Marina, 285 Whalers Walk, San Pedro 1
December 2 - 15, 2021
The Los Angeles Harbor communities of San Pedro and Wilmington will celebrate the free and festive Annual Los Angeles Harbor Holiday Afloat Parade on Dec. 4 from 4 to 8 p.m., at the Town Square and Promenade along the LA Waterfront at the Port of Los Angeles. Also on tap for the evening will be a host of activities for the entire family: • The “Elf Pet Parade”— Get in the spirit and parade your best-dressed “elf” (aka pet) at the Town Square stage at 7 p.m. • Holiday Toy Drive — Bring an unwrapped toy to donate to local children in need. • Free hop-on and offs on the San Pedro rubber-tire trolley, to shuttle people into the event from downtown and the north end parking area of the former Ports O’ Call area. Sponsored by the Port of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Harbor Holiday Afloat Parade starts in the East Basin near Banning’s Landing Community