If you wanted to be in the Seal Beach Christmas Parade on Dec. 6 you have run out of time. According to parade chairman Scott Newton, “we posted the registration form on Aug. 1 and we were completely sold out by the end of September.”
Why is our hometown parade so popular? Part of it is the size of the event and more importantly the affordability of the event. Newton continued, “Second Street in Belmont Shore just raised their prices for a non-profit entry from $300 to $400. For small non-profits and organizations, particularly with children who just want to be in a parade, our pricing at $50 or $75 is very affordable. Plus, the parade is big; we have over 3,600 participants in the parade and about 14,000 who watch it. We actually have more people in our parade than are in the Rose Bowl parade.”
At the same time, the parade is returning to its more traditional roots. This year, headed by Jo Dawson, the lead announcer and Master of Ceremonies via SBTV-3 will be coordinating a judging. Our judging is not in one particular spot however. Dawson said, “we want continuous motion and performance. In order to help that, we will have judges strategically placed in all three blocks of the parade.”
Judging will be done for: best of show, judge’s choice, best overall, people’s choice, most festive and most humorous. All entries are encouraged to decorate and dress around the theme – keeping in mind there is only one Santa Claus and any inclusion of a traditional Santa in an entry will be grounds for disqualification. Winning entries will be notified the following week and recognized at Breakfast with Santa on Saturday, Dec. 14.
Should you want to be in the parade, it is still possible, but only if you are a sponsor. For more information, please contact Scott Newton at (562)537-3955 or via email at scottnewton2@hotmail.com .
