Now celebrating seven decades of holiday cheer, the annual Daisy Lane Parade returns this Saturday to Long Beach, followed by an entertainment-filled evening on Sunday.
The yearly yuletide event is presented by the City of Long Beach and the Office of Seventh District Councilmember Roberto Uranga.
“Year after year, the Daisy Lane Parade brings the community together to embrace the joys of community and the holiday season,” said Mayor Rex Richardson in a public statement. “Please join us as we celebrate the 70th year of this Long Beach tradition and the streets come alive with family-friendly festivities and live entertainment.”
The parade procession will start at 5 p.m., with an array of local businesses, nonprofit organizations, city officials and community groups traveling south on Daisy Avenue starting at West Burnett Street. The route will then go towards Pacific Coast Highway and after coming around the median, the parade will go back up the westside of Daisy Avenue before ending near West Hill Street and Maine Avenue at approximately 7 p.m. The full parade route map can be found here.
The following night, there will be a selection of holiday performances on the Daisy Lane median located at Daisy Avenue and 20th Street from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
“As we celebrate the 70th year of the Daisy Lane Parade, we reflect on the many memories we have made and the joy this Long Beach staple has brought us,” said Uranga in a public statement. “I am honored to welcome the community yet again to make more memories as we travel down Daisy Lane and spread love, cheer and the holiday spirit.”
The Daisy Lane Parade originated in 1953 after Gertrude Whittle, with the help of Long Beach City Council and the Council of Churches, decorated a Christmas village and nativity scene on the grass median on Daisy Avenue. It soon became a widespread effort involving several neighborhood residents, and from there, the festivities began to grow into an annual community tradition.
Nowadays, the parade is presented by the City and the Seventh Council District and stewarded by the Wrigley Area Neighborhood Alliance and Maria Norvell, one of the parade’s original founders who is glowingly referred to as the “Mother of Christmas Tree Lane.”
The 70th Annual Daisy Lane Parade will commence on Saturday, Dec. 14 at 5 p.m. To learn more about the parade, visit longbeach.gov/daisyparade.