The Kiwanis Club of Chatsworth presented the 39th Chatsworth Holiday Parade on Dec. 10 on Devonshire Street, stretching from Topanga Canyon Boulevard going east through the main business district to Lurline Avenue.
The parade’s theme “Toys on Parade” had Santa and Mrs. Claus’ approval, of course. Clever parade participants had decades of toys — from nostalgic and iconic toys to contemporary electronic favorites — to choose from to decorate themselves, their horses or motorized vehicles.
The parade stepped off at 1 p.m. with the James Monroe High School’s Army Junior Reserved Office Training Corps, but they were not accompanied overhead with the parade’s traditional spectacle and roar created by the Van Nuys Airport-based Condor Squadron flyover formation.
Why not? Air space was restricted over the weekend until 2 p.m. on Sunday due to the weekend visit by President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden to Los Angeles. The squadron was scheduled, however, to do a flyover around 2:30 p.m. while the parade and festival were still in full swing.
The grand marshal was Mel Wilson, the 2023 recipient of the Fernando Award which is given each year to an outstanding volunteer and philanthropic leader in the San Fernando Valley.
Wilson, a Realtor, is the owner of Mel Wilson and Associates. He is a founding member of the Valley Economic Alliance and a past president of the United Chambers of Commerce in the San Fernando Valley.
Participants in the parade included marching bands from San Fernando Valley schools including Chatsworth Charter High School’s band and drill team, Sherman Oaks’ Notre Dame High School, North Hollywood’s St. Patrick’s band and bugle corps and Sylmar High School’s color guard and marching band.
The parade, with close to 1,500 participants, also included equestrian units, dance and folklore performers, decorated classic and vintage cars, business and community members — and Santa and Mrs. Claus made a special…
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